Hanis - Mixing Finnish And German

Fräulein has now been in the German Krippe for one year. She has learnt the language quite well. Actually so well, that I noticed earlier that we are raising a bilingual child!

I was a bit worried, what would happen during our seven weeks in Finland. And yes, Fräulein's return to Krippe was a bit difficult. But it was not only the language - most of her friends had moved to the Kindergarten groups as they had turned three years old, there were many new children in the Krippe, and her favorite teacher was on holiday.

Well, after just one week everything was back to normal. Her language and speech (in Finnish) had really developed during our holiday and now her German was improving as well.

Nowadays, she is not only using one word commands sentences, but something more complex. And her vocabulary has improved greatly. She is also able to find the connection between the two languages: "Koira. In the Krippe they say 'Hund'!"

But then there is this one word, which I find highly amusing: 'rabbit'. In German 'Hase' and in Finnish 'jänis'.

Thus, Fräulein calls her bunny 'Hanis!'

Baby and her 'Hanis'

*****
Paluu Krippeen Suomi-lomamme jälkeen oli Fräuleinille vähän hankala. Hänen suomensa oli kesän aikana parantunut merkittävästi, mutta sitten olikin taas aika palata saksankieliseen ympäristöön. 
Jo viikon jälkeen homma kuitenkin alkoi taas sujua ja saksankielisten sanojen ja juttujen määrä on lisääntynyt huimasti.
Mielestäni hauskin on uudissana, jolla Fräulein kutsuu pupuaan: Hase + jänis = Hanis!

Oh Dear, We Are Raising a Bilingual Child!

It should not have come as a surprise. We are a Finnish family living in Germany and our daughter spends her days in a German Krippe.

And as I have wrote here before, spending some time daily in the Krippe seems to be the easiest way to learn German.

Unrelated photos from last week, when it was 20 degrees warmer than today

But still, I have only now come to realize that we are actually raising a bilingual child!

It has taken quite long for Fräulein to learn to speak, but now that she does, it is easy to notice that she speaks two languages. Two languages! My child! I have always been poor in learning languages and now I have a bilingual daughter!

And I have no idea what to do. At first, when Fräulein said something in German to me, I repeated it in Finnish. But it soon started to sound like I was correcting her and that is not the impression I want to make.

I think I should find some books about raising a bilingual child. I think it is important that a child learns to master one language perfectly. Learning other languages is just a bonus.

But for now, as she is only two years old, we will let her use her own combination of the two languages. The only 'rule' I have is that I speak consistently Finnish to her myself.

Poor Fräulein has inherited my hair, which becomes all curly when it is moist.

We will fly to Finland next week and spend several weeks with our friends and family. So, in case some of you don't speak German, here is a small dictionary of Fräulein's most common German phrases:

 

German	English	Finnish
Mein!	My!	Minun!
Nein!	No!	Ei!
Nicht du!	Not you!	Et sinä!
Ich auch!	I too!	Minä myös!
Zu viel!	Too much!	Liian paljon!
Nur bisschen!	Just a little!	Vain vähän!
Ich möchte ... haben	I would like to have...	Haluaisin...
Danke!	Thank you!	Kiitos!
Morgen!*	Morning!	Huomenta!
Tschüs!	Bye!	Hei hei!
Laut!	Loud!	Kovaa!

Do you notice a pattern here? Most of these phrases end with an exclamation mark - useful in kindergarten :)

*) Fräulein uses 'Morgen!' as a greeting at any time of the day...  

*****
O-ou, vasta hiljattain oivalsin, että Fräuleinhan on kaksikielinen! Itselläni on aina ollut huono kielipää ja nyt oma kaksivuotias tyttäreni puhuu kahta kieltä!

Olen myös oivaltanut, ettei minulla ole hajuakaan, miten kaksikielisyyttä tulisi tukea. Mutta toistaiseksi menemme periaatteella, että Fräulein saa puhua kieliä sekaisin, kunhan itse olemme johdonmukaisia suomen kielen käytössä.

