About The French-American Nursery School

The French-American Nursery School was founded in the Spring of 1998. The Classroom is located in a spacious, brightly decorated walkout basement in the home of Christine Chaise Greenwood. The Program offers a unique opportunity for the children to be exposed to the French language at an early age.

Christine was born in Paris France. She is a Certified Elementary School and Special Education Teacher. She earned her Elementary/Primary and Special Education degrees in France. Her experience includes 7 years teaching grades K-12 in the French Public School system (Elementary and Secondary Education), and 17 years as a French teacher in the Hartford area (all levels). She has taught French as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hartford. Certified in CPR/First Aid (CT Child Care). Licensed in the State of CT to operate a Nursery School. Passed the CT Competency Exam. For Prospective Teachers (CONNCEPT), and the National Teacher Examination (CONNTENT), administered by Educational Testing Service, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
Christine is also an accomplished fine art painter.

Program Description
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FRENCH-AMERICAN NURSERY & KINDERGARTEN SCHOOL
(Ages 4 to 6) Learning Through Progressive Immersion

* Additional classes (and tutoring) are available for grades K-12 and adults.

GOALS and CURRICULUM:

The French-American Nursery School's objectives are to provide a favorable environment in which a child will be able to develop:

- LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION SKILLS in French and English.
- Social skills (helping one another, sharing, thinking and problem solving, practice of life skills, courtesy and cooperation).
- Autonomy, responsibility, concentration, positive self-image and self-control, confidence.
- Self-expression and creativity (arts & crafts).
- Pre-reading skills, initiation to writing and math concepts (recognition of letters and sounds; identifying and discriminating between likenesses & differences as represented by pictures, letters & numerals; sorting by size, color or shape; memory, matching and counting games).
- Gross and fine motor skills (hand-eye coordination).
- Sensory skills.
- Time & spatial activities (gym., music, dance, games).
- Body awareness.
- Logic skills and science (discovery through inquiry: Children are natural scientists, they ask questions about nature, form hypotheses, do investigations & formulate explanations).

PHILOSOPHY

Activities (in French & English) are planned to help the child's intellectual, physical, emotional and social development.
Themes and projects will be integrated in the curriculum so that learning can occur from the child's actual experience. Children learn by doing. They acquire knowledge about their world through playful interaction with objects and people. They are motivated to learn by their desire to make sense of the world. I see my role in the process as a guide. Because learning must be relevant to children, I have to provide learning information in a meaningful context.
FANS curriculum has a structured yet flexible framework enabling me to respond to each child's individual needs, interests and development. Ultimately, I wish to provide the children a fun, loving bilingual environment in which they can grow and learn about their world from two different perspectives.

LEARNING FRENCH

The merits of teaching a second language at an early age (when the brain has a certain plasticity and learning is easy, natural, spontaneous, uninhibited and proficient) are well-known:
- It conveys a mental flexibility, a curiosity of mind and an originality of thinking.
- In a world where men and women speak in 4 to 5 thousand different languages, and where the doors of communication are open, the knowledge of foreign languages & other cultures is a definite asset.
In terms of benefits, the research is pretty conclusive that students exposed to foreign languages in the elementary and preschool years have a much higher level of success in other studies. They develop greater problem-solving skills, perform better in their native language, and become more open to other cultures.
Learning French through progressive immersion means that the language is progressively introduced to the children. The idea is to let them absorb it by osmosis, naturally. After all, this is the way we learn our own language.
FANS is endorsed by the ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE HARTFORD, and the FRENCH CONSULATE OF CT., Dr. Yolande Bosman, Honorary Consul.

CLASS SIZE

Six to eight children per class.

ADMISSIONS POLICIES

A child entering FANS program must turn four on or before September 1 of the year he or she enters.
Children entering FANS must have completed their toilet training.
The program welcomes children aged 4 to 6 years old.

