Saturday 25 November 2017

Christmas present that also gives to charity

Raising funds 


I use the sales of my book to help raise funds for schools and charities by donating around 25% of profits I make when working with them.

This year, I have decided that  I will donate 35% of private sales to a charity that has become close to my heart as it sits with my values and is organised by a wonderful local women Rosa Matherson.

Helping Women in Nepal

Ladies with their Kit bags

She is helping Women in Nepal by providing  environmentally friendly sanitary bags and education about menstruation. This has a huge effect on women's confidence and for the girls to be able to go to school and the women to work. You can read more about this wonderful work on their page


Christmas Presents

If you are looking for an educational Christmas present for children age 0 to 5 that will help them and others this might be just the right thing for you.

 You can order the book here on my shop page.  I will post how much has been raised in the new Year,

More about Kit Bags https://www.facebook.com/FreedomKitBags/videos/1952914804942956/

Friday 17 November 2017

Fun French cartoons

Fun is the key to learning.


We all know it is hard to take in new information and concentrate when we are stressed, so it is not surprising to us the children are not thriving in schools.

We have been home educating our son for just over a year now.  It has taken a lot of the stress out of the leaning process (school runs, deadlines, the stress from the teachers of new targets, etc...not to mention bullying.)

We focus maths and English around his interests and he is so much more engaged and happy. This is because he sees it as fun, not a lesson, something he has to do and complete or else....  as it was in school.

As I know, no one can teach anyone anything, we all just learn things by being exposed to them or because we have an interest in them. We don't teach our babies to walk nor to talk they just learn to do it by exposure.  So I have always exposed my son to French, rather than teach it, and this is is how I ended up writing my bilingual book, so as a baby he  had the same nursery rhymes in English and French.

Super hero


More recently I have been reading some French children's magazines called Pomme D'api. My son has really taken to the adventures of a little super hero called Sam Sam.

After I noticed there was a link to one of songs in the story and seen seen the cartoons, he now wants to watch one every night, as part of his bed time routine. Along with the the other stories in the magazine of course. From my point of view the more he want the better, so I am happy.

This makes exposing him to French so easy and fun for both of us.

Here is a link to one of the many Sam Sam you can find on Youtube

I hope your little ones enjoy them too.


Monday 28 August 2017

French film in Swindon

French film at Swindon Arts Centre 

This is organised by Swindon Film Society and this year, 2017 is their 70th anniversary.  


The French film is called Frantz will be on 20th Sept at 7.45pm







This is a period war drama, loosely based on the 1932 Ernst Lubitsch drama Broken Lullaby. It tells the story of a German woman grieving the death of her lover in World War I. She is shocked when his grave is visited by a Frenchman claiming he was friends with her beloved before the war.



You can get all the details about all the international films they will be showing this year, on their websitestarting with a Spanish one on the 13th Sept 2017.   


Il y a un film Francais le 20 Sept a 7.45 Swindon Arts Centre Pour plus d'information sur les films internationaux: swindonfilm.org.uk

Monday 5 June 2017

Practice your French in Swindon

French in Swindon 

I am so pleased that I have just come across a Swindon group that meet up regularly to speak French, or at least you can listen and practice.

 https://www.meetup.com/French-Language-Meetup-in-Swindon/

Understand first 


Listening and understanding is the first stage in being able to speak a language. This is how any child learns, yet when you learn in a school you have to be able to read, write and speak it grammatically correctly from day one. It is not surprising that so many people give up because they say it is hard.  It is, when you attempt to learn a language that way.

Have fun


Do something enjoyable, listen and forget about getting it right, you might just enjoy having a coffee and a cake.  It seems to be what is group is about. They have a list of meetings on different days and palaces so you can choose what suits you.

I have other opportunities to practice French listed on my links to other useful websites page 

A bientot