Introduction/specifics

The Don Bosco Catholic Family Centre is a 5-group day-care centre for children that has existed in Wipperfürth since 1975 and has continued to develop.

At present, 90 children aged from one year until they start school are cared for in our house in different group forms. We distinguish between the U3 groups (children aged 1 - 3 years) and the regular groups (children aged 3-6 years). We accompany the children in their everyday life in a friendly atmosphere and support them individually in their child development. On two floors, we offer a spacious room concept that invites children to play in different functional rooms. In addition, there is a spacious outdoor area with age-appropriate play areas that invite children to climb, move and romp around.

We are located only a few minutes' walk from the city centre, so that on the one hand we are quite central and at the same time very quiet. This gives us the opportunity to go on excursions into nature as well as to visit the town centre with its playground, church or swimming pool.

Our day care centre at a glance:

Space: 90 children in 5 groups

- Buddelpiraten: 13 children aged 1 - 3 years

- Krabbelkäfer: 12 children aged 1 - 3 years

- Matschmeister: 22 children aged 3 - 6 years

- Hügelhüpfer: 22 children aged 3 - 6 years

- Sachenmacher: 21 children at the age of 3 - 6 years

Within our opening hours of 07.00 - 16.00 we offer families the following booking times:

25 hours: This place covers the child's care time in the morning from 7.30am to 12.30pm.

35 hours: This place covers the child's care time from 7.30 am to 2 pm, as well as one day from 7 am to 4 pm and generally includes lunch together. However, it is also possible to select individual days for lunch. For participation in lunch, we charge an additional lump-sum meal fee.

45 hours: This place covers the care time from 7.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. We also charge a lump sum for lunch.

Rooms

Children have a great urge to move, are creative thinkers, want to try things out and at the same time need opportunities for rest and retreat. We cater to all these needs in our facility.

All children benefit from so-called functional rooms. This means that each room offers a different field of activity.

Our focus here is on the following areas, among others

- Movement

- creativity

- role play

- Building and construction

- Learning and experimenting

- Relaxation

- Language

- Parlour games

During the course of the day, each child can choose to play in the individual function rooms according to their ideas and interests. They also choose their play partners and determine the duration of their play.

Children need an environment that is highly stimulating, offers specific play opportunities and supports and promotes their development.

Our diverse range of materials is easily visible to the children, freely accessible and appealing to all genders and age groups. In this way, we want to encourage creativity, motivate play and support the children's natural curiosity and urge to explore.

The interior design in our facility is an ongoing process that is based on the children's interests. This means that the range of materials and the design of the room can change again and again in cooperation with the children.

Outdoor Facilities

We offer an extensive outdoor area with age-appropriate play areas that encourage climbing, moving and romping.

Daily Schedule

Our facility opens at 7.00 a.m. so that the children can be brought in between 7.00 a.m. - 9.00 a.m.. We welcome each family at our welcome desk, where organisational questions can already be clarified.  

In the home group there is then the opportunity for a short door-to-door talk between parents and teachers. The children use the time until the morning conference to arrive, to get their bearings and to choose their play options within the day care centre.

The morning conference takes place in the home groups. After the welcome song, the rest of the day's schedule is presented so that the children can decide individually which activities they would like to take part in. During the morning conference, there is the opportunity to sing songs, talk about experiences or discuss the current topic.

From 7.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m., the children have the opportunity to have breakfast.

During the free play phase, all functional rooms are available to the children. At the same time, the children can take part in their chosen activities or use the outdoor area to romp and play.

At 12.30 p.m., the children meet again in their home groups to have lunch together. Afterwards, the children have the opportunity to rest a little before starting a free play phase again.

The day ends individually for each child. The pick-up phase extends over the above-mentioned period.

Food

In our facility, a freshly prepared lunch is offered daily, which the children eat in their home group. The children in the U3 groups eat at 11:30 a.m.; the children in the regular groups eat at 12:30 p.m..

The meals are freshly prepared every day by our kitchen team. Our meal plan is displayed in the form of picture cards in the entrance area so that the children can see for themselves what is available for lunch.

We always try to include the children's wishes in the planning.

Of course, we pay attention to the children's food intolerances and allergies, as well as their religious or cultural background.

When we have lunch together, it is important to us that we create a pleasant atmosphere and teach the children the first behaviours of our eating culture.

Basics

"Grass doesn't grow any faster if you pull on it.

That is why we accompany each child individually on its way. We give them time and space to develop and offer them a variety of activities to promote their development. In this way, they can discover their world through play.

For us, every child is individual and unique. We work according to this principle and have based our open concept on it. Within our facility, the children can freely decide in which of our diversely designed functional rooms (e.g.: role play room, Snozzel room, ABC room) they would like to play. In the morning conference, they also choose which age-related activities they want to take part in. They decide according to their own interests and needs. At the same time, each child belongs to a fixed home group and thus has a familiar caregiver.

In this way, we accompany the children in their everyday life as well as holistically in their child development. We encourage and challenge the individual areas of development, taking into account the strengths and individual pace of each child. Together with the children, we work on various topics of the yearly cycle and individual project topics. In addition, we offer fixed age-related as well as specific activities. These include: Language development, number school, English, movement activities, yoga, religious education activities, preschool get-together, courage is good, getting used to water, individual support, ...

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