Preparing your child for school in Germany and first day at school rituals
Published 27 days ago • 6 min read
Before your children can attend school, they should be able to do...
In Germany, kids go to school when they are 6 or 7 years old. However, they must meet certain requirements before German primary schools admit them.
Don't worry; the schools don't expect your child to read, write, or do math. What they expect is the following
the child can understand and speak German
can dress and undress independently
able to resolve conflicts themselves (with words)
okay, being separated from the parents
communicate with other children and adults
go to the toilet independently and cleanly
These are some of the main things, but the list goes on. The complete checklist is available here.
In short, the school wants the child to have good social, motor, and linguistic skills and emotional stability.
First day at school rituals
As a foreigner in Germany, I found German's first day at school tradition amazing. The rituals make going to school fun and an amazing memory for everyone.
You must be wondering what the Germans do.
The school prepares a welcome event for all the new children. There is a performance from the kids in the 2nd grade, a speech from the school's principal, the mingling of the parents and other kids, and much more.
Your child marches through the narrow corridor made by the 2nd graders, welcoming the new kids to school.
But this is not all. The preparation and fun to start school begins way before the first day.
Every child in Germany brings a "schultüte" on their first school day. Do you know what a schultüte is?
No worries. I haven't heard of it either since recently.
Schultüte is a big cone you can make at home or buy on Amazon. The cone is as big as your kid is, and it's filled with candies and the things your child will need in school.
A child carrying a schultüte and a backpack on her first day of school
Parents and children decorate the schultüte to their hearts' content. Some kids choose the frozen princess theme, and others choose Spider-Man.
Seeing so many colorful, sparkly schultüte in the hands of young kids is a site to see.
Additionally, parents and children enjoy shopping for the school bag. There is a huge variety of school bags in Germany. You'll be surprised how fancy and expensive they can be.
You will easily spend over a hundred euros on school bags and supplies. However, seeing the smile on your child's face makes all this effort worth it.
These first-day-at-school activities not only make the day memorable but also get kids excited about going to school.
New on GermanPedia
Public vs private schools in Germany
Germany is famous for free high-standard education. However, the trend of sending kids to private schools has been on the rise.
You pay around 200 to 800 € per month in private schools in Germany. What is behind this trend?
Are German public schools not good anymore? Or are private schools offering something extra?
Many people don't file taxes in Germany. I understand that collecting all the documents and filing tax returns is cumbersome. On top of that, you have to do it in German.
But filing an income tax return is no longer difficult, and you can save a lot of money. According to the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis), the taxpayers received an average of 1095 € in tax refunds.
You can even file your income tax online in English using one of our tax software recommendations. Moreover, checking if you'll get any tax refund is free.
Check out our shop to download freebies like rental contracts, checklists, books, etc. We created several free products to make settling in Germany easy for you.
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