Schultute!

A Grade One classroom in Germany

I've spent six weeks of my life in the country of Germany.  I loved every minute of it!  During one of my visits I had the opportunity to tour an elementary school on it's first day of school.  That's when I first learned about the Schultute tradition.  The Schultute tradition began in the early 19th century and is still going strong.  First graders receive cones filled with candy and toys and school supplies from their families on the first day of school.  The students carry them to school and then parade them back home again.  The cones are not opened at school; they are opened at home after the first day in school has been completed...to help celebrate!  In Germany, this cone is a symbol for a new beginning and a celebration that a child's status is changing.  The first grader is officially a school student.   

Anette and I exploring Germany together

When I became a First Grade Teacher this past spring, I began thinking of ways to make it a special year for my students and me.  I love to learn about places around the globe and I want to share that passion with my students.  What better way than to give them their own Schultute cone on the first day of First Grade!  So, that's what I did.  I wrote up a note to go into the cones (along with other treasures) and got a couple friends to help me assemble them and it all came together.  

This is the note that went home with the cones on the first day.

These are the contents of a cone (only one book went in each cone)

These are the friends who came to help out!

All 21 completed Schultute cones!

The students decorated the paper themselves - imagining they were creating their own wrapping paper designs.  They didn't know about their German surprise!  Then while they were at Library and Gym, my friends and I took the papers off their desks, wrote their name in a prominent spot, configured the papers into cone shapes, filled them, put tissue paper on top, folded them over and taped them shut.  It was a whirlwind.

After freeplay I showed my students photos of myself in Germany.  They loved the castles and clock towers, the photo of me eating frankfurters in Frankfurt, and the plentiful red roofs.  Then I told them about Schultute cones.  They still didn't suspect a thing until I picked up one of their completed ones and read them the letter that went inside (as pictured above).  They were thrilled!  

Students were instructed not to open the cones until they got home.  They were to consider it a present to help celebrate their first day of First Grade.  They had to open their cone with a parent.  

As my students were leaving at the end of the day MANY of them remembered to thank me.  It was very sweet, "Thank you for the gift, Mrs. Sapp!"

It is my hope that this will help spark an interest in other cultures.  Over the next week or so we'll be learning little bits and pieces about Germany.  These are some things I'll be displaying and teaching:

We will compare our three countries on North America to the MANY countries in Europe.

We'll see Lederhosen from Germany (hooray for traditional clothing)

We'll learn about Janosch (a popular artist in Germany)

I'll tell them about Advent calendars from Germany.

I'll show them an old letter from one of my German friends (to a former student), chocolate wrappers, etc. 

We already began learning these phrases.  The students especially love the spitting sound in nacht!!!

Fun information I'll present...

Animals and Dogs...

Stories, Composers, and Einstein...

I am hoping to focus on European countries the first part of the year and then move onto some units on Japan, India, and countries in Africa.  One of my students has an aunt who teaches first grade in China...so China will probably be a country we learn about this year too!