Fräuleinin sanastossa on paljon saksankielisiä sanoja, mutta yllä on listattuna yleisimmin toistuvia sanontoja. Jotenkin huomaa, että nämä on opittu päiväkodissa... :)

The Ultimate Language Test

My German is horrible.

We have been living here for two and half years now, but I barely manage to visit the local grocery store without making a fool out of myself.

And it is one thing to have a conversation with one person, but to participate a group meeting with people you are about to meet many times in the future...

Unrelated photos from our photo session on Sunday...

Yesterday we had an 'Elternnachmittag', or parents afternoon at the Fräulein's Krippe. There were three teachers and the parents of five other kids present.

And the ultimate language test? It consisted of five points.

1. Introduce yourself in German: passed 
The other parents nodded their heads as I was talking, so I guess they understood what I was saying...

2. Understand the information given by the teachers: passed
I think I understood about 95% of it. Especially the head teacher speaks very foreign-friendly German, as she is used to communicating with toddlers.

3. Follow the conversation: partly passed
Some of the parents were very easy to follow, but I have no idea what some of them were talking about. But I was able to laugh at the right moment!

4. Ask questions yourself: passed
I asked if they are really singing christmas carols in May, as Fräulein is singing "O Tannenbaum" at home. And apparently they are...

5. Survive the meeting without making a fool out of yourself: passed
At least I hope so...


The result: I was able to take Fräulein to the Krippe this morning holding my head up high!

Needless to say that neither of these were chosen as the official Mother's Day photo! :)

*****
Fräuleinin päiväkodissa oli eilen vanhempainilta. Oma kielitaitoni joutui koetukselle, kun yritin selvitä tapaamisesta kunnialla. Ja täytyy sanoa, että ymmärsin kyllä valtaosan asioista ja onnistuin jopa itse kysymään jotain!

The Easiest Way To Learn German

Yes, I have found the perfect recipe for learning German! This is based on a comprehensive empirical study*.

1. Spend daily (Mon-Fri) 4-6 hours in a German speaking group
2. The group should have simple routines, which are repeated day by day
3. There should be a couple of teachers, who speak simple, clear German language and are willing to repeat themselves patiently
4. The daily program should involve learning basic skills such as the use of scissors and toothbrush.

And where do you find these groups?

They are called Krippes. Unfortunately you must be under three years old to attend.

Unrelated photos of Fräulein playing the piano...

Six months in the Krippe and Fräulein understands and even speaks German!

As a prove, here is a discussion that took place last week, just after we got back from our three week holiday in Finland.

It was noon and I was picking up Fräulein from the Krippe. Outside we saw a lady.
Fräulein: Morgen! (Morning!)
Lady: (in German) Is it the right time to say that?
Fräulein: Ja! (Yes!)

If this conversation would have taken place in Finnish, I would have been a bit embarrassed (it was noon). But now this made me so proud!

It is nice that at least one of us is learning the language...

* the study population included the members of one family, which has been living in Germany for 2.5 years...

...and Baby listening.

*****
Olen löytänyt täydellisen tavan oppia saksaa! Oppiminen edellyttää päivittäistä osallistumista saksankieliseen ryhmään, jossa toistetaan samoja rutiineja ja opetellaan perustaitoja. Ryhmässä tulee olla pari opettajaa, jotka puhuvat helppoa, selkeää saksaa ja ovat valmiita toistamaan itseään kärsivällisesti.

Fräulein on nyt osallistunut tällaiseen toimintaan puolen vuoden ajan ja ymmärtää ja jopa puhuu saksaa! Valitettavasti Krippet ovat vain alle kolmevuotiaille...

No More Dummies!

I have been thinking about loosing Fräulein's pacifiers for quite some time. You might remember, how I asked your opinion about it one year ago. She was only using them when sleeping, but I did not have the energy nor the strength to take them away.

Pacifiers are not good for a child's teeth and might affect the occlusion. In Finland, it is recommended that when a child is one year old, she should use a pacifier only when sleeping. And when the child turns two years old, the pacifiers should go for good. I'm not sure if there are any recommendations here in Germany regarding the pacifiers, but I often see four-year-olds using one...

