Students at l’école de Rœux love to celebrate, and over the last few months we have practiced English while enjoying many holidays together.

For Valentine’s Day, students made Valentine’s Day cards, following directions given in English. Students learned vocabulary related to the holiday, like “heart” and the expression, “I love you.” They also followed classroom directions in English to create their crafts: “write,” “draw,” “cut,” “glue,” etc.

The next month, for St. Patrick’s Day, students worked with this vocabulary again. They reviewed colors they had learned at the beginning of the school year and followed instructions in English to make a rainbow chain with a pot of gold. In a previous English lesson, students had discovered the Irish legend of leprechauns and the pots of gold these creatures supposedly hide at the end of rainbows. Students loved their colorful creations that remind them of this Irish holiday!

Finally, for Easter, students enjoyed a taste test of an American candy often eaten for this holiday: jelly beans. These multi-colored, sugary “haricots,” were popular with all students. Students again practiced their colors, asking the question, “May I have a green jelly bean, please?” substituting the color they wanted in the question.

And let’s not forget birthdays! Whenever a student—or teacher—has a birthday, we always make sure to sing “Happy Birthday,” and ask, “How old are you?” Each celebration provides an opportunity to practice our English!

(And I’ve enjoyed discovering French holiday traditions, too! Thanks to my students and colleagues, I’ve tasted crepes on Le Chandeleur and learned that while the Easter bunny “exists” now in France, the “cloche de Paques” is a symbol equally important. In celebrating together, we’ve exchanged our cultures and all have learned some new vocabulary—myself included!)