hi everyone. i am so confused...
i have a son who was 5 years old on the 29th october last year. i was of the understanding that with the schools agreement he could go into, our equivalant of primary school this september.
as he would be 6 yrs in the next schooling year.
now i have been told that if he was 6 yrs before july this year he would have to go with out question. and next year the month moves farward´s to august. and so on every year.
How bloody confusing can it get.
Still even with july thing??? he is only in the may be able to go in september into school group!
does any one have any idear how the hell it works hear and have i understood or not?? we live near lörrach so may be it is differant over Germany. I don´t know!
The school hear are saying my son can not go up because his german is not good enough. i agree but... we are talking september and i can get him lesson´s if i need to.
How long if you don´t mind me asking did it take your kids to get to grips with the language. my son understands a lot after being hear 10mths but will not speak a word. is this normal??
thankyou in advance because i am going round in circles with differant stories about how things work hear. in england he would have been in full time school last september and was perepared for this. and in the kindergarden they are doing stuff with him he was doing a year ago and i think another 21mths there will send him and me round the twist. i am an experiance nursery nurse with 16 years experiance and really don´t see how things are going to work hear.
take care tracey
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Going from kindergarden into a local school question.
how the hell does it work here???
Tracey, you have a PM from me.
The decision in whether your child can progress to primary school depends on their age on July 1st.
If the child is 6 they are a 'Musskind' and must go to Grundschule.
If the child is 5 they are a 'Kannkind', which means the parents can apply for a primary school place, but it is at discretion of the school, whether the child is accepted.
Don't take no for an answer. If the school refuses a place ask to speak to the head. Explain your reasons for wanting your child to go to school, explain that your child would be bored and unchallenged at KG. Describe how you are helping your child learn German - children learn very quickly if they have German friends.
Good Luck!
If the child is 6 they are a 'Musskind' and must go to Grundschule.
If the child is 5 they are a 'Kannkind', which means the parents can apply for a primary school place, but it is at discretion of the school, whether the child is accepted.
Don't take no for an answer. If the school refuses a place ask to speak to the head. Explain your reasons for wanting your child to go to school, explain that your child would be bored and unchallenged at KG. Describe how you are helping your child learn German - children learn very quickly if they have German friends.
Good Luck!
Hi Tracy,
As silly point says, your child is a "kann Kind" meaning its possible that he can go to school. BUT,
I can not see them accepting him when he is not speaking a word of German.
It VERY hard if only english is being spoken at home, and an hour a day or so with german kids is not going to get his german up to scratch. Is the father german? if so, it`s important that he speaks ONLY german to the child and you stay with English!
If your both English, then I suggest getting Proffessional Advice!
As silly point says, your child is a "kann Kind" meaning its possible that he can go to school. BUT,
I can not see them accepting him when he is not speaking a word of German.
It VERY hard if only english is being spoken at home, and an hour a day or so with german kids is not going to get his german up to scratch. Is the father german? if so, it`s important that he speaks ONLY german to the child and you stay with English!
If your both English, then I suggest getting Proffessional Advice!
hi thanks all,
at least it is clear to me were i stand. and both me and my husband are english which makes things harder. but my son goes to kindergarden and in the afternoon´s clubs and out to friends houses to play. so that he can mix as much as he can, and pick up the lanuguage. i am going to talk to them next week. so i will see what happens. but my gut feeling is he will stay in kindergarden.
thankyou tracey
at least it is clear to me were i stand. and both me and my husband are english which makes things harder. but my son goes to kindergarden and in the afternoon´s clubs and out to friends houses to play. so that he can mix as much as he can, and pick up the lanuguage. i am going to talk to them next week. so i will see what happens. but my gut feeling is he will stay in kindergarden.
thankyou tracey
My son has been at Kindergarten for 18 months and is 5 in March.
His teachers say that his speech is good enough for Grundschule but my husband and I aren't German so it's hard for us to judge that. He understands what his teachers and friend's parents say and understands YV programmes but my gut reaction is that his German is not as clear as his other Kindergarten friends.