After Fräulein turned two, the birth of her little sister came closer. As the pacifiers where very comforting for Fräulein, I thought it would not be the best time for something that felt so radical.

This January, when my mother was visiting us, we finally decided to get rid of the pacifiers. Fräulein packed all her dummies to a plastic bag and we took the bag to our front door so that a cat could pick them up and take them to her kittens.

A half an hour later we went back downstairs and found out that the cat had taken the dummies and left Little My from the Moomins as a present for Fräulein! What a coincidence that Little My is Fräulein's favorite character. ;)

Both German and Finnish children's culture present:
Kikaninchen and Little My

Sleeping without the pacifier went relatively smoothly. Fräulein asked for them a couple of times, but when she was reminded that the cat had taken them and given her the Little My, she was happy with it.

The following Monday I told to her Krippe teachers that we had lost the pacifiers, but I guess there was some kind of miscommunication, because a few days later I noticed she had used a pacifier while taking her nap.

Before our trip to Finland, I talked with the Krippe teachers again and we agreed that the pacifier would get lost during our three week holiday. So, yesterday was the first day she took her nap in the Krippe without the pacifier. Yay!

No more dummies for Fräulein!

Silent Sunday
August 19, 2012

*****
Vähän myöhässä suomalaisista suosituksissa hankkiuduimme vihdoin tammikuussa eroon Fräuleinin tuteista. Veimme ne muovipussissa ulko-ovelle, mistä kissa kävi hakemassa ne poikasilleen. Vastalahjaksi kissa oli jättänyt Pikku Myy -pehmolelun!

Nukkuminen ilman tuttia sujui yllättävän helposti. Mutta kielimuurin takia en onnistunut selittämään päiväkodin työntekijöille tilannetta, joten tutti oli käytössä vielä päiväkotipäikkäreiden aikana. Nyt Suomi-loman aikana tuokin tutti oli "mennyt hukkaan", joten nyt tässä huushollissa on tutti vain vauvalla!

The Protester

I participated my very first demonstration yesterday.

In the state of Hesse, some changes to the kindergarten laws are about to happen. I'm not sure how far the process is at the moment, but I know that it would bring a lot of negative changes to the everyday matters.

For example, in the groups of small children (under 3 years old) there are two teachers and they can currently take care of 10 children. After the change, there could be 16 kids in every group!

Not good, not good at all.

So, yesterday there was a demonstration against this new law held at the Kochbrunnenplatz in Wiesbaden.

There were quite many participants - mostly kindergarten teachers and parents with their children.

Unfortunately the weather was not the best possible ( -1°C and windy), so we didn't stay there for very long time.

But on our way home, we saw the first signs of spring!

*****
Hessenin osavaltiossa suunnitellaan lakimuutosta, joka toisi selviä heikennyksiä päiväkotien toimintaan. Esimerkiksi nykyään alle 3-vuotiaiden ryhmissä voi olla kymmenen lasta kahta "tätiä" kohden. Uudistuksen jälkeen lapsimäärä voitaisiin nostaa kuuteentoista! Eilen täällä Wiesbadenissa järjestettiin mielenosoitus lakia vastaan ja mekin osallistuimme. Ensimmäinen mielenosoitukseni! 

Vaikka keli oli jäätävän kylmä, löysimme jo ensimmäisen lupauksen tulevasta keväästä: kukkivan puun.

Expat Hausfrau's Peek into Local Customs - St. Martin's Day

As an expat Hausfrau, it is sometimes a bit difficult for me to get into the local habits and customs. Fortunately, Fräulein's daycare provides a great connection to German everyday life.

Yesterday, we had the first free-time activity arranged by Fräulein's Krippe. The kindergarten arranged a St. Martin's day procession for children and their paper lanterns.
(I'm sorry for the hideous quality of the photos!)

The small bright spots are the lanterns...

It was already dark at 6pm. when the procession started from Nerotal, so the lanterns looked beautiful. Along the route, there were musicians playing their trumpets. After a short walk, everyone gathered by the local church, where there was a play about St. Martin and some singing.

