Hello,
I have posted before and I would love some hand-holding, some suggestions or just positive outcomes from those of you who have been in a similar position - either when you were a kid or with your own children.
My 4 kids have started in French school/creche with no prior knowledge of French. We have moved to a lovely place, but there are no foreigners so we are a bit of an oddity in the school.
My third DD (4) is really suffering. She is by far the most sociable of my kids - very articulate (my elder 2 were less so at her age) and very good fun to be around. Ordinarily she is very confident and sunny and if I am honest I thought that she would find the transition relatively painless and that the language barrier wouldn't prove a problem and that she would just rub along fine with a bit of 'franglais'. I was wrong. She is miserable.
She is in Moyenne Section and each morning she cries her heart out (very unlike her). There are a few activities laid out and she never wants to do any. Again, this surprises me. She just sits in the book corner where she can hide behind a partition wall. The teacher says she cries only for a little time and then stops. I am sure that she is right but although she may stop crying, that doesn't stop her from being unhappy. I think she spends a lot of time alone. I am sure the other kids don't particularly notice her.
I need to have a chat with the teacher to chat through some ideas. I am not sure how receptive she will be but I need to somehow get the teacher to involve my daughter and not to let her squirrel herself away in the book-corner.
I have started playdates etc and my daughter is very keen though I am not sure that is necessarily the done thing here. The thing is when we are out of school and she sees a class-mate, she waves, smiles and is generally very excited. The other kids just seem bemused. Perhaps they are not used to seeing her so animated.
I am finding this very hard. It is breaking my heart. I do think for her that language is the key, but that will take time. Any thoughts?
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MNs wisdom please for those relocated abroad with school-age kids - DD (4) miserable in new French school
24 replies
morethanclueless · 19/11/2014 09:09
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