You seem so happy and proud when you talk about your children. It really touches me in a very positive way. I also like it, that you are so open for the German /. Bavarian culture.

From what I am seeing through this tiny KZfaq window you guys do a lot of things the right way as parents. Your kids seem to be so grounded and down to earth and generally just nice and intelligent people. Have a great rest of summer and enjoy your time off ❤️

The free pass for public transportation was such a big part of my independence when growing up in Austria. At age 11 or 12 our favorite thing to do was look at the list of names and addresses of everyone in our class and pay each other suprise visits. We'd pick kids that lived as far from us as possible (in Salzburg so of course there was a limited radius) and we'd figure out how to get there and just knock on their doors to ask if they were home and ready for a chat on the doorstep. We also liked to play "Let's get lost" where we weren't allowed to look at where the buses we got onto were going, then we had to walk a few blocks randomly until we decided we were lost enough to manage to find our way home before 6 or whenever we were expected home. Once we took the game so seriously we ended up in Germany without any documentation ;-)

A big part of your success and happiness in Germany is because you have a great family and you are educated. And you chose a very nice neighborhood to live. Smart move.

Aaaaw all the parties that come with kindergarten. Just makes me realize we missed out on so much. Once upon a time I had a 3 year old, he was the smallest in his kindergarten group and he was the first to walk with his St Martins lantern holding the hand of his teacher and singing out loud. It made me tear up to see him waddling along and holding up his lantern so proud. Then we all came together to sing and eat sweets and drink fruit punch together and he talked about it for weeks and months. Then there was Covid and when we were quarantined for the first time and I was sick, he'd still pretend to go on St Martins walks around our 3 room apartment, round and round with his lantern and to the balcony and back, every day, singing out the songs. The next year St Martins was canceled, the year after they went for a morning walk without the parents and without candles and any of the magic, and now he's 6 and starting school :-(

It's so great that everything worked out for all of the kids, despite all the challenges at the start. 😄 And now enjoy the time off in your summer vacation, you all have earned it. 😉

Ihre Videos sind sehr erfrischend zu sehen. Ihre Begeisterung ist ansteckend. Danke dafür. Was noch schön für die Schulzeit ist, sind die Klassenfahrten, die ca. eine Woche dauern. Die Reise kann innerhalb von Deutschland sein aber auch innerhalb Europas liegen, je nach alter der Schüler. Eine tolle Bildungsreise wo die Kinder viel Erfahrung erhalten. Tolle Videos von Ihnen, weiter so 👍.

It must feel so fantastic to have navigated through such a challenging year, which it would have been anyway, starting a new school in a foreign language, but on top of everything, covid. I‘m so pleased for you all, that not only did they get good grades, but they made friends. Enjoy your well deserved slower schedule and time enjoying the Summer together!

Since you like festivals in Bavaria obviously, you should plan a visit of the Rosenheimer Herbstfest, which starts next week.

I wish I had a transition like Ella when I started school in France😂 I was dropped off in a sixth grade classroom whilst my siblings were in the separate lower school. The 1st year was probably the hardest time in my life. Sitting in a class full of gibberish for 7 hours a day is not a nice feeling😂But I am so grateful for how i naturally acquired French. Your children will turn into adaptable, confident and smart beings. Language is rather interesting- I do find it takes about a year for most kids to get to a point of almost fluency. It also took about a year for my siblings. But even though I was 11 and they were 8+9 they are much more confident speaking English, but I am slightly more confident in French. It's so interesting how children adjust to and develop language preferences. Loving your content as always and looking forward to another year!

Sorry to hear you are back in the USA. In this video you could hear how you were really looking forward to staying here, so I guess something not very pleasant happened. I just discovered your channel yesterday and it really was great work what you did with it. T I wish you all the best in the USA

I LOVE how wonderful everything turned out, especially since Bavaria tends to be way stricter than other Bundesländer when it comes to all things school. Also, as a German, I absolutely love the positivity with which you two and your entirely family talk about Germany because often times, us Germans tend to only focus on the bad stuff and forget to acknowledge all the great things, like all these regional festivals and holidays and how much fun that is. I wish you all the best and may your German experience continue to be a journey of fun and wonderful things.

