School Buses are so rare in Germany. We use the city bus

The schoolyear is divided into two half years. So you'll get a Halbjahreszeugnis, half year school report. Thats probably why your kids dont get graded until February. The grading system is based on the test scores as well as oral participation. So the Halbjahreszeugnis was always a nice reminder to me how well I participated in the classes.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Okay very good to know! We are always learning from the comments in our videos. It’s so awesome!

@grandmak.

2 жыл бұрын

Especially in subjects like foreign languages, German and History oral participation counts a great deal.

@gvicze

2 жыл бұрын

Eigentlich bewerten wir Schüler folgendermaßen: Klassen 5-6: je drei Klassenarbeiten pro Halbjahr im Mathe, Deutsch, Englisch. Und ein weiteres Fach. Das weitere Fach schreibt nur 2 Klassenarbeiten pro Fach. Ab der 9. Klasse sind es nur 2 Klassenarbeiten für alle Hauptfächer. Dafür sind sie umfangreicher. Weitere Bewertungen in den Hauptfächer: Tests (z. B: Vokabeltests) Projekte und mündliche Mitarbeit (im Unterricht). Die anderen Fächer schreiben Tests oder führen Mappen für Projekte, o.Ä. Für Kinder, die noch die dt. Sprache erlernen müssen, galt eine 2-Jahresfrist, in der sie nicht bewertet werden. Kinder werden quartalsweise bewertet. Zum Halbjahr gibt es Zeugnisse. Mitten im Halbjahr gibt es den Elternsprechtag. Da wird eine Notenübersicht für alle unterrichteten Fächer erstellt und den Eltern vom Klassenlehrer gezeigt. Die Lehrer/innen sprechen dann mit Eltern über den Lernstand/Lernfortschritt der Kinder/Jugendliche. Diese Elternsprechtage vergeben Termine Uhrzeiten, wann man da sein sollte. Manchmal muss man warten, denn es gibt immer viel zu besprechen. Sorry, my English is not the best for this subject.

@aw3s0me12

2 жыл бұрын

@@gvicze Danke für die Infos

@TheWuschelMUC

2 жыл бұрын

@@gvicze Aua, da hat man uns damals aber mehr gefordert. Die Faustregel lautete: Wochenstundenzahl = Schulaufgabenzahl. Ein Lateinlehrer war noch etwas schlauer: er hielt noch eine sechste Schulaufgabe ab - für die, die eine versäumt hatten. Für die anderen zählte es als Extemporale.

You should talk to your "Gemeinderat" about that bus problem. Are there more kids who are in need of this bus? The "Gemeinde" can eventually contact the bus company - at least that happened in my "Gemeinde" when I was a kid and we needed a special bus for getting to our school.

@miadifferent7306

2 жыл бұрын

That‘s what I was thinking. Also get the school involved and ask for support.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Okay thank you - we will do that! Great suggestion.

@Philemaphobia

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, my region also contracted a bus company to cover extra busses in the morning and afternoon. Only if you missed them, you had to rely on the public ones. But other citizens weren’t banned from them ever.

When I was in Gymnasium - a loooong time ago in some small town in Northrhine-Westphalia - there was this boy from South Africa that came to us in 8th grade. He didn't speak a word of German when he first came but he and his younger sister learned quickly and fit in in no time. (Decades later, I ran across this guy in Berlin, where I live now. He thanked me over and over again for helping him feel at home during those first weeks and months. I never realized that I had helped him at all, let alone this much. I just sat next to him in class and we became friends, that was all.)

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Awe that’s so wonderful that you were able to help him. Just being a friend to a foreigner is a really big deal. We can feel quite lonely and scared at first, so having friends makes a huge difference! ❤️

@maudeboggins9834

2 жыл бұрын

A lovely story. We arrived here from Greece, it took time to adjust, our kids never complained they understood we had to leave Greece then our kids thrived. I am so impressed by the German system. Very pleased indeed.

@janpracht6662

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife When your child goes to a German Gymnasium you carefully should check before if this Gymnasium has a main emphasis: Is your child more a musician/artist (then you should send him/her to a so-called "Waldorfschule", teaching a lot of arts, music and craft), is the child more interested in science (then a Naturwissenschaftliches Gymnasium is suitable) or sports (a special "Sport-Gymnasium" where athletes are trained for a professional sports-career)? If your child is in the wrong emphasis it can give a rude awakening after some years... I was on a very old "Humanitisches Privatgymnasium" (with the emphasis on old languages like Latin, Old-Greek , Old-Hebrew was also possible), luckily I learn languages fairly easy.

@NicolaiCzempin

2 жыл бұрын

TBH the difference is not as big as some make it out to be. Universities can only expect you to have what is requires at Abitur level, so everyone mostly starts from scratch anyway. It can be dangerous to start out thinking you know a lot of material already.

@JaniceHope

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Do not send your child to a "Waldorfschule" as another user recommended...! They teach accordingly to an ideology called 'Anthroposophie' which basically is a lot of woo, especially when it comes to technology and the natural sciences, and their history curriculum is basically made up bullshit by their founder that includes Atlantis being real. Many of the so called 'Querdenker' in the South-West have ties to those schools or that ideology. Be aware of that!

Taking public transport is quite normal in Germany and often it's school transportation diguised as public transport for financial reasons. BUT hearing you talk about the busses being late...when I went to school we had the same issue and eventually parents complained because 1. your kids have a right to education and that is being hindered if they cannot get to school on time. 2. Your kids also HAVE to be in school and cannot be due to poorly organized transportation. 3. Several students being constantly late impacts the education and progress of all other students in their class. Given that there is only one bus in the morning, maybe think about taking this up with the school and the transportation provider.

@karinland8533

2 жыл бұрын

For my kids we had to fight for a change of schedule because the were not able to catch the bus on time for the way home.

@muesztaerrieh

2 жыл бұрын

As mentioned in my comment. When my siblings and I went to school, we had the same issue with coming late to school. I remember that there had been some sort of agreement, that, if we had waited at least 15 minutes for the bus, we had to call the school secretary, to inform them that the bus didn´t show up, and we could go home. This has usually been an issue in winter. There had been many cases, where the bus operator informed us. There used to be a small shop close to the bus stop in our village. So, if they knew they were late, they called them, and kindly asked the shop owner to inform us.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Great suggestion, thank you. We will contact them!

