In German, “Kinder” means “children“, while “Garten” means “garden“. “Kindergarten“, therefore, means “a garden of, and for, children“.
Nearly 200 years ago, a man named Friedrich Fröbel founded the first Kindergarten. His idea was to give young kids, who previously did not attend school, a place to learn and grow. In this spirit, we present to you a variety of digital activities for learning and discovery!
Listen: Save the date (Sat. Nov. 21st, 10 am) for PIANOTAINMENT® LIVE
Be wowed by Germany’s world-class musical-comedy act, combining four-handed virtuosity and wacky shenanigans in a captivating concert experience for young and young-at-heart alike! Countless crazy concerts have taken German concert pianists Stephan Weh and Marcel Dorn to over 100 countries around the world.
Can one play the piano with tennis balls? Or backwards? What is jazz and does it taste good? Experience the “invisible drum kit” and guess, laugh, clap and sing along! Join Pianotainment® for their sChOOL Concert in which kids (ages 6-12) can learn more about the wide world of music in a playful and very entertaining way!
Online Story-time: “A Tiger Like Me” read by author Michael Engler
A young boy—or rather, a young tiger—takes us on the adventure of his busy day. From a morning roar, to a tiger romp in the swirling snow, to tiger crafts in the evening, the life of a tiger is lots of fun!
Author Michael Engler, based in Düsseldorf, Germany, has published more than 15 children’s books as well as plays for theater and radio. The majority of his children’s books, including “A Tiger Like Me”, feature illustrations by Joëlle Tourlonias, also based in Düsseldorf, who has illustrated more than 30 children’s books.
Translated from German (“Ich bin ein Tiger”) to English by award-winning translator Laura Watkinson, “A Tiger Like Me” has received much critical and popular acclaim. School Library Journal called it “a ferociously fun read-aloud full of alliteration and assonance…showing the emotional learning that comes through play, imagination, and pretending.”
A 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Picture Books, “A Tiger Like Me” is published in the U.S. by Amazon Crossing Kids.
Play: German-English Matching Game
Learn basic German vocabulary—tied to places and things representing German culture—while testing your memory skills. Enjoy our Germany Matching Game on the EducaPlay platform, and see how you can do against family and friends!
Learn German: On the “German for Children” Portal of the Goethe-Institut in the USA
Featuring free-of-charge materials for teaching young children from pre-K to 5th grade, “German for Children” offers much to educators, both official and parental!
From Felix the Frog and Franzi the Lady Duck, two hand-puppets who live in a typical German mailbox and tell stories about their new home, England; to the app Deutsch.Land.Flug which allows you to explore 26 German cities from the sky and ground level, learning about German culture, inventions, and grammar along the way—“German for Children” has something for you!
Study: at the Digital Kinderuniversity (“Kinderuni”)
“Uni” (university) isn’t just for adults any more—it’s for Kinder (children), too!
Children have thousands of questions that may sound straightforward enough but can sometimes prove very tricky to answer. That’s why the Goethe-Institut created the Digital Kinderuniversity (“Kinderuni”), a free online platform that is open to all children – no matter where they live or which school they attend.
Launched in the USA in 2019, the German digital Kinderuniversity provides information and education for children aged eight to twelve. It gives young scientists the chance to find out the answers to questions for themselves—about natural phenomena, for instance—while at the same time learning their first words in German.
This fun online learning environment reflects the basic structure of a university: the faculties on offer, namely “Humankind”, “Nature”, and “Technology”, as well as the carefully selected video sequences, reflect the world as experienced by young students.
The Kinderuni’s different modes—it can be used in English, or in German; at home, in school, or in a live format—give it the flexibility to fit varied needs. Visit the Kinderuni home page to explore this unique, engaging platform!
Germany’s literature for young readers is loved around the world. No other country sells as many foreign rights in children’s and young adult books as Germany, making it the world’s leading exporter of the genre.
“Children’s Books on Tour”, the Frankfurt Book Fair’s showcase of current children’s and young adult literature from Germany, stops at approximately 15 book fairs and other destinations abroad, presenting the latest releases, encountering international audiences and creating new business.
Now online, the Digital Bookshelf of the Frankfurt Book Fair New York presents German children’s books in English translation, letting you explore the “Children’s Books on Tour” exhibition from anywhere in the world.
The online catalogue features 52 unique books, whose rights can be purchased from 16 German publishers of children’s and young adult books.
Dive in and explore the imaginative world of new releases that will excite young readers around the world!
Engage: with Earth Speakr, an Eco-Artwork for Kids
Listen to the future with Earth Speakr: an interactive artwork that gives you, and Earth’s future, a voice!
If you’re a kid, you can use the Earth Speakr app to record your ideas about the wellbeing of our planet. Adults are also invited to participate by listening to the messages, sharing these with others, and creating augmented reality Loud Speakrs to amplify the powerful messages kids have to share.
Created by artist Olafur Eliasson with his studio, kids, creative partners, and a group of researchers and experts, Earth Speakr speaks your language – it also speaks the 24 official languages of the European Union and can be accessed throughout the world. Some aspects of the artwork are just for kids, aged 7–17.