Learn Hardcore German: Der Clown schenkt jedem Kind eine kleine Mütze aus Papier. - The clown gives every child a small paper cap.

schenken means “to give (as a gift).”
It’s different from geben (“to give” in general) because schenken implies gifting something.
Grammatically, schenken requires two objects:
• A dative object for the recipient (to whom you give)
• An accusative object for the gift itself
In third-person singular (er/sie/es), schenken is conjugated as schenkt.

Why is jedem Kind in the dative case?

Because with schenken, the person who receives the gift must be in the dative.
jedem is the dative form of jeder (“each/every”) for masculine/neuter nouns.
Kind is a neuter noun, so jeder→jedem in the dative singular.

Why is eine kleine Mütze in the accusative case?

The gift itself (Mütze) is the direct object of schenkt, so it’s in the accusative case.
Mütze is feminine, so the indefinite article in accusative singular is eine.

Why does the adjective kleine end with -e instead of -en or -es?

Because of German adjective declension rules after an indefinite article in the accusative feminine singular:
• Feminine accusative strong ending is -e
• Pattern: eine (article) + kleine (adjective) + Mütze (noun)

Why is aus Papier used, and what case does aus take?

aus means “out of” or “made of” when describing material.
Prepositions like aus always take the dative case.
Papier is a neuter noun; its dative singular form remains Papier (no ending change).
Similar examples: aus Holz (made of wood), aus Glas (made of glass).

Why does the sentence put the dative object (jedem Kind) before the accusative object (eine kleine Mütze)?

General German word order rule with two full-noun objects: dative usually comes before accusative.
This order clarifies who gets what: first the recipient, then the gift.

What is the gender of Clown, and how do I know to use der?

Clown is a masculine noun in German.
Like many agent-nouns ending in –er, it takes der in the nominative singular.
Loanwords from English often adopt a gender; here it’s masculine, so der Clown.

Could I say den Kindern instead of jedem Kind? What would change?

den Kindern is the dative plural of die Kinder (“the children”). You’d be saying “to the children” (plural definite), not “to each child.”
jedem Kind emphasizes “to each child (one by one).”
Both are correct but convey slightly different focuses:
• den Kindern = “to the children” (as a group)
• jedem Kind = “to each child” (individually)