Basics
Open Group Work:
In response to the changing circumstances in the children’s lives, the “open group work” approach—which guides our practice—has evolved. Our goal is to create as much freedom as possible for children within our childcare center and to actively practice and experience shared decision-making and participation.
Children need challenges and opportunities to experiment. The open-concept daycare center provides children with opportunities for action and development. It is important to us to make all areas of the facility—including hallways and outdoor spaces—available to the children as spaces for play and activity. The children can decide for themselves which play activities they would like to participate in, provided they follow the established rules.
Children are free to move between the nursery and the daycare center at any time. This allows them to benefit from the different developmental levels of their peers through shared play.
The goals of open-ended activities are:
- To create an environment for children in which their individual wishes and feelings are respected, they can follow their impulses and interests, and they can form play and work groups according to their own preferences
- To provide children with a space where a child’s “no” carries just as much weight as an adult’s
- To design an (educational) environment that offers children new experiences, challenges them to take bold initiatives, and thereby encourages further steps in their development
- To ensure that children have the opportunity to engage with these experiences at their own pace and guided by their own questions
- To create an atmosphere of safety and attentiveness in which communication is given space in the truest sense of the word, yet which also allows for withdrawal
- To foster a climate of well-being in which people of all ages can interact peacefully and develop together, where calm prevails and each individual finds their place, and where children can gain fundamental experiences of democracy and feel a sense of their own agency
On Mondays from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., a children’s conference takes place in the home groups. From Tuesday through Friday, we offer our project groups.
Our Educational Approach in the Nursery:
We give children the time they need to develop at their own pace. In doing so, we encourage their independence.
The nurturing care and diaper-changing process are based on a trusting relationship that ensures a pleasant experience for the child. We provide individualized support as children learn to use the toilet.
Language development is fostered through loving attention as we verbally guide the children through their activities.
The transition to kindergarten is made easier because the children are already familiar with all areas of the daycare center. The adjustment period is not supervised by the parents, but by the child’s primary caregiver from the nursery, in collaboration with the primary caregiver from the kindergarten.
