Each fortnight, we give the world globe a spin, and see where we land. Then we take the kids of Australia on an audio excursion to visit that country and its people.
Join your captain, Christie Kijurina, on an audio adventure. Today, we’re off to France, the land of croissants, cheese, and the Eiffel Tower! This beautiful country, known for its rich culture and history, is the most visited in the world. Along the way, we’ll learn some French language, explore its iconic landmarks, and discover the secrets of French cuisine. So buckle up and join us on the Squiz Kids Super Fast Supersonic Jetliner for an exciting adventure to France!
For the full episode transcript, click here (https://www.squizkids.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Squiz-the-World-Goes-to-France.pdf) .
LINKS:
Virtual Tour of the Louvre: https://www.louvre.fr/en/online-tours
France’s Gourmet School Lunches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovO18E-hgew (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovO18E-hgewFrench)
French Onion Soup recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017256-french-onion-so (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017256-french-onion-soup) up
Baguette recipe: https://momsdish.com/baguette
Jeu de la barbichette/ Game of the goatee: https://www.whistlefritz.com/la-barbichette/
Squiz Kids Website (https://www.squizkids.com.au/)
this is a squiz kids podcast your fresh take on what’s happening in the world around [Music] you each fortnite we give the world globe a spin and see where we land then we take the kids of Australia on an audio Excursion to visit that country and its people I’m Christy kerina and today on squiz the world we’re visiting a country famous for its e baguettes and garlicky old frogs legs you probably don’t need another clue do you we’re heading to France this European country welcomed more than 100 million visitors in 2023 and is expected to exceed that again in 2024 that’s way more than its entire population of 64 million people and more visitors than any other country in the world let’s find out why strap yourselves in to the squiz kid super fast supersonic jetliner as we take off and take a squiz at France just the facts France is the biggest country in the European Union and the third biggest in all of Europe after Russia and Ukraine it’s known in French as La hexagon which means the hexagon hexa as all you Greek speakers would know means six and if you look at a map of France sort of squint a little bit and don’t look too close you’ll see that it does look a little bit like the shape of a hexagon with six equal sides but don’t include the island of Corsica and D includes some of the French territories scattered around the world maybe some of you have been fronts or seen pictures or videos from there give a silent wave if you’ve seen a picture of the Eiffel Tower it’s the tallest structure in the capital Paris at 81 stories high it’s the most visited monument in the world that you have to pay to see and one of the most recognized structures in the world or how about the most visited art museum in the world the L which is home to the famous Leonardo da Vinci portrait of Mona Lisa more than 10 million people walk through its doors in 2019 a record that some people think Beyonce and Jay-Z helped to set because of a video they filmed there it got more people to visit I’ve popped a link in your episode notes to a virtual tour of the Lou so you can visit too from the comfort of your classroom or your Lounge room other tourist destinations in France include the Palace of versailes nraam cathedral which was burned in a devastating fire in 2019 and is now being rebuilt the countryside of provance the ski fields of Shaman the rugged coast of brittiny the Villages of alsas and the glitzy beaches of berits France has something for everyone and there’s no way you can see it all in just one trip wherever you travel it’s important to learn a few words in that country’s language it’s a great way to show respect so let’s learn the lingo in France the official language is You Guessed It French and the French are very protective and proud of their language the academy France is an organization which is actually in charge of the French language it adds official words to French updates the meaning of existing words and because there so much English in the world nowadays the academy spends a lot of time trying to prevent English words filtering into French by choosing or inventing French equivalents they’re words that mean the same thing if you visit France you’re expected to at least try to speak the language today we’ve got squiz kid at Alice here who was born in France and moved to c when she was eight Alice how do you say hello in French go on give it a try it literally means good that’s Bor and day that’s bour people are always really grateful when you just try to speak their language they may even thank you for it and hey Alice how do we say thank you mer and mercy Bou to you too Alice now that we can communicate a little bit it’s time for school Believe It or Not kids in France must start school when they’re just 3 years old uhhuh they start in what’s called echol matanel which is sort of a preschool which introduces them to learning in groups sharing taking turns so it’s a lot like preschool here it’s just compulsory at the age of six kids then move to an echol elementary which is