We are working on more German this year. I’m hoping that we can all speak pretty well at the end of the year.
I have found many free resources on the Internet for German this year. Last year we started with Powerglide German, and a German tutor. This year we are continuing with Powerglide (sometimes) – but we are also using new resources.
BBC has a great German learning program with videos. It’s a lot of fun. We are watching one video per day, although sometimes we watch the same video many times in a row if my kids – and I – haven’t learned the lesson yet. It just depends on how we learn the lesson on wether we watch the video.
Here’s the link: BBC German program.
I’ve also found a bunch of free worksheets on the web. This means I can print out worksheets and we can do them as a family – me included! We often have fun coloring them in, writing the words, and doing the worksheets together. My husband then gets the grade the worksheets. The kids find it pretty amusing that they get better grades than Mom. It’s also a way for my husband to be a part of our homeschooling experience, since he sometimes feels left out.
Lastly, we speak German. I have some phrases that I will only say in German – “It’s time to go home” and “Stop” – are always done in German. But we also have time at night or in the morning. My husband likes to speak German with them over breakfast in the morning. We also have found a great German restaurant in town. When we go there we only speak in German. We go at least once a month. It is fun to watch the kids constantly have to repeat their English words in German.
I think we are only able to do this because my husband speaks German fluently. I’m not sure I’d have the incentive to learn another language at this time and speak it with the kids if it wasn’t for my husband constantly challenging us. And to make it even more challenging – my kids are picking it up so fast! I feel so slow compared to how quickly they are picking up German!
Wunderful Homeschool 