German Corner

[finknottle]

Deutsch or English
Native speakers, expats, anyone
From Brezeln to Bier

Please don't ask if you join in, everyone is welcome

For discussion of schools see separate thread

[SSSandy2]

Does she get hours and hours of homework a week admylin? Do you have to do some every day?

Well, dd enjoyed it but she enjoys everything first time round. Enjoyment generally pales after 6 weeks and disinterest sets in. She's a bit like me I think! I always start everything full of fervour and then give it up fairly fast.

This is the teacher from dd's Russian Saturday school who suggested I bring dd on Mondays and while she works with dd, I work with her 9 year old son.

He's a big softie, thankfully less monosyllabic than I feared, sweet but I find I don't much enjoy tutoring dc in English. I didn't like to refuse, you know, but thought I'd better give it a try. This boy has 5 languages: Russian and German as mother tongues like ours have English and German, then two foreign languages at school from year 1. He gets 3 x week extra tutoring in English in addition to schoolwork and homework in those two foreign languages and he is also learning Spanish at the Russian school where he spends all day Saturday.

He has a fairly mechanical approach to English. I think this may be why I have never really warmed to tutoring dc. He has learnt a text for instance, the vocab, infinitive plus simple past of some irregular verbs and wanted me to go through it with him but he has already basically learnt it. I tried to liven it up, get him speaking, widen the conversation a bit, think of ways of helping him remember things etc etc but although he went along with it most of the time, I could feel he is used to and comfortable with learning by rote.

What a stullifyingly boring text too. All "there is an apple tree" and "there are sheep" and "over here some of these and over there some of those" kind of thing about a farm. He has a grasp of the structures and the vocab he has already learnt in his private lessons but his speech is still wooden and clumsy and his pronounciation is still very Russian but I must say for a 9 year old "alle Achtung" on top of an 8 hour school day too and all his school homework. This is not to mention that his mum has him multiplying in thousands IN HIS HEAD. I can't do that, absolutely have no intention in fact of ever doing that.

His mum gave us a frightening amount of Russian homework to do too (yippee).

[SSSandy2]

actually he was asking me if every sentence in English has to have "there is" or "there are" in it!

I'm wondering what more interesting reading material I could find for him at his level. Don't want to overload him, seems to me he is doing enough already really. Can you think of anything that might appeal to a boy of that age who has been learning English at school now for 2 1/2 years?

[captainmummy]

Admylin - can I ask how long it took you to learn the language? I've been learning german for years, but then I'm in england. I would like to spend some time in the country (i think it'd help dont you?) but I couldn't spend more than a few weeks away.

[crapmomonMN]

Way back to the other day on this thread put if you are anywhere near Paderborn a woman is selling start right childrens shoes. Thats if you want English shoes. Maybe I will just go back to watching Corri!!! Sorry

[SSSandy2]

no way am I calling you by that name though! So I'm calling you FABmomonMN, Paderborn is a bit far for us Berliners but if you have a link or something, maybe you could put it up. Bound to be people here who could conveniently get to Paderborn. Whereabouts are you?

[crapmomonMN]

Am in Paderborn but will get the ladies details and post under a new thread - she is selling from 11th March so will let you guys know

[trockodile]

Yes please CmomonMN.

[admylin]

I think I know my main problem with shoes at the moment - ds is size 36 and abit so 37 is too big and in the childrens section shoes often stop at size 36 anyway but in the mens section there are never many in size 37 (although womens have 37's but that's no good for ds). There isn't much choice because of that, and ds is a fussy creature too.

I used to get lovely shoes when they were small, suede fur lined boot style shoes or little trainers - suddenly the nice styles stop in their size and you are stuck.

[finknottle]

Don't really have a problem with children's shoes - apart from ds1 always getting a pair with rogue laces that never stay done up.

Am quite happy in old gardening boots
And no, I didn't get a greenhouse. Can never really decide if I need one or just want one. Too pricey to buy on a whim
Was really after another pear tree for the orchard and got one and an apricot tree as well.
After 10 days of sunny but freezing weather here I want the temperature to rise so I can start planting things. Amazing sunny weather for Feb, though. Am off to hack down gooseberry bushes.

[SSSandy2]

you have a very green thumb by the sounds of things. Do you make jams and so on yourself out of the produce?

I spent a weekend at a friend's dp's house in (I think) Oldenburg. Can't remember now. His dm took in boarders and had 8 boys (!) and a cellar full of preserves, all sort of interesting combinations. Have to say I was quite impressed. She seemed so CALM too, just took it all in her stride.

[finknottle]

Made jam once Never seem to have any excess fruit - eat loads and freeze the rest. I like the idea of jam and chutney though.
It's like with the gooseberry bushes whose days /hours are numbered. We don't need 4 bushes of a fruit no one eats and I get told all the time to make jam - but who will eat all this jam? Am going to leave one bush for eating by the handful and the rest are going to make way for more raspberries.

[SSSandy2]

come to think of it I've never eaten anything with gooseberries in it.

[SSSandy2]

btw I made a carrot cake for this Am guy once and he told me his (German) mother used to make a zucchini cake too. Now I've never come across that one before. Have any of you ever tried it? I'd give it a bash if anyone has a recipe. Wondering though if it would taste very nice, what d'you think finks?

[admylin]

I was aupair for a family and they had a huge tree with quitten(?) that I had to pick up and put through a juicer, then make jelly with the juice and down in the cellar they had conserves covered in dust from the 70's as they just grabbed the fresh jars at he front, yuk. Quittengelee didn't taste very nice anyway.

