I decided to compare their Christmas in France to Christmas in England. I did this with the help of Father Christmas (my lovely knitted hand puppet).
I slowly pulled something out of a drawstring bag and to our surprise, it was none other than Father Christmas! He said hello to all the children and then asked them (in L1) which country they came from. They called out their home town! He double checked with their teacher who explained that they came from France. Father Christmas turned to me and asked me the same question. I told him that I came from England.
He was curious and wanted to know all about the beautiful decorations in the classroom. They're to celebrate Christmas of course!! He wanted to know if Christmas was the same in France and in England.
In L1 we looked at some photos and discussed whether we had these in our respective countries. I actually downloaded the photos from google images so I'm not sure I can show them here, but this is what we had:
- A plate of mince pies
- A Christmas turkey
- A Christmas pudding
- A Christmas tree
- A children's nativity scene
- A Christmas card
- Queen Elizabeth
- A Christmas cracker
- Carol singers
- A snowman
- A pile of wrapped presents
The children assured him, that, yes they do put on a nativity play and they have a Queen too who gives a special speech on Christmas day!! Of course, they always have snow (which is actually very rare in this part of France) and everyone gets presents sent to them from Father Christmas. Imaginary wishes and reality are so intertwined at this age, these gorgeous kids did make me giggle. It really was soooo adorable!
We finished off with a wonderful rendition of We wish you a merry Christmas, in English, no less. Bravo!! Bravo!!
We finished off with a wonderful rendition of We wish you a merry Christmas, in English, no less. Bravo!! Bravo!!
Then, Father Christmas went on his way. He is a very busy man at the moment, you know!
I plan to adapt this activity with my big kids next week. I shall be asking the questions in English:
In England we eat mince pies
Do you eat mince pies?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
In England we eat turkey
Do you eat turkey?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
In England we eat Christmas pudding
Do you eat Christmas pudding?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
In England we decorate Christmas trees
Do you decorate Christmas trees?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
In England we put on a Christmas nativity play
Do you put on a Christmas nativity play?
Yes, I do/No I don't
In England we make Christmas cards
Do you make Christmas cards?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
In England we listen to the Queen’s speech
Do you listen to the Queen’s speech?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
In England we pull Christmas crackers
Do you pull Christmas crackers?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
In England we sing Christmas carols
Do you sing Christmas carols?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
Sometimes in England it snows and we make
snowmen
Do you make snowmen?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
In England we open presents
Do you open presents?
Yes, I do/No, I don't
Obviously this activity could be adapted to compare any two countries. As a follow up activity, older children could write simple sentences comparing the two countries.
What is Christmas like in your country?
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