summer school 2024

Summer School 2024

I can’t believe that both the Olympics and summer vacation are over, but here we are. There were so many great moments, and today I’m taking a look back at our Paris 2024-themed summer school, starting with our visit to the Olympic Spectacular right here in St. Louis:

We made our favorite edible Olympic torches, and had a lovely toast to Paris 2024 with sparkling cider. I’m not going to lie, I was a little mad that we had already built the Lego Eiffel Tower years ago, because it would have been a nice summer school activity, but at least we had a ready-made centerpiece!

Our big activity for the summer was trying out some French recipes. We cooked a lot of different things, starting with a special series of meals for the Opening Ceremonies, and culminating with the pièce de résistance of the summer (and maybe my culinary career!), the Croquembouche. It’s nice that we’re finally at a point where both Ladybug and Chickadee can do a lot in the kitchen!

  • Croissants
  • Salade Niçoise
  • Vichyssoise
  • Bœuf Bourgignon
  • Macarons
  • Crepes
  • Salade Lyonnaise
  • Quiche Lorraine
  • Chocolate Soufflé
  • Gougères
  • Lavender Madeleines
  • Steak au Poivre with Red Wine Pan Sauce
  • Plateau de Fromages
  • Lemon-glazed French Sable Cookies
  • Croquembouche

I had a good book list, but coming up with crafts beyond cooking was a bit of a challenge. We did try to be fashion designers…do you think we’re ready for French haute couture?

And of course we made medals:

We had a lot of fun being creative with cooking and crafts!

I’m so glad Ticket to Ride Paris came out in time for us to play this summer! And we also played Ticket to Ride France (and watched all of the episodes of Rick Steves’ Europe we have set in France), which educated us on just how little we know about French geography!

Here’s a look at our complete medal table…Team USA definitely won!

Summer wrapped up quickly…on Monday, we begin the 2024-25 school year!

A French Feast for the Opening Ceremonies

Mesdames et Messieurs, la Cérémonie d’ouverture de Paris 2024!

Today is the Olympics Opening Ceremony I’ve been waiting for for eight years! While I enjoyed the Tokyo 2020(1) Games, it just wasn’t the same, and we all know it. But Paris 2024 is going to be the Olympics we all remember from pre-Covid days, and I can’t wait. Of course I planned a day full of French recipes to get us in the proper spirt, beginning with homemade croissants for breakfast, served with butter, Nutella, and homemade blueberry jam:

For lunch, I made Salade Niçoise. I liked it, but the best I can say for everybody else is that they found aspects of the salad they enjoyed. We did discover that we really like seven-and-a-half minute eggs, though!

For the soup course, I made Vichyssoise, which I thought was really interesting. The flavor was excellent, but it is a different experience eating cold soup!

I made the classic French dish, Bœuf Bourgignon, for dinner. It was A LOT of work, but really delicious!

We didn’t have champagne, but we did still have a toast to Paris 2024!

For dessert, Ladybug made macarons. I tried to help, but as it turns out, macarons are above my pay grade. She kindly let me help fill them, though. They’re so delicious, and we’re looking forward to making them again!

I have a few other French recipes I want to try over the next two weeks, but mostly, I’m just ready to watch the Olympic Games!!!

What We’re Reading–Paris 2024

The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics are only one week away! As usual, I planned this year’s summer school to coincide with The Games. Between the books I already had about the Olympics and some Olympians, and a few that I bought focused on France (including food, art, and fashion), I think we have a pretty good reading list. Also included are some DVDs (featuring Rick Steves), a CD, a craft kit (fashion-focused to fit the Paris theme), and a game (Ticket to Ride Paris came out just in time!). We’re also planning on doing some French cooking (I did promise, however, not to make snails!).

  • Rick Steves Pocket Paris
  • Mastering the Art of French Cooking volumes one and two
  • My Life in France
  • A Bite-Sized History of France: Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War, and Enlightenment
  • The Little Prince
  • Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress
  • Linnea in Monet’s Garden
  • Where is the Eiffel Tower?
  • 2024 Paris Summer Olympics Activity Book
  • Paris Through a Fashion Eye
  • Courage to Soar
  • Fast Girls: A Novel of the 1936 Women’s Olympic Team
  • DK Eyewitness Books: Olympics
  • Great Moments in the Summer Olympics
  • What are the Summer Olympics?
  • How to Train with a T. Rex and Win Eight Gold Medals
  • The Wildest Race Ever
  • Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn’t Sit Still
  • The Story of the Olympics Games
  • Fashion Design Kit
  • Ticket to Ride Paris
  • Debussy for Daydreaming
  • 100 Years of Olympic Films
  • Rick Steves Europe: Paris and the Loire & France’s Countryside

The only thing missing from this list is a Lego set, which I try to include whenever possible, but we already have the Paris landmarks, and although it is a beautiful set, I can’t afford Notre-Dame de Paris at the moment.