Young children are very adaptable; it's surprising how quickly they can pick up another language when they are with other kids all day. I know that part of Germany quite well, and you are so lucky to live there.

Gymnasium in Bavaria is not easy, I painfully remember that. Your boys mastering that and learning 2 foreign languages is awesome, you can be very proud of all of your kids.

I’m not really surprised your kids did so well. You and Kevin are such good role models and give them a wonderful home.

Sorry to correct you since you do such a good job, Sarah! It should be Elternsprechtag. Or an information night is Elternabend. Happy you found joy in all the little festivities. Bavaria certainly has the highest number of traditions publicly displayed. In Northern Germany, we would go with lanterns end September ( when the time Shift didn't exist ) together with some rollercoasters and music ( an autumn fair ). Never seen any St. Martin's walks before moving to Berlin. Yes, even with mainly protestants many Kirchenkreise organize a horse, and some Glühwein and Stockbrot. Love it.

16:35 Ooooh you're so lucky. My kid has this special talent of picking great little friends with parents that have some serious behavioural issues :-D

Wir lieben EUCH und es ist eine Ehre Euch bei uns zu haben 🥰🥰🥰

Its quite astonishing that everything went smoothly...considering the obstacles and challenges.Covid put a severe pressure on school throughout Germany so I am very happy that all of your kids pulled through. Enjoy the Sommerferien!

When I was around 12 years old, I really took pride in knowing how to read bus schedules and public transport maps! And it was such a satisfaction knowing things. Otherwise: I am so happy how excited you are about how things went, congratulations all 4 of your children doing so well in their respective subjects! Looking forward to your tales of the Summer Holidays!

We went to Belgium, Netherlands and Czech for school trips. Some go to London and Spain

Holidaytipps: Sommerrodelbahn , Rheinfall ,over night in Strassburg and the next morning to Europapark 😉

So nice to watch your videos. Expat (long story) who ended up in Germany '74 at the age of 9 3/4 and sent to a gymnasium... so much of what you describe resonates... Ended up staying here... university was just way too expensive back in California...

Thank you for sharing. In my Gymnasium (highschool), we had extra class of our city history. We had an archive of thousands unexplored 200 or 300 years old documents and we could read and sort them by topics for the library. While my wife had a cooking class and my daughter had a tailoring and chess class. We really enjoyed our school time. Im glad to have you and your Kids here in Germany and it reminds us of our first arrival 40 years ago.

First of all, I am really proud of you, how you have managed to integrate and become a valuable member in your community. And I am even more proud of what your children have achieved during that time in their own personal growth. Congratulations, this is really a great achievement. Question for you, Sarah: In hindsight of the last 1.5 years with all the possible struggles, especially with the pandemic in terms of remote schooling etc.. Do you think this may have even helped your kids integrate in a somehow lower pace and have you as a support at home? Compared to a "normal year" when they may have felt like they were "thrown under the bus" and had more stress keeping up with the other kids, communicating in a foreign language, and making new friends if you know what I mean?

Hallo ihr lieben, um eure Frage zu beantworten ja ihr seit definitely germaneist. Ich verfolge euch seit fast einen Jahr ihr seit ein sehr sympathisches couple. Ich bin deutsch und lebe in Florida aber möchte wieder nach Deutschland ich vermisse es sehr und um so mehr ich euch verfolge um so mehr will ich wieder heim kommen. Liben Grüße, Simone!

Thats a huge cultural change for any family to undertake. Well done, and much respect from the U.K. 😊

I am so glad that all your kids adjusted so well in school. But then again I knew they would because they all are so smart and learn fast. I am sure they would have learned German even faster if they had been able to school full time in 2021.

