Learn about France: Architecture

Welcome to France, Tiny Travelers!

This week, we’re going to bring Notre Dame Cathedral to life! It is located in the capital of France, Paris, on a small island in the River Seine.

There are lots of fascinating facts about this beautiful landmark to learn. The name “Notre Dame de Paris” literally means “Our Lady of Paris,” and the cathedral is famous for the story of the hunchback who once lived there and rang its bell! Have you heard of it? The hunchback must have been busy, because there are ten bells at Notre Dame, and they all have names — most of them come from Catholic saints, like Anne-Geneviève.

Notre Dame was built over 700 years ago, during the Middle Ages! It’s a great example of Gothic architecture, which you might recognize from dramatic features like stained glass windows (the cathedral has three, known as the rose windows), pointed arches, and elaborate decoration.

For this week’s lesson let’s color a lively scene from the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, including the following elements:

• Accordion
• South tower (right)
• North tower (left)
• River Seine
• Beret

You might even feel a little gust of fall wind coming through as you color this lovely scene!

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Ask a Bilingual Expert

Raising a bilingual child? On this page, our very own Director of Learning Design and Efficacy, Sophia Espinoza, addresses some of the most common questions, concerns, and curiosities around the benefits of bilingualism.

Sophia Espinoza is a career educator and curriculum designer with seven years of experience teaching in private and independent schools across the country. She is an expert in 21st-century education, including technologically-powered personalization, multilingual and multicultural curriculums, and social-emotional learning.

Benefits of Bilingualism (FAQs):

Any advice on managing two Spanish dialects in the household? Does this cause confusion for kids?

Now that our world is more interconnected than ever, there are plenty of families where each parent could be from a different country in Latin America, with distinctive dialects, vocabulary, slang, and culture. And that’s totally ok for kids to be exposed to. Their perspectives are broadened and they learn to communicate cross-culturally, it’s a thing to be celebrated.

What do you recommend if I’m not completely fluent and my child’s school doesn’t have an immersion class?

I always encourage as much Spanish exposure as possible. Don’t worry about immersion classes availability or not being completely fluent as a parent. Use the Spanish you know, even if you may need to speak Spanglish, I sometimes only know a word in Spanish or vice versa, which is totally okay. Try to find ways to fill the gaps in your language knowledge, through apps, books, and music.

Do you recommend teaching different subjects in different languages? For example, the solar system in English and the days of the week in Spanish?

Parents who live in an English-speaking country need to remember that children are always going to learn English; Their world is in English, their peers speak English. However, it’s important to give kids as much education as possible in the home in Spanish.

We speak Spanish and English in our home but my child almost always answers or talks back in English. How can I go about encouraging her to respond and speak more in Spanish?

Many kids may be in a classroom where they hear English all day, before going home and hearing Spanish, and as often happens, they may begin responding in English. Ask your child in a very low-pressure way to try again in Spanish.

Should I set aside time or create activities for each language or is it okay to mix them both together?

It’s very important to provide authentic opportunities for children to speak both languages. Authentic learning opportunities allow kids to organically find the things they really love in another language, whether through reading, entertainment, music, or movement.

Any advice for households where one parent speaks Spanish and the other English? Can this be confusing for children?

It’s fine if there are two, or even three languages spoken in the household, what’s most important is that parents freely speak their native language around their kids.

How can my child learn language through play?

Play-based learning in children aged PreK/K should take the form of pretend play. Pretend play, where prompts and props are used to spark an imaginative game or scenario, are crucial in not only developing social skills, but cognitive skills too.

What are the social and cultural benefits of bilingualism?

Learning a new language goes hand in hand with learning about that language’s culture. It’s an opportunity to tap into the food, customs, stories, and other aspects of culture new to your child. Additionally, children who are bilingual can communicate with more people, bridging a gap between their world and the world of others.