Event – Page 2 – Aux Petits Soins™

Aux Petits Soins fête Halloween!

Calling all ghosts, witches and werewolves — or should I say, calling all fantômes, sorcières et loup-garous. This Sunday, Aux Petits Soins will host its First Annual Halloween Party!

For two hours, we will transform Aux Petits Soins into a fun “haunted house,” complete with dry ice fog and spooky sound effects. There will be a craft table where kids can decorate their own pumpkins, a scary (but not too scary) Tunnel of Terror and more. Of course, we’ll incorporate French lessons into the fun, including learning French Halloween vocabulary words and some of the distinctive French Halloween traditions.

This event is designed for kids between the ages of 18 months and 12 years and is not limited to APS students. Space is limited to 20 kids, so make sure to reserve your tickets today. For details and more information, check out the event page on our website, or call (517) 999-7277.

French Halloween facts:

  • Celebrating Halloween is a relatively new concept in France, first appearing in the late 1990s.
  • At that time, public schools started promoting Halloween as an alternative to only focusing on religious holidays, as most French holidays revolve around Catholic traditions.
  • This new Halloween celebration quickly became a hit for kids, especially in small cities, as most kids from big cities travel during autumn break.
  • As in the United States, kids knock at doors to beg for candy, only in France their version of “trick or treat” is “des friandises ou des bêtises!” (“sweets or mischief!”)
  • Additionally, there is no couvre-feu (curfew) as all schools close for a couple weeks starting the third Friday of October.

 

 

 

First Annual French Culture Appreciation Week

The First Annual French Culture Appreciation Week runs Sept. 4-9. The event is designed to highlight French culture in mid-Michigan, and will culminate in a gift basket giveaway filled with more than $250 worth of gift certificates to local French-themed businesses and associations. Aux Petits Soins will also host free classes for all ages, including our new adult French class program, and there will be expanded open hours for the Aux Petits Soins Activity Center & Library.

To qualify for the gift basket drawing, all you have to do is pay attention to our Facebook page during the week of Sept. 4-9. Every day, we’ll be “interviewing” one of the French-themed business or association owners via Facebook Live, with the rules for qualifying included as part of the interview. We can’t say which businesses we’re working with (sorry, it’s top secret!), but the winner will have the opportunity to create an authentic French dining and culture experience right here in mid-Michigan. There will be multiple ways to enter, with one lucky winner picked at random on Sept. 10 at noon.

Kids who attend one of the free classes during this week will also have an opportunity to win a basket filled with more than $100 worth of French learning goodies. A winner will be picked at random on Sept. 10 at noon.

The first Facebook Live stream will be hosted by Aux Petits Soins on Monday, September 4 at 1 p.m. Then just follow the instructions in the table below to enter. Each action counts as an entry … the more you do, the more chances you have to win!

[table id=100 /]

Schedule of FREE classes

Our First Annual French Culture Appreciation week (Sept. 4-9, 2017) will feature free classes for all ages. These will include our new adult French class program, as well as expanded open hours of the Aux Petits Soins Activity Center & Library.

Here is the schedule for the free classes that will be held at Aux Petits Soins:

Classes for Kids (0-12)

  • Explorers I (6-18 mos.): 5 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Saturday
  • Explorers II (18 mos.-3 years): 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and 9:45 a.m. Saturday
  • Explorers III (3-5 years) 5:45 p.m. Thursday and 10:30 a.m. Saturday
  • Travel Bugs I (5-7 years) 6:30 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Saturday
  • Travel Bugs II (7-9 years) 6:30 p.m. Wednesday and 2 p.m. Saturday
  • Travel Bugs III (10-12 years) 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and 2 p.m. Saturday

Description of the language immersion programs for kids available here. Enrollment information is available here. Prices are available here.

Classes for Adults (18+)

  • Level A (débutant) 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
  • Level B (intermédiaire) 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
  • Level C (avancés) 7:30 p.m. Thursday

Description of the language immersion programs for adults available here. Enrollment information here. Prices are here.

The Carnaval Celebration

This year, Aux Petits Soins is holding a series of monthly family-friendly get-togethers based around French holidays and traditions. Our first two events —  the King Cake Party in January and the Chandeleur Party in February — were resounding successes. I hope to carry that energy into this month’s celebration, the Carnaval Celebration.

Most Americans are familiar with Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) — or as I hear it called here in Michigan, “Paczki Day” — mostly because of its popularity in New Orleans. However, I’ve noticed that fewer people here in the U.S aren’t as familiar with Carnaval (Carnival), which is big in southern France and throughout the Caribbean, where there are many French departments … and therefore a lot of French history. In addition to serving as a good excuse to eat beignets — and if you’ve never had one before, prepare to have your life changed — the Aux Petits Soins Carnaval Celebration is designed to introduce Metro Lansing to this important part of French culture. 

The Carnaval Celebration will be held on March 26 at Hannah’s Koney Island in East Lansing. Please join us!

First Annual Chandeleur Party

This year, Aux Petits Soins will be holding a series of monthly family-friendly get-togethers based around French holidays and traditions. Our first event held last month, the King Cake Party, was a resounding success, and we look to carry that energy into this month’s celebration, the Chandeleur Party.

