German Stories for Children Online (Free Animal Packet, vol. 2)

This semester the kids are using the free online Book Box stories in German. The kids are spending about 5-6 days per story (and since we don’t always get to it, this really means close to two weeks), listening to the story twice at some point during the day.  The first story we listened to is called Vier Freunde, The Four Friends.

The first time through I stopped along the way and translated it for them. Then over the course of the week or two, I would check to make sure they understood certain words and/or the gist of the story.  They also have these stories in English, so you could also have your kids watch The Four Friends in English.

Last week I mentioned that I made ED a German Worksheet Packet on Animals (vol. 1).  I made another packet with the animals featured in that video (the deer, crow, turtle, mouse and pidgeons).  There are 6 pages in volume 2. You can download them free by clicking on the link below.

Free German Animals Worksheet Packet, vol. 2

 Meanwhile, my older two kids (almost 9 and 11) are also using Practice Makes Perfect, Complete German Grammar.  We are going through it very slowly, but I’m pretty happy with that.

We also are practicing some very basic German conversation questions. They go over those in their daily index review cards (See this post on Creating Daily Homeschool Procedures and Routines).

Other Related Posts:

You might be interested in yesterday’s post: Why Should Kids Study Foreign Languages?

Free German Worksheets — this post includes more free resources I came across.  We’ll use some of these sheets again as well:

German Language Goldmine–German Flashcards, German Worksheets: This post includes some really cute readers (in German) great for beginners.  There are other links in that post as well to other free German resources:

Learning German Lesson Pages – One last post with a few pages I made for the kids a couple of years ago — such as this sheet on the colors:

This year (2014) I’ve made some German worksheet packets for my youngest. The first one is on animals. You can visit this post to see if it’d be useful. The packet is 9 pages and is free to download: Free German Worksheet Packet on Animals (vol. 1)

German Conversation Card Sets:

I have found it difficult to find good German materials and curriculum for kids.  Early on we used a lot of free German worksheets and materials, but then at a certain point the kids were ready for more. See more about the German Curriculum we use now in this post.

I made a whole series of Conversation Cards and we are slowly building conversations skills and vocabulary from day-to-day, week-to-week. This is what we will be covering (Click on the links to find out more about each packet):

1. Family tree for greetings and family words (See this post.) – 2 files, approx. 20 pages
2. The days of the weeks, months, weather and seasons,  – Approx. 18 pages
3. Clothing (will be shared next week — probably Oct. 20) – Approx. 16 pages
4. Where are you from?  Nationalities
5. Food and Drink
6. Daily Activities

Last spring I made our first set of German conversation cards. It consisted of a family tree and various family members (brother, sister, mom, dad, aunt, uncle and grandparents). We used these to practice greetings and for basic conversations asking and answering questions like What’s your name? How old are you? Is this your aunt? etc. Wow! Having props absolutely transformed German for us. So this summer, I made a half-dozen more sets.  The kids have made amazing progress with these already.

The first three sets are available for $2.50 each (click on the links above) or you can purchase the bundle below for $6.50.

With the purchase of this bundle (Family, Weather/seasons, Clothing) you will receive 4 pdf files to download.  Once you pay through Paypal, you will receive an immediate link to download these materials.  You will also received an email from Sendowl (the service I use) with a link that you can click on.  That too will allow you to download the files.  Be sure to check your downloads folder (sometimes the files sneak in there).  And of course, if you have any trouble with your order or if you have any questions be sure to contact me via email liesl at homeschoolden dot com, or via the Contact Form here on the blog, or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook page. ~Liesl

Remember, these materials are best for teachers/instructors who speak German. The contain basic vocabulary and conversation starter suggestions only. (ie. there’s no scripted back-and-forth dialogue).

German Conversation Practice Card Bundle 1-3: Family, Weather/Months/Seasons, Clothing

$6.50