About swimming classes. I don't know when it is the usual age for children in the US to learn swimming but in Germany it's about the age 5-6. You may want to check with the other parents of Ella's friends when they are going and have her join them in the next year

I will for sure miss my "every Sunday breakfast video" of yours, but hey - enjoy the break, have a happy and relaxing time together and also have safe and entertaining travels! I am looking forward to hearing about your vacation adventures! And never forget to be proud of yourselves, because you made such an awesome job in overcoming unexpected obstacles and integrating into a new culture and society! Take care and be safe!

Great parents have great kids. No more comment necessary.

It's nice to hear that you like it in Germany. This is partly due to the fact that you got involved with Germany and accepted the circumstances as they are. Nothing about us is perfect, but everything is good enough.

Very cool, that their Gymnasium has so many practical lessons like woodworking! I went to a Gymnasium in Niedersachsen and I would have loved to have some practical lessons, but I always felt like they were expecting all of us to go to university just because we would get our Abitur.

The Festival are different, from region to region. And from the direction of religion. St. Martin is known in catholic regions, like south Bavaria or lowerrhine. In Saxonia it is not common. Carnival is in February, most common at the Rhine, Mosel and Main. But different from area to area. Schweben has a different culture to the Rhinearea, for example.

Ich wünsche Euch wunderbare Sommerferien!

10:06. Wow, that wooden clock is pretty good!

I know what you mean! I'm a teacher in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (close to Usedom) and we start school again tomorrow (students return the week after). All my friends down in Bavaria only just started theirs...You should come up here some time for a vacation, the Baltic Sea is beautiful

Kids learning languages is very easy.

You guys should get to know the local "Einschulung" rules and traditions for you daugther first year of school. The weekend before the actual first day of school is a big thing in Germany with a whole day dedicated to celebrate it. There is this tradition of the "Zuckertüte" in most places of Germany, its a conic present box filled with sweets and school supplies. There a many different versions and themes for the Zuckertüte and at some schools they even have trees which will work as the "Zuckertütenbaum" on they day of "Schulanfang".

That's interesting I graduated in 2019, I think most public high schools in AZ have a woodworking class, my school had an auto class too. They usually are called CTE classes and are heavily promoted in the school (along with STEM focused classes). I remember there being a class on botany and working with cattle (pretty sure the majority of public high schools had agriculture programs since there were competitions), a few cooking classes, auto class, woodworking class, sports physio class (working with the school teams) and a bunch of other trade/career based classes.

Great parents get great kids! You are doing so good and I am happy for you and I am proud of what you are doing.

Then you can now breathe out deeply that everything worked so wonderfully. 😮‍💨 18:36 Eltern/Sprache = parents' language 😁. You mean Eltern/sprech/tag (parents' speaking day) = parents' day. Ella can already order her desired "Schultüte" from you. 🎉

Not me crying because i am so proud of your smart kids (that I don't even know personally)

I went to high school in the U.S. and when I was a junior and a senior in high school, we were allowed to go off campus for lunch nearby places only. When I was in middle school, we had a wood working class and it was fun, back in 2002. We had BOCES in high school too that you can do trade work for half the day at another school where you can learn how to be a mechanic, LPN, criminal justice, culinary, and other jobs as well. I know not all schools offer that though in the U.S.