@nicolethoff2920

2 жыл бұрын

aa

@Stadtpark90

Жыл бұрын

@@muesztaerrieh Same thing for me in the 1980s in a small village: it was minus 20 degrees Celsius and lots of fresh snow, and the elder children told us: we’d have to wait for maximum 1h, and if the bus didn’t come, we would go home. An older woman living right next to the bus stop saw the dozen children out in the cold and let us in and made tea and gave us some Christmas cookies she had made, so we wouldn’t have to wait out in the cold, and in the end we went home and enjoyed our free day, because the bus never came, and nobody was reprimanded, because we had waited the usual time, and lots of buses didn’t arrive that day (- pretty much an act of God / a case of force majeure (“höhere Gewalt”) due to weather).

The reason why they are Gastschüler until February probably is because this is the time that marks half of the school year. At that time, they also get their "Halbjahreszeugnisse" (=half-year-reports, which are not that important, but gibe an overview of the grades achieved in the previous months) (They usually get a Halbjahreszeugnis and at the end of each school year, a Jahreszeugnis. The Jahreszeugnis, includes the marks of the whole school year and they are now crucial for being able to move to the next grade). Therefore, since they are Gastschüler, they are not under pressure because of the Halbjahreszeugnis, they get the chance to have a "fresh start" when half of the school year is over and only get their marks of the second half-year counted for their Jahreszeugnisse. ... & Schönen 1. Advent!💫🕯❄

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Such a helpful comment, thank you!

"School bus" is an American thing. In Europe I would not generally expect the concept, except for children with special needs. As you had to come to the rescue and helped another child out, are there enough children in the village to start child pooling? I mean, if each day another parent could do the duties for 5 or 6 of them, that might work. Note the daily trips on PT with school friends has a developmental side as well. Nice video. Nice hair, you two :) - the dark chestnut brown is really cute and how it was modeled too.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah carpooling is a good idea! And yeah you’re right about how taking the bus allows the kids to make friends. Our boys were just invited to another kids’ house on Friday, and he was a kid they met on the bus!

@karinland8533

2 жыл бұрын

I lived in a village with NO public transportation. So yes, school buses do exist in Germany as well.

@Danny30011980

2 жыл бұрын

Dependng on how far they live from school. In my secondary school back then there were kids that lived in up to 15km distance, so for those who could not walk there was buses to collect and drop them to their villages and towns

@BrokenCurtain

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Germans don't really do carpooling to get their children to school and back again. If you're a kid in Germany and need to get anywhere, you generally either walk, ride a bike or take public transportation. Dedicated school buses exist (especially in rural areas), but aren't the rule. How far do you live from the school?

@S_Black

2 жыл бұрын

There are no super special yellow buses like in the US. But regular bus companies run buses at certain times that are really only used by students. They may even have some sign designating them as a school bus

I took the train to Gymnasium every morning. I got up at 5am and my dad drove me to the train station on top of the 30min train ride. In the town of my school I then had to walk up a little hill for around 15min. But I loved to have time with all my friends on my way and I loved my Gymnasium. Hope you have a great day! Greetings from Salzburg

I grew up in a rural area in Germany (Baden-Württemberg), where pupils were supposed to commute to school by public transport. It usually worked very well for those who came by train, but service was always rather dodgy for those who had to take the bus. After a year or so, most pupils started to ride their bikes to school, even the ones that lived pretty far sway. They would ride in big groups, at least from spring to autumn.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Good to know! Yeah that would work well in the spring and autumn. But we need the bus during the winter. It’s so icy around here. Hmm, okay we can talk to the other parents.

Glad to hear that you have found the right school for everyone of your kids. My kids are half-American and experienced both American elementary schools and elementary school, Gymnasium and Realschule and FOS in Bavaria. I absolutely love your videos - it reminds me of all the „cultural shocks“ I had when we lived in the U.S. You’re such a positive open-minded family interested in other cultures. That’s why I always look forward to seeing your updates of your life in Bavaria. Viele liebe Grüße aus der Nähe von Nürnberg!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Hallo Carola! Thank you so much, we’re so glad you enjoy our videos. And so cool that you’ve also experienced culture shocks - it’s something that’s hard to relate to unless you’ve lived in another country!

@FloridaAndBooks

2 жыл бұрын

Lp Leider

@trichechusmanatus8630

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I went to kindergarten, 1st and the first part of 2nd grade in New York State. Then my family moved to Northern Germany. Our tiny village school there had one classroom, one teacher and about thirty-five pupils grades 1 - 8. Oh boy - culture shocks galore!

@emmaonthefarm1085

2 жыл бұрын

Oh Wow someone else from Bavaria! I grew up and went to school in a small town called Schwabach, you probably know of it being that it’s only 20Km outside of Nürnberg 🙂

@carolarivera1852

2 жыл бұрын

@@emmaonthefarm1085 yes, that’s pretty much around the corner 👍😊

I truly commend you for the choice of holding back giving kids smartphones, I have a kid in my family that already is kind of addicted and not even 8 years old. But I also think that a cellphone is really needed when starting the 5th grade, it's just part of being a part of society and more importantly like you stated ensures that the kids and you can stay in contact, wherever they are. I got mine in the 5th class and that was 2007 when mobile phone still were pretty basic, but honestly I'm really glad I didn't have this brain-rewiring distraction device of a smartphone that I use today. I think it helps staying focused on other parts in life and let's the brain enough free space to "unfold" and mature. Sure, neural stimuli and consuming media are important but IMO boredom is quite underestimated for its value of generating ideas/creativity. From what I've seen and heard from you so far, I really appreciate your openminded-ness and approach to parenting!

My kids take public transportation to gymnasium. There is no “school bus”. The bus runs every 10 minutes at peak times, every 20 at off peak times, so the kids can take the bus at which ever time they want. Every line also has an E(xtra) bus around the time when most kids get out of school. We have about 8 Gymnasium and 5 Realschule, x Gesamtschulen….in the city so kids going to a further school or have to switch to the tram, take an earlier bus. Also the older the kids, the later the bus they take so they can sleep to the last minute and run into class before the bell. lol In my opinion 5th is super easy as is 6th. A lot more subjects are introduced in 7th. 8th is ok 9th is pretty tough, 10th is ok again. And from what I hear and have seen so far, 11this difficult again and 12th not quite so bad again however the stress of Abi Prüfungen is real. So I think for your kids coming in at grades 5 and 6 it is optimal to get them right up to speed. They are smart kids and will do amazingly well, I’m sure.