Fräulein's selfmade lantern

And last but not least, all children got one of these:

It was a great experience not only for Fräulein, but for me, too.

*****
Eilen pääsimme tutustumaan paikallisiin traditiohin, sillä Fräuleinin päiväkodista järjestettiin Martinpäivän kulkue.

Odd German Way #11: Don't Mind the Muddy Clothes

In an earlier post, I was surprised how the Germans aren't too concerned about the purple fingers of their children and don't make them wear gloves or mittens in winter.

My latest astonishment falls into the same category.

Fräulein's wardrobe consists mostly of leggings and tunics. I think those are nice clothes for a child to play inside in. And when we go out and it might be a bit wet or muddy on the playground, it easy to pull an overall over these clothes.

Fräulein in her overall last January

I thought this would be a great combination of clothes for her to wear in the Krippe, too. But one day, when I was picking her up, one of the teachers wanted to talk to me. She asked, if I could dress Fräulein with a separate jacket in future, as "it is so impractical, if all the kids wear overalls".

Yes, I get the fact that it is easier to dress the kids with jackets than it is with overalls. But isn't it even more inconvenient, when their trousers get all wet and muddy on the playground and then they have to wear the same clothes inside the whole afternoon?

Visit to H&M to buy some new trousers...

And I cannot even imagine, how this will work when it gets colder outside. How can I find any trousers, which are light enough to wear inside, but warm enough when it gets below zero outside?

And no, I don't think this is only the way things are done at our Krippe, as I have heard similar stories elsewhere, too.

The odd German ways...

Oh, and no wellies needed, either.
Must go and buy some 'all-weather shoes'

*****
Olen aiemmin ihmetellyt, miten täällä Saksassa ei lapsillekaan pueta hanskoja tai vanttuita kun säät kylmenevät. Ja vielä kummallisemmaksi menee: minua kehotettiin pukemaan Fräuleinille päiväkotiin erillinen takki haalarin sijaan! Ymmärrän, että haalarien pukeminen isolle joukolle lapsia on varmasti hankalaa, mutta eikö hankalaa ole myös se, että lapset ovat sitten loppupäivän kuraisissa housuissa sisällä? Eivätkös haalarit ole suomalaisissa päiväkodeissa ihan arkipäivää?

The Third Week In the Krippe

Yes, the acclimatization to the kindergarten is slow... It is Fräulein's fourth week in the Krippe and we are still not done. But there has been some real progress!
(You can find my previous posts about this subject under the tag 'Krippe').

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
After the long weekend, Fräulein was happy to go back to the Krippe. Almost no whining at all, when I left her there and she had been on a good mood and played happily with the other kids. Yay!

Thursday
It was finally the time for Fräulein to eat her lunch at the Krippe. She didn't actually eat anything, but she sat nicely in her own little chair while the others were eating. When I went to pick her up about an hour later than on previous days, she was crying a bit. When we got home she was very hungry and tired.

Friday
The first day when Fräulein did not whine AT ALL when I left her to the Krippe! She just waved and walked to her favorite teacher. Unfortunately, she had not eaten or drunk anything all morning.

Fräulein in her new favorite hobby: running around something

A peek into the fourth week
On Monday, Fräulein had eaten both breakfast and lunch in the Krippe! When I went to pick her up, she was spooning up her soup like all the other kids. Slowly she seems to learn how things are done there.

It was first planned, that Fräulein would take her first Krippe nap on Thursday this week, but as my mother is coming to visit us, it might be best to leave this experiment to next week.

*****
Hiljaa hyvää tulee... Fräuleinin päiväkotipäivät ovat jo pidentyneet tunnilla ja hän syö lounasta hoidossa. Tällä viikolla oli tarkoitus aloittaa myös päikkäreiden nukkuminen päiväkodissa, mutta koska äitini on tulossa loppuviikoksi meille kyläilemään, jätetään tämä uudistus suosiolla ensi viikkoon.

The Second Week In the Krippe

Fräulein's 'acclimatization' in the kindergarten continues...

