by :: Cate
photo by terrin in Virginia
Today is Labor Day in the U.S. That means we have a much-welcomed 3-day weekend.
It also means summer is offically over. (If you’re in the northern hemisphere, that is).
Even though winter comes relativly late here in North Carolina, it’s starting to feel a bit like fall. I’m already sweeping crispy brown leaves off of our deck.
Schools in North Carolina start in August, as do schools in many other U.S. states. It still seems odd to me, though, to go to school in August. When I was growing up, school never started before Labor Day (which falls on the first Monday in September). I loved knowing that July and August were always school-free…
Anyway.
Since those of us who live north of the equater don’t have nice long summer days to look forward to anymore, we created our own something-to-look-forward-to: Schultüte Week!
What’s a Schultüte?
Didn’t we have this conversation last week? Ok. So here’s a photo of a Schultüte:
photo by nlnnet
Doesn’t this little girl look proud of her Schultüte, that cone-shaped object that’s almost as big as she is?
In Germany, when kids start first grade, they receive a Schultüte from their parents (or other family members). Inside their Schultüte they find school supplies, toys, and candy. Receiving a Schultüte is an important rite of passage, and it helps make starting school a sweet experience.
It’s a very. big. deal. Next time you run into a German, ask them about their Schultüte.
photo by fanzone50.com
Why are we talking about Schultüten?
This week, CulturallyTeaching is celebrating the return to school with a Schultüte of our own.
We’d love to send each and every one of you a real Schultüte filled with chocoate, candy, and school supplies. But for obvious reasons that’s impossible. So we’ve instead created a virtual Schultüte for all of our wonderful readers.
We’re calling it a Schultüte of Cross-cultural Resources for Busy Educators!
Each day this week we’ll post a new resource that you can use to help your students learn about the world, global issues, and culture.
We’ve created each resource just for you, our wonderful readers. We hope you enjoy them!
Note for our subscribers :: If you don’t see the photos, please click through to CulturallyTeaching.com
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