After taking a little time off for the birth of my second son, I’m happy to announce that Aux Petits Soins reopens this morning.
I’m really looking forward to the rest of this session.
Author: Aux Petits Soins admin
It’s a boy!
We’re proud to announce to the Aux Petits Soins family the newest member of Team Ross! His name is Léandre Ibn Harrison Ross. He arrived happy and healthy just a little past midnight on February 12. For those keeping score, he’s 8 lbs, 2 oz. and 21 inches long. Maman, baby, big brother, and Papa are all doing fine, but would like to enjoy this bubble of life for a little while. Hence, Aux Petits Soins center will be closed for 3 weeks. Classes will resume on April 4.
Bonne chandeleur!
For la Chandeleur, celebrated on February 2, we eat sweet and savory crêpes and drink hard cider. This is one of my favorite holiday, because making crêpe is easy and you put everything you can think of on it. You can read more about the origin of this French holiday in the Newsletter Vol2, Issue 1.
If you have a taste for crêpes, you can visit the breakfast/lunch crêperie in downtown Lansing, For crêpe sake or make our own following Gaëlle’s recipe. Both adult and kids will have a blast while cooking and eating.
C’est la rentrée!
Aux Petits Soins’ newest session starts today and will last eight weeks.
The theme will be “Bonjour Mr L’Hiver!” (“Hello Mr. Winter!”) In addition to new songs and games, I’ll be adding new vocabulary words that will teach students the names of their family members and pets, winter vehicles, and anything related to snow and the French winter holidays. Of course, I’ll still rotate in things we learned in the past sessions to keep them fresh in everyone’s minds.
Here is the schedule for the upcoming session*:
- Explorers I (age 0-2) Tue. 5:15 p.m., Fri. 10:30 a.m. and Sat. 9:30 a.m.
- Explorers II (age 2-4) Wed. 5:15 p.m. and Fri. 9:30 a.m.
- Explorers III (age 4-6) Wed. 9:30 a.m. and Sat. 10:30 a.m.
- Travel Bugs II (age 6-9) Wed. 10:30 a.m.
- Travel Bugs III (age 9-12) Fri. 6:15 p.m.
*Schedule subject to change. Classes with less than two students may be canceled.
Please visit the program’s page to learn more our programs. To enroll, click here.
It’s demo week!
Join us at Aux Petits Soins on these dates for FREE demonstrations and learn all about the French Language Immersion programs we offer:
- January 6: Explorers I (age 0-2) at 5:15 pm;Travel Bugs II (age 6-9) at 6 pm
- January 7: Explorers II (age 2-4) at 5:15 pm; Travel Bugs III (age 9-12) at 6 pm
- January 8: Explorers III (age 4-6) at 5:15 pm
- January 9: Explorers I (age 0-2) at 9:30 am; Explorers II (age 2-4) at 10:15 am.
Demonstrations will be held at Aux Petits Soins.
Recette de la galette des rois
Depuis que je me suis installée aux Etats-Unis, il a fallu que je me mette aux fourneaux! Je n’avais jamais fait une galette des rois et après avoir essayé plusieurs recettes, j’ai finalement trouvé la perle rare sur le site marmiton.org (lien)… une recette facile et rapide. Ci-dessous une version détaillée.
Temps de préparation : 15 minutes – Temps de cuisson : 40 minutes
Ingrédients (pour 8 personnes ou 8 mini-galettes)
- 2 pâtes feuilletées
- 200 g de poudre d’amandes
- 150 g de sucre semoule
- 2 œufs
- 100 g de beurre mou
- quelques gouttes d’extrait d’amande amère (facultatif)
- quelques gouttes de vanille (facultatif)
- 1 bouchon de rhum vieux (facultatif)
- 1 œuf et jaune d’œuf pour dorer
- sirop d’érable (facultatif)
- 1 fève !
Préparation de la frangipane
- Dans un saladier, mélangez le beurre mou avec le sucre en poudre jusqu’à ce que le mélange soit homogène et mousseux.
- Ajoutez un œuf, puis la moitié de la poudre d’amande.
- Ajoutez le deuxième œuf et l’autre moitié de la poudre d’amande.
- Incorporez l’extrait d’amande amère. Mélangez bien.
Montage de la galette
- Déroulez la première pâte feuilletée sur du papier sulfurisé. À l’aide d’un pinceau à poil, appliquez de l’eau sur les bords (2 cm du bord).