Monday

After the weekend, Fräulein seemed to be more happy to go to the Krippe. She walked in to the small children's room and was already starting to take part of the playing, when she remembered that mother was leaving and this was the time to cry. The day (or the two hours) had been even better than the previous Friday and she had eaten her breakfast.

Tuesday

Again 15 minutes longer day than yesterday. It there had been some good and some not so good moments.

After starting in the Krippe,
Fräulein's nap time has prolonged from one hour to two and a half...

Wednesday

Wednesday was a very rainy day (and the temperature had suddenly dropped from from Sunday's 30C to 18C). The group spend the morning in the play room, where there are balls, mattresses and cushions, and the children are allowed to run and jump around freely. The favorite activities for Fräulein! As a result, it was really difficult to have her leave the Krippe... 

Thursday

On Wednesday evening, we got a great guest: my grandmother! But the downside was that Fräulein didn't really like to go to the Krippe. She had also been more whining than usually during the morning. It was agreed with the teachers that Fräulein would spend Friday morning home enjoying the visit of her great-grandmother.

*****

Fräuleinin toinen viikko Krippessä alkoi jo paremmissa merkeissä. Keskiviikkoiltana saimme minun mummoni meille kylään. Ymmärrettävästi Fräulein ei enää torstaina ollutkaan innoissaan menossa päivähoitoon, joten perjantaina pidimme vapaapäivän.

The First Week In the Krippe

So, the first week in the kindergarten is now over for Fräulein. As I have told before, it is normal here in Germany that the 'acclimatization' to daycare is very slow.

Here is the summary of Fräulein's first week:

Monday
A half an hour of playing at the Krippe playground with the other kids. I was present, but sitting on a bench further away. Fräulein enjoyed herself, but was a bit confused why mum was just sitting there and didn't go and play with her.

Tuesday
Two hours of taking part of their normal morning routines. Fräulein followed everything with interest, but wanted me to join in, too.

Wednesday
Much like Tuesday. The group leader asked, if it had been this difficult for Fräulein to be without me when we started by the Tagesmutter. I told her that whenever I was present, Fräulein wanted me, but when I wasn't there, she was happy to play with the other kids.

When the group was at the playground, I left Fräulein for ten minutes. For the first five minutes she was crying, but by the time I was back, she was playing with the other kids.

Thursday
Based on my discussion with the group leader the day before, I just dropped Fräulein to daycare and said bye bye. She was left crying. I was actually sitting in the room next door in case they needed me, but 1.5 hours passed before they told me, it was enough for one day. She had settled after I left, but all changes in the program, like going outside, had made her cry again. I think that is totally understandable, as she cannot remember the daily schedule at this point and she doesn't understand everything that is told to her, so she must get a bit confused. All in all, it had been quite OK.

Friday
On Friday morning I was talking to Fräulein about how we take the buggy to daycare, how she will leave her shoes and jacket to her own spot, which is marked with sun, and how she will see all the other kids and the teachers. And Fräulein added "bye bye mummy" and waved! So, she clearly knew what was going to happen and didn't feel at all stressed about it.

I dropped Fräulein to daycare for two hours and was able to spend the time in the city. She had again had some good and bad moments, but I think we are at a good point after this first week. Lets see how she feels after the weekend!

How to spend the two free hours in the city? 

*****
Fräuleinin ensimmäinen sopeutumisviikko päiväkodissa on nyt takana. Ensimmäisenä päivänä olimme mukana ulkoleikeissä puoli tuntia ja seuraavana parina päivänä osallistuimme ryhmän aamurutiineihin. Fräuleinin tuntuu olevan vaikea ymmärtää, miksi äiti on mukana, muttei osallistu leikkeihin. Torstaina jätinkin Fräuleinin puoleksitoista tunniksi itsekseen hoitoon. Hän oli välillä ollut itkuinen, mutta rauhoittunut kuitenkin aina välillä. Päivystin koko ajan viereisessä huoneessa mahdollisen katastrofin varalta. Perjantaina pääsin jo itse käymään kaupungilla. Pidetään peukkuja, että ensi viikolla menee vielä mukavammin!