recent posts
- Media Tip: Who to Follow to Discover German-Language Books with Diversity Representation
- Family Viewing: Video Content to Watch Together
- Elementary Spotlight: Die Ampelchen Series by Anna Böhm
- Elementary Spotlight: Video Content for Ages 6+
- Elementary Spotlight: Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss Series by Ingo Siegner
Category: German for Kids
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For many families, including mine, finding German-language books that also reflect the diversity of real life or perhaps their own biracial/bicultural family is important. While it can be hard to find German-language books with strong diversity representation, these websites and publishers can help:
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There are many German documentaries and reporting that are not specifically for children, but can be fun for family viewing. Here are some channels worth exploring, but please review carefully and watch with your kids as not all videos are suitable for children and others may need contextualization. I’ve linked to YouTube for your convenience, but…
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If you have an elementary-aged kid who reads German well, but is maybe not 100% fluent, I’d give the 2025 Ampelchen series by Anna Böhm a try. So far there are three books — Aus den Ampeln, fertig, los! (1), Es kracht! (2), and Kann das weg? (3) that follow the adventures of two fourth-graders, Clärchen and Emre…
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Below I introduce a few of our favorite shows for elementary school aged kids and link to their official YouTube channels. Many children still enjoy the shows I highlighted for preschoolers, so check those out even if your kid is a bit older, as well as this page on where to access German-language video content.…
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Ingo Siegner’s Der Kleine Drache Kokosnuss is possibly the number-one most popular series among early elementary kids (as well as older preschoolers). There are 30+ books in this imaginative adventure series following two boy dragons, Kokosnuss and Oscar, and a girl porcupine, Matilda (Siegner’s website). Kokosnuss and his friends will get almost any child excited…
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High quality video content is invaluable for minority language learning. Video input is nearly essential to grow fluency and vocabulary in young children when only one or two adults in the child’s life speak the target language. German-speaking families are especially lucky when seeking out high quality video inputs for their children, as German public…
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If your preschooler is comfortable in German, you may be wondering which read aloud books will fully engage their interest and continue helping them enrich their vocabulary. Andreas H. Schmachtl is one of our favorite authors for young kids who speak German well. Schmachtl’s works are whimsical, funny and richly illustrated in watercolor. We love…
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There are a few commonly discussed methodologies for raising bilingual children, and MANY more ways language-learning looks in everyday families around the world. In this article I’ll discuss some critical questions to think through if you are planning for the future or trying to address problems that are cropping up. First, a brief summary of…
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You may be wondering why I put such a heavy emphasis on media on this site, rather than, say, parent-directed conversations. I have a PhD in Literature, so, yes, I do think reading is really, really fun, but I also know that media is a critical motivator for second-language acquisition. I’ve talked to many parents…
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Constanze von Kitzing is the author and illustrator of lovely, modern children’s board books (author site). She is well known for her series about a diverse group of preschool children, who have adventures together with their teachers and parents. Von Kitzing’s Wimmelbücher are really sweet and humorous. Here’s an image from the first book in…
