Introduction

In our daycare center and family center, up to 105 children can be accommodated in 5 groups. In 4 kindergarten groups, children aged between 3 and 6 years are cared for in a maximum group size of 20 or 23 children, and the nursery group is available for 10 children aged between 10 months and 3 years. Our daycare center operates according to a partially open concept. We have 4 functional rooms, which also serve as group rooms. The children are assigned to a fixed group with 2 educators each. The groups meet daily at 9:00 for relationship time, where they talk about the morning, sing songs, read books, or play circle games. In the morning and afternoon, the children have free access to various functional rooms, the outdoor area, and the gym and sensory room.

Our daycare center is a place of encounter. Our goal is to empower children from various social and cultural backgrounds to act appropriately, compassionately, and self-determinedly in current and future life situations, as well as to tolerate and accept themselves and others. Each child should be accepted and fostered in their entirety. The primary focus of our work with children is for them to feel comfortable and experience joy. Encouraging independent activity, fostering community with other children, and integrating into structured routines should contribute to this. Our work includes various areas such as social learning, nature and environmental experiences, movement, and health.

As a family center, we offer various services for children as well as for you as parents or for the whole family. We have a staff member from Caritas on-site at regular intervals for free educational counseling and offer courses in early musical education in cooperation with the music school. There is also a partnership with the 46ers (basketball club) and SV Gießen. Both clubs provide free training for children once a week.

New offerings at our KiFaZ since Summer 2026:

• Recorder course (following early musical education)
• Reading-Mom (every Tuesday morning)
• Movement construction site (every Wednesday morning)
• Parent-Child Creative Afternoon (Wednesdays, once a month)
• NABU Club -> Grandpa Helmut's home wildlife and plants (Thursdays, once a month)
• Walk days for nursery and daycare (once a week each)

Rooms

In the preschool area (3-6 years old), we work according to a semi-open concept with 6 different functional rooms. The functional rooms provide children with a variety of play opportunities. The following equipment is available: Cafeteria and research room: chairs and tables with a sideboard for the buffet, research area with a large reflexive cabinet, shelves with magnets and experiment trays, magnifying glasses, microscopes, opportunities for water experiments, and a large light table. Board game and puzzle room: tables and chairs, shelves sorted by puzzles and board games. Creative room: chairs and tables, easels, various materials such as glue, all kinds of pens, paper, cardboard, feathers, beads, punches, and much more exciting stuff. Role-play room: playhouse with a complete kitchen setup, doll accessories and sofa, a dress-up corner with a large mirror cabinet, stage area for small performances and theater rehearsals.

Workspace: Workbench, various construction corners fitted with carpets for wooden building block creations, LEGO, magnetic building blocks) Construction materials such as cardboard, cardboard boxes, wood, and egg cartons.The nursery area has a spacious group room with an adjacent sleeping area as well as a separate cloakroom with a changing area. Through the cloakroom, one accesses the washroom with extra small toilets, low sinks, and a shower. In the group room, children have the opportunity to slide and climb at different levels, a role-playing corner, a large cuddle carpet that is great for roughhousing, books for viewing and reading, a large mirror, and small tables with chairs.A generous hallway connects the daycare and nursery area. There, we offer our children small retreat options, ride-on horses, and a children’s meeting corner. For all visitors, there is an information stand as well as a seating area for chatting.

Outdoor Facilities

For the children, the time spent in the outdoor area is particularly important, as they can move around extensively here. Different movement incentives are provided by our treehouse with a large slide, a climbing pyramid, a swing rope, and the large sand area with various sand toys. Various vehicles such as Bobby Cars, balance bikes, tricycles, or scooters are waiting in the playhouse for their use and are very popular among the children. A small football goal invites them to play football.

There are seating areas distributed across the grounds for relaxing and spending time or for smaller creative activities. A water drinking station on the terrace is frequented not only on hotter days.

For our nursery children, we have a separate outdoor area at the back of the extensive property. The younger children need even more protection and security during their explorations.

A slide, a playhouse, and a sailboat provide the necessary fun in the sand area. Our youngest ones also have the opportunity to ride around with Bobby Cars, tricycles, and balance bikes, or to play with sand toys in the spacious sand area. Our youngest ones also have the opportunity to ride around with Bobby Cars, tricycles, and balance bikes, or to play with sand toys in the spacious sand area.

Daily Schedule

Our KiFaZ opens at 7:30 AM and welcomes all children in the early group until 8:00 AM.At 8:00 AM, all other groups open and the children go to their home group.From 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM, all children have the opportunity to have their packed breakfast in our cafeteria. The breakfast tables are already set with small water, milk, and tea pots. A little flower on a placemat in the center of the tables is of course a must for coziness.