This is the first video of you I have ever seen but I still feel like sharing some of my experiences 😂 I was born in Germany but I was a military child and before Elementary school, I only ever lived on a base and never had anything to do with Germany. However, my mother moved off base with me after she and my father thought about it for a long time because she wanted me to have a connection to my German side. When my parents signed me up for German school I wanted to cry. They placed me in second grade and hell, I don’t know how exactly I managed. I guess my father raised me to be very competitive 😂 I went there with no language skills, suddenly had to converse in German and to be honest, I just wanted to go back home. I nailed Grundschule (graduated at the top of my class) and then was allowed to go to Gymnasium. But there are lots of different experiences for me than you describe 😂 I am in 13th grade now, and next week is going to be my first field trip ever because apparently Hesse focuses on theory and nothing practical. Of course, sixth grade was one Klassenfahrt for a week to get to know my class mates but everything else that you described, like going swimming for PE or going hiking was a complete no-go for my schools. So I guess there must be huge differences based on states. Back in sixth grade, I chose Latin and it was easy to keep up with my class because it was new to all of us, I guess it is the same for your children. English was really hard though as my teachers always only emphasised British English and used American English as the "lazy language" and usually were very discriminating. It’s so good to hear that you don’t have to deal with that! But I really love how open you all are and how well you master those new experiences and support your kids. I didn’t have that from my parents because my father taught me to only rely on myself and my mother always was told that I was making stuff up by my teachers 😅 They would tell me that I am stupid because I am American but then tell my mother that it never happened. Oddly enough, I always imagined Bavaria to have huge problems with stuff like that. So it is really good to hear about different experiences and I want to wish you all the best for you and especially for your children‘s future ❤ If they stick with their studies now, they will have such good chances in later life, especially with the Abitur!

Schönen Urlaub wünsche ich euch und bleib gesund

Being unable to leave the school ground or even classroom is something I found so odd when I was an exchange student in the U.S., if you needed to go to the restroom during class you even needed a hall pass by the teacher that allowed you to leave the classroom. In my German school it was totally normal to leave the school during lunch break and get something at the supermarket nearby (my school did not have a proper cafeteria back then though, just a really small one where you could get different breads and drinks (no sodas though!). Great to hear all your kids are doing so well in school (and yes, Bavaria does have the toughest schools) and it's awesome that the school has classes like woodworking. This is usually something I criticize about German schools and prefer in US schools, the amount of different classes they have there that we never heard of (like journalism, finances and other really cool classes). I hope Ella gets to do the lantern walk this year.

Because you, McFalls, in the meantime, are a little bit like neighbors for me - virtual neighbors at least 😉- it`s also nice for me to hear that most (or all) of your kid`s school and "kindergarden" matters have been solved by a positiv result 👍. Congratulation to both of you, to your adorable kids and a big thank for sharing a big part of your life on YT ! Enjoy your YT break and have a nice time ! See you later guys, Klaus Z 😘.

Off-campus rules and extra activities/classes vary across schools. In my Gymnasium only students Grade 11 and above were allowed to leave the campus during school hours (Some snuck out anyway). The exception were made if you had a permission slip from your parents e.g. to go for a dentist appointment. As far as subjects are concerned every school is different. My Gymnasium only offered standard classes and extra curricula activities. When I went to High School in TX I was so excited when the guidance counsellor gave me a huge brochure listing all the classes the school offered and told me to pick whatever I liked and whatever level I felt comfortable with. Subjects included dance, different forms of Arts and Music, drama, gardening/agriculture and even astronomy.

The ease of lawsuit in the USA makes institutions want to take less risks. In Europe lawsuits are way less common.

It has been so great to catch up with what the kids have been up to at school. Your family is so involved, which is great. Enjoy your summer with the kids!

I was one of the critics when you insisted to enrol your kids at a Bavarian Gymnasium. I somehow missed that “Gastschüler“ concept - that was actually a good idea. Anyway, I am really really happy that it worked out! Congratulations. I‘ve never wanted to be that negative - but as a teacher I’ve seen way too often what it does to kids and their self-confidence when they have to leave a “Gymnasium“ here. All the best wishes!

I'm so glad for you guys! 😊 My daughter finished first grad this year, too. It was hard at the beginning with the Covid-restrictions, but later she loved it. Enjoy your vacation!

I went to school in NRW and we weren’t allowed to leave the school grounds at secondary school until we were 16. Also wow to skying lessons (that never happened for us) but I guess that’s the perk of being in rural Bavaria.