At least in my part of Germany, people also "shop around" for a Gymnasium they like. In my city, we had four Gymnasiums, each with a slighty different focus. At one, you'd have more math classes and start younger with sciences like chemistry, while I took additional classes in arts at my Gymnasium. About a year before changing shools, there would be "Tag der offenen Tür", where students could visit the different schools (usually with their parents). Then, you'd apply centrally, giving your top two choices and cross your fingers ;)

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Okay good to know! It seems to be the same here in southern Bayern. People shop around to find the best fit.

@jcs2012

8 ай бұрын

Tag der öffnen Tür was really important. Mostly for the focus of a school/Gymnasium. We had like 4 schools (3 Gymansien and 1 Gesamtschule) I watched the lessons and for me I choose the secondary school with focus on languages. I actually am really happy about it, because the other two were rather muscial/mathematician focus and science focus. I f.ex. was in a bilingual class (that's how it was called back than - 20 years ago) where I had French as major (5 school hours per week in 5th class) and English as 2nd foreign language (3 school hours per week in 5th class). As I was in a bilingual class with the focus on French, in later school years we had like some Nebenfächer in French (history, politics and geography - continuously till grade 10, 3 hours per week). We also had many chances at our Gymnasium to speak English and French- we had a partner school in the UK and in France. The English classes even had the opportunity of an exchange to UK in 7th grade (2 weeks) and our French focus class had an exchange to Toulouse in 6th grade (3 weeks). And the exchange students than also came to Germany the next year. The exchange was only pupils and I think 3 teachers (just FYI because you had a video about self reliance and independence of children jn Germany) and we had assigned host families. Before going to Toulouse we were Pen pals with the French students of the partner school. In Mittelstufe we had a Model European Parliament project where representatives of European countries stayed here in Germany for I think 2 weeks recreating the European Parliament and the EU in general. We hosted a Beitish and Greek representative. And as Germans are often much influenced by Hollywood and the Englis-speaking media, we had so many chances to improve English during that time. Also from grade 10-11 many pupils had the chance of doing a year or half a year abroad - most pupils at that time went to English-speaking countries (USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand were in the leading spots back than). In the Mittelstufe we also had some more English hours per week and we could pick Wahlfächer: f.ex. music/arts, Religion/ethics and Spanish/Latin. So since grade 8 I even had Latin and could take my Latinum at grade 12th. It's not the biggest use nowadays but for me- as I like Roman languages - it was good. At the end of my school "carrier" aka Oberstufe I had my majors in French and English and could almost drop all of the Naturwissenschaften (except biology and maths - maths unfortunately wasn't optional). For me this was a blessing because the sciences (physics and chemistry) I actually hated during school - I know Kevin is an engineer, so for you that might not be understandable - so I was glad just to take biology (which was more like learning by heart) and maths. For the language I could take in Einführungsphase (grade 11) even Spanish. But unfortunately because I already had 2 foreign languages as major in grade 12th and 13th and Latin on top I actually had to drop Spanish after grade 11. But with the background of Latin and French I started improving my Spanish during my vocational education phase (berufliche Ausbildungsphase) and as I started working in 2017, since than I learned and am still learning Italian - the Latin I had in school is a real advantage here😊 So to conclude, I think it's really important to know the abilities and maybe the "strengths" of your kids and choose the school according to that. Well sure it was also a big advantage for me to have a few classmates of my Grundschule in class. But my than BFF went to a Gesamtschule because of her grades - she didn't fit (according to grades) the Gymnasialniveau. I'm a German with Korean roots (one of my parent came to Germany jn the 80s and stayed here; I do speak fluently Korean) and our class was really diverse for that time because we had many children from French-speaking countries. Actually our school had a good diverse mixture.... So yeah, just wanted to share this. I love your videos. For me it's always helpful to learn and improve my English and your clips are so interesting and as you don't have a strong accent it's so cool to watch them. Keep up👍🏻👍🏻 P.S.: So yeah, it's actually 4 languages I can fluently converse (German - 1st native language, Korean - 2nd native language; English and French - foreign language I'm able to fluently converse) and 2 I have the basics which are good for holiday use (Spanish, Italian)

@jcs2012

8 ай бұрын

Me again: I remember that we had a French girl who came to Germany in grade 6. As her parents were both French, she had to adjust in a functioning class community and had also the language barrier. But I remember that when she was in grade 8 she really was fluent in German with a little French accent. So I think your kids will adapt pretty fast.❤

One of the things I love about your channel (Note: just one of many!) is that your intros feature so much of the beauty of German nature. Thank you.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Oh I’m glad you like that part! It’s my favorite thing to film.

The stories you told about your kids taking public transportation totally took me back to when I was in Realschule! I grew up in a tiny village, so the public transportation sucked. The busses were late pretty much every time, sometimes, on the way back home, the bus got too full and the bus couldn't stop at our bus stop anymore because there were too many kids (and the next bus wouldnt come for the next two hours). Once, eleven years old, I got dropped off at a completely different station because of road construction that I have never seen before and he just dropped me off. Cried for an hour until I rang at some strangers house to ring my parents (my parents gave me a phone for the exact same reason you did, but right in that second, it was dead!). so the experiences of your kids kinda made me chuckle a little bit because apparently it is very common but oh dear, let me tell you, i absolutely hate busses and i am 23 now, but you wont find me in a bus very often now :D

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Oh how sad you cried for an hour! It can be so scary as a kid. And good to know the public transportation was bad in your small town, too.

They’re probably starting to grade your kids in February because the second semester starts then. At least this is the case for me as I’m currently doing an exchange in England.

@Speireata4

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, in Germany, the school year is divided into two semesters (Halbjahre) and now your sons have one semester to get a grip on the system and at the start of the new semester they will start to get grades.

