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What skill are expected from 6 yo in school?

Last activity 31 May 2021 by beppi

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FromMow

Hello!
I wonder if a child starting public school in Germany at 6 is expected to read rather fluently, write all letters, add and substract (within range of...?), know some English?
In Russia children now start school at 7 and it's expected that they already can do everything from the start.
Reading in German worries me the most.
Especially because myself I'm less than a zero in German language and there's too much letters in the words and that's scary even after French.

ALKB

FromMow wrote:

Hello!
I wonder if a child starting public school in Germany at 6 is expected to read rather fluently, write all letters, add and substract (within range of...?), know some English?
In Russia children now start school at 7 and it's expected that they already can do everything from the start.
Reading in German worries me the most.
Especially because myself I'm less than a zero in German language and there's too much letters in the words and that's scary even after French.


If you mean 1st grade / 1. Klasse, then children are not expected to do all that. It differs a bit from state to state and whether there is a Vorschule year, but as far as I know (can't keep track of all 16 systems) even that is not compulsory.

Ideally, they should know German, be able to cut with a scissor, hold a pencil, recognise colours, that sort of thing.

FromMow

Thanks, so I'll focus with him on spoken German, not reading books then as he will be taught everything else in school.

TominStuttgart

Don’t worry about it. School is there to teach the kids how to read and write etc. Anything a kid cannot do will get taught; you are worry about nothing. The most important thing you can do, is to do your best to get them started on learning German. Finding a private tutor in addition to school might be worthwhile. And this doesn’t have to cost as much as one might think since University students often do it for around 15 Euros/hour. Possibly finding other Russians in Munich that can give you some insider tips could be helpful but one should avoid surrounding themselves with fellow countrymen  if it means that they end up only talking in their home language and miss expose to German culture and language. Find other Russians that have learned German and stress that they help you integrate, rather than avoid integration.

FromMow

Thanks, we have few friends who moved to Germany 5-10 years ago.
Now I'm looking for face-to-face tutor in Moscow for preschooler and it's not easy for this age group. Prices are the same - around 15 € per hour.
We also have only 1 German kindergarden in Moscow
It's nearby but they don't take non-german speaking kids who don't have at least 1 Gernan parent :( it would be best option.

beppi

I concur with the above replies - all of what you mentioned is to be taught at school, none of it already expected before a six-years-old enters school here.
At that age, they also playfully absorb a new language within months and, more quickly than you think possible, converse at the same level as their local peers.
If you want to give your son more time (and less stress) to handle the changes that a move brings, then you could enrol him in a German kindergarten for a year before entering primary school. Many German kids who are deemed not yet fit for school also do that and then enter primary school at 7 years old.
(By the way: Most educational scientists discourage teaching pre-schoolers reading or other such skills, because it would make them bored at school - and boredom is a great de-motivator and cause of behavioural trouble!)

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