Chandeleur is a distinctly French tradition, which essentially consists of getting together with friends and family, eating crêpes and drinking cider — not a bad way to celebrate the halfway point of winter, no? There are an increasing number of French-themed business in mid-Michigan, and we’ve teamed up with one of the most high-profile ones —For Crêpe Sake, a crêperie in downtown Lansing — to throw the Chandeleur Party on Sunday, Feb. 26 from 3-5 p.m. There will be crêpes, cider, activities for the kids, a French lesson and more. The grown-ups will even get a chance to try their hand at crêpe fipping, which can be surprisingly difficult until you develop a technique. More details here.

Next month, I’ll be introducing Metro Lansing to the French celebration of Carnaval. While most Americans are aware of the French roots of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) — or, as I hear that it’s called here in Michigan, “Paczki Day” — most aren’t as familiar with Carnaval (Carnival), which is big in southern France and throughout the Caribbean, where there are many French departments and therefore a lot of French history. That party will be held March 26 at Hannah’s Koney Island in East Lansing. More details here.

Guess what… it’s demo week!

Aux Petits Soins is a French language immersion program for children from birth up to age 12, taught by French native speakers. You can read our full story here.

We teach through the simplest method possible — by immersing the child in a completely French-speaking environment geared toward his/her age and ability. Building on the principles of Typical Physical Response (TPR) and Montessori methods, we’ve developed our own three-step method of foreign language education: Listen. Absorb. Speak. This method allows children to naturally soak up French at the same time they’re learning their own native language or languages.

Join us and discover our programs.

We have a great syllabus for each level. Of course, I’ll still rotate in things we learned in the past sessions to keep them fresh in everyone’s minds.

  • The Day Trippers will be learning new hand songs to sing during daily routines;
  • The Explorers will learn new vocabulary words about modes of transportation (including trains, boats and airplanes) and summer activities such as going to the beach, aquarium, farm, and zoo; and
  • The Travel Bugs will learn conversational vocabulary words pertaining to activities and hobbies from their everyday life.

Here is the schedule for the free demonstrations:

Tuesday, June 21
  • 5 – 5:20 p.m. Day Trippers (from birth to 6 months)
  • 5:30 – 6 p.m. Explorers I (age 6 – 24 months)
Wednesday, June 22
  • 9:30 – 10 a.m. Explorers II (age 2 – 4)
  • 10:15 – 10:45 a.m. Explorers III (age 4 – 6)
  • 5 – 5:30 p.m. Explorers I (age 6 – 24 months) (only for APS students)
  • 5:30 – 6 p.m. Travel Bugs II (age 6 – 9)
Thursday, June 23
  • 5 – 5:30 p.m. Explorers II (age 2 – 4) (only for APS students)
  • 5:45 – 6:15 p.m. Travel Bugs III (age 9 – 12)
Saturday, June 25
  • 9 – 9:30 a.m. Day Trippers (from birth to 6 months)
  • 9:30 – 10 a.m. Explorers I (age 6 – 24 months)
  • 10:15 – 10:45 a.m. Explorers II (age 2 – 4) full
  • 11 – 11:30 a.m. Explorers III (age 4 – 6)

All the demonstrations will be held at Aux Petits Soins, 1824 E. Mich. Ave., Suite F, Lansing. Space is limited so please register.

Please feel free to contact Gaëlle if you have any additional question.

 

It’s demo week!

Here is the schedule of the FREE demonstrations, to be held at Aux Petits Soins, 1824 E. Michigan Ave., Suite F, Lansing:

Wednesday, March 30:

  • Day Trippers (age 0-6 mths) @ 4:30 p.m. Register here.
  • Explorers I and II (age 0-3 yrs) @ 5 p.m. Register here.
  • Explorers II and III (age 3-6 yrs) @5:45 p.m. Register here.

Saturday, April 2:

  • Day trippers (age 0-6 mths) @ 9 a..m. Register here.
  • Explorers I and II (age 0-3 yrs) @ 9:30 a.m. Register here.
  • Explorers II and III (age 3-6 yrs) @ 10:15 a.m. Register here.

If you intend to come, please register ASAP so I can plan accordingly. If these dates get filled, I will add more dates. Also, please share this information with anyone you think may be interested, or anyplace you know other parents use as a resource for finding activities for their children.

You can buy a punch card or 11-week spring session here.

It’s demo week!

Join us at Aux Petits Soins on these dates for FREE demonstrations and learn all about the French Language Immersion programs we offer:

  • January 6: Explorers I (age 0-2) at 5:15 pm;Travel Bugs II (age 6-9) at 6 pm
  • January 7: Explorers II (age 2-4) at 5:15 pm; Travel Bugs III (age 9-12) at 6 pm
  • January 8: Explorers III (age 4-6) at 5:15 pm
  • January 9: Explorers I (age 0-2) at 9:30 am; Explorers II (age 2-4) at 10:15 am.

Demonstrations will be held at Aux Petits Soins.