REGISTRATION

First priority is given to those currently attending. After the initial interview, a registration form and fee must be returned to: Christine Chaise Greenwood, 112 Climax road, Avon, CT 06001.

FANS SCHEDULE AND TUITION

School year starts in September and ends in May
4, 5, & 6 year olds: (Tuesdays & Thursdays)

SCHOOL HOURS

4, 5, & 6 year olds (combined) meet on Tuesdays & Thursdays.
The afternoon class begins at 3:00 PM and ends at 4:30 PM.

LATE OPENINGS OR CANCELLATIONS

If the afternoon kindergarten class is canceled or there is an early dismissal due to weather, the FANS classes will be canceled. Parents will be notified by phone. Listen to WTIC (1080 AM) for closings and late openings (Avon Public Schools).

DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Acceptable disciplinary action includes removing the child from play activity for a maximum of three minutes. This is followed up with a discussion about the inappropriate behavior and how to improve. No form of verbal punishment or physical force is permitted. No unsupervised isolation is allowed.

BULLETIN BOARD AND NEWSLETTERS

The bulletin board is the best source of information (on the outside wall of the classroom). Please refer to it often. A weekly newsletter will be distributed. This newsletter will keep you up to date on current activities. There will also be one posted on the bulletin board.

MISCELLANY

SNACKS: Please keep snacks healthy!
CLOTHING and BELONGINGS: Children should wear comfortable clothing for play that they are able to manage themselves. Bring a long sleeved smock or an old shirt for arts & crafts. Labeling of clothing is suggested to eliminate confusion. Please send a "school" bag & a snack bag with your child's name on them.
HEALTH POLICY: The health form must be returned prior to the first day of school.
If your child has a fever or is vomiting, if he or she has a bad cold or the flu, please keep him/her at home.
OPEN COMMUNICATION is encouraged throughout the year between the teacher and the parent. Please advise me of changes in your child's daily routine (ex: illness of a family member, vacations, death of a pet, or arrival of a sibling).
SAVE FOR THE CLASS: yarn, buttons, grains, pearls, fabric, paper, magazines, paper plates, cups, anything that can be used for projects. Thank you!

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL POLICY

A child must be picked up by a parent or guardian or other person so designated in writing by the parent. Please try to adhere to the school hours. A too early arrival sometimes inhibits the preparations before school. Late pick-up is a real problem to both the child and the teacher.

DAILY ROUTINE (times are flexible)

20 mn --- FREE PLAY: Arrival, greeting, peer interaction, educational toys & games, crafts, drawing, coloring, block construction, library etc.

5 mn --- CLEAN-UP ( French song )

10 mn --- CIRCLE TIME:
We sing a "greeting song", ( Bonjour comment ça va? ça va merci! ) Language stimulation, communication of experiences and feelings, story telling. We talk about commonplace objects and activities encountered everyday, show & tell. Traditional French songs. Fingerplays. Memory games (French vocabulary).

25 mn --- ROUTINE ACTIVITIES

* Discussion of day, weather, and season
* Clothes (what we are wearing today)
* Body parts (games and activities)
* Action/ Imitation ( fine motor role playing to learn French action verbs)

15 mn --- SNACK AND CLEAN-UP
( We talk about food and beverage, what we like or dislike)

30 mn --- PROJECT OF THE DAY

* Arts & crafts
* Science & discovery
* Introduction to writing, reading & math concepts
* Music, dancing, gym.
* Story time, finger play, singing, dramatic play

15 mn --- OUTSIDE PLAY (RECESS)
Recess is an important part of the program's planned day. It provides the children with an opportunity to socialize, to exercise and to play in a less structured setting. It also allows them to develop the ability to occupy free time creatively & get fresh air.

DISMISSAL

Christine Chaise-Greenwood, 112 Climax Rd. Avon, CT.06001, tel: (860) 677-6839 Email: fans@ntplx.net

All information on this site is subject to change without any prior notice.