LITTLE BIRD Portal :: Day-care center :: Waldkindergarten Buoch Finken :: 73630

Offered age structure

3-6 Jahre

Address	Waldkindergarten Buoch Finken Im Salenhäule 35 73630 Remshalden
Funding authority	Gemeinde Remshalden Marktplatz 1 73630 Remshalden
E-Mail:	gruppe-buochfinken@kita-remshalden.de
Homepage:	http://www.remshalden.de/kinderbetreuung
Phone:	01733682147 (Herr Thimo Flügge)
Opening times	7:30 AM - 1:30 PM o'clock
Foreign languages	German, English
Specially educational concept	Wood-Pedagogy
Extras	Child care with special focus on environmental education

Create inquiry

Introduction/specifics

We are the forest kindergarten "Die BuochFinken" and we are located with our construction trailer at the northern end of Buoch. As the name suggests, we have a forest education concept. This differs from the concepts of other facilities in that virtually all activities and offers are carried out outdoors.

For example, the painting activities can take place on a slice of tree as an improvised table. A fallen tree is ideal for balancing on. On the paths, the meadow and in clearings there is enough space to run, sneak, jump, etc.. At the same time, you can retreat if necessary to relax, eat something or listen to a story read aloud by the teachers. We can carry out these and countless other activities in the forest, adapted to our concept and the season.

If necessary, we can spend really strenuous days in our construction trailer. We can heat it with a wood-burning stove while the children play with our play equipment, rest and even spend time in the covered outdoor area of the playroom.

The kindergarten was officially opened on April 6, 2024 and has been in operation ever since. The children are looked after by a total of four educational staff.

Rooms

The construction trailer at the edge of the forest playground in Salenhäule is impossible to miss. Clad in natural wood and built in such a way that it is almost impossible to tell that it is actually a wagon and not a permanent building. The spacious porch serves as a checkroom and can be reached via an external staircase. Inside, there are tables and box benches, a cupboard, a cozy corner and, of course, a stove for heating in winter.

Outdoor Facilities

The construction trailer is actually only an emergency shelter when the weather is so uncomfortable that it is unreasonable for the children and childcare staff to stay outside for long and they are happy to have the opportunity to warm up in the dry. The actual educational work and therefore a large part of the childcare time takes place outdoors: in the area around the car, in the forest and on the surrounding meadows. Of course, the playground is also used. The surrounding area, which we can reach on foot, is very diverse and offers plenty of variety for everyday educational activities.

The meadow in front of the construction trailer offers plenty of space for the children to move around freely and for our morning and closing circle. This meadow is bordered by our fence, a small shelter and a gravel path towards the forest. At our fireplace, the children can relax, eat something and warm up on cold days.

Of course, we spend a lot of time in the forest. The changing seasons alone mean that the forest always presents itself differently to us. In winter, everything is quite bare and reduced. You can see far into the forest or up into the treetops. A lot of light gets through to the ground, but also rain and moisture. However, children usually have much less of a problem with "bad" weather than adults. For a longer stay, for example to eat, we tend to look for sheltered spots, for example under conifers. In the adjacent Remshalden community forest, we are allowed to move around freely. We also create our "forest places" here. These are areas that we visit regularly, "base camps" so to speak, where we leave our equipment. Here we can play freely within a radius that can be easily seen by everyone. There is usually a place to sit in the form of a forest sofa made from branches. There are tree stumps that serve as work and research tables. The surroundings can be explored from here. The forester and a tree surveyor regularly check the places where we spend a lot of time for safety.

Daily Schedule

Our childcare time starts at 7:30 am and ends at 1:30 pm.

From 7:30 am to 8:30 am is our drop-off time. Depending on the weather, we spend this time in the construction trailer or outside. During this time, the children arrive, can go to free play or have breakfast.

At 8:45 am, we hold our morning circle together so that we can set off for our destination for the day at 9 am. The day's destination is determined by the "boss of the day". This is a child who is drawn by lot in advance. We have a fixed system so that every child gets a turn.

We therefore always spend our day in different ways. We have fixed forest areas in the neighboring forest that we can go to. However, it can also be that we simply go for a long walk ("discovery tour"), or that we spend the day in the playground. Depending on the weather and the time of year, we may also exclude daytime destinations. During this time, there is the opportunity for any activities that the teachers plan in advance or carry out spontaneously. Otherwise, the children are free to go to places where they want to linger, engage in free play, rest, eat, etc..

Around 12 noon we are back at the construction trailer and have a common closing circle and the children can then go back to free play.

