Le Bain de Berk - Conversation starters and extension activities

I love children's books.

Story-time is hugely important at Coucou Loulou HQ and is central to the Mini-Bilinguals' sessions.

Today, we read an absolutely BRILLIANT story, called "Le Bain de Berk" by Julien Béziat. It's the sequel to another fantastic children's book, "Le Mange Doudou", by the same author.

In this story, Berk, le doudou, slips and falls into the bathtub - and all sorts of things happen from then on. The end is hilarious (especially for young children) and completely unexpected...!

Here are a few conversation starters for you and your children:

Pourquoi les jouets ne comprennent-ils pas Berk?
Pourquoi la tortue s’appelle-t-elle Trouillette ? Comment réagit-elle tout au long de l’histoire.
Et les autres jouets, tu te rappelles de leurs noms ? Ils ont un rapport avec leur physique, leur caractère ?
Imagine: si les jouets avaient compris les paroles de Berk, est-ce l’histoire sseeerait terminée de la même manière ?
Qu'est ce qui était le plus rigolo dans cette histoire?
C'est qui, ton jouet préféré dans l'histoire ? Pourquoi ?
Et toi, tu es déjà tombé dans le bain ?
Tu aimes le bain ? Pourquoi/pas ?

Playing with onomatopoeias

There are lots of fun onomatopoeias in this story. Read them and ask the children to 'act them out':

PLOUF - when something falls into the water

GLOUGLOU - when you gargle or drink

POP

SLUUUUURP

PLOP

BERK - the French for 'yuk'

Then you could attach an action to each one, so for example:

PLOUF - jump on the spot

GLOUGLOU - pinch your nose and gargle

POP - make your best 'POP' sound

SLUUUUURP - put your hands up in the air and spin, spin, spin!

PLOP - sit down on the floor

BERK - mime being disgusted

Perhaps write them out on little bits of paper, get the child to pick one (they may be able to read them themselves and choose), then tell them what to do!

You could even make it a sequence of actions to remember, or ask to do them faster, etc.

Water games

Children LOVE water play. They play with rainwater, bathwater, drinking water...

So here are a few ideas, related to water:

Rainy day play:

Next time it is raining, go for a walk!

Get your child to open their mouths and taste the rain, jump in puddles, touch the rain, and get them talking.

How does it feel? Is it cold? Warm? Tasty? Muddy?

Look around you: are there certain animals who come out in the rain?

Look at the sky, the clouds.

Draw them when you get back - another springboard for conversation.

Dollies' bath:

A lot more cosy - and easy to do. First though, spread a bath towel on the floor and perhaps limit this activity to the bathroom or the garden!

Now, grab some large tubs, or washing up bowls, some dollies who need a wash, pour warm water in the bowls and a little soap.

That's it - your children know what to do, and if they are anything like mine, they will love it.

You could even add a few small items of clothing to wash, sponges and towels for drying.

And of course, you should definitely sing Loulou's song about hand washing: "lave, lave, petites mains" - available on our CD, which will be out soon!

Have fun, make it fun, keep it light, and stay safe.