Around 9:00 AM, the morning circle takes place in the groups. There, song introductions, discussions, picture book readings, and much more are carried out. Afterwards, all functional rooms are open for free play for the children. During free play, targeted offerings like creative work, experiments, gymnastics, and similar educational offerings are integrated. We also love to use our spacious outdoor area with various opportunities for movement.

Lunch begins at 12:00. Each child is free to decide when they want to go for lunch; however, children who are going to sleep are advised to eat in the first round so that they can lie down to sleep peacefully afterwards. Children who are picked up earlier also eat a bit earlier. All other children can continue to play in the meantime.Children who go for their midday rest are accompanied by a staff member. The movement room is transformed into a sleeping and resting area during the quiet period. Each child receives their individual sleeping place. Children who do not wish to sleep can decide in the afternoon which functional room they would like to play in or can also choose to be active outside.Around 14:30, a snack is offered for the children. Usually, there are options like fruit or vegetable sticks. From 15:00 onwards, the nursery children join the kindergarten area. This helps them get to know the surroundings, making the adjustment easier. The KiFaZ closes at 16:30.

Food

Since we care deeply about the nutrition of the children and value a wide variety, we plan to offer a healthy breakfast twice a month on Thursdays. For this, the children will go shopping with the educators at the Giessen weekly market on Wednesdays and prepare the breakfast together the next day. On the remaining weekdays, the children will bring their breakfast from home and can have it in the cafeteria from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

The lunch is provided by 'Tischlein-deck-dich' - healthy lunchtime - from the company Zaug. In advance, we will receive the meal plans for the upcoming weeks from Zaug via email. The children are allowed to co-decide and choose 2 out of 3 menus, which will then be ordered accordingly. The meal plans are available in the KiKom app as well as displayed in the KiFaZ. We try to order the food as varied as possible and also take into account cultural or allergy-related diets.

The children can have lunch in our cafeteria from 12:00 to 1:30 PM. Our cafeteria has space for up to 16 children. Usually, the children have two different dishes to choose from, and we generally ensure that there is either a meat/fish option and a vegetarian dish available.

The toddlers eat together in their group. They have breakfast daily at 8:30 AM. Twice a month, a communal breakfast is also planned on Thursdays, which is served in the group at 8:30 AM. The toddlers have lunch at 11:15 AM.

Additional Offerings

Movement Construction Site

Wednesday is our Movement Construction Site day. Because the movement space is already booked by many activities during the week and only 3 of 5 groups could offer a movement program, we have now designated Wednesday as a general movement day to provide ALL children with a movement opportunity. The movement stations are offered and supervised on a weekly rotating basis by one of our specialists. The children may decide for themselves if and how long they want to participate. The group sizes are therefore determined and adjusted individually. Throughout the morning, the children can test their limits, balance, climb, and gain completely new experiences. For some, it may take the effort to simply “let go,” but practice makes the master, and every child at their own pace. Even our Crèche children may participate in the movement stations. Of course, the heights to be overcome are adjusted to their size and age.

Forest and Nature Days

Once a month, our preschool children can switch to the forest group and, the following day (Wednesday), go with two of our specialists to the Wiesecker Forest (Hangelstein). Upon arrival, they greet the forest and have their breakfast. Afterwards, they have time to explore nature and have many adventures. Right on time for lunch, the group is back at our facility.

City and Market Days

Alternating with the forest day, our children also explore the city of Giessen. They visit the weekly market and, using a specially prepared shopping list, buy all the essential foods for the breakfast prepared together the next day. An experience that makes independent action and the feeling of one's own effectiveness tangible.

Function-room–based Offerings and Projects in the Morning

In the morning, in the respective function rooms, smaller and larger activities and projects take place for the children. They have the opportunity to decide freely and – if needed – to enroll themselves. Once children have chosen an offering, we encourage them to stay with their decision to promote self-efficacy accordingly.

Quality Assurance

The pedagogical work in our daycare center is guided by the Education Plan of the State of Hesse. A more intensive and interlocking collaboration with the school and the family environment is of great importance. In order to ensure continuous adaptation to new conditions, development, safeguarding, and steering of the pedagogical quality of the work within a defined and verifiable structure, process, and outcome quality, we are currently in the process of a quality management system together with all municipal facilities.