I live in a very small town in Germany and it doesn’t have a gymnasium so every single day I take the public bus to get to my school and the schedule for that bus is really bad, like there is two at 7am and after that the next one drives at 2pm, so if I have school later my parents or grandparents have to take me to school and in the afternoon, when I have school until 4pm there isn’t even a public bus until 5 30 pm, luckily the city my school is in pays a smaller bus company to get us home. While I was in primary school we had a school bus to got all the kids from all around my area to the 3 primary schools, Realschule and Hauptschule in town. But I also know a lot of my friends that drove to primary school with public busses. In 2020 when I went back to school for the during the pandemic there wasn’t a bus driving because of construction work going on and because I also didn’t have school that regularly I drove 10 km to school by bike almost every single day.

When my younger son started taking the bus by himself, he got lost several times, too. And he was extremly scared, too. I talked to him and we made a plan, what he could do in such a situation (in that time kids didn't have phones, yet): He should watch out for a trustworthy adult and explain the situation. So, the adult could tell him in which direction to go. Of course the first thing your kids should do when getting lost is calling you. But I think a plan b could give them some more confidence. Maybe when you make sightseeing trips, occasually you could ask people for the right way. Because of the great navigation tools we have today probably children haven't experienced such situations with their parents very often.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

That’s a good idea to have a plan B!

@hertelantje

2 жыл бұрын

That’s so true. With smartphones we don’t really ask for directions anymore. It could be a strange concept to kids. I never thought about that.

@cailleanmccain

2 жыл бұрын

I guess a solution without smartphone could be a local map. Seems a little outdated, maybe, but nevertheless effective. A small one just showing the area right around the school should be sufficient. Back in the days "before smartphone navigation", situations having to ask for the right way were pretty scarce as well, at least in my experience. Maybe the expectations of finding your destination were lower, always getting right were you want to go on your first try without ever having looked at any map at all was sheer dumb luck. And even with a map, you might not have found what you wanted right away, depending on the quality of the map... fun times ;) it was basically more laid back, because navigation did not have to be perfect. I mean, I don't expect everybody to find their way just by looking at a map at home and following it in their mind - you can always print it out, maybe buy one or even get one for free at a tourist information or town hall. (opportunities vary greatly from my experience)

@manub.3847

2 жыл бұрын

That reminds me of my cousin (in the 1970s), who went to the police station that was luckily nearby to explain that she missed her bus station *. The policemen were: a) so nice to call us and b) explain to her how to get back to our part of town and told us which bus she is now taking. * The old express bus system required you to press the stop button in any case, otherwise the bus would simply drive through if no one wanted to get off or get on at the station. Our younger child went to school in the next big city and luckily the older schoolmates were always helpful when for example the route was blocked and everyone had to find another way. When our child was one of the elders, they looked after the younger ones as well. (Abitur 2010)

@arlarl7176

Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Children here are usually trained not to ask "anybody" on the street for help when they are in trouble, but rather to go to a shop and ask the salespeople there. It's kind of a security issue. I don't want to scare you, but children approaching strangers on the street are more likely to be exploited than children asking a clerk in a store for help. I am very sorry that your kids had this bad experience with the busses. The American school bus system also has advantages. Other than that, they look super cool!

I had to take the train to go to the Gymnasium. We were 6 kids from my village who went to the same class (3 boys and 3 girls). One day we got on the wrong train, it was an express train and did not stop in our village. We stood by the door ready to disembark and when the train did not stop one of the boys started to panic and started crying. The conductor came and gave him some sweets and calmed him down and told him we could just take the next train back and he was going to show us where to go. He also taught us how to recognize the Express train on the time table. I still remember when I saw our regular stop flying by I immediately started working out how to get back. I was about 12 at the time.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

I just love the community mindset here in Germany and how adults will help kids when they see them struggling. It’s something we don’t have much of in the US anymore, mainly due to the whole infrastructure being based on cars!

About "sitting around just to wait for the bus"... I never had to use the bus, but most kids in my class had to. They usually used the time to start homework together (or, of course, sometimes just hang around, eat,...). Sometimes I was even jealous, because most days I "had" to go home immediately after school. So maybe this is another aspect of self-responsibility: use the time in some way.

@fridadanke9076

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! I was glad sometimes when we missed the bus and could hang out in the caferteia and do our homework

Re.: Pottery in art class - these type of classes will have some kind of "themes" per semsters e.g. 6th grade pottery class, next year sketching, water color in 8th grade and so on. Same Sport/P.E.- baketball in 6th grade, gymnastics in 7th, athletics in 8th, etc.

Thank you this has been so helpful

your kids are doing great - congratulations! And your are guiding them so well!

I had to use the public Bus. it is quite normal in Germany. I had no problems during my school time because the bus schedule was very good. In the morning there was a bus every 7 minutes. I live in a 15.000 citizens "big" Gemeinde in Hessen. I think it depends where you life and how the local politics do their homework with building up a good infrastructure. Bavaria is special even for Germans. It is like a totally different country inside Germany. Beautiful but not representing Germany as a whole

@Max_Winters

2 жыл бұрын

I would question if there is one "Bundesland" representing the whole of germany, not even Hessen...i mean, isnt that a beautiful part of the federal system? different places coming together?

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

@@Max_Winters yeah from what we’ve learned about Germany, it’s quite diverse between the different Bundesländer.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah our bus system is due to the fact that we live in such a small village. A drawback to smaller places!

@Alexander-dt2eq

2 жыл бұрын

​@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife i think if your school sees your children coming in late from that only bus in the morning they will ask the operator themselves, because its not your kids fault. you know we had that topic in Gymnasium every single day, when school started.. oh they are late because of the train/bus. school and village/town/local authorities will help out.

@mamabear3428

2 жыл бұрын

German way of growing up, you learn from expirience an become more independent.

I'm Bavarian too and yes, it's public transport everywhere. I was often 5-10 min late. Oh but wait for winter when it snows. But weirdly enough it was never an issue. You kinda get there when you get there. I'm so happy that your boys are feeling welcomed and happy now. I used to work as a school social worker at a Mittelschule and it's definitely more of a "social issue" environment. And about February - we call it Halbjahr. You even get a Zeugnis called Halbjahreszeugnis, so you know where you are at.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

It’s such a relief for us that they’re doing well now. Whew! One big huge hurdle crossed!

Another interesting video, thank you. If children are lost in a city they can look for the sign Notinsel in shops and get help.

