Hi Bertie,
If you're planning on moving to B-W you really need to talk to someone in the same state, as education differs enormously between the different states. Quite apart from anything else, they all have different school holidays! And the cut off point in Berlin is December 31st, so don't rely on it being the same in B-W as in Bavaria.
DD2 went to a Montessori nursery for nearly 4 years and benefited greatly from it, but it was an English-German institution and hence hardly typical for Germany as a whole. DD2 did do some practice with letters when she was 4/5 and knew her numbers up to 100, but there was no conscious program or expectation of what kids should achieve at a certain age. The Montessori junior school near us has a very good reputation, and I would certainly trust it rather than a Steiner (Waldorf) school, which are totally off the wall.
I'm afraid I hate the German education system right now, but that's probably influenced by the catastrophe that is education in Berlin. This is what I wrote on the recent thread about other educational systems:
"I hate hate hate the German school system, but I suppose in some ways the standards are very 'high', in a very restrictive academic sense.
The state school system is incredibly elitist, with very few comprehensive schools. Everyone else is divided after year 4 (age of 10) into one of three schools - grammar schools, 'Realschulen' and 'Hauptschulen' according to their grades in years 3 and 4. The grammar school is effectively for the children of professionals, the Realschule prepares people for skilled manual work, and the Hauptschule focuses on ensuring people can read and write enough to become labourers or shop assistants. Of course after only 4 years of school the place they end up at is largely reflected by their own parents' level of education.
The school system is largely based on continual tests and assessment rather than actual learning. Grades are everything and kids soon become disillusioned with actually learning content and are simply out to get the best grades - whether they learn anything along the way is irrelevant.
However, DD1 (13) is now in year 8 at a grammar school and I think the actual level of what she is learning is incredible - far more analysis than was expected of us at the same age. She's given a topic - diabetes, Copernicus, Beirut - and expected to produce a fully researched analysis plus competent Powerpoint presentation to the class. I think what she's doing is at a higher level than I had at O-level, perhaps because the school is so academically selective.
The downside is that it's incredibly stressful for the kids, and there's no alternative home schooling (illegal). DD1 has been suffering psychosomatic stomach and headaches, other friends have other stress-based illnesses. The grammar schools have the attitude, 'if you can't deal with it just get out', but obviously the other schools don't prepare kids for university in the same way (and DD1 is pretty academically competent and would get bored elsewhere). So I feel German schools have a very weird, traditional and inappropriate way of defining intelligence and academic success - it's designed to exclude people rather than include them.
The good thing is that the schools only start at 5.6 to 6 years, which gives more time to relax at nursery. In Berlin the last year of nursery before school is now free of charge (sponsored by the state), so everyone can send their child, and get prepared for school. However, very few nurseries teach letters or numbers, so if you don't do that at home your child will be disadvantaged from the start.
And - this is worst of all - the schools start at 7.55 every morning. Surely that's against the Human Rights Convention!"
Healthcare - generally expensive but excellent - way above the NHS average standard. Your DH will be insured via his employer (the employer pays half the insurance and your DH the other half, which is silly because effectively it all comes directly out of his salary). Assuming that you won't be working, or only working very little, you will insured free of charge (Familienversicherung), and your DC too.You each get a little credit card thing and take that to the doctor or dentist. You do however have to pay 10 euros per quarter if you go to the doctor - this is designed to prevent people going along for every little thing, which the Germans tend to do. Your DC will be seen by a paediatrician, and you can go directly to a specialist without a GP recommendation.
German - difficult at the beginning but gets easier later on. You just need to persevere with the grammar (gender and cases) at the start.
You might find extra information at a website for expats called toytown. I think there's a local section for B-W or perhaps even Karlsruhe. There's also the 'Land und Leute' section of Leo, where you will come face to face (as it were) with German abruptness very quickly.
All the best with the move!