Bilingual English/German kindergartens

Hi All,

I will be moving to Hamburg from Berlin with my two and a half year old son in a few months. In planning the move, my first and highest priority is to find a bilingual kindergarten for him to attend.

I have done some online research and have found that many Kindergartens offer English as part of their curriculum but do not, necessarily, have Native English speaking caregivers.

I am looking for a Kindergarten which uses the 'immersion method', (meaning, both English and German native speaking teachers care for the kids).

I will work in Altona/Altstadt so will want to find somewhere to live and a kindergarten which is easily reached by public transport.

Any experience and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately most of the so-called bilingual kindys in HH do not have native English speakers teaching, and sometimes actually quite appalling English is taught. I decided that that was not the support I needed for my daughter's English skills.

However, there is a great kindy at the DESY science plant in Bahrenfeld which is not far from Altona and there is a bus which goes from Altona station, although it's a bit of a walk from there through the DESY site to the actual kindy building. They have a lovely playground, the director is English born and bred and they also have German teachers on site. All the books etc. are in English but all I heard being spoken in the playgound was German so there will also be plenty of opportunity for your child to learn German.

They are a relatively small kindy with the downside that it's very hard to get a place, especially as it's really meant for the on-site DESY families, but they do take a certain quota of "external" children each year. I would contact them as soon as poss. and go and have a look.

http://kinderwelt.desy.de/

On the other hand, almost any kindy these days offers "english" classes too, often they need to be paid extra and the quality can vary drastically. Some of them have franchises like Lollipop or Helen Doron sending teachers in, some of them have native speakers offering classes privately etc. There's also plenty of English playgoups etc. that you could join to support your childs English.

Good luck!

Hi. I am not sure if you have found an English speaking Kindergarten to fit your needs, but I am moving to Hamburg and I would love to tutor your child in English!

My name is Elizabeth, I am a 25 year old Kindergarten teacher from the states. I am leaving my position in August in order to move to Hamburg with my husband, while he participates in a law school study abroad semester (September-January) at Bucerius Law School.

We will be living in the Alsterdorf area, but I am willing to travel all over Hamburg in order to work with children of all ages. I do not speak German, however, I have taught students of all languages in my classroom and I am not worried about language barriers.

At a very young age I knew that I wanted to be a teacher, so I found an outlet as I worked towards my goal by babysitting and nannying for over 12 years. I have worked with many amazing families who have children of all ages; I am able to provide references and a cv with photos upon request.

I am passionate, organized, flexible, and excited about working with children in a new and special location of the world!

I would love to hear from you!
Elizabeth

I am looking for English-speaking playgroups or kindergartens in and around Hamburg for a South African family that is moving to Hamburg in the next few months. I would be very grateful for any and all information as this family has not yet decided where exactly they will be living, and easy access to English-speaking facilities for their 3-year old son will definitely be a factor. Thank you very much!!!