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The Familien-Bildungsstätte e.V. (Family Education Center) in Tübingen, Germany, is the host of our English-language play and activiity group for bilingual children. If you would like to join us, contact the Familien-Bildungsstätte (FBS)(page in German). Our group is very popular and often has a waiting list - so don't delay!
We meet in the FBS (Hechinger-Str. 13, Tübingen) every Friday when school is in session from 3:30 until 5:30 in the afternoon. We do arts and crafts projects with the kids, read stories, play games and, best of all, we do it all in English!
Our meetings are not English lessons, but an opportunity for bilingual families to meet and interact in English.
Usually one parent (mostly moms, but there are dads too) and all the kids will come to the Friday session. But at our annual summer picnic or at other occasional activities such as the Halloween party, both parents are often there.
We are bilingual families. The children are all being raised bilingually and understand English.
We have members from varying countries and backgrounds. Some are expats from the English-speaking world who have settled here. Some of us are just passing through, spending a year at the university or on business. Most of us are mixed-nationality parents, with one from Germany and one from somewhere else, looking for a way to get our children exposed to more English. But a few of us are "pure" Germans who have spent time in the English-speaking world and have committed to keeping the family bilingual.
Most of the children are under six, but there are exceptions. Right now, our oldest child participant is seven and the youngest is still crawling. We have had everything from fetuses to nine years old in recent years. Most of us live in Tübingen, but we have members from other cities as well.
About once per month, we also have a Mommy's Night Out without the kids at a local restaurant. The name is just for fun. Fathers are welcome, of courses! We also have an annual picnic in the summer and have, in the past, had special celebrations for holidays like Halloween and even "German" Fasching.
Here are some links to resources on the internet for bilingual families.
Die ImF e.V. wurde 1996 von bilingualen Familien gegründet, für die es ein Anliegen war und bleibt, andere ähnliche Familien zu unterstützen. Wir sind - mit 250 Familien und vielen verschiedenen Sprachkombinationen - ein kleiner, aber immerhin bundesweiter Verein für Familien, deren Kinder mehrsprachig aufwachsen.
This Danish site (in English) has a great list of links to resources for bilingual parenting.
This is a first-hand account by a Mexican mother raising her child in the United States.
Here are the personal recollections of parents who are raising their child or children bilingually. These are about German-speakers living in America. Right now, there is only one story up on their list.
Nadine Lichtenberger is an American who has lived in Linz, Austria since 1989 with her Austrian husband and their two children. In this article she offers a personal account of her efforts to ensure that her children can communicate in the two languages spoken by their parents: English and German. The article explores both the research background of bilingual parenting as well as the personal experiences of the author.
Here is a short list of tips for bilingual education - in German.
This organization has collected lots of information and resources on bilingual education, primary with regard to early schooling (nursery schools etc.).
