My elementary children attend German Language School… a magnet in our Public School System or actually our neighboring public school district that my husband teaches within. It is an excellent school, also with an excellent rating and is one of the most desirable schools to get into if the 9 day campout for registration is any indication. For these reasons and others, it is worth any sacrifice we make to attend school there. Thankfully we’re in the school already and we never had to do any such thing like camp out to get our children into it. But we do love it and maybe we’d camp if we had to. Rick and I were impressed the first time we walked through on a tour with the principal to see where our daughter would be attending. The German classes are taught once or twice a day (depending on grade) in both large and small groups and usually reinforces regular classroom learning… but in German. Each German class room has a set of flags and when the German flag goes up there is no more English spoken. There is no English allowed unless the teacher makes a move to switch back to the U.S. flag (which rarely happens) or if a kindergartener needs to use the bathroom then allowance is made. When Rick questioned the age/grade level of the students we were observing several years back we were both astonished to find that we were in a 3rd grade class. Rick said he’d never gotten near that far taking German in college. (Our daughter entered German II as a seventh grader after leaving here and was “bored”). I am amazed at what these kids can learn. My children sometimes have German conversations between one another, one has occasional dreams IN German and once two of them tricked some other kids on the playground leading them to believe that they understood no English and only spoke this foreign language. So while they are still getting a strong academic education in their native language they are obviously learning quite a bit of German with puppets and songs and stories and all kinds of creative instruction unlike anything you will find in a regular High School language class. This stuff is fun! Here is a little of what Tristan and Kaitlyn did at the beginning of the new school year.
On the left is a poster all about Tristan. It is written and labeled completely in German and tells all about his birthday, family, friends, hobbies, pets and favorite foods and color. On the right (not in German) he enthusiastically is showing us a science experiment he learned in school… the upside down cup remains full of water! Amazing! Like magic!
In anticipation of Teddy Bear Day, the Kindergarten German teacher, Herr Heinze gave instructions to finish this Teddy Bear worksheet ONLY in German after just 17 days of instruction. These students are challenged not just to recite but to respond. After just three weeks Kaitlyn could give a basic greeting, tell her name, age and how she is feeling in complete sentences, count to 10, name five colors, sing “Alle meine Entchen” and “Guten Morgen ruft die Sonne”, tell what the German flag is and the colors of the flag and respond to rules and procedures given to them in German only. Kaitlyn is having a great time learning German and loves her teacher, who is new this year. Kaitlyn received “The Best Holiday Bear” award in her regular classroom after a Teddy Bear Tea Party.
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