Meeting other parents at school: The first encounter at pickup or drop-off
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Key Phrases
Vous venez chercher votre enfant ?
Are you here to pick up your child?
C'est notre première semaine ici.
It's our first week here.
C'est normal au début.
That's normal at first.
Skills You'll Learn
Introduce yourself and say your name in a school setting.
Se présenter et dire son nom dans un contexte scolaire.
Ask and answer simple questions about children, class level, and school routines.
Poser et répondre à des questions simples sur les enfants, le niveau de classe et la routine scolaire.
Express reassurance and talk about how a child feels when starting school.
Exprimer du réconfort et parler du ressenti d'un enfant au début de l'école.
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you’re at the school pickup area in France, meeting another parent for the first time and having a friendly conversation about your children starting school.
Bonjour, vous venez chercher votre enfant ?
Hello, are you here to pick up your child?
Oui, ma fille est dans la classe de CE1.
Yes, my daughter is in second grade.
Ah, mon fils aussi. C'est notre première semaine ici.
Oh, my son too. It's our first week here.
Bienvenue ! Nous, on est à l'école depuis deux ans.
Welcome! We've been at the school for two years.
Je m'appelle Emily Smith , enchanté.
My name is Emily Smith, nice to meet you.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
Bonjour
bohn-ZHOOR
Hello
Vous venez
voo vuh-NAY
You are coming
💬 [Vous] is the polite or plural [you]. At a school gate with another parent you will often start with [vous], then maybe switch later if the vibe becomes more familiar.
🇫🇷 Using [vous] with another parent you have just met is the safe default in France. Starting too casually with [tu] can feel a bit abrupt unless the setting is already very informal.
See breakdown →Chercher
sher-SHAY
To pick up
Votre enfant
VOH-tr ahn-FAHN
Your child
💬 The [t] at the end of [votre] is normally heard here because the next word begins with a vowel: [votre enfant] sounds like (votr ahn-fahn), almost linked together.
See breakdown →Vous venez chercher votre enfant ?
voo vuh-NAY sher-SHAY VOH-tr ahn-FAHN
Are you here to pick up your child?
💬 French often uses the present tense for what English says as [are you here to...]: [Vous venez chercher votre enfant ?] literally uses [you come]. You can reuse that pattern with another action, like [Vous venez pour la réunion ?]
See breakdown →Oui
wee
Yes
Ma fille
mah feey
My daughter
Est
eh
Is
Dans la classe de CE1
dahn lah klahs duh say-uhn
In second grade class
🇫🇷 [CE1] is a French primary-school year name, not a class label many English speakers will recognize on sight. French parents use these year names constantly, so it helps to learn them as local school vocabulary.
See breakdown →Learn this vocabulary list the easy way
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Guides for French learners
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