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All Things German In California

German School Cone

School is out – Summer is here!

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English: german school-boy (Heinrich Bruno Wit...
English: german school-boy (Heinrich Bruno Wittig), aged 7, with schultüte & schulranzen, on his first day of school, Zeulenroda, 1936.wittig-archiv.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another school year is over for so many students in CA!

As much as we all are looking forward to relaxing and just enjoying a life that is not controlled by the daily school calendar of our children, for many families the summer is also the time of final decisions in regards to which school to send the kids to next year.

Stay tuned.  Throughout the summer CaliforniaGermans will have some special reports on “German” schools in California.

Also, for all parents of Firstgraders starting out this fall, have you thought of making this special day of your “Erstklässler” an unforgettable event with the traditional “Schultüte” (Schoolcone). If you are not in the mood of making one by yourself (see instructions to make your own here on CaliforniaGermans ), there is also the option to order one. And you don’t have to have one sent all the way from  Germany. KinderCone ships your German “Schultüte” right from Chicago.

Last, German teachers looking for a new challenge might want to check out Bay Area Kinderstube (BAKS) in the San Francisco area (Bay Area Kinderstube 842 Key Route Blvd Albany, CA 94706) .  BAKS is looking for a Preschool director and a Preschool teacher. Full job descriptions can be downloaded at  http://kinderstube.org/jobs.html . For questions please email board@kinderstube.org

Happy Summer and come by often to check out what’s new on CaliforniaGermans!

Schultuete Selbst Gemacht- Last Minute German School Cones

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Deutsche Schultuete - German School Cone

Summer is over and children have gone back to school almost everywhere. If you want to follow the German custom and provide your child with an authentic ‘Schultuete’ , and forgot to order a kit from Amazon.de, search no longer to buy one. It’s anyway much more fun for your child and you to make one together. Just put on your creative hat and make one!

It’s actually very easy and the kids LOVE to decorate their work!

Here is what you need, and can easily be found in any art supply store like Michaels:

  • one big sheet of colored poster board that’s easy to roll up into a cone
  • colored markers, Creatology™ Washable Paint 6-Pack, or any colors your child likes to paint with
  • paint brushes etc
  • stickers: buy lots of stickers to decorate, any kind of stickers your child chooses are great, perhaps she/he wants to have a theme like soccer or ballerina
  • colored gift tissue paper ( for the top of the Schultuete)
  • Scissors, glue, stapler, paint brushes and other art material that your child enjoys to make crafts with
  • a colored ribbon you use for gifts
Decorate Your Colored Poster Board With Stickers
Use paints and paintbrushes, or glitter glue etc. to enhance the look or to make different patterns
Once finished with the design, start rolling the posterboard into a cone taking one corner and rolling the undecorated side in.
Once rolled into a cone, tightening the poster board around your finger at the bottom of the cone to shape the cone (blue cone in pic)
Glue the sides down or use bigger stickers to hold the paper board in place and in shape
For the top decoration one can use either colored cellophane or gift paper tissue (get one whole length around the inside of the cone and glue or staple it down)
gift paper tissue for the top, instead of cellophane
Here glue is very effective (in fact staples will rip paper), Glue inside of cone and press the tissue paper on it from the inside
Once the glue is dry, fill the Schultuete with all kinds of goodies and funny school accessories, arrange the tissues paper and put a colored ribbon around to close the cone of
German 'Schultuete' is finished and ready to greet a child on his/her First School Day