GAP
Practical guidance, family resources and everyday moments connected to German-language early learning through GAP Playschool.
These posts help families understand the rhythm, routines, culture and community around early childhood learning at Spielwelt.
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Pirate Maps and Adventure
Ahoy there! Here’s the fourth lesson in our pirate series. Time to read a treasure map and find the treasure! Hide some “treasure” (Schatz) in your child’s bedroom, or the living room or kitchen. Make a map of the room or house (in PEN) and mark an X where the treasure is (in PENCIL). Give your child…
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Pirate Ship and Telescope
Ahoy there! Here is the second lesson in our pirate series. A nice big cardboard box will also make a great pirate ship, and you might like to make your own Jolly Roger flag for it. To check for ships carrying gold and find your treasure island, you will need a telescope (ein Fernglas or Fernrohr). Here’s Gerda showing you how you can…
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Pirate Parrots
Ahoy there! Here’s the second lesson in our pirate series. Every pirate needs a parrot (ein Papagei), too. Here is Gerda to show you one way to make a cute feather-and-toilet-paper-roll parrot. If you want to take your Papagei parrot in the bath with you, here’s a picture of our simple wash-cloth/elastic band bird, suitable for any…
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Pirate Hats
Ahoy there, me hearties!! Boy, have we got a whole lot of fun for you! Here is the first in our pirate series. First off, you’re going to need a newspaper pirate hat, of course. You can fold one like Gerda shows in her awesome pirate hat craft video. If you really want to go to town, paint and…
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Blow-Worm Racing
Here’s your GAP Director in a video showing the children how to make and race their own blow worms (or caterpillars)! Machen wir ein Wettrennen mit Raupen! They are cute, super simple to make and lots of fun to race. Hint 1: Blowing them along the floor or table is easier with a proper straw,…
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Lisa-Marie’s Bewegungsgeschichte
Former GAP teacher Lisa-Marie has produced a Bewegungsgeschichte for us all to enjoy! Children from the class of 2019 are sure to remember her, although I’m sure all the children will enjoy her story. Watch her video to hear her story and follow along with the actions. Parents can download Lisa-Marie’s story (as a PDF)…
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Alle Leut Song
The GAP children will all be familiar with our end-of-the-day song, “Alle Leut’”. Here’s your GAP Director performing an updated version of Alle Leut (incredibly poorly) for you. (At least Truffle had an idea of what my singing might be like, and she’s run off!) Here’s the deal: You don’t judge me for my singing…
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Verstecken with Truffle
We tried to think of ways to keep the children familiar with the venue at GAP, and remind them of what it is like there. I hope you enjoy our game of Verstecken (hide and seek) with Truffle. Usually at GAP, after we do the roll call, we ask the children “wer fehlt?” (who is…
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Guten Morgen GAP Roll Call
We thought the GAP children might like personal greetings to start their day! Here is our morning greeting for the MondayTuesday class and the ThursdayFriday class. (Apologies if I missed your child’s name. Trying to keep up with Gerda’s GAP-at-home video skills is no small task!)
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Mail Lesson 2
One of our GAP families told us they went for a really long walk in their neighbourhood, looking at all the mailboxes they could find! They loved finding different styles of mailbox, and naming the shapes (Formen) they could see in German. Some children might like to identify the numbers they see as well. Truffle…