@karinland8533

2 жыл бұрын

Never heard of that🤔

11:40 In großen Städten gibt es häufig so genannte Vorbereitungsklassen, auch an Gymnasien

Danke, euch auch einen schönen 1. Advent.

most kids go to a Verein for sports in the afternoon/evening. so thats why there is less focus on it in schools. also many schools offer evening classes (sports ground) for kids to participate if they want (just ask the schools sport teacher they will know though even children do not really know about it , because the teacher does not tell them :))

@fridadanke9076

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, almost every child in our class was in a Verein afternoons. If it was ballet/soccer/judo, it was many times a week plus many weekends with acuall championships, or dancing, horse riding etc.. Min.1-2x a week too.

@tyronevaldez-kruger5313

2 жыл бұрын

You're right but on the other hand 3 times a week in a sports club can help you. It depends on the person, I remember that Fußball gave me the energy back that I've lost while sitting and learning. Sports is the absolute opposite and I would recommend it any student. Not necessarily in a club and just as much that it doesn't hurt your learning schedule

I am happy that your sons are doing OK and are happy in their new school!It could have been way worse...all thumps pressed for the future

I grew up in Berlin. Big city. In the 70s I walked to my Grundschule alone when I was 6 yo. In the 80s I took my bike to go to my Gymnasium when I was 12. No school bus. No Ted Bundy.

Beautiful couple! Beautiful family! 💖💖💖

Yay! Looking forward to this! Hope this means you are all in better health!,

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I am better but the kids continue to get one virus after another! Maybe there are different strains here than where we lived in the US…

@Francebound2024

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Hope this passes for you all soon!

Beautiful intro! 😍

@ThePixel1983

2 жыл бұрын

As that reaction KZreadr said: Your videography is top notch!

I love how you put so much effort in understanding how everything works here and it's beautiful to see how you embrace the culture and how respectful you are. It's hard work and I can imagine how difficult it is with four kids, but it will pay out in the end. Haircut looks fantastic, btw!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so very much! Your comment means so much to us.

I love your nice videos and your filmed, photographed impressions ;-))

I never had a school bus. But it made me learn how to be punctual to the minute according to the bus schedule. I can't remember facing a lot of late busses unless there were a lot of snow on the road... but I lived in a small village. It's easy to be on time there.

Thank for for sharing your experiences with the Gymnasium and of course the ATLAS. When I was Garyson's age I was in a German boarding school and the Atlas became my favorite book. I traced the geographical whereabouts of magic movie heroes (Lawrence of Arabia/Mutiny on the Bounty etc.) and learned a lot of Geography then. At that time my father started to work for the newly formed NASA and travelled to the US a lot, so I even took the Atlas to bed to feel closer to him. Oh, and by the way: Sarah, your new haircut is awesome .. almost as awesome as Kevin's :-).

So happy for you it worked out well! And... your hair looks great ;)

A big step :) You are great parents !

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I love your hair. It looks really good

Thanks a lot for this video. So many memories came up by watching it. The reason: many years ago we moved with our family from Germany to Thailand. We had a very similar experience when we tried to put our children in school. But after a while we got used to the different system and our children were much better by integrating than me. They entered the 1st and 2nd grade and it was so easy for them to learn Thai language. They are trained by german culture to stand on their own feet. I realised that the children here are much more guided by parents and teachers. I think the disadvantage of such a system is the lower degree of freedom. Please go on to make such amazing videos. I really enjoy.

You two are so wholesome and even though my husband and I don’t even have kids, we do live in Germany (I’m Canadian, he’s German), and I enjoy hearing from other people who have moved here about how they overcome their challenges. Good for your kids for being able to learn so much in such little time! Kids are so adaptable that way. PS love the hair - you’re one of those lucky people that a lot of different hair styles look good on because your hair has so much body 👩🏻‍🦱💁🏻‍♀️💇🏻‍♀️

The Italian system is so similar, and I started taking the public bus in middle school at 11yo. Where I am from there was a bus every 30 minutes, a couple more during rush hour for students and workers. And I'm 35 now, and I got my first old Nokia phone at 12 for the same reasons you gave it to your children

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Oh really! Good to know it’s similar in Italy!

the hair looks fantastic. really suits you and makes you look younger.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Younger! Yay! Thank you.

Nice shoots at the beginning, amazing. And you have arrived in Germany, you struggle with the same situations as we struggle with. Gymnasium is a hard school, our child is there too. She say it's hard, but she want stay there and so she has to study a lot for her own. And she realize for herself, it' s for her future life. But we are in the good situation, the school is only 800m away, not 25km. Stay awesome again.

Sorry, I am a little bit late to the party - but something caught my eye: When you compared US and German subjects, you compared „local language“ and „foreign language“ - however in Germany we have two foreign languages at the gymnasium (English and French at your sons‘ school). In the US those 6th graders only have English classes, their local language. 1 language (in tthe US) vs. 3 languages (local language + 2 foreign languages) in Germany. I might be biased but I find it pretty cool that in Germany we get to learn so many languages.

I love the music at the beginning ...

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Thank you so much for this! My family is moving to Germany in June. I lived in Germany in the 80s, but I was a kid then. I'm just starting to learn all of the things I need to know as a parent. When I lived there I was a military kid, so I went to school on base. I visited the local Gymnasium to see where some of my friends went to school, but never had the pleasure of going myself. You videos are going to really put my kids fears at ease.

@susanabarnreuther5634

5 ай бұрын

Hi! I am looking through all these videos and if you ended up moving. We have four children as well and are always considering a move. My oldest is 12 so it feels like it's now or never. Specifically scared about the school aspect. I see a lot of these videos are older, would love to get in touch with people that are like minded and on the same journey.

God, Bavaria is so gorgeous. So happy for y'all! Fellow US southerner here moving to Frankfurt in May. I have been binging all your vids to prep for my move. Thank you so much always for making them!

As I could remember, when I was in my Realschule, we had every year at the start of the new schoolyear a church sevice in a church near the school. After that the schoolyear started well. It was in Baden-Württemberg in a porotestant church in a katholic town

Learning a third language in your second actually can really help with the German grammar and understand the differences between languages. I found it actually really beneficial!

