Concept

We see our work as supporting and complementing family life. The Glückskinder is a holistic place of experiences; a space that offers room for every child regardless of age, sex, religion, nationality and social standing.

Our educational approach is based on the Montessori motto „Help me to help myself”, as well as bringing together elements of Pikler, Fröbel and Reggio education in our concept. Alongside this, we also teach Christian values and celebrate the large Christian festivals together with the children.

The starting point and the objective of our educational work is the child as an individual. The focus is on the child and on developing their personality and abilities in a targeted way. Social learning supports the children as their personalities develop and allows them to express their feelings and learn to be outgoing, cooperative and able to deal with conflict.

We want every child to learn to build up trust-based relationships with other children and the staff. The staff encourage and support the child’s initiative and efforts to acquire independence from the very start. Being part of the group develops the child’s ability to relate their own emotions and needs to those of others, to get to know their own interests and those of others, and weigh these up against one another.

Our work with children aged from six months to the time they join the kindergarten group is characterised by a high level of emotional security and individuality, and is accompanied by plenty of physical and emotional closeness and affection. Having a single, constant care provider as a main point of contact is a key element of a child’s emotional grounding.

Working together with parents is a key building block and is a vital link between the family and the Glückskinder for the children in both the infant and kindergarten groups. We want to give parents the opportunity to gain information about their child’s development and behaviour in the group, not only in ad-hoc conversations but also in structured and well-prepared parents’ meetings.

Our objectives:

• To make the children feel safe and secure
• To teach social skills
• To promote cognitive abilities and creativity
• To allow self-confidence and self-assurance to develop
• To encourage motor skills and body consciousness
• To meet the fundamental needs of the child

Our daily activities:

• Individual support
• Role play
• Shared activities
• Festivals and recurring rituals
• Walks and excursions in the countryside
• Group activities based on the season and time of year

Free and accompanied play in the group gives the children a wide range of different opportunities to occupy themselves alone or together with others. The recurring daily rituals provide orientation and security for the children within the everyday life of the nursery.

By fostering the children’s motor skills, we can recognise individual strengths or temporary deficits and work on these in a targeted way. We want to help the children to behave with confidence and to recognise and protect their own limits.

Perceiving and adhering to individual limits is a key learning objective.

Here, children are seen as independent personalities. We take on the role of confidante, companion, listener and observer, while the children have the chance to realise their potential and live it out to the full in the role of artist and explorer.

Artistic work is very important at Glückskinder. Art and design is a way of understanding the world and finding one’s place within it. We hope to allow the children to develop their imagination, their own creativity and their cognitive abilities by providing materials, space and time.

The spaces are seen as an active conversational partner for the child. The spaces influence the children, which is why they are designed to be so aesthetic and stimulating.
Materials such as mirrors and coloured lights stimulate the children’s senses. Our facility reflects the children’s everyday experiences and corresponds to the development phases of children aged between 0 and 6 years.

It offers stimuli for learningthat are matched to the sensitive periods of this phase. Phases of free play, group activities and active games in the outdoor area give structure to the day. In the group space, the work and play equipment is arranged by fields of development and learning.

The prepared environment with its educational materials is crucially important for the child’s growth and learning. The prepared environment gives the child a sense of inner order. Everything is tailored to the child and gives them plenty of stimuli to do it on their own. Providing a harmonious atmosphere, designing the spaces to stimulate all the senses, and offering a wide range of play materials guarantees that the individual child is able to develop with the highest possible level of safety and emotional security.

Our team of staff are interpreters of children’s behaviour. Through participatory observation, they gain knowledge of the child’s stage of development and development needs, and support in the process of self-education. They give the children orientation through reliable personal relationships, daily routine and the arrangement of the spaces. They respect the child’s cycle of play and work and make sure that they are able to play and learn undisturbed. They design the spaces and ensure that the work and play materials are complete and intact.

Children can only be supported and assisted when they understand us. It is vital to observe what the children say, what and how they play, dance, draw and sing, how they move, and especially how they approach objects and new tasks.