For those of you who homeschool your children, adding a foreign language like German is a fun way to work in multiple topics like math, music, and geography. Here is the first in a series of methods to help you develop the routine and how to apply German in other topics.

1. Create the right routine for you.

For you and your children, it might be easiest to have German lessons on a particular day or on different days at the same time. If you use a tablet or a smartphone as part of their instruction, you can set up the time in the calendar for an automatic reminder. This method could also be used if you want to have German learning time, say in the morning, and German practice time later on that same day. Breaking up the learning into small chunks helps you repeat the same material more frequently, so you learn the material  more quickly.

Other homeschoolers might benefit from having a dedicated German room. This is the perfect place for some of the methods I describe below, like using (removable) stickers to label everything in the room. Creating the association between your couch and the German word "das Sofa" is particularly effective for visual learners. When your children are secure in that vocabulary, you could add another room like the dining room and work on "die Gabel," "das Messer," and "der Löffel."

Learn German Online with Nicole verkauft nun Aufkleber!

Diese Aufkleber verwende ich im Unterricht mit Deutschschüler und sie lieben es, die Aufkleber auf den Hausaufgaben zu bekommen, oder wenn sie ein schwieriges Thema in Deutsch verstanden haben und nun verwenden können.

Pro Blatt gibt es 24 Aufkleber und pro Satz gibt es 5 Blätter für nur $4.

Machen Sie auch Ihren Schülern im Unterricht eine Freude mit diesen Aufkleber!

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Learn German Online with Nicole is now selling stickers!

These are the stickers that I use in lessons with my students and they LOVE receiving them on their homework, as a reward for a job well-done, and for recognition when they finally integrate a difficult aspect of German into their language skills.

Each sheet contains 24 stickers and every set contains 5 sheets for just $4.

Reward your students and give them something to smile about with these stickers!

Karneval beginnt am kommenden Donnerstag!

Carneval begins this coming Thursday!

Carneval is the celebratory season/week-long party before Lent. Carneval is centuries old and is found most frequently in Catholic areas, however similar celebrations are found to date back to pre-Christian times.

Time is of utmost importance for carnival:  at 11.11 a.m. sharp the carnival begins--on Thursday the 12th, known as Weiberfastnacht. In between Thursday and Rosenmontag (Rose Monday), there will be parties galore, in particular in Cologne (Köln). Monday the traditional parade will take place, so hold your hats and get ready for some distinct opinions on world events and German politics brought to you by the wonderful media of paper mache.

The parties continue up until Ashermittwoch (Ash Wednesday), where we turn to the season of Lent.

But not until then.

Until then, we call out "Kölle alaaf!"

Meine Tipps für Sie:

For a more in-depth exploration, check out this article I wrote on Karneval last year.

Here is a fantastic slideshow from SWR1.de about the Schwäbisch-Allemanische Fastnacht and its origins--absolut faszinierend! (Auf Deutsch.)

A friend of mine is selling this china set that her husband bought for her in Germany at an American PX a couple of decades ago. (A PX is an American shopping center on an American base and only military members and their families are allowed to shop and to use those items.) It's a full set and it's all in excellent condition. If you're interested, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I'll put you in touch with the seller. The china is for sale for $300 and is in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and pick-up or shipping is negotiable.

Here are the details:

The pictures are a little dark, but you get a good idea of the excellent condition and the pattern itself.

And the all-important stamp:  Winterling Bavaria B4.

So there you have it! A full set of beautiful, German china for $300, located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As a German student, you need quality resources and reliable materials and I'm happy to share discoveries I've made and also recommendations from students. One of my students received 501 German Verbs as a gift a while back and I'm happy to say this book has been an excellent addition to this student's study and lesson time!

501 German verbs is an excellent reference book for the most frequently used German verbs and it lists all of the tenses in a clear, easy-to-read format. The verbs are printed alphabetically in the book so you always know where to go to find the verb you're looking for, and since it's only 501 verbs, you're not going to get lost on the way there.

When you reach the point in German learning when you are studying present perfect (Ich bin umgezogen.) or perhaps you are learning the simple past (hatte, ging, war) for the first time, this is an excellent resource.

Simply the fact that the number of verbs is limited helps keep you within the framework of the first levels of German learning, unlike other resources, which throw everything at you from level A1 (beginner) to C2 (advanced/fluent). It's the appropriateness of this book that appeals so much to me as an instructor.

The Liberation of Auschwitz

The Apollo Club Commemorates the 70th Anniversary on January 27

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Jan. 27, 2015) — Entering into its 120th consecutive season, The Apollo Club presents a reflective commemoration and celebration of the Liberation of Auschwitz at the Ted Mann Concert Hall on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 – the exact date of the liberation 70 years ago.

In honor of this historic day, the Apollo Male Chorus of Minneapolis-St. Paul will be performing a special concert incorporating Arnold Schoenberg's rarely heard A Survivor from Warsaw, along with the World Premiere of noted composer James Bassi's Five Prayers, commissioned by The Apollo Club. Five Prayers is a five-movement symphonic song cycle for male chorus, written in both Hebrew and English, with solo baritone, orchestra, and dancer. The Schoenberg and Bassi compositions are seamlessly integrated with Aaron Copland's Preamble for a Solemn Occasion and other symphonic pieces specifically composed for war-torn and liberated Europe.

The concert is artistically conceived to begin and end liberatingly with the darkest moment in the center of the program, to symbolically represent the U-shaped Jewish menorah. It begins in the light, moves through the darkness, and re-enters the light. It truly is a concert about Liberation and a return to life. Audience members alike will find themselves touched, moved and inspired by this experience.

In addition to the Apollo Male Chorus, the program features several guests:
David Winkworth – Narrator in A Survivor from Warsaw and Preamble for a Solemn Occasion and Chorus member of St. John The Evangelist Episcopal Church.
Aaron James – Baritone soloist of New York City Opera and The Met, long-time Male Choir Soloist with Congregation Shearith Israel and Milken Archives project.
James Andrews – Classically trained Ballet Dancer from New York City who has performed with the Joffrey Ballet as well as Boston, Tulsa, and Atlanta Ballet companies.
Members from the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Opera Orchestra.

5% of proceeds from this concert will be donated to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota & The Dakota

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Pre-concert discussion with Composer and Artistic Director at 6:15 p.m.