Introduction/specifics

At our daycare center, we look after a total of 79 children aged from nine months to school age in three kindergarten and two crèche groups in accordance with the principles of the Bavarian Education and Upbringing Plan and the principles of the Red Cross.

As a Montessori facility, our daycare center is also based on the principles of Montessori education and is specially designed to support children with (potential) physical, mental or psychological disabilities.

Our daycare center is open Monday to Thursday from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm and on Friday until 3:00 pm.

Rooms

Thanks to its modern, barrier-free new building, our daycare center has numerous, optimally equipped rooms in which the children can play and learn according to the Montessori concept in an environment prepared for them.

These include...

• three large and bright group rooms and two bathrooms in the kindergarten
• two large and bright group rooms, each with its own bathroom and bedroom in the Kinderkrippe
• the sports hall
• the children's bistro
• the studio
• the children's library
• the role-play and building corner
• the Snoezelen room
• the therapy room
• the parents' waiting area

Daily Schedule

In the daily routine of our groups, times of free play/work alternate with times of joint activities so that there is an appropriate alternation of phases of (positive) “tension” and calm “relaxation”. Through a recurring daily structure with firmly established routines and rituals, the children experience safety and security. Of course, the individual organization of each day is always based on the children's current interests and needs.

These phases are daily recurring, important components of our day:

• Drop-off time in the morning with free play
• Joint morning circle followed by breakfast
• Time for cleanliness education (washing hands, changing nappies, toilet/potty)
• Free play time, walks/excursions, activities/projects from various educational areas, sports, garden...
• Lunch together followed by a nap/lunch break
• Pre-school time 
• Pick-up time in the afternoon with free play

Food

Our children's lunch is freshly prepared daily in the canteen of the “Landesamt für Umwelt” and delivered to us. Our caterer attaches great importance to the use of organic products and offers a varied mix of vegetarian dishes, desserts, soups and once a week a meat dish (no pork).

The children bring breakfast and afternoon snack from home. Once a week, parents prepare breakfast together. This offers the children a delicious selection of different types of fruit and vegetables, bread with various spreads, muesli, yoghurt and much more.

The children help themselves to both breakfast and lunch. They scoop the various components of the meal onto their plates themselves and are therefore free to decide what and how much they want to eat.

Basics

The Montessori pedagogy

Montessori education, developed by Maria Montessori, places great emphasis on children's independence and individual learning. It is based on the idea that children learn best through their own discoveries and experiences. Important aspects of Montessori education are the...  

• Free choice of work: the child learns in a self-determined way through free choice of partner, workplace, work material and duration of work
• Role of the teacher: creates a prepared environment; arouses interest and enthusiasm in the child; observes with restraint and thus recognizes the child's needs and interests; patient, respectful and empathetic learning companion
• Sensitive phases: time-limited “learning windows” in which children are particularly receptive to certain topics; recognize and use these phases
• Polarization of attention: deep concentration in which children work intensively and are receptive to learning content
• Prepared environment: freely accessible materials in an aesthetic and organized environment
• Development materials: aesthetic materials with specific properties that encourage children to work independently

The child is an active, curious and self-determined learner. They are seen as competent and capable of acquiring knowledge themselves and driving their own development forward. The child is not just a recipient of knowledge, but an independent researcher who learns by doing in a prepared environment.

The role of the adult is to accompany and observe the child and give them the freedom and support to develop at their own pace and in their own way. True to the well-known guiding principle “Help me to do it myself”.

The integrative concept

At our daycare center, children with different needs, abilities and backgrounds live, play and learn together. We bring children with and without special needs together in an inclusive environment so that they can learn with and from each other and thus enrich each other. The aim is to enable acceptance, appreciation and participation for all children. We achieve this through...

• individual care in small groups with a high staffing ratio
• our own in-house specialist service to support social integration into the group
• networking with the early intervention centers of “MontessoriVita” and “Lebenshilfe Hof”
• barrier-free access to all rooms and the outdoor area
• therapy, intensive and discussion rooms
• therapy sessions by external therapists (speech therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy) in the daycare center

Employee

In our daycare center, almost 20 employees with very different degrees and (additional) qualifications work together in a multi-professional team.

Our team consists of...

• educators,
• curative education nurses,
• childcare workers,
• childhood educators (B.A.),
• various interns (professional internship, childcare training, FOS, short-term interns) and
• housekeeping and cleaning staff

Many of our employees have a Montessori diploma and other additional qualifications such as...

• Nursery teacher
• Specialist for inclusion and integration
• Language specialist
• Hengstenberg pedagogue
• Environmental and adventure educator
• First aid for children
• Fire protection assistant

Additional Offerings

Movement education according to Pikler and Hengstenberg

Our movement education is based on the principles of Emmi Pikler and Elfriede Hengstenberg. Both emphasize the importance of free, self-determined movement for the healthy physical and mental development of children. Emmi Pikler placed particular emphasis on respectful and attentive observation of the child in order to promote their natural development of movement. She emphasized that children should develop their motor skills at their own pace, without too much external pressure. Elfriede Hengstenberg complemented these approaches by emphasizing the importance of holistic support for the child in movement. She advocated targeted and individualized support that strengthens the child's independence and encourages them to actively explore their environment. Both approaches emphasize respectful guidance and an environment that gives children sufficient freedom to make their own experiences.

Intensive school preparation

We place particular emphasis on good and comprehensive school preparation for our pre-school children. For us, however, this involves much more than the “classic” school preparation with learning letters and numbers.

The pre-school children meet daily at lunchtime in their pre-school group and work on various topics and projects during this time. In recent years, for example, the children have independently organized a cookie sale at Christmas time or rehearsed various plays and performed them for the children and parents of our nursery, entirely according to the children's ideas and interests. Numerous excursions such as visits to the theater and concerts, trips by bus or train, visits to the comic museum, the observatory or behind the scenes at the Hofer Theater are just as much a part of our preschool program as regular trips to the riding stables.

Our pre-school work not only promotes the children's cognitive and (fine) motor skills, but also strengthens their language and social skills in particular, for example by working with others, coordinating and developing ideas together.

In terms of comprehensive school preparation, our daycare center also maintains a good and close cooperation with the surrounding elementary school in the city of Hof as well as with the Montessori school in Berg. For example, there are handover meetings for children starting school and special language support programs (“Vorkurs Deutsch”).

Teamwork with parents

Trusting cooperation between parents and the daycare center is an important part of early childhood education and care. Close communication and partnership-based cooperation between both sides promotes the child's well-being and development. Parents provide valuable information about their child's needs, interests and individual development, while the daycare center offers expertise and educational support.

This cooperation takes place through...

• daily door-to-door talks
• regular development discussions
• parents' evenings
• an active parents' council
• joint celebrations and events
• opportunities to observe the day-to-day running of the daycare center
• “Parental talents” (parents contribute their skills to the daycare center)

Close cooperation ensures that the child grows up in a stable and supportive environment.

Description and Stations

Thanks to its central, inner-city location, our Kindergarten is easy to reach on foot, by bike, by car or by bus.

There are plenty of covered parking spaces for bicycles and baby carriages. 

Parking spaces are also available along Ossecker Straße or in our parking lot/underground garage.

The nearest bus stops (all approx. 5 minutes' walk away) are...

• Blücherbrücke
• Blücherstraße
• Admiral-Scheer-Straße
• Kurt-Schumacher-Platz