The fall back to school season is a time of excitement and delight for many students and families. This year, the second grade team of Debbie Paton and Marie Musil, led by second grade teacher Anya Schlottmann, brought an exciting German tradition to life for the new second graders. Ms. Schlottmann, who is fluent in German, first read and translated a German book to students titled, Conni kommt in die Schule by Liane Schneider and Eva Wenzel-Buerger. This book describes a German back to school tradition called schultüte. Dating back to the early 1800’s, German parents make a schultüte or what translates to a “school cone” and they fill it with back to school supplies, candies, and goodies.
After discussing their own back to school traditions in class, each second grader made his or her own schultüte out of construction paper. The next morning, each child was surprised to find a bookmark, pencil, eraser, and a second grade sticker in his or her schultüte! This authentic learning activity adds excitement to the start of the academic year while also bridging cultures and traditions.