If you had to learn one language from scratch, especially early in life, your capacity to assimilate another language is much more elevated. You just have learned to learn a language and can put this experience into practice. It helped me to first learn English, then French and with less extend, because of lack of practice, Spanish. We've seen this with our kids. We are German, living in France and German was our kids first language. They picked up English really easily when they went to the French collège, which is equivilant to German gymnasium. But I think computers are a great help, since most of computer language and instructions are in English, so even one of my drop out kids speaks English really well without having gone through the regular school curriculum. The system in France is different though. You do five years of ground school and then there is a general continuing school, called collège, while in Germany, schools after grade school are separated in Hauptschule,Realschule and Gymnasium, the French kids are all going to collège until Lycée, or enterminto specialised continuing schools which train you in different, specific directions, like different fields of construction, cooking, etc...while in the Lycée, you prepare for university, and there are three different options you can choose from, the scientifically oriented branch, linguistic branch or a business oriented branch. But compared to French school system, I really regret German schools and german Kindergarten. I think Germans are more Kid orientated than the French. Over here they had a brutally long schoolday and even though until the brevet, they get half of Wednesday off and Saturdays are free, they had to leave the house at seven a.m. and they got home by six p.m., since we live 25 kilometers from their school and they had more homework to do in the evening. I went to a German gymnasium when I was a kid and I had so much more free time....and yet in the pisa studies, the French rank behind average German educational achievement levels.

What a great experience for you all. Enjoy.

The field trips and excursions were always one of my favorite parts of school ❤️ the one day ones, the overnight ones, the 7 day long ones... I still remember my first week long trip, which was in 4th grade of elementary school, where we went to explore our state capital and the Wachau region, since I'm from Lower Austria and this is culturally important to us. It was such a fun trip, with lots of hikes, games, museums and sight seeing. And I liked almost all my week long trips in Gymnasium too. We had an English & sports camp in 8th grade where we learned to play Lacrosse, Baseball and American Football, we went to Rome in 10th grade, to southern England in 11th grade and to southern France in 12th grade. Good memories ❤️ We also had an intense sports week in 11th grade too, which I didn't like very much. There was also a ski week in 6th grade, but I didn't go, bc I am not interested in skiing. We had a lot of these immersive language trips because my Gymnasium had a language focus. Only Rome was different, since Latin is a dead language, so it was an all culture trip. And in Italian, which I also took, we didn't get to take a trip, since it was only a Wahlfach at my school and didn't get much funding. But yeah, school trips are the best! 🥰

Just since you talked about the school pool party. Can Ella swim? In some areas Grundschule expects kids to already be able to swim. was like that where I am from, but the other parents should know^^

You have done so incredibly well and can be immensely proud! And you deserve a lovely summer break! Enjoy the holidays. We're sending lots of love your way.xx

I never doubted that your smart kids would master the school year with flying colors. Well done, boys! 🖖🏼 Frohe Ferien euch allen! ☀️

What i really recommend is a membership in the DLRG (German Lifeguard) there you can get the Schwimmabzeichen (a grade how able you are as a swimmer). Seepferdchen = you know how to swim, Bronze, Silver & Gold or can go further and get one of the three lifesaver ranks DLRG Bronze-Gold. You can also learn how to dive. When they have their trainings you can go swimming for free and they offer nice bonus activities for your kids. The membership isn't expensive.

Glad to hear it works out for your kids :) Ella has the opportunity to stay a year longer if you don't feel comfortable. We did it with our oldest daughter as she was a bit behind in terms of social competence and language. We considered same for our youngest daughter as she is very childish/naive but she wanted to go to school so badly so we let her.

I love to connect with you - itsso refreshing!

Wow! Kids are just miracles! and i can see in your faces how prou and happy you are about them. But the most important is that they can be proud of themelves, and that gives them the courage and confidence to grow up "succesful" and also happy! wonderfull to see that progress, So go ahead kids! Alles Gute von Michael aus Hannover!