- Etalez la frangipane (1 cm du bord) sur la pâte feuilletée. N’oubliez pas d’y mettre la fève (sur un bord, pour minimiser les chances de tomber dessus en coupant la galette!)
- Refermez la galette avec la seconde pâte, chassez l’air avec les doigts. Puis, soudez les bords en appuyant fermement. Retournez votre galette. Chiquetez avec le dos du couteau tout autour de votre galette pour sceller à jamais les 2 pâtes.
- Pour dorer parfaitement votre galette, préparez une dorure composée d’un œuf et d’un jaune d’œuf. Appliquez votre mélange à l’aide d’un pinceau à poil. La dorure doit être uniforme mais ne dorez pas le côtés, cela risquerait d’empêcher la pâte de se développer. Après avoir conservé votre galette au frigo pendant au moins deux heures, appliquez une autre couche de dorure.
- A l’aide d’un couteau, décorer la pâte en y traçant des dessins.
- Percez le dessus de petits trous pour laisser l’air s’échapper sur les bords, sinon elle risque de gonfler et de se dessécher.
Cuisson de la galette
- Préchauffez votre four à 200˚C (390˚F).
- Enfournez votre galette à 200°C (390˚F) pendant 10 minutes, puis réduisez la température à 180˚C (360˚F) pendant 30 à 35 minutes environ (surveiller la cuisson dès 25 minutes, mais ne pas hésiter à laisser jusqu’à 40 minutes si nécessaire). Ne pas ouvrir le four pendant la cuisson.
La touche finale! (facultative)
- Lustrez votre galette avec du sirop d’érable à la fin de la cuisson pour la faire briller!
Bonne Epiphanie 2016!
On the first Sunday of January, the French celebrate Epiphanie (Epiphany). On this occasion, we share a cake named galette des rois (Kings’ Cake), a pastry that has small charms baked inside. This pastry is also filled with frangipane, a cream made from sweet almonds, butter, eggs, and sugar.
I can’t wait to share this tradition with the members of Aux Petits Soins family on January 16 from 2-4 p.m. You will have to be kind because I will use local ingredients, therefore it will taste a little different. Nothing can replace the taste of real French butter!
Newsletter (Vol. 2, Issue 1)
Our newest Newsletter is finally here:
– find information about our next session
– learn about the upcoming French holidays and how you can join us to celebrate
– find a full schedule for our activities, classes and collaborations with our community
– learn about the new user friendly format of the adult bookclub
Click here to download it.
Bienvenue
Aux Petits Soins is a French cultural center offering a variety of services, including private and group language immersion classes and group activities for both children and adults.
The adult program include an ever-growing list of classes and events specially designed to highlight key aspects of French culture, with a focus on incorporating the French language as much as possible. The children’s programs start with kids as young as 3 months old and continue through high-school age students, using a three-step immersion system we call Listen, Absorb, Speak. It was initially designed to enable children to learn French the same way they learned their native language — through repetition of common words and phrases, using songs, toys and interactive games as reinforcement. But, it has been expanded to accommodate adult learners as well, whether they’re a little rusty from what they learned in high school or have never spoken a word of French in their life. All ages and all skill levels are welcome at Aux Petits Soins.
Our Goals: To unite Lansing’s French community and heighten awareness and appreciation for French culture throughout the region. To enable our youngest students to speak accent-free French while connecting with authentic French culture. To create a generation of world citizens in Lansing.
Our Mission: To eventually build a freestanding, multi-use community center dedicated entirely to the French language and culture. Stay tuned.
Hours
Aux Petits Soins classroom hours
- 9 a.m.-noon & 4-6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays;
- 9 a.m.-noon & 2-4 p.m. on Saturdays;
- Closed on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays
French Playtime
French Playtime allows Aux Petits Soins students and members (age 6 and under) to use the Library/Activity Center during non-classroom times. During French Playtime, children with an adult caregiver will have access to all Aux Petits Soins toys and books, and there will always be someone on-site to read stories and play with them exclusively in French. This will enable students to practice what they’ve learned in class and continue their French immersion. Please review our Library/Activity Center General Rules & Regulations.
French Playtime hours are 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. & 4-6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and 9:30-11:30 a.m. on Saturdays.
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