Preschool Activities in a Package

My youngest son turned 3 last week and one of his presents was Das grosse Vorschul-Paket. I needed something to keep him busy while his brothers are doing schoolwork and I thought this might do the trick. I’ve not been disappointed. What fun we’ve had! I took lots of pictures because you really have to see this book to understand what it’s about.

This book is actually a set of pages packed with pop-ups, cards, flaps and such that teach different concepts in German. The book covers colors, numbers, abcs, sorting and order, comparisons, counting, und, und, und. Honestly there is a ton of stuff packed in here. It’s all very colorful and attracted this 3 year old’s attention.

Below you see the board game page. The child is supposed to move the mouse piece along the path, counting or using the pop-up die from the next page to determine how many steps to take. Along the way there are flaps with shapes and colors underneath that the child must identify in order to proceed. The little house is really neat.

Below you see the page on numbers, shapes and sorting. So much to see and do on this page. Things to count, colors to find, comparisons to make. This is a page that works well with a parent. The directions indicate you should engage your child by asking questions like “Wer ist größer: Der Schmetterling oder der Bär?”, “Wer ist erster?”, “Was ist auf dem Tisch?” Was ist unter dem Tisch.”

We spent the most time with the dominos today. Very cute idea – easy for his little hands to hold. He got some good counting practice in here!

And more domino work.

This page has a tear-out clock and a memory game. Also pattern cards that you can use to make beautiful mandelas.

The last page has a “Schnelligkeitsspiel” – a game to encourage fast reflexes. You pull the monster’s arm up release it quickly. The elastic on the arm pulls it down to the monster’s mouth. The child is supposed to catch the arm before the monster “eats” the cake he’s holding. Very fun, especially for wiggly little boys

He liked it!

I like this Paket a lot. There’s a lot to do and I think my son could play with a lot of the work it independently after I explain it to him. My 6 year old has been begging to have a turn as well.

Age and Fluency Recommendation

I think some of the activities are a bit too advanced for a young 3 year old. Telling time is way beyond Jack right now and we’re just starting with the ABCs and counting. But it is a great introduction and will get him interested. Since it’s such an interactive book, it will work for a beginning German speaker all the way through a native speaker. The parent should be able to read and speak German in order to read the directions and help the child with the activities.

Preview this book alone!

One caveat: I suggest you take some time looking through this book without your child so you understand how the pages work and you can tear apart the cards and dominos beforehand. My little guy was so eager to open all the pockets and flaps, and I had to slow him down for fear that he’d rip something open.

This is a fun book and I think we’ll get a lot of use out of it!

This way to the store page for Das große Vorschul-Paket

Stay tuned for more reviews of more German preschool titles. Viel Spass!