Here in Berlin we have 2 zoological Gardens. Berlin KITA groups have free entry to the Zoo (west) and Tierpark (east). As I live not far away from the Tierpark, and have several Kitas in my KIEZ (neighborhood) I frequently meet Kita groups in the Straßenbahn/Tram, heading to the Tierpark, often with a big Bollerwagen (a big 6-8 seated stroller) for the little ones

Thank you for the update. It is good to know that you are happy with the school system and you are doing well. I do hope that the principal who refused your children's admission last year somehow gets to see this video, so that he realizes he was wrong and maybe, just maybe, it is worth giving people a chance to prove themselves, a good American quality. 😅 (I have never understood why he didn't want to grant your children Gastschüler-Status, in my Gymnasium that happens in similar cases). Enjoy the summer holidays, and hopefully the next school year will be more or less normal.

For the next year you can plan the first weekend to visit st.Wendel, Saarland. Here we have every year the greatest streetmagic festival worldwide (friday to sunday)

its not only the gymnasium that have those art lesson. I remember, back in Hauptschule i had woodwork, learnt how to use a drilling maschine, we had a sewing class and we learnt how to use a sewing machine. We sewed a backback, some pants and a shirt. for all the sewing things we had to go into the city to buy the fabric. it was all up to ourself which fabric we wanted. And of course we had a cooking class once a week. 2-3 students were sent to the next grocerystore with a list and enough money to buy everything we needed for cooking class.

It's crazy how effortlessly and casually you drop random german words at this point! Most stuff I didn't even notice anymore. And difficult stuff with _ch_ , like Handtuch, too! You've come a long way in such a short time! 👍

I'm so glad you're doing so well. I'm always happy to hear how much progress you've done, you and your kids both. This video makes me a bit envious that i didn't grew up in Bayern :D especially when i that amazing landscape in your region but it also makes me eager to visit some time because it's not that far away. Thank you guys so much for your inspiring videos"

So nice. For your older kids there also could be Ferienlager. Vacation-/ summercamps. That can be really very adventurefull. ☀️

Your children will have a great future! You'll be proud parents for sure! :-) But I am pretty sure you are already proud! :-) *all_the_best

Yay! So great to hear how well your kiddos are doing!

What a great video. I am a teacher here in Germany and I have never been aware of all those great things that come along with our school system, simply because everybody complains all the time! Thank you! :)

Schöne Ferien und erholt euch gut!

Here in NRW, kids started school again on wednesday. It's always weird to have the Bundesländer have their holidays so spread apart. So glad to hear everything is going well for you. Have fun and relax on your time off!

So good to see that you are all doing so well. I almost get a bit jealous when you see how flexible children are and how they adapt relatively easily to a new situation and learn a new language. I wish I still had that ability.😄 Enjoy the summer holiday season

I'm happy that all of you are doing so great, I wish you all the best. Thank you for showing all the inside of moving and living in germany.

Wow, so much amazing stuff. My nephew who is a year younger than Ella just had his first "Laternenumzug" last year (Here in Hamburg most people even don't know it is "Sankt-Martins-Tag"), I watched a nice video of him running through the appartement, singing with his lantern in hand. I am not sure if this still happens (especially because of Covid) but at a certain point schools in Germany had "Klassenreisen". A "Klassenreise" is usually a trip with their school class (not the whole grade, usually one or two classes together), which can last between one and four weeks, depending on the school and grade they are in. I think I had 4 or 5 (two of them were for the whole grade) of them, but I went 13 years to school to get may "Abitur", so there were enough opportunities. Maybe there will even be a "Schulaustausch" (student exchange, usually for those with advanced language classes) but with the current situation things may change. I love the part about the crafting of the wooden clock and the general (basically) arts and craft stuff, we had this as well and at some time even a couple of weeks of cooking and baking. So happy everything is working out so far, might have felt less rewarding without the obstacles. Greeting from Hamburg.