He has learned how to read in English and can write the English alphabet and is frustrated because I won't teach him to read and write in German. I won't because I don't want to confuse him and I don't want to teach anything wrong. I am learning German but my son's vocabulary is far superior and the stuff that I learn is not really vocabulary for a child if you know what I mean. This makes me wonder whether to go for Grundschule in September.
I also worry about the fact that in England he would be in reception and doing more academic things like reading. His Kindergarten has excellent staff and has improved his confidence immensely but we plan to return to the UK in the next couple of years and I worry about him being behind.
His teachers say that his speech is good enough for Grundschule but my husband and I aren't German so it's hard for us to judge that. He understands what his teachers and friend's parents say and understands YV programmes but my gut reaction is that his German is not as clear as his other Kindergarten friends.
He has learned how to read in English and can write the English alphabet and is frustrated because I won't teach him to read and write in German. I won't because I don't want to confuse him and I don't want to teach anything wrong. I am learning German but my son's vocabulary is far superior and the stuff that I learn is not really vocabulary for a child if you know what I mean. This makes me wonder whether to go for Grundschule in September.
I also worry about the fact that in England he would be in reception and doing more academic things like reading. His Kindergarten has excellent staff and has improved his confidence immensely but we plan to return to the UK in the next couple of years and I worry about him being behind.
Cath,
It may be worth seeking an opinion from your Kinderartz about your son's speech. If there is any problem with speaking clearly you can get a referral for Logopädie (speech therapy) which usually sorts out the problem quickly and also supports the childs vocabulary and grammar at the same time.
As for him being behind when you return to UK, why not just keep working at home with him on his reading, writing and spelling and do some numeracy work too.
It may be worth seeking an opinion from your Kinderartz about your son's speech. If there is any problem with speaking clearly you can get a referral for Logopädie (speech therapy) which usually sorts out the problem quickly and also supports the childs vocabulary and grammar at the same time.
As for him being behind when you return to UK, why not just keep working at home with him on his reading, writing and spelling and do some numeracy work too.
Hi,when I was reading your post about your son starting school, you reminded me of our problem when the kids were in Kindergarden getting bored to death playing all morning and being in a group of mixed age kids too and the worry about them being nearly 2 years behind their same age cousins at school in UK.
Definately I would say try to get him into school, mine are in year 2 and 1 in Berlin state school so all in german and they manage fine, one teacher thought my daughter maybe didn't understand everything because she didn't talk much and join in but I explained that she was shy and probably did understand and the teacher should please take note that she did all the work and could read any words that the others could read so it was OK. In the UK the good thing is when you return (and us too) you get much more support at school and they wil take into account the fact that you lived abroad. Here in school they don't seem to be bothered about extra help if you are foreign - the hardest thing can be understanding what the teachers are saying to you because ours don't even try to speak slower or ask if we understood, there is a russian mother who obviously doesn't understand a word but she just shruggs and smiles and then her daughter turns up the next day with the wrong things!
Definately I would say try to get him into school, mine are in year 2 and 1 in Berlin state school so all in german and they manage fine, one teacher thought my daughter maybe didn't understand everything because she didn't talk much and join in but I explained that she was shy and probably did understand and the teacher should please take note that she did all the work and could read any words that the others could read so it was OK. In the UK the good thing is when you return (and us too) you get much more support at school and they wil take into account the fact that you lived abroad. Here in school they don't seem to be bothered about extra help if you are foreign - the hardest thing can be understanding what the teachers are saying to you because ours don't even try to speak slower or ask if we understood, there is a russian mother who obviously doesn't understand a word but she just shruggs and smiles and then her daughter turns up the next day with the wrong things!
tget him into chool if you can, he will pick German up much quicker in school. The sooner he is in and the younger the better. Kids are very adaptable. Our 7 year old spoke perfect German after 1 year in Grundschule and 1 year in Kindergarten. We just moved to Belgium in August last year, she went straight into local French speaking school, meeting with teacher in December and teacher said she was fine in French now and required no extra assistance from her anymore and was being treated in same way as Belgian kids. They do 1 hour of Dutch a day which isa breeze for her as her German and English are perfect. So much so she was asking if she could move to a Flemish(Dutch) school. In short , if you can get him accepted then get him in. It will be fixed in 6 months.
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