Gifts for 4 year old twin boys

Hi Sarah,
It’s that time of year again when I need help picking out gifts for my nearly 4 year old twin nephews who speak German primarily.

I would appreciate any book/dvd/game suggestions. You always make excellent suggestions. I am interested in the Dr. Suess book that I saw on your website.

Thanks-J

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Hi J,

Thanks for your note. Yes, the Grinch book is a classic. I've just put a new title "1-2-3 Minuten Geschichten" on the website - it's got over 200 pages of very quick stories. There is also an audiobook with the same stories - it will be in next week.

Die Weihnachtsmaus is very cute

Was können diese Fahrzeuge is a nice book with several stories about vehicles.

I think the Mini Lesemaus set is new since you last ordered

Augen zu, kleiner Tiger is adorable.

Na warte, sagte Schwarte is a very silly story about two pigs who get married and decide to paint all the wedding guests since, being pigs, they are all in the buff and dirty.

There's a great collection of DVDs called Abenteuer Sehen with 6 hours of classic shows for kids.

That should give you a good start! Please let me know if you have any questions.

Viele Gruesse,
Sarah

Book Suggestions

I have gotten so many requests for suggestions lately, I thought I'd post some of them online so that others may benefit from the ideas. I will leaving names and other identifying information off for reasons of privacy.

I hope you find this information useful! If you have any questions about what books are appropriate for your child, please send an email to thea @ alphabet-garten.com.

Viele Gruesse!
Sarah

Suggestions for Teenagers

Hi! I'm interested in purchasing a few books for my son, age 17, who has studied High School German for two years. We are a homeschool family and have used an online school (German Online - Oklahoma State University) for this language study. I'm wondering if you could possibly help advise me as to what books might be an appropriate level.
Thank you for any help you can offer.



Sincerely,

L

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Dear L,



Thanks for your request. How nice to hear from other homeschoolers! I am homeschooling my 3 little ones (7, 3, and 1). I suggest you take a look at this series of German/English stories- I think they would be perfect for your son with a good command of German - they should be entertaining and a bit challenging. They are a lot of fun.
Please let me know if you have any questions.


Viele Gruesse,
Sarah

All about Martinstag

Update: Don't miss our St. Martin's Day Unit Study!

Thanks to Thea Fortune for contributing this great compilation on Martinstag.

St. Martins Day (Martinstag) is celebrated on November 11 in many parts of Europe. St. Martin was a Roman soldier who helped the poor, was martyred and became a Catholic saint.

Some of the symbols of St. Martins are lanterns, geese, and Weckmänner. In many areas, the community participates in a parade around the town or neighborhood, with the children carrying lit lanterns through the dark November evening. Traditionally lanterns were lit by candles, but people also use glow sticks and battery powered “candles”.

For more information about Martinstag and St. Martin check out Zzzebra (www.zzzebra.de) and the other websites listed below.

Many ideas for lanterns can be found on:

Heiliger Martin (www.martin-von-tours.de/laternen/index.html) - 7 different styles, including one out of a paper bag, one using “käseschachtel” and another from papermache. The easiest lanterns I’ve seen take the coloring pages from this site, make them into a tube, and place a strip of black construction paper or black posterboard at the top and bottom – punch holes in the top to run a string through.

Bastelstunde.de (http://www.bastelstunde.de/Papier___Pappe/Herbst/herbst.html)

Kidsweb.de (www.kidsweb.de) – many kid friendly activities including a variety of lanterns.

ZZZebra (www.zzzebra.de) – lots of seasonally appropriate activities for kids including a “laternen-werkstatt”.

While on parade, it’s fun to sing simple folksongs such as “Laterne, Laterne”, and “Ich geh’ mit meiner Laterne”
www.zzzebra.de

Goose is often served for dinner on Martinstag, and Heiliger Martin has several appropriate recipes (www.martin-von-tours.de/rezepte/) .

Recipe for Weckman is on Zzzebra, which is fun to do with your kids : www.zzzebra.de

Christmas Titles

We have so many wonderful new titles for Christmas! Here are a few that are sure to make your season sparkle!

Die neue Liederfibel zur Weihnachstzeit

This songbook is such a beautiful accompaniment for Christmas time. I love the colorful illustrations on the cover and throughout. My kids always get a kick out of my playing the piano (melody only!) and this book will make it easy for me to play some of these songs for them. The melody is provided in fairly large musical notation, 1 song per double page spread.

The CD is also a great addition - I'm always looking for good Christmas CDs. The children's voices are so sweet and listening put me in such a Christmas mood! Isn't it a bit early for that? :)

Listen to a sound clip.

Please note - the book and the CD are sold separately and also as a set so make sure to pick the set if you want them both.

Die neue Liederfibel zur Weihnachtszeit Book / CD Set $58.80 (save 12%)

Die neue Liederfibel zur Weihnachstzeit (book) $41.50

Die neue Liederfibel zur Weihnachstzeit (CD) $24.99

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Die Weihnachtsmaus (Laterne, Laterne)

The most famous poem from James Krüss. A treat for all.

Die Weihnachtsmaus (Laterne, Laterne) $13.90