Rooms

The premisis of our kindergarten building include:                                                                                                                    

•  the Foyer with Entrance and Dining Area     
•  Two Group Rooms, One for the "Weinberg" - Group and One for the "Linden"- Group 
•  a Movement and Multi-Purpose room (the "Sun Room")
•  a Corridor with a Wardrobe for Each Group 
•  a Sanitary Facility with Toilets and a Baby Changing Area 
•  a Kitchen 
•  an Office
• a cellar with several storage rooms

In the entrance and wardrobe area there are various information boards and pin boards, which are used for parent work. The waredrobes are also located in the entrance area. The dining area leads into the entrance area. Access to all other rooms is via the corridor.

Both group rooms are divided into different areas:

• the Doll's Corner
• the Cuddling and Reading Corner
• the Construction and Building Corner
• the Dressing-Up Area
• an Area for Board Games and Puzzles
• a Creative Area

The following areas are available to the children in the movement and multi-purpose room:

• Workbench with Tools
• Large Building Blocks
• Ball Pool
• a 2nd Level with a Doll's House
• a Library
• a Physiomotor Skills Corner

Outdoor Facilities

In the spring and summer of 2011, the entire garden area of our kindergarten was redesigned. With the involvement and consideration of the ideas and wishes of our kindergarten team, a modern outdoor play area with a beautiful old tree population was created, financed by the municipality of Remshalden and planned, supported and implemented by dedicated employees from our municipality's building department. The parents, the kindergarten children and us teachers were also actively involved in the redesign of all the play areas. Together, we created a wonderful natural, exercise-friendly garden that invites the children to play on three levels.

Daily Schedule

Our Daily Routine:

7.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m. - Arrival of the Children / Free Play/ Free Breakfast 

10.00 a.m. - 12.00 p.m. - Activities for all Children                                                                             

• Chair Circle / Children's Conference / Exchange of Information
• Community Games / Singing / Dancing / Moving / Reading                                                                             
• Project Related Activities (Small Group or Whole Group) Based on Topics / Seasons / Current Inicidents
• Garden Play - Depending on the Weather, a Combination of Garden Play and Indoor Activities
• Reflection of the Day - Evaluation of Activities / Presentation of Creative Works - Praise and Recognition / Orientation Towards Plans for the Coming Day(s)

12.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. - Free Play / Individual Pick-Up of the Children

Food

From 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m., the children are free to choose their breakfast time.

The children bring their breakfast from home. We ask parents to refrain from snacking and to ensure a balanced diet. Drinks (tea, sparkling water, water) are available in the kindergarten and are provided by the parents. Breakfast is eaten by the children of both groups in our dining area, they are allowed to choose their "breakfast partner" themselves. Drinks are available during the entire care period.

Basics

Our work is guided by the pedagogical concept of the situational approach, i.e. learning with / from so-called key situations. This concept attaches great importance to the needs of children. The aim of the approach is to promote children's independence. As educators, we have the challenging task of constantly creating varied life situations in which children can develop new skills.

The following principles of the situational approach are of fundamental importance to us:

1.  The child is the subject of action and an active participant in his or her own development.
2. The educational work is based on the needs and life situations of the children and their families.
3. The educational goals are self-determination, solidarity and competence.
4. The children learn in real life situations, in a stimulating environment inside and outside the kindergarten.
5. We educators support the children on their path to independence.
6. Educational planning is based on open planning and project work.
7. We see the situational approach as an invitation to the children to get involved in life and actively participate in it.

The central role of our kindergarten teachers is to an attachment figure for you and your child. In this role, we are in dialog with children and families. We encourage all children individually and constantly to face new situations and to develop the curiosity and courage to engage with the unknown. We take the ideas, wishes and needs expressed by your children seriously and offer support and assistance to turn them into reality. We support the children in working independently and look for possible solutions together.

In our daily interactions with each other, we act in a supportive manner, i.e. when dealing with conflicts. Our aim is for the children to learn to discuss, find compromises and begin to resolve their conflicts on their own in order to take responsibility for their own actions. In order to give your children the opportunity to develop freely and according to their own interests, we stay in the background. This gives the children the necessary freedom to live out their individual needs, to experiment and to try out and realize their own play ideas without constant supervision or instructions.

News

Our everyday kindergarten life is characterized by play, learning and social interaction. The children are supported in their development through various seasonal activities and projects. It is a time of discovery and growth, which is of great importance to the children.

The following projects/activities have taken place recently:

Gymnastics day:

Once a week

Meadow day:

We go to a meadow area to play and run around. We also have breakfast there together.

Farm week:

Once a year, we look forward to visiting the Demeter-Engelberg farm in Winterbach. There, the children are allowed to actively help with all the work that needs to be done on a farm.

We also celebrate annual festivals such as carnival, summer, the lantern walk, Christmas and much more.

We reserve the right to flexibilize the daily routine according to the seasons, projects or activities. This is of fundamental importance for the situational approach of our educational work in order to maintain spontaneity and creativity. We try to reliably offer recurring weekly activities:

• Monday: Bring Your Own Toys Day
• Tuesday: Language Development  / "Linden-Group" / "Reading with Grandma / Cross-Group Activities 
• Wednesday: Intense - An Activity Especially for Preschoolers
• Thursday: Gym Day - Switching Weekly Between Younger and Older Children From Both Groups 
• Friday: Language Development /  "Weinberg-Group" / Cross-Group Activities

Various circumstances such as staff shortages, the use of substitutes, children's birthday parties or other occasional group events can lead to us deviating from our weekly schedule.

On three days of every month, a group hikes to a nearby meadow, where we play and have breakfast with the children. In the months of July, August, September and December, we do not do that. During these months, we want to leave "space" for parties, celebrations, farm days and a cozy Advent season instead. During this time, we enjoy playing in our beautiful garden all the more.

Once a year, after our kindergarten's summer vacation, we look forward to visit the Demeter-Engelberg farm in Winterbach. On 4 days of one week, we work with the children on the farm from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m., while offering a regular total care time service regarding, beginning and ending.

Festivals and celebrations during the kindergarten year:

• Farewell Preschool Event (Children's Event)
• Lantern Run (Family Event)
• St. Nicholas Party (Children's Event)
• Theater Visit of the Preschoolers (Children's Event)
• Christmas Party (Children's Event)
• Carnival (Children's Event)
• Family Picnic - on the Occasion of Mother's and Father's Day (Family Event)
• Preschool Excursion (Children's Event)
• Summer Party / Summer Hike (Family Event)
• Children's Birthday Parties (Children's Event)

Half of our activities take place exclusively as part of our daily routine. We deliberately choose this event framework in order to celebrate together with the children on an equal basis. Our family parties represent a colorful togetherness. We want to spend time together with the children and their families while playing, having fun and exchanging ideas.

Overview

Our kindergarten offers 2 mixed-age groups for a total of 50 children and extended opening hours ("VÖ") from 7.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.. Both the "Weinberg"- Group and the "Linden"- Group are attended by a maximum 25 children aged 3 to 6 years.  With a total care time of 6 hours, the care service of this institution does not include a lunch offer.                             

One of our main tasks when admitting children to our kindergarten is to combine the two living environments of the child (kindergarten and family). It is therefore important for us to have a well-functioning partnership between the two worlds, especially with regard to the children. They have a keen sense of whether or not their parents and teachers recognize and accept each other. Children have a great need for stability and clear orientation. Consensual work on both sides gives them a feeling of reliability and security.