I've been trying to speak to Madeleine in French at home, and I have to admit it was going incredibly well until she turned two. Suddenly instead of being content with French action songs and basic vocabulary, she was soaking up information like a sponge and asking questions about everything in sight... and I didn't know the answers.
I can still remember the first time she really stumped me (pardon the pun):
M: What's that?
Me: C'est un arbre (it's a tree)
M: No, but what tree is it?
Me: C'est un arbre très spécial avec un tronc argenté (it's a very special tree with a silvery trunk)
M: But what it's name?
Me: Ummmmmm... c'est un "silvère - burche"
You can see where this is going. It may eventually have occurred to me to say "bouleau", but never in a million years would it have occurred to me to say "bouleau verruqueux" (yes, I looked it up, so I am a good mother after all), and not only because it sounds like a tree with warts.
Perhaps Club Petit Pierrot will save us from a lifetime of Franglais. Madeleine got her first report card today, and apparently she understands very well and knows the words (I wonder who she learned them from!!), but usually answers back in English. She is also "a lively child and finds it hard to stay focused"... hmmm...must be from my OH's side of the family.
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