Madre to Many: The Weight of the World...: Around the World in 8 Days

Around the World in 8 Days - Germany (6/19/19)

Today we traveled to Germany! The students were very excited to try out the German language. We talked about formal and informal language with basic German greetings and then took turns practicing our basic phrases. The students said that when they think about Germany, the feel that a lot of historical events that they recognize and remember, involved Germany and they were interested in learning more!

After practicing basic greetings in German, we started our art project for Germany! We learned all about kindercones. Students explored the history and purpose of kindercones and then took part of a community service project to spread the cultural love! Kindercones are cones filled with goodies that are given to children in Germany on their very first day of their education (kindergarten/first grade)! These kindercones are typically filled with a note, school supplies, trinkets, sweets and more. These gifts might be compared to an Easter basket or a May Day gift.

Over the past several summers, my school district has really made a valiant effort to provide opportunities to extend education throughout the summer. I am happy to say that the kindercones that our students made today will be given to over 70 little ones that are attending our summer KinderPrep program! This is a program that helps students prepare to start kindergarten in August! The program will prepare them and our kindercones will help excite them and make them feel welcomed into the district. The students included the following in their kindercones: mini-erasers, around the world pencils, a note from my students, a country bookmark, stickers, a bracelet made of fruit loops, and more! Many students wrote about their experiences in this camp, what they love about school, great memories that they have had, and their favorite subjects. This was a great way for my students to share what they have been learning, and pass on a love and excitement for cultural education to our younger, future students!

Making our kindercones really helped us build up an appetite to try German foods! Students explored three traditional foods from Germany: German chocolate cake, sauerkraut, and kielbasa sausage! They were overwhelmingly in love with the sausage, many enjoyed the chocolate cake and the sauerkraut came in last place, with a few students asking for seconds.

After filling our tummies, it was time to put our language skills to the test and move! Students learned the words eins, zwei, and drei in German. These are the German words for one, two, and three. These words were then used to play our game for the day! To play the game, all students lined up facing a teacher whose back was to them. Students then run toward the teacher as she counts to three in German. When the teacher states drei, she then turns around and students must stop where they are. If students slip or keep running, they must go back to the start. The goal of the game is to be the first student to reach the teacher. After playing the game several times with me as the leader, a student volunteered to lead the game, and I had the opportunity to compete! When all games had finished, the students compared the game to Red Light Green Light in English and said that it was a lot of fun! What a great way to end the day and run off some of our chocolate cake!