Never heard of zucchini cake though. I've got some lamb shanks slow roasting in the oven, all the meat is just about to drop off the bone. Now I just have to manage an amazing gravy - would be easier if I had bisto!

[Kindersurpise]

Finally made it back to the computer. DD is ill today, she has a high temperature and a bit of a headache.

Admylin
Have you thought of Autogenes Training for your DD? A friend of mine started doing this with her perfectionist DS and it has helped.

I am going to join Finknottle in gardening this afternoon. I bought some lovely violas and daffies yesterday and want to plant some pots for the front garden. We have a really nice garden centre right across the road and I spent a good while in there yesterday. I only went over for a brush and shovel set because ours was broken. Spent over 40euros on plants.

FabMum (I agree that you are not a crapmum)
I would be interested in the lady in Paderborn. It is a bit away from us, but DH is there regularly on business so I could go with him.

[admylin]

Yes I was hoping the doctor would send us to do something like that for dd. I suppose I could try and find a course independantly but finding one for children might be the tricky part.

Have fun in the garden, is it warm enough yet? It's freezing here in Berlin, real curl-up-on-sofa-with-good-book weather! (If I had one, I've run out again)

[Kindersurpise]

It is cold but very sunny. Will dig my wellies out of the garage shortly and head out.

I am rereading books at the moment, must get an order in this month to Amazon. I rarely buy in bookshops now as they do not stock many English books.

[emkana]

Hi all
am currently in Germany and loving it to see friends and family. BUT I need to have a moan because dear me the Germans are not very helpful are they? Arrived at the airport, struggling to get three bags down from the luggage thingy while supervising three small children, two blokes who were obv people employed by the airport were just standing there watching me and did not offer to help at all!
Then yesterday on the bus I asked two people to move so that I could sit down with all my children in one of those four-seats, and they took that very very badly.

Was a bit shocked

[berolina]

oh dear em

It's funny. I would have agreed with you when I was pg, but when out with ds2 in the slign everyone falls over themselves to offer me seats. And people always want to help me carry the little buggy (which I could manage myself if I didn't have ds2 in aforementioned sling) but I never seem to get offers of help when I'm out with the big Teutonia...

(Can I cheekily say you are already getting reclaimed by the language - 'loving it to see friends and family' - I do this sort of thing too, in both directions. ds1 is sweet, as well - when he wants to know what something is, he inevitably says 'what is that for a...?' )

Stop talking about your gardens everyone We will be planting herbs, tomatoes and beans on our mini-balcony again I so miss having outdoor space for ds1 to play in, too. The playgrounds don't cut it... Thank heavens for the Botanischer Garten. Somewhere close by for ds1 to run around happily, pick up pinecones and sticks, splash through the little streams. The yearly ticket has been worth every cent several times over.

[Kindersurpise]

That is a shame, Emkana. I do think that the British are generally more helpful when one is out and about with young children. I had no problems when I flew alone with 2 young children when we landed in Scotland. Coming home, I had to beg someone to help.

Sorry, Berolina. I know what it is like to be without even a balcony, our first flat in Würzburg was tiny and I hated having to go out to get the sun. We were lucky that we had a big park nearby otherwise I would have gone mad.

DD is still running a temperature so she is home again today. DS did not want to go to kindergarten alone, but I wanted DD to have peace so he had to go. She is sitting using her Leappad for the first time in ages. She got it for Xmas 2 years ago and hardly used it. What a waste of money that was.

[admylin]

Emanka, what will you be stocking up on from Germany? When we go to the UK we usually take a folded up hold all in one of our suitcases and one case is usually half full of presents for family so we have plenty of space to stock up on branston, marmite and co, shoes and clothes for the dc and books. Never have enough space really though!

What do you miss the most? Books maybe?

Berolina it still isn't the same having a garden of your own though, we have a nice little garden with swing and sand pit and space to plant abit but we're on the 3rd floor so it's impossible to admire our little green shoots through the window, and it's like a real Ausflug in summer dragging all the blankets, drinks, books and bits n' bobs down to spend the afternoon in the garden! I would like a ground floor with garden but would I be able to open the windows at night and sleep soundly? Not sure in Berlin. My dc really dream of having a house with front and back door and stairs, like in England they always say!

[berolina]

Oh, have you lived in Würzburg? (You don't still, do you? ) This is one of a few possible options for us (well, dh's career, in this case) a few years hence. Will grill you if and when Is it nice? I've heard good things.

[berolina]

(sorry about your dd btw horrid, isn't it?)

[berolina]

oh gosh, admylin, a proper house, yes wouldn't that be heaven. I always think 'count yer blessings, won't you' when I see threads on here saying 'shall we move to this house? It's only got three trillion square feet of garden'

That said, I'm glad not to have the property-ladder stress, and I am soert of fond of our pretty Altbau.

[Kindersurpise]

We lived in Würzburg for 10 years and DH is a real proper Würzburger so can give you loads of info about Wü.

I loved living there, it is very affordable. The fact that it is a University town means that there is a lot more life in it. There are loads of nice cafes and bars, lovely museums, great parks. We go there about 3 or 4 times a year to visit the PILs.

lol at Admylin's DC wishing for a proper house with front and back doors. We have a house but the back door is a patio one, so not an authentic British style house really.

When we lived in Hannover, we had the same kind of house except the carport was at the back door. So I had to park the car, leave the DCs or drag them around the other side of the house, open the front door, go through the house to the garden to get the shopping from the car. Why they did not just put a proper door on the back I do not know.