Introduction/specifics

Pusteblume e.V. is a state-approved forest and nature kindergarten in Schwabach. Since September 2018, we have been offering 20-25 children aged three and over a great environment to play and develop in the great outdoors. The sponsoring association has set itself the goal of making Pusteblume a unique place.

A place where children can enjoy experiencing themselves anew every day in the great outdoors. In the peace and quiet of the forest, children can pursue their fantasies and explore without haste. In a group or alone, they experience themselves and develop their personalities. Because nature is constantly changing, every day brings new adventures.

A place where parents can maintain bonds with their children and other families. You can escape your everyday life for a short time and feel the magic of the forest together with your children at Parents' Day or get involved in forest service in a good mood with your parents.

A place where our teaching staff contribute with joy and enthusiasm. Our stable environment leaves room for the development of your own creativity.

picture(s): Jennifer Schäufelin www.jennifi.com

Rooms

Pusteblume does not have a classic ROOM. There is a wonderful forest spot between Dietersdorf and Wolkersdorf, which is about 700 meters from the meeting point. This in itself offers a great variety. The mud corner offers plenty of space for sensorimotor experiences. Fallen or felled tree trunks, as soon as they are secured, are deliberately left lying around as “material” for good games. Sometimes they are airplanes, sometimes a speedboat or a train. And on other days you can simply balance on it. Otherwise the place is constantly changing. No matter whether it's a pirate ship, a secret hiding place, a horse paddock or a rocket, the children create their own play space using only their imagination.

Of course there is a morning circle place. The seating circle is created from tree trunks with space for the entire group. A large, covered shelter offers protection from rain and wind. This also creates a retreat for quiet play at the table. Books, portfolio folders and craft materials are stored in the adjacent cubby. A converted construction trailer is a storage space for visual and other craft materials, tools and a change of clothing.

If it is too dangerous in the forest - e.g. after a storm or during an announced thunderstorm - the kindergarten finds shelter in the rooms of the parish hall of the Protestant parish of Dietersdorf. We would like to thank the community for this generous offer and the good cooperation.

picture(s): Jennifer Schäufelin www.jennifi.com

Outdoor Facilities

But we don't just stay in one place, in our place. Natural space education also includes exploring the entire forest and, for example, experiencing the differences between mixed and coniferous forests. We are often out and about in our pedestrian area and always find new places that the children find either exciting or relaxing, where they can run or build. Once the group has tried out a place and found it to be good, the children create a name for this place. We decide primarily democratically which places should be visited.

Daily Schedule

Our daily routine depends heavily on the weather conditions. But there are also some recurring points in our daily routine that also give the children support and security. So we start every day at the parking lot of the Dietersdorf cemetery. From there we walk a more or less short route - either to our forest site or to the other forest sites (see outdoor areas). Here we try to give each child enough time and see the journey, just like any other part of the daily routine, as an opportunity to have a variety of experiences and learn.

Regardless of where we are, there is a morning circle, morning vespers and lunch. If we stay at our forest spot, the free play, which is fundamentally important to us, is supplemented with crafts, reading or carving activities. Joint games or group times also have a permanent place in the week of Pusteblume.

Food

Due to legal regulations, it is not possible for us to provide a (warm) lunch for everyone. Here we simply lack the possibility of heating to the necessary output temperature.

Each child brings their own snacks and lunch. And with the experience of several winters, we have developed a good system where every child gets a warm lunch even on cold days: warming containers, Styrofoam boxes and, on very cold days, an additional hot water bottle are sure to defy the cold!

