In St Remy, not too far away, the mas des figues organises nice and simple cooking class
http://www.masdesfigues.com/stagescuisine.aspx
the description is only in French...
The place is also a B&B and a farm. Getting there you'll get to see the animals (not a wild cattel). If during the season, you'll pick your fruits & veg from their own organic garden and do the cooking (dishes you'll be able to cook on your own when back home .
I love the place and anne marie is very friendly.
The plus is that you'll gain also access to their roses' garden with 850 rose tress.
Tell them Philippe sent you.
And St Remy could also be a fun day out for the kids.
The roman ruins have activities for kids (need to check what's on for this year).
And eventually, the nearby Castle of Les Baux de Provence had last year kids activities around the medieval war (see and touch the weapons uses then).
If you want info about St Remy, check:
http://saintremydeprovencetourism.blogspot.fr/

Hope that will help

What would you expect a 3, 8 and 10 year old to cook at an authentic French cooking experience?

Do they cook at home? If it's not something they are excited about, I can't see them happily spending 4 hours in a kitchen. And a 3 year old in a cooking class???

Well if mummy thinks they'll enjoy it, we can trust her. And I've seen child enjoying cooking and learning... Plus there is usually something else to do around for them.

<< Most of the classes and schools we have found seem a little too "high end" for our needs. >>

Every time I look at cooking classes, no matter where they are located, they are always expensive.

Thanks everyone. I will check out St Remy for sure, Philippe.
Of course I am not expecting my 3 year-old to actually DO very much(if anything). If it is child-friendly then I am hoping the kids can help a little, play a little, and then hopefully eat a lot!!! It's more the experience for them than actually accomplishing much. But for the adults I would hope we could learn to cook a few dishes and learn a bit more about French food.
Merci!

To Adrienne, I agree, rates are usually expensive.. However I found a few places with "reasonnable" rates. The one I mention will be under 100 € (dont know the rate for 2013) and in St Remy we also have Patissier offering patisserie workshop (croissant, macaron , millefeuille, nougat, biscuit)... A 2hrs workshop is at 40 € per person.

Philippe - the pastry workshop sounds yummy! I'm making a note of this. Thanks!

I wouldn't expect them to allow children to play in a cooking school while they are having class, that really sounds unusual.

The only way to get what you want would probably be to hire someone privately just for your family to do this thing, and that won't be cheap.

I've just never heard of that and I've known several people going to cooking school in Europe. DO you know of any cooking school that allows the clients to bring their young children with them to class? I mean have you been to one, it sounds like you have so I wondered.

I agree, the pastry class sounds amazing but most likely not child friendly.
The reason I initially asked is because when we are in Tuscany we have a class booked with a local woman who owns a small restaurant. She does classes at her restaurant or at the client's rental property that are geared towards the needs of the people booking (family, all adults, etc)
Thanks for the ideas.