From 12:30 p.m. the pick-up time and VÖ begins. This lasts until 13:30.

During this time we stay at or near the construction trailer. Parents who pick up their children during this time can contact us to find out where we are.

At 13:30 we go together with packed bags to the barrier at the parking lot and wait for the remaining children to be picked up.

Food

The children bring their daily requirements of food and drink. For health and safety reasons (wasps, etc.) we ask them to avoid sweets/sweet drinks.
There are no fixed meal times. In general, the children are allowed to choose to eat and drink independently in the places where we stay. It has been shown that this arrangement results in common meal times. At the same time, we promote the children's independence by teaching them to pay attention to their own feelings of hunger and thirst.

Care providers are responsible for all profile content. (State: 12/12/2024 12:45:28)

Kind of care
Vormittagsbetreuung 6 Stunden für Kinder im Alter von 3 bis 6 Jahre

Basics

Forest education focuses on holistic learning, true to Johann Heinrich Pestalotzzi's concept of "learning with head, hand and heart". Through their individual play, the children develop an understanding of nature largely independently through direct interaction. The fundamental values of forest education are respect for people, animals and the environment.

The child is at the center of our educational work. It is an independent personality. They have individual needs, strengths and interests.

In the situational approach, the child's needs and interests are at the forefront. The aim of the educators is to promote the independence of children from different backgrounds (family, cultural, etc.) by building on their strengths and interests. This is achieved by the educators recognizing so-called "key situations" in everyday life and responding to them in an appropriate manner. The children are supported in their curiosity, their skills, their self-esteem and their autonomy.

For us, giving the children the floor, listening to their opinions, involving them in decisions and thus thinking and acting in a child-centered way means allowing an ongoing process of change. Our daily kindergarten routine follows a time frame. Within this framework, however, the organization of the day is very free. For example, the children can help decide where we go in or near the forest.

Cooperations

We are currently establishing a wide range of collaborations:

• Specialist curative education service

• Library

• visits to local institutions such as other kindergartens, police, fire department

• Sports clubs

Specifics

In our forest kindergarten, we have the seasons as our theme and daily routine even more intensively than in indoor facilities. As we are exposed to the weather conditions, we experience each season and the associated weather directly and have to adapt individually in our everyday kindergarten life.

In spring, we discover the reawakening of nature together. It's like a small miracle to experience how the soil suddenly smells of the forest again as it gets warmer and small seedlings grow out of it, and how many creepy-crawlies are on the move again after hiding away during the cold period. The first flowers can be admired. The forest changes its entire face when the leaves of the deciduous trees emerge in May. Now there is once again a protective canopy of leaves that provides shade, cools and also protects against heavy rain.

Summer is the time of year when we spend a lot of time in the forest. We can do very difficult things, paint, do handicrafts, create something from natural materials, research in peace, work, listen to stories, role-play... and much more.

Autumn is the time of abundance. Now there are plenty of forest fruits and fruit in the meadows. Together with the children, we harvest the good things that nature gives us. Of course, only what we know for sure and under supervision. The forest gives us herbs, berries, seeds and mushrooms. Apples, pears, plums, potatoes and pumpkins grow in the surrounding meadows and fields. We use our fireplace for cooking and processing. The fireplace is also the place that warms us when it's cold, for example when we arrive, until all the children have arrived and we set off into the forest.

In this way, the children regularly come into contact with all the elements in our daily routine. They have plenty of exercise and the opportunity to let off steam. You have to set far fewer boundaries and forbid things in nature than in confined spaces, where it can quickly become distracting if the children are loud and wild. Outdoors, boundaries often emerge of their own accord, for example when things get dangerous. Nature not only has a calming effect on us adults, but of course also on the children.

There are far fewer toys in the forest kindergarten than in a "home kindergarten". Instead, the children play with the things that nature provides: Sticks, stones, clay, leaves, moss, bark... A stick quickly becomes a chainsaw, a piece of bark serves as a plate on which the clay pizza is served, decorated with moss and herbs. There are no limits to the imagination. And above all, they play together. The children are constantly role-playing, which of course promotes social skills immensely. Being out and about together creates an enormous group feeling. You inevitably have to be considerate of each other and make sure that everyone keeps up. You wait for each other and help each other in difficult places. Once you have mastered a challenge together, such as hiking a long distance or surviving a cold day, this creates a strong bond. The children experience themselves as part of a group that they constantly rub up against, but which, on the whole, reliably supports them.

Care providers are responsible for all profile content. (State: 12/12/2024 12:45:28)