Enjoy your summer!

Schöne Ferien!

All in all, it sounds like your children got off to a good start. I can congratulate you on that. I hope the two of you are getting on better and better with the changeover from USA to Germany.

I really do love your long videos (haven't managed to watch the shorts yet). I have come back to Germany with my family after 12 years abroad and your videos really really help to appreciate all these small little beautiful thing that make Germany the country that it is. I do appreciate your working and I'm looking forward to every video from you guys. ❤❤❤❤

I'm happy for you that everything has turned out well. I didn't have doubts, it will all get better and better. Enjoy your Sommerferien!

Good morning. School started this week in NRW. Very often a police car is parking on the sidewalk at our elementary school in our village. The policeman talks to the kiddies and has an eye on them when crossing the street. It is a "tempo 30 zone" and the passing cars drive at a snail's pace and nobody dares to speed. Everybody respects our policeman. I love that.😊👍

You are a wonderful couple! Thank you for sharing😀

That’s so nice that the kids have made friends at school and that Ella had a great time in kindergarten ! I’m at the moment on vacation in Bavaria at my friends house ! Have a nice summer time

Have a nice vacation time. 🏖

Ich wünsche Euch einen tollen Sommer!💯👍 Have fun 😉❤️

Schöne Ferien 😀

Nice summerstop for you all 😃

Good to hear it is working out

Happy summer! My kids are out of school in the training for their jobs so the rhythm has changed for us.

Viel spass !

Das klappt ja alles so wunderbar, freue mich mit Euch!!

Wow, give a lot of kudos to your kids for having managed to achieve such fluency levels in German already. A year, or even 18 months, isn't a huge time to become fluent in a new language at all. Compound that with the pretty radical difference of English to German, and the complexity level of German, that is outstanding. But I also noticed both of you swapping out German words completely fluently in your English sentences. Denglish being the perfect indicator showing how your brain get's rewired and accustomed to speaking another language constantly. Because you are so used to it that you use the term that comes to mind first. Nice. Meaning your German has progressed as well. It happens to ALL of us who learn another language and are surrounded by it most of the time. It is the bane, the apotheosis, of any language teachers once it starts creeping into language classes. But it can't be stopped, so roll with it 😁😂 Liability issues are much smaller here as litigation for the most negligible issues is usually not the case. Sure, I won't deny that SOME people might go litigation at the drop of a hat. But it still is frowned upon, both in the public mindset, as well as the judges (no juries here in Germany) to fraudulently sue someone for some ridiculous charge. A friendly reminder to use common sense in everyday situations is often admonished to fraudulent litigators. Crafts and trades are not frowned upon in Germany. To the contrary: a skilled artisan is regarded highly. So even high schools = Gymnasium geared toward a more 'cerebral' education with the final goal of university may still introduce manual labor classes to give kids who might not want a typical science or economic education later in life a look at what else they can do that satisfies them, and still offers them a well-paying job here. Sure, again, like you said, not every Gymnasium will do that. But at least there are chances to get a varied look at vocations from all walks of life. Now for something that parents don't like to hear. When the hormones hit during puberty kids often, or rather, most of the time will get rebellious and may want to skip school, or even run away from home. In that case consider the independence they learned a good/bad thing at the same time. The good thing is that IF a kid decides to skip school or, at worst, run away from home they most likely will take public transportation here instead of hitchhiking. Public transporation has a high chance that they will be recorded somewhere taking any of the many transporation means, making finding them again easier. Also public transportation is MUCH safer than hitchhiking. But on the flip side, if they do take public transportation the searching area to find them grows exponentially with every hour that they ride it. I do hope, and believe, that in such a healthy family, this won't be an issue. Sure, the spats and arguments between parents and teens will happen, almost guaranteed. But at least you might have a reasonable guess where kids that run away might try to hide (with their friends) instead of in some worrying unsafe location. Because you know that your kids will be able to safely reach their friends without outside help. Festivals in Germany: Germans use ANY excuse to have a festival. Hops harvest? Festival New wine? Festival Potato harvest? Festival Beer? Festival Sunny day? Festival... you get the drift. 😁 Einschulung and Schultüte: that might be something you have to get used to. It will probably have occured to you that there are these large paper triangular bags in stores right now? That's a tradition to make pre-school kids excited to go to school. It is usually filled with sweets and treats, maybe a small gift or two, plus some of their school gear as well, such as pens, pencils, crayons, etc. On their Einschulung / actual school enrollment day they usually will have photo sessions, and a small ceremony, all dressed up and carrying their Schultüte / school goodies bag. Because now they will be among the 'big kids' but won't be home from school for a more extended period because school attendance is mandatory in Germany (exceptions like covid notwithstanding, obviously). So it is to sweeten the dreaded 'leaving from home for multiple hours on end' separation from their parents.