Cooperations

As part of the family center and in order to ensure the educational, educational, and care mandate for the well-being of the children and to support their development holistically, collaboration with specialized services and other institutions is important. All parties involved benefit from different competencies, e.g., in the therapy area, for further development, assistance with specific issues, and training.We collaborate with various institutions, some of which are mentioned here as important:

- Educational counseling center

- School/Music school

- Kindergartens

- Sponsorship dentist

- Youth welfare office

- Early intervention

- Daycare mothers

- local associations

In the context of our cooperation with daycare mothers, we offer to take in children at our facility. The daycare mothers, with a cooperation contract, visit our facility at regular intervals.

Basics

We work according to the Hessian Education and Upbringing Plan and the carrier's principles of the city Gießen.

http://ikiss.giessen.local/media/custom/1894_1868_1.PDF?1410954183

With our pedagogical work, we want to make the kindergarten a place that children love to attend and remember with joy. Children need adults who trust their developmental forces and provide stimulation and guidance as needed. We create space for the children, give them time and the opportunity to develop their personality. Every child has the right to laugh, to play, to dream, to cry, to hold different views, and to move forward in order to realize themselves.

Employee

At the daycare center and family center Am Eichelbaum, 15 pedagogical specialists currently accompany and support children in their individual development. In addition, our facility employs 2 everyday assistance staff.

We place great value on good cooperation. A very important aspect for us is a cooperative and honest interaction, also when resolving conflicts.

Children need security, stable relationships, and an orderly environment in order to develop well. Therefore we also see ourselves as development companions. The transparency of our work and the ongoing dialogue with you as parents are of particular importance to us. We accompany and support your child through intensive observation and developmentally appropriate pedagogical offerings.

All staff regularly participate in training and continuing education. On the last Friday of every month, our facility is closed in the afternoons. We use this time to work on Fachthemen (specialist topics) and to exchange information. Through this intensive collaboration, we aim to utilize the abilities and strengths of each individual educator to incorporate diverse ideas and impulses into our pedagogical work, so that we can continually enable new learning processes for the children.

Teamwork with school

Die Zusammenarbeit mit den beiden Grundschulen hier in Wieseck (Weiße Schule/ Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule) ist uns besonders wichtig um den Kindern einen guten Übergang in die Schule zu gestalten. Da die Weiße Schule räumlich näher an uns ist und der Großteil unserer Kinder auf diese Schule wechselt, ist die Zusammenarbeit hier noch intensiver. Regelmäßig finden Treffen statt, an denen neue Projekte zum Übergang besprochen werden.

Teamwork with parents

A trusted collaboration is a key prerequisite for optimal and individualized support for the benefit of the child. We view cooperation with parents as a shared task within the sense of an educational partnership.

In our institution, parent involvement encompasses the totality of activities that the kindergarten team offers to the families of the children in care. These activities are supplementary elements of the pedagogical work within the framework of care, education, and upbringing of the children. The foundation for these activities is constructive, partnership-based, and dialogical collaboration between parents and educators.

Furthermore, we place importance on a constant flow of information. All parent newsletters and information are made available to parents online via the KiKom app. Additionally, information boards are located at the entrance on every floor. Should questions arise, we are, of course, available in person as contacts.

Holiday Care

Our Daycare center is closed for three weeks during the Hessian school holidays on a yearly rotating basis. This means that in one year, we are closed for the first three weeks of the Hessian summer holidays, and in the following year, for the last three weeks. During this summer closure period, there is the option to use care at another daycare center. Our partner daycare center is the KiFaZ "Gießener Straße". The holiday care for our children primarily takes place in this facility.

The care during the holidays is free of charge for the children. Only the lunch, which costs 3.10 euros per individual meal, must be paid.

On two days a year, we also dedicate ourselves to the further development of our educational work and/or participate in joint team training sessions. On these days, the facility remains closed for both children and parents as well. The closing times will, as far as possible, be communicated at the beginning of the kindergarten year.

Description and Stations

The daycare center Am Eichelbaum is located on a corner lot between the following streets: Weidigstrasse/Johannesberg and Am Eichelbaum.

You can reach us via:

Bus line 5 towards the station:

Get off at the Weidigstrasse stop. From there, walk up the Weidigstrasse (it goes slightly uphill) until the next intersection. You will see our daycare center on your right.

Bus line 5 towards Wieseck:

Get off at the Albert-Oßwald-Platz stop. From there, cross at the pedestrian crossing, walk along Lichtenauer Strasse until the next street on the right, which is Weidigstrasse. At the next intersection, you will see our daycare center on your right.

By car:

From Marburgerstrasse, turn into Weidigstrasse and then take the 3rd cross street on the right (Am Eichelbaum) to find our daycare center.