similar to Primary School here there they focus on Reading Writing Math Science and so on and in one week at school kids receive about 24 hours of teaching which is a little bit less than in Australia and they often have part or all of Wednesday off school that gives the teachers time to plan and prepare I know sounds good right and of course the kids time to do other stuff but possibly the best thing about school in France is school lunch up until students are about 12 French schools are called restaurant schools they have Cooks on site as well as servers who will even cut up the kids food if it’s needed local food is used wherever possible and menus are reviewed by a dietician now here in Australia you’ll often see kids menus at restaurants serving chicken nuggets or plain pizza or hamburgers without lettuce or tomato No Such Thing in France which is famous for its fancy and delicious food parents there don’t believe in a difference between kid and adult food so school lunch is wait for it 3 to five courses what you might start with a vegetable salad then have a protein or another vegetable there’s bread and cheese on the side and yes of course there’s dessert sometimes it’s just fruit but it can also be something like tart tatan apple tart or some other fabulous French pastry I’ve popped a link to a video showing you what school lunches look like in France but I warn you do not watch it if you’re feeling hungry it’s pretty mouthwatering I’m hungry lunch is the biggest meal of a kids day so they’re encouraged to take their time eating it they sit at a table for a full half an hour and are encouraged to socialize as they Munch and the cost of those meals to parents varies depending on how much families can afford but the most you’ll pay is about $5 for three courses wow one of the best things about visiting the country is immersing yourself surrounding yourself with its culture so let’s get cultural France is known for its poets and novelists its philosophers its art but as we’ve already learned French cuisine that means food is one of the most important parts of the country’s culture in fact French cuisine has the United Nations world heritage status which basically means that it’s been judged to have such an outstanding value to humanity that it’s protected pretty impressive for food then again every day in France two new cookbooks are published so they’re pretty serious about their food food is so important in France that since 2016 it’s actually been illegal to throw away food supermarkets face a massive fine more than $100,000 and even time time in jail if they throw away or destroy unsold food that’s still edible instead they have to donate it to food banks and to Charities you’ve probably already heard about a lot of famous French dishes did you know the average French citizen eats 500 snails a year served as an entree with garlic butter called ESU there are more than 400 different types of cheeses made in France some of them are a little bit stinky and although The Quon was actually invented in Austria there’s no doubt that the French have perfected this flaky buttery piece of perfection there are so many French recipes to try but I want something warm and Hearty for these cool winter evenings so I’ve popped a fantastic old French onion soup recipe in your episode notes top it with cheesy baguette slices and have some baguette on the side for good luck if you’ve got extra time on your hands there’s also a recipe for homemade baguette too the smell of baking bread in your oven M doesn’t get much better than that okay after all that eating I really think I need some exercise I think it’s definitely sport time unless you’ve been living under a rock and if you have stay stand up straighten yourself out you’ll know that France is playing host to the Olympics in 2024 but did you know that the country has already hosted the Olympic Games on five separate occasions second only to the United States who’s hosted it eight times France has held two Summer Olympics and three Winter Olympics and they were the second ever host of the modern Olympics in 1900 after the first one was held in its traditional home in Greece in 1896 French is even the official language of the Olympic Games because the creator of the modern Olympics and founder of the international Olympic Committee Baron Pierre de kuatan was born and lived in France one traditional French game that you won’t be seeing at the Olympics de la Babette or game of the goatey essentially in involving holding your partner’s chin while staring into their eyes and singing to them while trying not to laugh it’s hilarious and if you want to have a go I’ve stuck a link to the rules in your episode notes you’re welcome time for the squiz this is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening question number one which very famous portrait painted by Leonardo da Vinci is housed in the Lou Art Museum did you say Mona Lisa yeah that’s right question number two how old are French kids when they start school Yep they’re just 3 years old question number three after 2024 how many times will France have hosted the Olympic Games they’ve already hosted it five times so after 2024 they will have hosted the games six times well that’s all we have time for today thanks for staying curious about the world and joining me on this incredible trip to France now get out there and have a most excellent day over and out he