Daycare center Nahbollenbach

Substitution

• The closing times are communicated to parents at the beginning/end of each year.
• The Nahbollenbach daycare center is closed for three weeks during the summer vacations, between Christmas and New Year, on bridge days and on a total of 4 team days.
• Additional closing days due to company outings or staff meetings may occur and will be announced in good time.

• 71 part-time places (7 a.m. to 2 p.m.) from 2 years of age,
• 52 full-day places (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.) from 2 years of age,
• 4 part-time places for one-year-olds
• 3 full-day places for one-year-olds

Up to 26 employees work in our KITA in the pedagogical areas of the under-threes and over-threes, divided into full-time and part-time positions. The staff is made up of educators, childcare workers, social assistants, dual trainees and interns. They are supported by housekeeping staff, cleaning staff and janitors.
Our team consists of colleagues from all age groups. We enrich each other with our knowledge, experience, ideas and visions. Open interaction with one another is a prerequisite for successful cooperation. Our thinking is not characterized by being responsible only for one room and for a limited number of children and parents. Responsibilities for rooms, areas of knowledge and fields of activity change, interests can be brought in in a variety of ways and skills can be used in a targeted manner. Our KITA employs specialists in "open work and early educational support" as well as specialists in "working with children under three", "music education" and "relaxation education".

The complete version of the concept is available at the daycare center or can be viewed there. Only a few parts are listed here to provide a brief insight.

Mindfulness
Living, playing and learning in our house has a lot to do with the image we have of people in general and of children in particular.
"Open educational work - a pedagogy of mindfulness:
For us, this means recognizing the joys and concerns of the children, identifying current and age-appropriate needs and acting accordingly. We use all means of space (activity rooms, corridors, settling-in rooms, ...), time (individual settling-in times, individual learning pace, ...) and personnel (strengths, resources of the educators, reference educators, ...)." (Gerlinde Lill, Einblicke in offene Arbeit, p. 15)
This affects the educators in terms of attitude and tasks. We, the educational professionals, are aware of our responsibility towards the people entrusted to us. We accept and respect the children in their uniqueness and diversity. We treat them as equals and in an appreciative manner; we see ourselves as their learning companions. This means that we treat all the children entrusted to us with care and sensitivity. We observe attentively, listen, react and develop. We accompany and support the children in their various stages of development. It is our task to create an environment in which independent, exploratory and enjoyable learning is possible.

Participation
The participation of children in all decisions that affect them is a fundamental right of children, enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 2, and is very important to us. We take their ideas, wishes and needs seriously and ensure that there are sufficient opportunities for children to participate and support them in implementing them. This also applies to the youngest children at the facility. We also aim to find solutions together:
For example, this may involve

• the interior design,
• the planning of activities or
• the creation of agreements and rules,
• the daily routine

Participation, involvement and also complaints belong together. Children should go from "grumbling" to talking and finding ideas for solutions. Children's complaints express unfulfilled needs. Children don't just say this, they also express it in their behavior: withdrawing, refusing, crying or getting angry. Recognizing their own needs, saying "stop" and thus setting boundaries is an important skill.
We protect children's welfare by letting them know in everyday life that they are allowed to complain and that someone will help them. Only when they experience that their complaints are acknowledged can they learn to express their own concerns more clearly.

Voluntariness
Children at our facility should be able to make their own decisions. This means that we respect children's personal decisions from the very beginning. For example, the children decide for themselves what they want to eat or they are not forced to sleep, but are allowed to rest at any time. The children can take part in all kinds of activities, but they don't have to. And the children decide for themselves who they want to play with, what they want to do and when. We are aware of the differences between individual children when it comes to their participation in activities. There are children who decide spontaneously and quickly to do something, others need to talk about it again, others want more time, others can't decide at all. It is important for everyone involved that this "no" is accepted. We try to recognize the reasons for this and find solutions to any problems that are expressed. Pressure or coercion have no place here, they only fuel further fears and blockages - learning is then impossible.
We would like to:

• Attract attention,
• facilitate participation,
• focus on strengths and good opportunities - this promotes energy and confidence.
• learning in a lively way with the children - that is encouraging,
• to create excitement and curiosity,
• adapt the conditions to the children and not the other way around.

Settling in
We want to give families time during the settling-in phase. Time that a child and the parents need to familiarize themselves with us and our facility. It is important for us to build up a basis of trust together and thus ensure intensive cooperation in the interests of the child. We contact the parents and invite them to an initial meeting at the daycare center. During this meeting, we find out about the child's interests, preferences and strengths. An educator will be the reference person for the child and parents during the settling-in period. During this sensitive time, he/she will take care of all concerns, e.g. pedagogical ideas, but also worries and fears of the accompanying adults. This caregiver is important for establishing a reliable relationship.

Caregiver
The caregiver will provide the child with intensive support during the first few weeks. He/she is increasingly the contact person during the first few weeks and offers the child a safe haven in the house that is as constant as possible. From here, the child will gradually discover the other play areas at their own pace and according to their needs, then a higher age range and finally the whole house. The child will always receive support where it needs it.
The caregiver is responsible for the child's feelings during this time. Over time, the child will also get to know all the other educators from the respective age group. Because every educator is there for every child! We all experience the child's development and accompany them on their journey through their time at the nursery.

Movement
Children have a natural urge to move. To satisfy this need, it is possible for the children to use almost the entire large house as a place to play and therefore also as a place of education. The children and adults may have to climb stairs and cross corridors just to move between the different play areas. The children also get plenty of exercise in exercise areas such as the gym and the exercise rooms.
The outdoor area is also used extensively as a play area with its wide range of possibilities and is used in all seasons with weatherproof and appropriate clothing.
The children can climb, swing, balance, juggle, scuffle, wrestle, jump, slide, throw, catch, build, run, crawl, teeter, dance and much more. They train their balance, their body control, their rhythm, experience tension and relaxation, self-confidence, their own limits and experience the interplay of senses and movement, interact with materials, are creative and much more.

Social skills
The daycare center is a place of social learning. At our KITA, big and small children learn from each other, they learn social responsibility. For example, they tidy up together, look out for each other, call for help when another child needs it, comfort each other and learn to deal with aggression and conflicts constructively. Everyday life should enable the children to perceive themselves as social beings, as strong egos in interaction with other people. Being social does not mean always thinking of others and always putting yourself last. Rather, it means having the confidence to find the right place for yourself:

• in the midst of other people,
• in togetherness,
• that corresponds to your own personal skills and strengths,
• where the child can be themselves and at the same time strengthens the community.

Activity and functional rooms
The Nahbollenbach daycare center offers children and their different needs indoor and outdoor space for self-discovery and learning in differentiated, carefully and lovingly designed play and functional rooms. Here, children have a variety of opportunities for self-education, world appropriation and personal development. Within a generous framework, they can be constructors of their own reality and actors in their own learning and education and can rely on the support, motivation and guidance of their teachers.