Programs
Our programs consist of two mixed-age classrooms. One classroom is for toddlers ages 18 months - 3 years (Le Tout Petit Programme). One classroom is for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students ages 3-6 years (La Maternelle).
(Discover the benefits of multi-age classroom grouping.)
Please select the classroom gallery you would like to visit below.
Le Tout Petit Programme is a bilingual classroom experience with native French speakers and a native English speakers. La Maternelle is an immersion classroom lead entirely by native French speakers. No French language experience is required for either program.
What importance do we give play in our programs?
Our young children have a need for free play! We are passionate proponents of plenty of free play. During free play, children choose, invent, and organize their play based on their preferences and their center of interests. They follow their ideas with freedom, without the constraints of a result or timing or even an expectation.
In our classrooms, we have creative play areas such as kitchens, doll homes, cities, and construction sites. The nature of the spaces and materials available inspire the children, but the children remain totally free to modify the space and reorganize it as they feel. Children build their own paths. It is always the child who chooses their activity and the way they want to play and explore, even if the teacher is making the initiative to bring language or a little “plus” in a very informal way.
Our pedagogy is also inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, particularly with our “loose parts.” Loose parts are “petits riens,” little things (or big ones!), often things recycled, organized in collections (for example: shells, rocks, sticks, feathers, fabrics…). The objective is to engage the natural curiosity and creativity of the children. These loose parts are gathered in nature or recycled form daily life and placed in containers and then available to children to explore whenever they choose. By making these loose parts available in the environment, we give them the ability to use their natural creativity and curiosity. In the richness of these collections, the child develops his imagination.
Accreditations & Affiliations
The French Académie is accredited by the French Ministry of Education (AEFE) and licensed by the state of Minnesota. We are also affiliated with the Mission Laique Francaise (MLF) and the Association of French Schools in North America (AFSA).
Our programs use the Minnesota Early Childhood Indicators of Progress (ECIP's) to ensure that your child is right on track in their development, in addition to the French Ministry of Education Standards in Maternelle. Students' progress is tracked in the specialized French software "Je valide” and shared with parents through a detailed report twice a year.