Hello and have a nice First Advent! As many others already pointed out, usually kids just take a public bus to school which can be quite the adventure in rural areas. It took some of my classmates an hour or more and 2 different buses or bus and train to get to school, where they had to wait another half an hour until class started. So you could see a group of kids sitting in the cafeteria doing their homework last minute or just studying every morning. I'm glad that things start to work out for your children. As hard as it is/ was for them, it will be a lot easier for your younger ones, with all the experience to pass down. As you already figured out, kids usually start in class 5 and stay together with the same teacher and classmates at least until class 10, so students who join later on, will not get the same introduction and have to figure out a lot of things on the go. I changed Gymnasiums after grade 7, I can't remember how I managed to survive the first week there, with no teacher helping me to find my class and so on and solely depending on my classmates, a horror scenario for introverts :D. Buuut... it always did work out for me as it will for your kids, I'm sure. Also, considering you live near the Alps with a lot of snow during winters: you should expect something like "schneefrei", meaning either the school closes completely or students from different villages can't attend school because the buses don't run. Fun times :D. It was such a pity that my bus was always running, because I was living near a main road. A few other kids from villages on a hill missed several days each year, because there was no such thing as homeschooling a few years ago. Wishing you all the best and see you next week.

I am sure your kids will learn German so quickly. Sarah I love your hair 🤩🤩🤩

Hallo, liebe Marry, Ihr seid wirklich ganz wunderbare, vorbildliche Eltern mit so viel aufrichtiger beglückender Liebe und guter Ideen zur allerbesten Entwicklung Euerer zauberhaften Kinder! Viele unserer deutschen Landsleute unterstützen Euch mit ihren besten Gedanken und aufrichtigen Gebeten, daß Ihr Euch weiterhin in unserem schönen Deutschland so gut entwickeln und glücklich leben könnte! In Zukunft wißt Ihr, daß Ihre immer aller Anschläge am Schwarzen-Brett der Schule sorgfältig lesen müßt, um auf dem aktuellen Stand der Organisation zu sein! Auch wir als Deutsche Familie hatten es nach unserem Umzug in den Bayerischen-Wald sehr schwer, da es hier leider nicht üblich ist mit den Neubürgern mitzudenken und ihnen das Leben zu erleichtern, ehern im Gegenteil, nach dem bösen Motto: "Wir haben Euch nicht gerufen, geht dahin zurück, wo ihr hergekommen seid!" - Wurde mir hier von einem Lehrer wörtlich so ins Gesicht geschrieen!

You are more beautiful locking (if it’s able ☺️) with your shortened hair, so cute and much more younger. You did a great job - it’s for us also a big challenge to find the right schools. Love from Austria 🇦🇹

I was in “middle school”, then known as “Junior High School” in the 1960’s. Our ages were 13 to 15. Even in those “early” years of my life, I knew that I wanted to experience cultures further away than Mexico, which was only 10 miles away from where I lived in Southern California. My parents had only recently crawled into the bottom of the US middle class and I was the first female in both my mother’s and my father’s families to graduate from high school. My truly genius 16 year old idea to achieve my wish was that I would become an international airline stewardess. So I studied French. Understand that in those years “authority”, represented by teachers, doctors, politicians, etc, stood so far above any “ordinary” human being, that their decisions were nearly ever questioned. So when my high school counselor told me that I was “too intelligent” to become an airline stewardess I believed him. French for nothing except the possibility to enter college. So when I actually did live in Paris France, my French was so uncertain that I believed that I was incompetent. And arrogant Parisians were only too eager to confirm that I was right. Trust me, just like everywhere in any country, there are people who desperately need to be right. Due to my circumstances of being in Paris (as a partner to a Vice President of Apple Computer), my “status” was constantly challenged. Exactly because I had never before been evaluated on the grounds of a relationship, I became uncertain of my own worth when evaluated from an international unknown standard. What I eventually understood is that there are Parisians who perceive themselves as “upper class” who have this need to be special. I loathed Paris for many years because of the prejudice I encountered in those first months. Eventually I learned to separate those first experiences of specific people from the awesome experience of the city. From urbane Paris I then moved to the countryside of Northern Germany. My partner then is German and she wanted to live closer to her family. She worked in Paris during the week and then flew home to Northern Germany on the weekends. I lived in the house she had bought there which was being renovated. The experience of living in a house built in the 1800’s which was receiving a new thatched roof was extraordinary and delightful. The mice in the kitchen, not so much. Whew! Didn’t intend to write so much. Yeah, culture shock. Paris, Northern German countryside and for the last 25 years, Sweden. And despite all of the trauma of my first years in Europe, I am daily grateful to be here 35 years later. Bless you for granting your children the wonderful possibilities of experiencing other cultures within the safety of a loving and supportive family! ❤️🙏

A big Hello to my favourite American family! I'm from Graz, Austria, which is the 2nd biggest city with a population of 280.000. Graz has a lot of schools and even 4 universities. There are no dedicated school buses at all - not even for elementary schools. Everybody walks or takes the public transport except the really posh kids which are chauffeured with private cars. In the country there are general school-buses which have fixed routes - but only if there is no public bus or train service. About Gymnasium: I also attended a Gymnasium (scientific branch) here in Graz and I loved it. At the beginning I wanted to become an airplane engineer (this was the time Concorde was developed) but then I ended up in University studying the Law... And now I´m an attorney to criminal law which I love doing. The education in Gymnasium kept all future paths open until it was the right time for me to decide where to go next. You made the right decision for your kids to offer them an education which allows them to choose whatever further career path they will take in the future.

I was really looking forward to this episode and hearing about how your sons are doing at Gymnasium. I did think they would be fine. Yes, some students find Gymnasium too much of a challenge, but many do not. So glad you are all settling down as far as Gymnasium is concerned!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

We are, too! Whew! One big huge hurdle crossed. We’re so happy they’re doing well for now.

I grew up in Berlin and it's like you said, more public transportation, so no reason for school buses. But what you say about the buses throws me back to my childhood xD I needed to take two buses to school and especially in winter, bus missed / canceled / too late in the morning: Sprinting back home to wake Dad that he's taking you to school, or in the afternoon in the winter, walking somewhere in the dark in a strange area, because there is "replacement rail traffic". But you learn and yes, cell phones help immensely! The change from elementary school to Gymnasium was a similar experience for me as it was for your boys: finally I can fit in! so many great friends with similar interests and great teachers who assume you want to learn.

