Don't Lose Your French: Easy Ways to Keep Your Child's French Skills Sharp Over the Summer
Summer is a time for children to explore, play, and enjoy beautiful weather, but it’s also crucial to prevent their French skills from taking a vacation too!
Research shows that students can lose up to 40% of what they learned during the school year over the summer break. I am a strong believer in language learning being as fun as possible- that’s why I have curated these enjoyable and effective tips to help you maintain your child’s French skills throughout the summer months.
From reading French books, to enjoying animated French cartoons, and practicing simple conversations at home, incorporating these activities daily will keep your child engaged and their French skills flourishing!
Let’s ensure your child keeps their French this summer with our playful approach to learning!
Here are some realistic and fun ways to help you maintain your child’s French skills over the summer.
1
123 Petits Pas French On Demand
Our French On Demand program is designed to make learning French engaging and accessible. With a variety of interactive videos, songs, and games tailored for young learners, children can enjoy learning French while having fun. This platform allows flexibility- so whether you have a few minutes or an hour, there’s always something educational for your child to explore
Kid’s learn best through fun, music, movement, and laughter. Mme Amy & M. Mélangé are 123 Petits Pas’s French teaching duo. Learn with them through pre-recorded professional videos like this one, OR join them for fun on the On Demand French learning platform.
Video Content: In this video, Mme Amy and M. Mélangé practice their colours in French. The goal? To increase a child’s confidence as they watch the video by recognizing that mistakes are a fun and important part of language learning. Children can learn via the mistakes of M. Mélangé!
2
Read Together Daily:
Encourage your child to read French books during their free time or read to them if they can’t quite read on their own. Reading not only enhances vocabulary and comprehension skills but also fosters a love for the language.
There are many ways to make reading fun!
- Choose books with interactive elements, like lift-the-flap or search and find (“cherche et trouve”), to engage your child’s senses and curiosity.
- Point out specific details in the illustrations and ask your child questions about them.
For example, “Can you find the cat hiding in the picture?” = “Peux-tu trouver le chat?”
Summer book challenge!
Download our free printable and track the books your child reads over the summer. For every book they finish, they can colour in a blank book or draw what the story was about to create their own cover. Reading will help keep French skills sharp and having a fun visual goal will help motivate them over the summer!
Supporting Your Beginner French Reader
Choosing French decodable readers is the best way to support a beginner reader’s French language development. These books use simple, phonetic words that are easy to sound out, helping young learners build confidence and improve their reading skills. French decodable readers make for confident readers because they build upon the child’s sound knowledge and avoid “guessing” while reading.
Décode Collection: Éditions Passe-Temps are the creators of my favourite decodable books for early readers with their Décode series. These books gradually introduce phonics and French language nuances, providing 72 engaging titles across six levels. Perfect for beginner readers, the series helps children practice decoding in a fun and authentic context.
Click Here to access their collections
Facile à lire books are another great decodable series. The beginning of each books provides a list of sounds, and the end has a lexicon of French words translated to English.
Les Syllabes is a good bundle to start off with. More options are available on their website
Une syllabe à la fois a new series of books written based on the science of reading. There are different colours to represent each level, and each level introduces more and more graphemes and more difficult syllables. This series is recommended for age 6 + as it’s more advanced than the Facile à lire books. These books also have activities and support sheets that can be downloaded via their website and may even be at your local library!
Take a peek at the 6 series and determine which is best for your reader.
3
Interactive Apps and Games
There are numerous educational apps and games available that make learning French enjoyable. Apps can be especially helpful since they provide French audio but add an interactive aspect to their learning.
- Montessori French App for Children, This Montessori-inspired app for ages 3-7 can be set to French, covering phonics, reading, writing, numbers, colors, shapes, nursery rhymes, coding, and daily life activities. CLICK HERE for a 7-day trial and a 50% discount (AMY50) on annual registration!
- Studycat: French Learning App This app is geared towards ages 3-8 and helps build vocabulary skills with fun games. It’s easy to use and helps you learn the basics quickly.
- Passe-Partout : French Learning App for Kids A FREE app with a variety of interactive activities, songs, and games that kids will love! This colourful, entertaining app invites play and joy while learning French.
- Boukili: French Reading App for Kids
This app provides an immersive and interactive reading experience for children. It aims to stimulate children to read and help them attain different levels of reading proficiency by exploring more than 120 books. Also included are mini games and quizzes.
Have family game night en français!:
Board games can be an incredible way to get in some French practice and this tip includes family bonding time so it’s a win-win!
You don’t need to own French board games to have a French games night!
- Snakes and ladders: practice counting en français, as well as addition & subtraction
- Guess Who: practice descriptive words / question asking. Need support? Try the downloadable version here with French cheat sheets included!
- Sequence for kids: practice French animal names
4
French Activity Sheets and Workbooks
Using French activity sheets and workbooks provides structured learning opportunities and can help them keep up their reading & writing skills over the summer. Our downloadables have been made to support families & their French learning (the activities are French, but the parent instructions are in English!).
Check out 123 Petits Pas printable workbooks and activity sheets:
- Summer French Learning Workbook : Fun and engaging French worksheets for kids with English instructions for parents.
- French Journal for Beginner Writers: Digital printable for kids.
- Printable Playdough Mats: For enjoyable French practice and play.
- Plus so much more!
5
Plan a French playdate
Allowing your child opportunities to speak the language with someone else will work wonders when it comes to keeping their French.
Some ideas for French speaking practice:
- Arrange a playdate with a classmate who is learning or who speaks the target language.
- Send a message out to local parenting groups to see if anyone might be interested in arranging a “French playdate”
- Ask family members or friends to speak the target language with your child.
- When in doubt, hire a babysitter (perhaps a teen in your neighbourhood?) who speaks the language!
Fun Tip: Make your French playdate fun by organizing themed activities like treasure hunts, French cooking sessions, or language-based games. Engaging in these activities with a friend or caregiver who speaks French will create a playful environment where your child can naturally practice and enjoy the language.
As summer approaches, let’s turn up the fun while keeping French alive and thriving for our kids!
Whether it’s diving into French storybooks under a shady tree, cooking up some French treats together, or challenging each other to a game night en français, there are endless ways to make learning feel fun and natural.
If you use even some of the tips above, your child will start the next school year with confidence, knowing they’ve kept up with their language learning and are ready to add on to it. 🙂
À votre tour de jouer—let the French summer fun begin!
Madame Amy
Founder of 123 Petits Pas Inc., Certified French educator, and mother of 2 bilingual children.