Anyone living in France?

[Harriedharriet]

Am thinking of going to France for a month with dds aged 8, 7 and 4. Would love to put them in a school there. Is it possible and anyone got any ideas re where? is it mad?

I am on a different time zone. I would love to find a really charming small village/ town where we could camp out for a month! I spent a lot of time in Brittany as a youngster. i wonder if it would be possible to get the children into school there even if they do not speak French. Big ask eh?!

It sounds quite cruel, unless they are mother tongue French, even then for just a month, moving schools can be quite traumatic.

International school?

I am not sure why you would want to put your children in school if you are only coming for a holiday? If they don't speak French they really won't enjoy it as it is very structured and learning rather than play focused.

I doubt you would get a school to agree to take them. When we moved here my children didn't speak French and the school were not keen. We did put them in french school but the first year was very tough.

If you would like them to experience french culture and learn language why not look for a program where you can take language lessons and stay with a french family?

I think it would depend very much on the school and its principal, and your relationship with them; we have managed to arrange for English speaking cousins to go to the local primary school when my children were there. However, this was only for a couple of days each time and we have a good relationship with the teachers because we have lived in the village for 10 years, and they know us and my children really well.

I can't see them being quite so forthcoming for children they have no connection with and that nobody else knows, and that are not planning to be residents. I think that some kind of exchange would be a better bet for you.

I think it's a bad idea and I can't see a school allowing it for a month. Why not just have a holiday? A month isn't very long.

If you want them to socialise with French children, you could go to a holiday village with a kid's club.

Is it for the language or the experience or something else? I've lived in Brittany for twelve years, both my boys have gone through schools here and I'm struggling to think how it would have worked if 3 English girls had joined one of their classes for a short period - they will only talk to each other whenever possible, and the teachers cannot really treat them like the other pupils, even if they agree to it. I'm not trying to be negative, just wondering what your motivation is.

Totally unrealistic