French through Song
Nursery rhymes are how French children first meet their language, sung, repeated, loved. They're perfect for you too: short, forgiving, and impossible to get wrong. Here's a growing collection, with audio you can lean on.
First words
Frère Jacques, dormez-vous ?
The one everyone half-knows. Start here, night one.
Au clair de la lune, mon ami Pierrot
Slow, gentle, full of the clean vowels that help pronunciation.
Fais dodo, Colas mon p’tit frère
The bedtime classic. Doubles as your dodo ritual song.
Playful
Une souris verte qui courait dans l’herbe
Playful and silly. Toddlers adore the wriggling mouse.
Ainsi font, font, font, les petites marionnettes
Hand actions built in. Movement makes the words stick.
Growing
Alouette, gentille alouette
A body-part naming game in disguise. Great for older toddlers.
You don't need to sing well.
Your child isn't judging your pitch, they're soaking up your voice doing something warm and regular. Speak the rhyme if you'd rather. The words are the point.
Questions & comments
Stuck on a sound? Wondering how this works with your child? Ask here, we read every one, and other parents often have the same question.
Thank you, that's posted for the team to see. We reply to questions by email and add the good ones here.