rainbowtrekkers Widdersdorf

In Widdersdorf there are 80 places for children aged 1-6 years.

Our regular opening times are from Monday to Friday from 7.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. Caregiving contracts cover 45 hours a week.

Registration is exclusively via the Internet portal “Little Bird”. If we can offer a free childcare place, we invite parents, whose childcare needs match our capacities, to a meeting.

The demand is greater than the available places. Therefore, we decide on the allocation of places – transparent for all parents – according to the following criteria (in descending order of importance):

• Siblings of the child already visit the receiving institution.
• The child fits into the receiving group in terms of age.
• Once the child has been admitted, the group will have a balanced gender mix.
• The parents share the values and educational concept of the institution and declare their willingness to enter into an educational partnership.

In Widdersdorf, we have an interior space of almost 1,000 square metres, which is spread over two floors. The equipment on the ground floor is primarily designed to meet the needs of under-three-year-old children, while the equipment on the upper floor is geared to the abilities and interests of three- to six-year-olds. While the offices, storage and business rooms on both floors face the street, all group rooms open directly onto the outdoor area and garden.

The interior design by our pedagogical professionals aims to create an appropriate balance between free play and educational activities.

The institution consists of five groups: the Caterpillars and Butterflies (for one to three-year olds) and the Giraffes and Gummibaers for three to five-year-olds and the Smarties for five to six-year-olds.

For the younger children, the spatial aspect of security and orientation is central. The spatial concept for this age group is therefore group related. For each group there is a main room for communal activities, an adjoining room for differentiated work and a bedroom. Each group has its own sanitary and nappy-changing area.

For older children, our room program is based on diversity and variety and provides plenty of stimulation for children’s curiosity and urge for discovery. Here too, each group has its own sanitary area. In addition, certain rooms are also thematically designed. For example, there is a role-play room, a library and a studio, which are used by all groups for part of the day (“partially open”). For the older children, there is also a children’s restaurant on the upper floor, which is open to all groups.

The outdoor area offers space for physical challenge and community activities as well as rest and retreat areas. There is a nature-oriented area with a mud hole, maze, raised flower beds, lawns, fruit trees, reeds and willow tepee.

The age-appropriate educational materials offer the children of all five groups exciting and varied play opportunities. The majority of these play opportunities are freely accessible to the children to enable them to play independently. The regular turnover of the materials provides the children with new learning stimuli again and again.

Through play, children have the opportunity to let their creativity run free, to explore the environment and to actively engage with it. The children gain new experiences and make new social contacts. This effect is especially achieved by the free play of the children and is encouraged and supported by the pedagogical professionals.

Some materials can only be found in the designated functional spaces, such as various instruments in the music room and movement material in the multi-purpose room.

In Widdersdorf we follow the educational approach of a partially-open concept. This means for us that we are in the process of opening up to all sides. The home groups enable the children to move around at certain times within a rather closed system and to open the doors at certain times. For the children, opening means getting to know and exploring their institution with all its functional rooms across groups. Throughout the day, activities or even projects are offered that are adapted to the needs, situations and the individual development level of the children.

Based on the children’s interests and on event-related educational situations and circumstances, the pedagogical professionals work closely in teams to develop topics for the children that can be integrated into the annual cycle and that are based on the existing curriculum.

In this way, we ensure that the children can engage with different traditional, cultural and social topics over the course of a year. This exploration of topics also includes various projects that are offered over a longer period of time, e.g. music, sports or forest projects.

The daily routine in Widdersdorf offers the children structure and security. The times can vary slightly depending on the groups. The same applies on days when special activities take place (excursions, projects, etc.).

Everyday pedagogical life in Widdersdorf is organised under the aspect of participation. The children are involved in the daily decision-making processes by the pedagogical professionals.

The institution is currently also caring for some children with special inclusion needs. The institution is wheelchair accessible.

Our kindergarten is catered by a local catering company, which prepares lunch fresh and delivers it warm every day. The meal plan, which changes weekly, is put together and balanced in a child-oriented way. Breakfast and healthy snacks for between meals are provided by the pedagogical professionals.

Transitions are a challenging developmental task for children, which we sensitively structure and individually support in our kindergarten.

After one or two years in the Caterpillars or Butterflies group, there is a change to the Giraffes or Gummibaers group. In the last Kita year before the start of school there is a change to the Smarties group. These internal transitions are gently designed and individually planned and prepared by the pedagogical professionals.

The transition from kindergarten to school is a milestone in every child’s life. One of our goals is to prepare each child for school according to his or her development. In the last year of kindergarten, the pre-school children in Widdersdorf take part in a bilingual pre-school program within the Smarties group, which is jointly designed by multilingual professionals.

In accordance with our bilingual approach, we maintain cooperation with both a German-speaking and a multilingual primary school in the area.

In the German-speaking field, we cooperate with the Olympia-Schule Widdersdorf (Municipal Community Primary School, open all day). This exchange serves to prepare the children for their upcoming school enrolment. At the end of the kindergarten year, we say goodbye to the pre-school children with a special ritual and the parents are given all the documentation (portfolio, documentation of developmental talks and language development).

In the English-speaking field we cooperate with the Internationale Friedenschule, which is also located in Widdersdorf.

My name is Sam Armstrong and I am the leader here in Widdersdorf. I was born in Ireland, but spent most of my life in the United States. I hold a degree in both Early Childhood Education and Business Management.

My background in education is quite diverse having spent many years both playing and coaching tennis professionally as well as teaching kindergarten in the U.S.A. I am a strong believer in learning through exploration and play, and I hope to implement this into our daily life at the kita.

Mein Name ist Carolin Roßbach und ich bin die stellvertretende Kitaleitung in Widdersdorf.

Bereits nach meinem Abitur habe ich meine ersten Erfahrungen im Umgang mit Kindern gemacht. Über einen längeren Zeitraum habe ich im Ausland im Bereich Soziales und insbesondere unmittelbar mit Kindern gearbeitet.

Im Anschluss an mein erfolgreich abgeschlossenes Studium im Bereich Soziale Arbeit konnte ich sowohl meine praktischen Erfahrungen als auch theoretischen Kenntnisse über fünf Jahre als Gruppenleitung in einer Kita festigen und ausbauen.

Besonders wichtig ist mir ein respektvoller und wertschätzender Umgang auf Augenhöhe. Ich freue mich, die Kinder und das Team auf ihrem Weg begleiten zu dürfen.