The German school year is divided into two halves; since in Bavaria the school year began in mid-September, the first half end in February. That is why your two sons are at school as guest students until the half-year. After that - and this is my assumption now - you will be allowed to decide together with the school whether your sons are at the right school. The both of you are such great team. You did so much to improve your sons German skills! I am totally convinced that they will make it. Please stay commited and awesome! I keep my fingers crossed for all of your kids!

I think the kids are doing so well because they see your positive attitude towards learning and all things new. Also you put in this much effort to find the right school for them. If parents consistently show that learning and school are important to them, children are more inclined to follow their lead. Speaking from experience, the boys will happily wait for the later bus when they are a bit older to avoid the "babies" from lower grades. I used to have a 30 minute bus ride to school but in the summer we sometimes even rode our bikes to school for nearly an hour because taking the bike was our own decision rather than have the bus foisted on us. You can tell we were rebels without a clue 😋

I started to drive to school by train (S-Bahn in Munich) when I got to 6th grade. And the trains were delayed quite often or sometimes didn't came at all. But I loved it to find new ways to come home with different kinds of transportation. To this day I am the person from my family that knows all the tricks and shortcuts to find the fastest way through the city. But of course this was my experience growing up in Munich, it must be totally different when there aren't that many possibilities to get around because of a lack of public transportation. But your kids shoudn't be worried about coming late because of the bus, this is the best excuse to be late for class and the teachers know the struggle.

The bus story is a great example of showing how kids learn from new situations. They got lost and managed to navigate their way with your help. Also next time they might be brave enough to ask a stranger for help, thanks to that construction worker. This builds confidence for all new situations. The kids learn to think about several approaches they could try before using the phone as backup plan.

Usually there are normal City busses with routes optimised to cover schools and in the morning when school starts they are filled with pupils. Depending on the place, if you're in school or even uni, you get a public transit pass that either covers the whole local network or is tailored to cover only your typical ride from home to school.

@der.Schtefan

2 жыл бұрын

I grew up in Austria though, and my gymnasium was a fancy one on a hill far outside the city. It was serviced by an intercity bus that had a route optimised for student pickup from the main city, via small villages to the gymnasium up the hill, with a timetable around the schools schedule. It was a normal intercity bus though, and occasionally one or two adults on their way to God-knows-where would get on in a village. The volume of all conversations suddenly dropped with an adult present, and we all showed our best behaviour (it was a Catholic school) Looking back it feels quite amusing.

And congrats to acquiring those placements at the Gymnasium, some principals can look beyond the horizon of their own plates. I think the way of your familys mental setup in regards to learning, Gymnasium ist best for your two eldest. They need the challenge and will stay on top of it, because all else ist boring to them. And good for you to encourage others.

Immer die schönen Naturaufnahmen am Anfang Eurer Videos... wunderbar! Und bei dem kalten Wetter wird es bei Euch in den Alpen bestimmt demnächst schneien! ;-)

The snow melted. But the icy scenery is lovely as well. My guinea pigs had frozen leafs for dinner.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Awe our kids are begging us for a dog and hamsters. 😍

I think there are usually dedicated school buses in areas where you don’t have a lot of public transportation. At my Gymnasium there were a number of school busses that brought the children from the surrounding villages to the Gymnasium and back.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah that makes sense. I think we have 5-7 kids from our town that go to the same gymnasium as our boys, so there’s just not a huge demand for the buses to make it worth their time.

@trichechusmanatus8630

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife It can be really difficult if you live in a rural area and the school is in a different town. You might consider contacting other kids' parents and trying to organize a car pool. Might be difficult, however, if school days end at different times for each kid. On the other hand, I found that getting familiar with German public transport and dealing with interrupted and unreliable services helped me to learn self-reliance. And in those days (70s), nobody had phones. ;-)

So interesting! By the time your daughter gets older you will have figured out the school system. It will be easier for her. This is fascinating!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Yes that’s so true! It’ll be much, much easier!

Good thing is the schools know about the reality of traveling by bus. When I went to Gymnasium the bus had to navigate a pretty steep hill and the time we got stuck on the bus at the top of it in the winter until the snow plow came along to plow and salt the street (again) we never got into trouble.

Pottery is probably his "wahlpflicht" so mandatory choice class. You get to pick a class you take and the kinds of classes depend heavily on what the teachers are interested in. My gymnasium had classes like woodworking, sewing, nutrition, rock/pop workshop were students formed their own bands, robotics, solar energy projects and a ton more that was in the early to mid 2000s in Hamburg

So nice to hear your perspective. We went to the USA for a short while and also had different perspectives. The bus story with the construction side was hilarious. In the USA it is stranger danger concept everywhere. Here in Western Europe strangers are just people around you who might help you to solve a problem. So we learn our children whom to address and what to ask. It is such a different approach isn’t it.

We are a Chilean-German family of 5 that has just arrived to Bayern, near Erlangen, three weeks ago. You have no idea how great has been to watch your videos, specially the ones about schooling! Our oldest daughter, who speaks only a few words in German, is in 7th grade and we visited the local Gymnasium to talk to the principal about her situation. It was exactly as you mentioned, "no, she cannot come to the Gymnasium, she has to go to Mittelschule and then apply in one or two years". No alternatives, no help. It was literally a slap in the face and we felt terrible feeling that her education was being compromised. While looking for a solution, we found about the InGym project, which is a path for foreign kids with educational background similar to the Gymnasium to get into one in Germany. Tomorrow we have the final meeting, hopefully everything ends well. Thank you so much for your videos, inspiration and courage!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Oh wow, yeah, gosh literally had the same exact experience as us! But this InGym project sounds really cool. I hope that works out for you.

@Rehtor

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife well, it worked!! She passed the exams and will star the 6 months integration program at a Gymnasium in Nuremberg and after that she will be transferred to our local Gymnasium. It is a great alternative for foreign kids!!

I live in a bigger city in northern Germany. We don’t have School buses as you know them from America, but in the morning and around noon, when school starts or ends, there are extra buses going on the lines that are going by schools to accommodate the students that are using them.

I have lived in cities throughout Germany where there are dedicated school busses (operated by the city bus service) when no regular bus line would go that route. If a regular bus line goes a way that many kids have to take in the morning, that bus line has additional busses in the morning and in the afternoon when school is out.