Wow! You all have sacrificed so much to achieve great things. Congratulations! Now time to enjoy some well deserved break from school, work, and us KZfaq family.off course we will later fet to enjoy some of your time off as you share with us. Enjoy!

Glad to see a school update, and to hear that things worked out so well in the end. I had been wondering for a while. Would love to even hear a more detailed update on math, physics, chemistry for your older boys too, one day, maybe next year. I think that the more they progress in their grade level, the bigger the differences will become, and I am wondering whether you are seeing that at this point already. In general, a lot of what you are reporting as new to you, actually shows me how different the American system is within the US, depending on your state. My kids in PA certainly did woodworking in school, and had multiple field trips per year (usually two). They did arts until about 5th grade, but sadly not much beyond that. But music continued. And there were orchestra, choir, theater groups and musical programs, far beyond what I have ever seen at a German school. That said, that clock that Grayson made is absolutely gorgeous, that is totally amazing work. What they did not have here in the US, were the week long trips that German students usually go on, starting in 7th or 8th grade. On the other hand, given the three months of summer vacation, it is quite normal to plan for a few weeks of summer camp for the kids here instead, just that this has to be financed privately, whereas the Klassenfahrt in Germany is mostly paid for with state funds, and therefore is accessible to all, and happens within the class structure. American kids have a lot of events taking place within school, here. Not only all the sports events, which are huge, but also anything from book fairs to business exhibitions (local companies introducing themselves and showing what kind of work they do and what kind of careers people could choose to go into), to social programs in cooperation with the local food bank, and on and on....in fact sometimes you wondered whether they were ever getting to do any school work. Add to that photo day twice a year, assembly days for a gazillion reasons, health day, field day, kids here had a lot of variety. But it was more within a school environment, not so much outside of it, and as they get older, this is probably more of a disadvantage, as it is limiting their experiences. And yes, lawyers are mostly to blame for this situation in the US, imo. But the more I hear you describe your dystopian situation in the American schools as you experienced them, the more I am glad that we as a family moved away from NC, which is similar to GA, and settled in PA instead. It is way better in the north-east, and well worth a little bit higher school taxes, imo. You get what you pay for, I guess, and many southern states seem to be struggling accordingly. Add to that the many restrictions on what you can say or not say in school and it is quite scary what seems to be going on in some states in the US. That said, you are in a very quaint and peaceful part of Germany, if your kids were to go to school in Frankfurt or Berlin, your experiences would be way different too. I am glad to hear things are working out for you though. Have a wonderful summer, and don't worry, folks will be here for you, when you have time to post.

You can really be proud of your kids ! I always enjoy your videos watching your kids developing and getting accustomed to Germany, its school-system and making friends. 🙂

My kids have booked a locker for their books. And we practiced a little going to the school by driving to their new schools during the last summer holidayx before they went to to the new school.