Product Description
-------------------
Winner of a Mom's Choice Awards GOLD Award; winner of a
2017 Tillywig Toy & Media Brain Child Award; winner of The
National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval; endorsed by KIDS
FIRST!; Highly Recommended; by Midwest Book Review; winner of an
Academics' Choice Smart Media Award Children love a birthday
party, especially when it's their own. But when is Fritzi's
birthday? Join the fun-loving Fritzi the mouse and his friend
Marie for Les Saisons (The Seasons), a festive sing-along,
dance-along introduction to French language-learning. From
l'hiver (winter) to l'automne (autumn), it's a year-round
celebration as children learn words and phrases associated with
all four seasons. This lively interactive French immersion
program engages children with colorful backgrounds, animated
characters, catchy original songs, and live-action footage of
familiar year-round activities, including sledding and snowball
throwing, splashing in puddles, swimming, playing in leaves, and
trick-or-treating. Upbeat live-action speakers introduce and
reinforce basic French words and phrases through
call-and-response and repetition. The video includes an
easy-to-use translation guide for parents and teachers, as well
as French and English subtitles. Designed for ages 1-7, Les
Saisons (The Seasons) is fun for all ages! Make a playdate with
Fritzi and friends for this delightful addition to Whistlefritz's
award-winning French for Kids series.
Review
------
It's not often that we get reviews from testers that
call a product flawless and the gold standard, but this new
release from multi-Seal-winning Whistlefritz garnered both
reactions. We all know that kids love screen time, so getting
them interested in watching a video is easy enough. But, getting
them to watch half an hour in another language? That's another
story. Les Saisons is hosted/taught by Marie, a warm, engaging
and energetic host. Children were instantly drawn to her smiling
enthusiasm. Together with her animated friend, a mouse named
Fritzi, lesson time becomes fun time. There is live action mixed
with colorful animation. Marie teaches about the four seasons
directly into the camera, then draws the viewer's attention to an
illustrated window with animation about the seasons. The tone is
playful with just the right a of silly. There are a diverse
group of children in the video, ranging in age and race, who also
speak into the camera. They repeat the French words being taught
and laugh at things that are funny. Laughing is a major component
in immersion since it's a connecting experience. And the songs!
There are extremely catchy, original tunes about the seasons that
accompany videos of children playing in winter, spring, summer
and fall. --The National Parenting Center, Spring 2017 Report
Children find the perpetually playful mix of live action and
colorful animation in this educational video to be so thoroughly
entertaining that the cliche, 'They're not even aware they're
learning', holds true. Behind this remarkable feat is the deep
care and attention Whistlefritz puts into creating their
language-learning products. The immersion method (everything is
spoken in French) is a highly effective approach to teaching a
second language, allowing kids to readily absorb meaning through
context and repetition. This sing-along, dance-along funfest
keeps viewers smiling and laughing the time away while onscreen
players Fritzi, Marie, and a French-speaking entourage of
children engage in a host of verbal exchanges and fun activities.
The sheer pleasure of it keeps young viewers coming back, again
and again, as they learn a variety of words and phrases
associated with all four seasons. Available in digital file or as
a beautifully packaged DVD. --Tillywig Toy and Media Awards
As a French teacher and a parent with dreams of bilingual
children, I consider Whistlefritz's Les saisons DVD to be an
excellent tool for introducing young children to French. If your
children are starting French immersion or have French-speaking
family members, this is a great way to reinforce what they are
already hearing. Even if your children have no previous
experience with French, they'll definitely pick up some
vocabulary and pronunciation after a couple of viewings. --Maman
Loup's Den