After the uncertainty of applying for a Grundschule (elementary school) outside of our district, we have successfully waited it out. Our daughter got into our first choice!

Considering how competitive finding a KiTa (preschool) can be, we had no idea if there was any hope when we requested a different school. Typically, each child is assigned an area school with two local alternatives. This process can be quite random with friends telling us they got assigned to a school a mile away when there is one right across from their house.We have a school we can almost see from our house, but schools in our neighborhood of Wedding are notorious and we hoped to get into a school by the kids’ current KiTa just over the border in Pankow.

We tried to go to offnentag (open days) in the fall, but they were all canceled due to Corona restrictions. So we played it by ear, researching what little info there is about local German schools. Reviews are limited, with public info mostly just supplying how overcrowded the system is. We even visited and applied for one bilingual international school but didn’t get in. It felt like we were kinda holding our breath all winter until letters started to slowly make their way out in late spring.

But that is all behind us. We got a phone call (how random is that?) in May letting us know that our petition to go to a school outside our district had been accepted. It was such a relief, particularly as we had been warned it is common to be rejected, then you have to challenge that decision, and may be let in. Like so many things, once it came together everything just fit.

We chose the school because of its ridiculously beautiful architecture, the chance of a native-speaker English program, and it is on the way to our to our current KiTa. One thing is a certainty (the easy commute), but we will have to see if everything else pans out. Right now we are basking in the feeling of things working out for once.

What?! A beautiful and hard-to-hear room in a German public school PHOTO: Erin Porter

…or we were until our first parent-teacher meeting last week. Only one of us could go to limit the amount of people in one room, so it was up to my husband with his superior German skills. The building is really so lovely, but the pseudo-ballroom they were seated in was terrible for acoustics. He struggled to understand the important info the teacher and Erzieherin (pre-school teacher) were giving. This school, like most others in Berlin, is overcrowded and additional buildings are being put up to house the students. The teacher has serious doubts if the new building will be ready for school start in August. Deep breath. Okkk….. In the meantime, they may be in portables. I blinked hearing this. This is practically the same situation as my country school in Washington State when I was a kid. There is also an imbalance where there will be nine boys in our daughter’s class and three girls. Again, ok… Nothing really to be done about this, although it is strange there are nine 1st classes and this is the best balancing they could do.

We opened the info pact with our daughter that night before bed. There was a picture and introduction to both teachers, sweetly placed in a be-stickered envelope, info about the Einschulung (formative event in every German school kids’ life), and then the school supply list. Some words were familiar, but much of it was impenetrable. And so long! Until now I’d only been worried about the massive, expensive school bags that seem to be mandatory, but here there were so many more things to figure out and purchase.

Germany School Supply List

Of course everything is printed and nothing digital, so I diligently wrote my own list on the computer, complete with my best attempts at translation. Here is our list of school supplies needed for Germany.

Materialliste Klasse 1 / Materials list for Grade 1

Federtasche / Pencil Case

• Zwei weiche Bleistifte / 2 soft pencils

• Radiergummi, Anspitzer / eraser, pencil sharpener

• Buntstifte / Colored Pencils

• Filzstifte (dünn und dick) / Felt Pens (thick and thin)

• Zwei Tintenpen mit Metallkugel / 2 Ink pens with metal ball (The teacher provided the advice that our daughter should try these before buying)

• Lineal ca. 15 cm / Ruler

• Schere in einer Hülle / Scissors in a case

• Klebstift / Glue Stick

• Ein kleiner, eckiger Handspiegel in einer Hülle / Small real hand mirror in a case, cosmetic mirror

Deutsch / German

• Ein Schreibheft A5 quer, Lineatur 0 mit Haus mit Durchsichtigem Heftumschlag / Copybook A5, Ruling 0 with transparent cover

• Ein Schreibheft A5, Lineatur 1 farbiger Hintergrund mit Durchsichtigem Heftumschlag / Copybook with color background with transparent cover

Mathematik / Math

• Ein Mathematikheft Lineatur f (langkariert, mit Rand) mit Durchsichtigem Heftumschlag / long checked with margin with transparent cover

Sport / Athletics

• Sporttasche oder Sportbeutel mit Namen / Sport bag or gym bag with name

• Sportzeug (kurz und lang) / sports gear (short and long)

Bildende Kunst (Zeichnen) / Fine Art (Drawing)

• Kunstmappe zum Einloggen fertiger Zeichnungen / Art folder for finished art

• Zeichenkarton weiss A4, Zeichenkarton weiss A3 / Drawing board white A4, Drawing board white A3

• Ein Block Tonpapier A3 / Block of construction paper A3

• Tuschkasten mit 12 Farben von Pelikan / Paint Box with 12 colors (Why must it be Pelikan brand?)

• Pinselsatz (Rundpinsel und Flachpinsel) und ein großer, breiter Pinsel / Paintbrush set (round and flat) and a big, wide brush

• Wasserbehälter aus Kunststoff / Plastic water container

• Lappen / Rag

 Miscellaneous?

• Knete / modeling clay

• Wachsmalstifte / crayons

• Ein Stehsammler aus Kunststoff (Mädchen rot, Jungen blau) / Plastic file holder (girls red, boys blue)

• 5 Hefter aus Kunststoff (grün, weiss, blau, rot, gelb) / 5 Plastic loose-leaf binder (green, white, blue, red, yellow)

• Postmappe A4 (Elternbriefe…) / Mail folder A4

• ein Oktavheft als Verbindungsheft / Branded Learning Book?

School Supplies in Germany PHOTO: Erin Porter

If you made it through that list – Glückwunsch! It is a lot, no? When I recited some of the items to my mom – a retired administrator in my childhood school system – she was unfazed, saying there are similar lists for American school kids with such random sounding items as plastic baggies. Might be one of the times where it is not culture clash, but adjusting to parenting milestones.

We were also instructed to put our daughter’s name on everything which just makes sense with 6-year-olds. Should we be uber German and get professional labels made? I was also put off by the color-coded file folders for girls and boys. Anyone who thinks Germany is a utopia of progressive values will quickly be corrected when introduced to many German educators.

Where to get German School Supplies

For anyone as flummoxed as me by this list, there is hope. We took the list to the mall (no Covid-tests necessary!) and our first stop at a Thalia proved very useful. The young German at the counter assisted us with the list, finding most items in a prominent display at the front. Most things are inexpensive, like .35 cents for the folders and .99 cents for the water cup for brushes (eye roll from me on this item). A quick google also helps identify most items and you can easily buy everything online with the 1.5 month lead time.

As always – if you have any tips I would love to hear them. I know I write these articles from the perspective of someone in the know, but I am really just trying to figure it out.