Help around the home with our family in sunny Provence, France

Infos

• 

  Description

  Hi! We're a French-British family living in the South of France near the town of Arles.
  
  I'm Anna, originally from the UK I moved to France in 2004. Benoit, my husband, was born and brought up here. We have two children: Simon, 15 and Chloé, 11. Simon has an intellectual disability, difficulties with vision and some difficulties with motor skills. Despite his difficulties, he's a fun-loving, affectionate, very happy teenager. Chloé is a very bubbly, determined, creative bilingual girl who loves meeting new people. We speak a mixture of English and French at home!
  
  We joined workaway a few years ago and really enjoyed the experience. We've just reactivated our page to look for some help over the summer holidays and possibly beyond.
  
  I work as an English and French teacher in Arles and Benoit works as a farmer (hay and olives). We live on his farmland in the house we had built in 2007. We live about 10kms from the nearest town where you can find all you need in terms of amenities, restaurants, cinema etc. Simon goes to a special needs school 30 minutes away and Chloé goes to the local primary school.
  
  We also have a beautiful black cat, Leo, who lives mainly outdoors.
  
  We have a good-sized garden and plenty of fields around us! We also have our own small pool in the garden for the summer. We also have a small craft-beer brewery next to our house which belongs to a friend of ours.
  
  The area we live in is really beautiful with lots of fascinating local places to visit.

• 

  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Pratique d’une langue

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Baby-sitting et jeux créatifs

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison
• 

  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  Visitors who are interested in improving their French and / or English skills will be able to practise both languages with us. As a qualified teacher, I can help visitors with both languages and will be more than happy to do so. I'm also fascinated by foreign cultures and languages and would gladly learn some of the languages that visitors to our home might speak!
  
  Another aspect that I think could be interesting for visitors is to exchange on ideas and projects related to education and inclusion. Inclusion is very little developed in France (my son has no access to school education for example) and this is something that I'm trying to change. I'd love to know more about how inclusion is promoted in other countries .
  
  And finally, visitors would be able to live in a beautiful, open, sunny (most of the year!) agricultural environment, learn about the production of the farm and visit all the amazing sites nearby.

• 

  Projets impliquant des enfants

  Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.

• 

  Aide

  We are looking for workawayers who can help us around the home and spend some time taking care of Simon and Chloé. Given Simon's needs, we would really welcome offers of help from people who already have some experience working with and caring for children / teens with disabilities.
  
  Over the summer months when Simon's off school, I don't work so I'll be at home but watching over Simon all day every day means I can't get on with other stuff around the home. I'd therefore really appreciate having someone who could take over from me for a couple of hours each day, allow me a break. It would involve playing with him, taking him for walks, taking him for a dip in the pool, feeding him occasionally at mealtimes and occasionally babysitting in the evenings.
  
  As for Chloé, I'm sure she'll have plenty of ideas as to how you can get involved...she loves coming up with ideas and projects!
  
  Benoit has a very busy farming schedule all summer which means that he's not often available at home.
  
  We'd also appreciate some help around the home, cooking, helping out in the garden too. We have a vegetable patch in the garden where we grow quite a lot in the summer so someone who enjoys making conserves, cooking up batches of vegetables, making chutney and jam would also be much appreciated!
  
  We'd be able to share meals with you, offer you time to relax by / in our pool or in the garden and you'd also have plenty of opportunities to discover the local area as I tend to go out and about quite a bit with the children.

• 

  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Français: Courant
  Espagnol: Intermédiaire
  Russe: Débutant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  Cet hôte a indiqué qu’il souhaitait faire partager sa propre langue ou en apprendre une nouvelle.
  Contactez-le pour en savoir plus.
  
• 

  Hébergement

  We have a 2-storey house on our farm. We live upstairs and we have an apartment downstairs for guests to use (with an independent entrance, bathroom, toilet and terrace).
  
  We don't have a kitchen downstairs but all meals can be shared together in our kitchen in the main house.
  
  The house is about a 10 minute drive from the nearest town with no public transport links nearby but we could provide some help for getting about.
  
  There is also a train station 7-8km from the house with links to Marseille, Arles, Avignon and beyond. Please be aware though that you will be in the countryside and not able to walk to any shops etc.

• 

  Autres infos...

  During time off, there's lots to do around here. Arles is only a 15 minute drive away where there are lots of Roman sites to visit (amphitheatre, antique theatre, underground passages etc). Avignon is just a 30 minute train ride with its famous Pope's palace and theatre festival in the summer. Marseille is a one hour journey in the opposite direction with a really eclectic mix of cultural sites, markets, ports and the sea! Then there's the medieval site of Les Baux de Provence just 20 minutes away and the stunning natural areas of the Alpilles (the little Alps) and the Camargue just a short drive away. We'd be happy to help you discover the local area.

• 

  Informations complémentaires

  • 

    Accès Internet

  • 

    Accès Internet limité

  • 

    Nous avons des animaux

  • 

    Nous sommes fumeurs

  • 

    Familles bienvenues

• 

  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  The visitor's apartment has plenty of space in which to work and you can use the house wifi connection.

• 

  Espace pour garer des vans

  We have plenty of parking space available

• 

  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

• 

  Nombre d'heures attendues

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Feedback (2)