Rethinking Inclusion as Mundanity: Insights from an Experimental Bilingual Kindergarten Classe LSF at E ´ cole Maternelle Gabriel Sajus in France Joseph Michael Valente 1 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016 Abstract In this article, I demonstrate how hybrid lan- guage practices allow for children to make use of their full linguistic repertoire in negotiating the social and commu- nicative demands of the school environment (Axelrod in Early Child Educ J, p 1–8, 2014). I argue that the unusual case of classe LSF and E ´ cole Maternelle Gabriel Sajus directly challenges mainstream progressive assumptions of inclusion that effectively exclude deaf children from their deaf peers. Current so-called progressive models of inclu- sion often isolate deaf learners in mainstream classroom settings with non-deaf classmates and adults. Classe LSF and E ´ cole Maternelle Gabriel Sajus offers insights for rethinking inclusion in early childhood classrooms in the ways that it provokes us to consider the inclusive potential of hybrid linguistic spaces for bilingual learners. Keywords Bilingual education Á Early childhood education Á Deaf education Á Translanguaging Á Language learners Á Linguistic diversity A Typical Day at E ´ cole Maternelle Gabriel Sajus Located on the outskirts of the historic, national capital Toulouse in southern France, classe LSF is the Ministry of National Education’s model deaf bilingual kindergarten. Teaching in both French written and sign (LSF—Langue des Signes Franc ¸aise), the school is housed in the neighborhood public preschool, E ´ cole Maternelle Gabriel Sajus in Ramonville-Saint Agne. On this sunny June morning in 2011, it is recess time and the playground is full of children, some of who are deaf and some who are not. Vanessa Andrieu, the lead teacher of classe LSF, is standing next to a climbing wall that is part of a larger play structure. Vanessa, who is deaf, is signing with her young student Raina, who is complaining that a non-deaf child named Dax hit her. Dax is currently one of several children clambering up the climbing wall. Vanessa and Raina have this exchange in sign Vanessa: Who? Which one? Raina: That boy! Vanessa: Him? Dax? Using her voice, Vanessa calls, ‘‘Dax!’’ He doesn’t notice Vanessa calling him so she reaches out to tap Dax on his shoulder. Vanessa: Dax, come here With the young girl and boy standing before her, Vanessa looks at Raina, signing, ‘‘Was he the boy that hit you?’’ Raina signs, ‘‘Yes.’’ Vanessa gets down onher knees to be eye-level with Dax. She speaks, ‘‘You shouldn’t hit her.’’ That hurts. Don’t do it again. Sign toher, ‘‘I’m sorry.’’ Dax signs, ‘‘I’m sorry,’’ then quickly runs off to play with a waiting friend. Vanessa turns to Raina, Vanessa: Are you OK? He didn’t do it on purpose. He was just careless. Introduction In many ways this scene is unremarkable and resonates with similar playground scenes around the world. But classe LSF and E ´ cole Maternelle Gabriel Sajus are & Joseph Michael Valente jvalente@psu.edu 1 Pennsylvania State University, 169 Chambers Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA 123 Early Childhood Educ J DOI 10.1007/s10643-016-0814-x