Introduction/specifics

Dear Moms and Dads, my name is Josephina Fröhlich. Together with my mom and colleague, Anja Fröhlich, we’ve set up a family-style large daycare center. It’s located in the university town of Marburg, in the Ockershausen neighborhood.

I was born in Marburg in 2005. After earning my vocational high school diploma and completing a one-year internship at the Marburger Minis daycare center—specifically in the “Marburger kleine Diamanten” childcare group led by Vivien Born—I decided to become a child care provider myself.

For several years now, I’ve been working with children of various ages—whether in our former “Zwergenpferdchen” group with our horses and children between the ages of 3 and 6, which my mom and I organized and led for over 5 years, or in my “horse whisperer” sessions, which I’ve been offering to older children for several years. All these wonderful experiences with children of such diverse age groups led me to become a child care provider.

Working with children is much more than just a job.

It’s a labor of love, where every day I get to witness their love, curiosity, and trust, and share in a small part of their daily development.

I’m a non-smoker and vegetarian, and I prefer tropical fruits and organic food.

I grew up with animals, and they’ve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Two horses (a Mini Shetland and a Tinker) are part of the family. We also have a dog, a cat, and a chicken as our animal companions.

Rooms

The Marburg Minis have a 125m² apartment here that’s been specially furnished for them to play in. We have two large playrooms: a “castle room” and a “fortress room” with a play store, a kids’ kitchen, Legos, dolls, cars, and much more. A large hallway—which could easily pass for a room of its own—connects all the spaces. At the back of our apartment are the bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and restrooms.

Outdoor Facilities

Outside, we have a covered outdoor area where the children can enjoy sandboxes with a mud kitchen, a Bobby Car wash, various vehicles, and a playhouse with a kitchen and cooking accessories.   

Daily Schedule

7:00 – 8:30 Drop-off
You drop off your child, say goodbye, and your child is free to play until breakfast.
Any special matters can be briefly discussed during a quick chat at the door, if necessary.
8:30 – 9:00 Breakfast
Now everyone has breakfast together.
9:00 – 11:15 Free play
Once everyone has finished breakfast, the children play, read, or draw; we usually go outside during this time.
When we come back from outside, we tidy up together briefly. Afterward, we change diapers or take the children to the bathroom. Of course, diapers are changed whenever needed.
11:30 Lunch
After saying “Enjoy your meal,” everyone eats together. Depending on each child’s developmental stage, we let the little ones eat mostly on their own, but we’re also happy to help when necessary.
11:45–12:00 Nap Time
The little ones brush their own teeth and hands are washed. We help them brush their teeth one last time at the end.
Your child will now be put to bed. We sing a lullaby to help them fall asleep.
The little ones either wake up on their own or are gently woken up by us around 1:45 p.m. Then it’s time for another diaper change, and the little ones get dressed.
1:45 p.m. Free play
Your child will now play indoors or, if the weather is nice, outdoors, until you pick them up.
2:10–2:20 p.m. Pick-up time
During this time, dear parents, you’ll pick up your Marburg Minis.
Any special notes will be briefly discussed if necessary. 

Food

In the morning, we all have breakfast together. We provide breakfast, which consists of bread with, for example, cheese, quark, jam, vegetarian sausage, tomatoes, or cucumber—whatever your child feels like eating.
Before nap time, we serve lunch, which is freshly prepared early that morning.
It’s important to us that the meals are varied and made with seasonal ingredients. We always prepare vegetarian meals, except when we serve fish. Fruit is served for dessert. During our care hours, we avoid sweets and keep our diet as sugar-free as possible. On birthdays and other celebrations, we make waffles with the children; on Tuesdays, we also bake small treats from time to time if the children ask for them.
Drinks include water or tea. Children are allowed to drink at any time.

Basics

Our lives have evolved naturally on their own, and our natural selves know exactly what the plan is for our best possible development.
Therefore, it is best if we give the builders of our future as much freedom as possible, encourage their self-development, and meet them where they are in their journey or offer assistance as needed. We should provide the space and support for self-discovery, as well as the necessary guidance and encouragement at each stage of development, without depriving them of their own self-discovery. This is a major challenge for us, one we face with joy and confidence. Drawing on our own experience, we’re quick to explain to others how things should work. But self-actualization and ingenuity thrive precisely without such instructions and all too often leave us amazed at how things can be used in different ways. It is important to us that your child feels comfortable with us, that we provide your child with stability and an environment in which they feel safe. That they make new friends and look forward to coming to us. We want to be trusting and loving child care providers for your child, and we hope that you, as parents, can go about your daily lives feeling relaxed and at ease.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Qualification

I completed my training as a child care provider in the summer of 2025 and have been working as a child care provider since September 1, 2025.

Additional Offerings

Monday: We go shopping with the children at the nearby supermarket.
Tuesday: This is our regular baking day with the children. The children get to decide what we’ll bake. Sometimes, though, we also make ice cream together in our ice cream maker or cook jam from fresh fruit.
Wednesday: Is our music day.
Thursday: Is our gym day (sometimes in the summer on the big sports field and sometimes in our hallway, depending on the weather).
Friday: We all work together in a playful way to spruce up our daycare center (everyone gets a small cloth and finds a toy that absolutely needs to be polished and wiped down).

Important: The schedule is for general guidance. Depending on events and special circumstances during the care period, variations, time shifts, and changes are possible.

Quality Assurance

Every two years, we refresh our first aid course for toddlers and take part in hygiene training at the health department.
We take part in at least 20 high-quality training sessions per year on the subject of childcare at the Evangelische Familienbildungsstätte.
We are members of the Kindertagespflege MR-BID e.V.

Teamwork with parents

Working together with you as parents is very important to us. Regular, direct communication, mutual trust, and the willingness to address everything honestly at any time—whether it’s praise or criticism—lead to a strong partnership. We’ll keep you informed about your child’s development at regular intervals during parent-teacher conferences. But we’re also happy to do so at any time if needed. We hold a parents’ evening once or twice a year.
Our orientation program is based on the Berlin model.

Specifics

The great thing about our location is that we have so many options. From here, you can quickly get to nature, the forest, or the Lahn River, the playground, or the city. With the help of the multiple stroller, we go on discovery tours.

Projects

We celebrate every birthday here in style during our care hours.
Of course, the Easter Bunny, St. Nicholas, and Santa Claus also visit us here. 
We actively experience spring, summer, fall, and winter using materials we collect together and then use to decorate our daycare center.
Every year, we hold a summer party with our horses—who are experienced with toddlers—outside of regular care hours, with all the families on our large meadow. 
In the weeks leading up to starting kindergarten, we prepare your child for this new phase of life. We read and tell stories about kindergarten so that your child is filled with anticipation for this new chapter.
 When a child spends their last day with us before starting kindergarten, we celebrate and say goodbye, and they receive a small, very personal farewell gift from us.

Overview

From 0 to 3 years

Description and Stations

There are parking spaces in front of the childcare rooms that have been reserved specifically for our parents. We are conveniently located near the B3 on-ramp and within the city bus service area. The “Willy-Mock-Straße” bus stop is 300 meters away and is served every half hour by Line 8.