A not to be underestimated advantage of bringing your own food is that it is easy for children with allergies to eat the right things. Nobody is “excluded” here because this or that is not tolerated. Each child gets what they like and can tolerate, and everyone is full at the end of the meal break.

picture(s): Jennifer Schäufelin www.jennifi.com, Pusteblume eV

Basics

We see every child as competent, interested and social. We educate needs-oriented and freely, without the distraction of ready-made toys. We see the children as individuals and give everyone the chance to find out their strengths and weaknesses at their own pace and build on them. Nevertheless, we also keep an eye on the group as a whole and see the community and social aspects as a valuable asset. Participation is an important part of our everyday educational life. We mostly make decisions based on grassroots democracy and take the children's wishes into account in the decision-making process. We also want to support the children in becoming self-responsible and self-effective individuals, which is why we prefer to let them do things themselves rather than take on tasks for them. This doesn't just apply when dealing with your own materials, which can be a challenge at the beginning of kindergarten, or when carving, which the children learn with great patience and commitment. A very important part of our pedagogy is of course natural space pedagogy. Studies show that playing in nature reduces stress and stimulates imagination. Furthermore, personal initiative and a sense of responsibility are strengthened. E.g. When the temperatures are below zero, the child realizes that he has to put on gloves so that his fingers don't get cold and not because the teacher tells him to.

picture(s): Jennifer Schäufelin www.jennifi.com

Employee

The Pusteblume team consists of experienced specialists and supplementary staff. The special unifying quality of everyone is the love of nature and “weather resistance”, as well as of course the love of accompanying children in their development. There are also further training courses in nature and forest education as well as related topics.

We are also happy by expanding the team with so-called Bufdis (participants in the Federal Voluntary Service), working students and interns. We see great enrichment in a multi-professional composition of the team, from which everyone benefits: educators, children and families.

The exchange in addition to everyday life is important to the team. In the weekly team meeting and on regular team days, the educators take a lot of time to discuss individual cases, discuss important topics and reflect on the concept and processes and continually develop them further.

picture(s): Jennifer Schäufelin www.jennifi.com

Cooperations

A network is important. Like a spider's web, we try to exchange ideas regionally in different circles. Worth mentioning here are the city of Schwabach's working groups in the areas of sponsors, management, inclusion and primary schools. But outside of Schwabach we also maintain an intensive exchange with institutions and educators from our umbrella organization SOKE eV or the working group of the surrounding Franconian forest kindergartens.

Our close and trusting cooperation with the Schwabach Youth Welfare Office is always an enrichment and a stable support for the sponsoring association and everyday kindergarten life when things get tricky.

picture(s): Jennifer Schäufelin www.jennifi.com

Teamwork with school

A good time in kindergarten is reflected in a smooth transition to school. That's why we're in close contact with the four local primary schools. We maintain a particularly close exchange with the Zwieseltal elementary school in our immediate neighborhood.

picture(s): Jennifer Schäufelin www.jennifi.com

Teamwork with parents

The involvement of parents is very important to us. We rely on the help and cooperation of parents when there are shortages, but at the same time we want to enjoy the beautiful aspects of a harmonious kindergarten family together. That's why we are in close contact with the parents: we communicate directly via our own communication server, regardless of time and without any loss of information.

Parents are an integral part of our everyday life: every week one parent of one child accompanies us into the forest to experience and feel everyday life. The pictures and experiences that the parents take home with them during the parenting service give the parents a lot of understanding of our work with the child, often dispel worries and fears and are an unbeatable kit for the parent-child relationship.

Educational topics are taken up and discussed at numerous parents' evenings. And if action has to be taken in the forest so that major changes can be made, this can only be done with a strong community.

But the beautiful aspects of the kindergarten year are also celebrated together. The kindergarten family likes to get together for the lights or the spring festival or for “gossip afternoons”.

In addition to the board and teachers, there is a parents' council in the Pusteblume. All three committees work well and constructively together. The exchange of contentious topics has also helped our kindergarten to come up with good solutions in the past and improved the day-to-day life.

Parental Interviews

For the parent surveys we use the service of SOKE, which provides us with electronic parent surveys and their evaluations at regular intervals.

Overview

There are no fixed admission criteria for the Dandelion. The most important criterion is that we get to know the family personally, because togetherness is an important foundation of our work and our kindergarten family.

However, your child should be at least 2 ¾ years old. This has to do with our operating license, but also the experience that from this age onwards the children can cope well with everyday life in the forest right from the start.

Description and Stations

Forest meeting point: Dietersdorf Cemetery, near Friedhofsgäßchen 7, 91126 Dietersdorf

Nearest bus stop: Dietersdorf FW-Haus accessible with lines 671 and 83