ecole maternelle

katerinaver · #1 (**permalink**) 5th September 2009, 06:04 AM

Hello,
I was wondering does anyone know if the child must be fully potty trained when entering french preschool? What about the creche do they have any requirement like that?

Bevdeforges · #2 (**permalink**) 5th September 2009, 06:55 AM

Not sure about the crêche, but my understanding is that the maternelle does require children to be "clean" - i.e., fully potty trained. The little boy next door just got turned down for the maternelle for this year, as he has a little ways to go yet in his training.
Cheers,
Bev

Lu_C · #3 (**permalink**) 8th September 2009, 10:31 AM

Useful info!

How easy is it for a non-native speaker assimilated into ecole maternelle? Also, how old are children when they start school?

My son is 3 and starts kindergarten in Austria next week but we want to be in France before he starts school. Ideally we'll be there so he can have a couple of terms in playschool so he can move up with children he already knows and can have a decent amount of French before his formal education starts.

All fairly irrelevant to your potty training question, but thought you may know with kids of a similar age.

Thanks and good luck with potty training - we're mid-way through with sorting #2 out at the moment, she's doing pretty well slowly!

Lucy

Bevdeforges · #4 (**permalink**) 8th September 2009, 02:41 PM

AFAIU, the maternelle is not playschool. It's school (though not quite as arduous as, say the lycée).

I've been told the starting age varies according to the area but can be anything between 2 and 4.
Cheers,
Bev

Lu_C · #5 (**permalink**) 8th September 2009, 02:59 PM

Ah I see - so much like Kindergarten here. A couple of hours every day of the week?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

AFAIU, the maternelle is not playschool. It's school (though not quite as arduous as, say the lycée).

I've been told the starting age varies according to the area but can be anything between 2 and 4.
Cheers,
Bev

Bevdeforges · #6 (**permalink**) 8th September 2009, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lu_C

Ah I see - so much like Kindergarten here. A couple of hours every day of the week?

Maternelle is all day school. At least now they've done away with Saturday morning classes. Most schools meet four days a week - there's usually no school on Wednesdays. But even the Maternelle runs from 8:30 or 9:00 in the morning to 4:00 or 4:30 in the afternoon.
Cheers,
Bev

frogblogger · #7 (**permalink**) 8th September 2009, 04:25 PM

Dim memories, but I'm pretty sure that it's six hours a day at the maternelle. No school on Wednesday. Used to be able to start at age two.

How easy is it for a non-French 3 year old to cope? Very easy in the great majority of cases.

frogblogger · #8 (**permalink**) 8th September 2009, 04:40 PM

Not directly related to the Maternelle, there is an excellent parents' guide to primary education (6 years up) in France in pdf format here. It's in French though.

Lu_C · #9 (**permalink**) 8th September 2009, 05:20 PM

SIX hours a day!? Goodness! He'll be in 2.5/3 hours a day in Austria, useful to know that 6 count there, I can up his hours nearer the time slowly so it's not a massive surprise!

Thanks for your help - sorry for hijacking the thread!

katerinaver · #10 (**permalink**) 9th September 2009, 04:12 AM

thanks all,
I was also wondering do you know anything about the creche or supposably there are also certified nannies, forgot what the french word is, who take on 3-5 kids, sort of like a private childcare, does anybody know if they cost alot?
I'm trying to potty train my son intensively now but if he won't be fully potty trained what are my options?