I grew up in Germany and I’ll have to agree with the others on the transport situation. It’s usually public transport to secondary school, even in the big city I grew up in. And public buses are terribly unreliable, my journey was often an hour or more. Took such a big chunk out of my day but also fun times with friends on the bus 😉

I believe February 2022 was chosen as the cut-off date for Gastschüler status because that is when mid-term grades are determined ("Halbjahreszeugnis"). For the school grades, you might consider discussing the details with your kids' teachers. School buses are usually only provided where public transportation is not available. In countries such as France, school buses in rural areas are commonplace.

In the little village I grew up in, there were two particular school buses in the morning - the first one for the Grundschule and the nearby Realschule, the other one for the Realschule and for the two Gymnasiums in the nearby city. There was a separate bus stop in the center of the village. So, in exception of a hard winter, buses were always on time so we could get to school in time. And in the afternoon there were also school buses 3 times a day bringing the kids back home. Additionally, there were also the regular regional bus lines which go one bus per hour and direction. When I was older, I used them for getting home from school, because the school buses were just overfull

My 2 cents from Austria: Here in Vienna there actually are school buses! They are from the American school and the Vienna International School. :-) Besides from that, it’s normal to take public transportation to school. My older son is in 5th grade now too and his commute is 30 minutes by tram and train (yes, including change at a big and busy station). We practiced with him several times before the school started and yes, we also bought him a phone. But it’s amazing how quickly children adapt to new situations and how they grow with the challenges.

The German school year has two semesters and the kids get a report card around February it's the Halbjahreszeugnis . so I guess they decided to not count the grades für das erste Halbjahr but only for the second half year. That's quite nice of them. I lived through a similar experience a few decades ago after 3 years in France (they were really nice in the French school system) but the Bavarian school system was fierce at the time and it was very difficult to get into a Gymnasium. I was enrolled as a sogenannte ausländische Gastschülerin , even though I am German and had been in German Gymnasium before moving to France . And then I had to do a 1 hour test in all subjects at the end of the year even though my grades were totally ok all year long . I hope this has changed by now. I wish your children all the luck and fun in the world. I really salute you for what you are doing. It's totally amazing to grow up bilingual. You are amazing parents

It is completely normal for school kids to take public transport in Germany. I did it from year 1 - 13 myself.

Thanks for the new Vid. Yeah the bus in germany.... an all over the city problem 🙂 big city or small city, it is the same prob..... so you are not alone with the prob.. 🙂 many wishes to your family...

I love your new haircut. My hair is below my waist. I just keep mine in a dirty bun to manage it. I am an online private English grammar and writing tutor for two girls who lived for a few years in the US. The oldest is in the 6th grade in Gymnasium. The school system here is very different from the US. It is interesting to talk with her before our tutor sessions about what she is learning in her English classes here in Germany. Great video. Thank you for sharing.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! So cool you’re a German tutor to two German girls!

Im very happy your child got to know someone before attending gymnasium. I attended foreign schools (UK, Philippines) before coming to germany and I didnt know anyone. And I can tell you - it was HARD. Teachers can sometimes be ''sub-optimal" for this kind of situation, especially when your guys/gals are more introvert. Make sure they get a friend or two, and be supportive when things do not go well. They may not occasionly, but its rarely your kids fault

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! It’s harder for introverts to make friends.

Yeah. Being German is not easy. What else is new. I’m your mirror image. A German family in the US. You’re blessed.

Haha I remember the Diercke Weltatlas I borrowed from the school. At the end of sixth grade (like 15 years ago) I forgot to return it ... I still have it =D

Great videos! Keep on enjoying life. Just a precaution… Teach the kids to watch out running bicycles specifically when crossing streets it looks such a relax town but not always is going to be like that. God bless you all!!

In Deutschland gibt es 2 Halbjahre für Schüler das 1 beginnt nach den Sommerferien bis Ende Januar und das 2 beginnt in Februar bis zu den Sommerferien In Germany there are 2 halves of the school year the first starts after the summer holidays and ends at the end of Janurary and the second half starts at the beginnig of Februrary until the summer holidays Das ist der Grund warum die Noten erst ab Februar gewertet werde That´s the reason why their grades are only counted at the start of Februrary

There is usually a school bus in rural areas, but it connects to the nearest schools, like Grundschule and Hauptschule, the rest uses their bicycles to reach school. In bigger cities and metropoles pupils usually use the good coverage of the public transport.

I’m glad Greyson (not sure if spelled correctly) and Gabriel are settling into their new school. What a process that was! Loved that your daughter is still wearing “her hair” around. Too cute! I was surprised, I think science was lower in Germany according to your chart? Maybe I misread. Looking forward to your next video on math…. 🇨🇦

School centers where 3 schools or more of different types are centralised got usaly a dedicated school bus. But in all other cases you use public transportation. In normal sized cities you usaly can take every 30 minutes a bus to the school.

The bus situation you experience is totally normal. There are only school busses for Grundschule or Förderschule, but never for any other schools. When I was in this age I had to drive 45 minutes right through a big city. Some of my classmates even had to take the train. In big cities the busses usually come more frequently, but they are also not reliable. I always was 40 min too early at school since you get in trouble when being late. They dont care if it is your fault or not, they just say, you have to find another solution then.

-27 Celcius here in Anchorage area in Alaska.

Your hair looks wonderful, Sara! 👍 It‘s so nice to hear that everything is going on in a good way! Ich wünsche euch eine besinnliche Adventszeit.

I've only seen one school with dedicated school busses so far in my whole life. It was a school out of the city in a small town and there were 2 or 3 busses for children from that Gymnasium only since in was an area where people lived in many different small villages all over the place. But there were also public busses among them, so it was probably to support those. Public transportation is usually the way to go and most of the times kids in Germany start taking around 5th grade (during Grundschule they often still live close enough to walk or their parents drive them by car or bike).

I'd be happy to give you a guided tour here in Paris! I'm a German, 38m, from Lower Franconia.

When my daughter went to Gymnasium, she also was always the last one who hurried into the class room, because the bus schedule was so stupid. Children who went to Realschule, which was (or better still is) two bus stations further away almost never arrived in time.

Late January/early February is when the Halbjahr (half year , semester) ends and children get their interim report cards. They will probably only count your sons' grades from the second Halbjahr this year.

Hair looks lovely!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! ❤️

@sisuguillam5109

2 жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife 🙂