CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL IN GERMANY

KINDERGARTEN

The most children spend the first three years of their life at home. The children are allowed to go to the kindergarten at the age of three years. The aim in the kindergarten is to support the company with other children and the independence of the children. Bearers of the kindergartens are the state or the church.

In the kindergarten, I visited, were three groups with ca. 20-25 girls and boys of different ages. Each group had it own room. Beside this there are a washroom, a kitchen, a gymnasium and a garden. Everybody were allowed to decide by himself what to do in the kindergarten: painting, make, play games or watch books. In the other time we made different things like lantern pour St. Martin, listened to stories or we sang songs. During the lunchtime we could eat something. And the older children had to wash off.

PRIMARY SCHOOL

Like in many other countries, children have to go to school in Germany, from 6 to 18 years. At the age of 6 or 7 children attend the primary school for four years.

That is a schoolclass at the first schoolday in Bad Krozingen, Germany.

I visited the primary school in our town. Each lesson lasted 45 minutes. After each lessons are a 5 minutes break. Between the 3rd and the 4th lesson are 20 minutes break at this time we were at the schoolyard.

In the 1st class we had 3-4 lessons a day and only one teacher in German and mathematic. We paint and sang very often. The school started at 7.45, 8.35 or 9.25 and finished at 11.20, 12,15 or 13.00.

In the 2nd class we had 4 lessons a day. And besides of German and mathematic "Heimat und Sachkunde"; art, religion and sport. Each subject with a other teacher.

At the 3rd (and the 4th) class we had 5-6 lessons. Additional we had "Werken" and "Textiles Werken". Moreover we could choose French. Sometimes we had two lessons in the afternoon usually sport or French.