This week, we read Die Kleine Raupe Nimmersatt which is the German version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. A lot of people don't realize this, but Eric Carle's parents were actually German immigrants. His mother was so homesick, however, that she brought the family back to Germany when Eric was six years old. He was raised in Germany. His father was drafted to serve in World War II and was captured by the Soviets. He came home weighing only 85 pounds. Eric was forced to dig trenches for the Siegfried Line at the age of 15. He went studied art in Stuttgart, but always wanted to return to America, the place of his happiest childhood memories. So after graduation, he moved to New York with his art degree and $40 in his pocket.
This is an adorable little animation of the story in German to help your children learn more of the vocabulary found in the story.
And if your children enjoy songs, here is the story, sung in German.
This is a short activity to practice the days of the week. We have not gone over this a great deal in class, but it is in the story and in their minibooks they brought home. In the activity, the speaker asks "Welcher Tag ist heute?" (What day is today?). It then says the day and circles it in the calendar. Type the name of the day correctly in the blank (just copy what is circled and don't forget to capitalize the first letter). Good luck!
Next week, there is no class. After that, we will be celebrating St. Nicholas Day with cocoa, a specialty cookie from East Frisia, some holiday Bingo and we'll practice Oh Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree) to sing at the talent show. Parents are more than welcome to join us for class. I'll have extra cookies for everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment