Introduction

Die Kobolde e.V.

The day-care centre “Die Kobolde e.V.” is a self-organized parents' association on the grounds of Justus Liebig University, right next to the Philosophikum II building on the edge of the forest. Ideal for children of student parents, who are given priority - but everyone else is welcome too!

Space for 18 children
Children from 1.5 to school age
Childcare from 07:30 to 16:30
Vegetarian, organic and wholesome food
Admission only possible for Giessen city children
The group follows a mixed-age educational concept. The children can learn together in the group and thus benefit from each other.

The daycare center has a generous amount of space, a playable courtyard, a beautiful garden and play area with a variety of activities. The location close to nature also offers a wide range of other activities suitable for children.

The group eats breakfast and lunch together with the teachers. The food is prepared by parents and housekeepers in rotation. In the afternoon, fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese and spreads are served. 

As the daycare centre is managed and organized by the parents themselves, a certain level of commitment is necessary (cooking and cleaning up about once a month, joint activity days twice a year, monthly parents' evenings, offices and board work) - at the same time, a parents' initiative offers opportunities to shape the daycare centre through their own involvement, which ultimately helps to shape the day-to-day life of our children. Furthermore, this enables intensive support for the child and deep insight into their social environment.

Rooms

The facility has various play and function rooms: a playroom, a construction room, a reading room, a role-play room, a painting and craft room, and a bedroom for the children who want to take a midday nap.

Opposite the kitchen is the dining room where we eat together. Birthdays are also celebrated here, which the respective parents enrich with cake and birthday breakfast.

There is a washroom with child-friendly toilets and a nappy-changing room, also with a toilet.

Outdoor Facilities

The outdoor area of the facility invites children to run around, dig, swing, balance, seesaw and engage in creative free play, both in the courtyard and in the garden with various natural play equipment. In the shady greenery of the trees, children can splash around in our small water playground with pump in summer and romp and play on our much-used earth mound. The obligatory driving equipment, from bobby cars to wheelbarrows, is also in use all year round in all weathers. There is also a covered seating area where children can do handicrafts, read and eat in the shelter of the weather.

Daily Schedule

The facility opens at 7:30 am. Until breakfast, the children can enjoy creative free play or take part in different activities together with the teachers.

We all have breakfast together at 9:30 am. 

In the mornings, a variety of activities guide us through the week: from excursions on forest days to singing, making music and dancing when our external music teacher visits, to preschool for the older children, various fixed activities have been established throughout the week - in addition, there are countless options for creative play, romping around, crafting, dressing up, building and more. Thanks to the high staffing ratio, we also usually have the opportunity to respond to the children's individual wishes and act according to the situational approach.

We eat lunch together at around 12 noon. Eating is more than just eating, it is a social gathering and is associated with rituals for the children. A table saying heralds the start of each meal.

Some of our youngest children sometimes sleep after lunch. This is an individual decision and is made in consultation with the parents and according to the children's needs.

We usually spend the afternoon outdoors and pursue different projects: Depending on the season, we garden, design, play, sing or read, for example. The afternoon also often offers the opportunity to intensify play in smaller groups. Here, too, we can respond individually to the children's wishes.

The facility closes at 16:30.

Deviations from our schedule are possible and important, as we are guided by the needs of the children.

Food

In the morning, around 9:30, we all have breakfast together and welcome the kindergarten day. On Mondays, the children bring their own breakfast; for the other days, the local organic supermarket Klatschmohn supplies our breakfast.

Our shared lunch is wholesome, organic, and vegetarian.Around 12 noon some days of the week we are cooked by our housekeeping staff; on the other days, parents take turns preparing lunch. About once a month, the parents of each child bring the food to the facility accordingly. 

In the afternoon there is a joint fruit and bread meal. This is taken outside in good weather.