The very hungry Caterpillar

Children are hungry just like little caterpillars and almost never have had enough. They are hungry for information, knowledge, sensory impressions, experiences, learning success, affection, occupation, ideas, activity. Children are not happy as long as all their needs are not satisfied.
We in the creche of DSBU want to satiate the little caterpillars. We wish to give them the opportunity to discover and understand their environment with all senses. This can be achieved by means of a repetitive daily routine in order to give the children security and support and pass on familiarity. 

 

Focal points of our work are:

To perceive with all senses
This means, to feel, see, listen, smell, taste, talk, newly discover and touch. Learning takes place with all senses. In this way children conquer their world. The perception is a steady process and belongs to one of the most important events for a child in the creche. The sensual development also supports the cognitive development. It is closely connected to the linguistic development and cognition. Sense perception supports attention, concentration and endurance. In order to achieve all these aims we pass on to the children knowledge on colours, sizes, shapes, quantities, time and space, to arrange and assign things, relations between each other and linguistic description of activities.

Promoting joy in movement and playing

Children need plenty of movement and an intensive experience with all senses. On that basis abilities can develop such as balance, self awareness, space orientation, gross and fine motor skills in movement and the integration of the senses.
Relaxation also belongs to movement. For this we use relaxation games, stories and music and thus convey the children a feeling of security and comfort.

Conveying competences

 Personal development
- build up a positive self-esteem and development of self confidence
- develop confidence in its own capabilities and strength
- get to know its own feelings and needs, accept these and learn how to handle them
- develop joy, fun and curiosity
- to find the inner balance between peace and movement
- to learn about participation in a decision and the ability to say “no”
- to perceive its own strengths, affinities and weaknesses
- to build up robustness and resilience.

Social development
- to get acquainted with the community and group and to enjoy and  experience it
- to find its own role, to test and get to know various roles
- develop and feel the sense of unity
- learning to play together
- to build up bonds and relationships with new children
- to face and accept rules and limits, to bear consequences
- to learn how to solve problems fairly
- learning to share.

Cognitive development
- to learn to comprehend
- to take part in lifelike exercises and to learn various ways of acting
- encounter and experience environment and nature
- find orientation
- to perceive senses
- understand logical connections
- to get to know colours
- to obtain age appropriate knowledge

Gross and fine motor skills development
- to develop the desire for movement fully
- to experience the joy and fun in movement by going outdoors daily
- to have possibilities to move “freely” in the room without feeling limited
- to get to know and use various ways of movement
- to keep balance
- weekly physical activity indoors or outdoors
- fine motor skills are learned and developed such as to tear, cut, draw, dress and undress, build, model, glue

Communication
- to build-up and obtain mimic, articulation and gesture
- to develop speaking skills
- learning by imitation
- to learn to express wishes, feelings and requirements
- to develop listening skills
- enhancement of vocabulary, conception and formation of sentence

Free Play
Free play plays an essential role in our daily routine. During that period children can decide by themselves with whom, where and how long they want to play, plan, build, drive a car, in order to discover and follow their own interests, wishes and requirements. It is important for all of us that the children have pleasure in what they do. The children enjoy the community in the group but also being alone. The children have the opportunity to get in physical contact with the teacher by cuddling or reading books. With the construction corner, the cuddle corner or doll corner and the books as well as different materials the children have different playing areas and materials at their disposal. They can choose the playing materials or books by themselves and thus become active independently. Thus they learn to play together and show respect for others.
The daily visit of the outdoor playground is an important experience for free play in order to be able to develop the desire for physical movement fully. Thus free play offers the children the opportunity to develop their own personality, make and digest social experiences, to explore the environment and to develop communication skills and creativity. By means of playing the child learns concentration, endurance, goal orientation, comprehension of play structures, process experiences by imitating and to express itself.
Here, the children are given guidance and support from us. The observance and documentation is an integral part during the free play. We observe the children in their play behaviour in order to compile development sheets which are used as a basis for discussions with parents.

Familiarisation period
As the change from family to nursery is extremely drastic for the child the familiarisation period is  of great importance in our pedagogical work. This period is the basis for future pedagogical work with the child and for further cooperation with the parents. The aim of the dialogues and reflection is to give the child enough time to familiarise itself as it may be faced with separation and parting for the first time. The familiarisation period is to help the child to grow into the new situation, to face up to the new environment actively and to cope with sorrow, stress and grief from separation. An anxiety-free separation between its parents and the child is the goal of the familiarisation period. Hereby angriness and grief develop: the occurring and expressed strong feelings of angriness and grief are vital for overcoming this situation. The teachers appreciate these feelings, allow them and provide individual help.
The first 8 weeks are recognised as familiarisation period for newly admitted children. The course of the familiarisation is discussed between the parents and the teachers before the child comes into the group and is tailored to the respective requirements. During the first 4 days the parents should stay in the nursery together with the child.

 

A day in the creche ….

…. Orientation period
As from 8.00 a.m. the children can come to the nursery where they are received and welcomed. Until 9.00 a.m. they have time to orientate themselves: who else is here today? What would I like to do? How do I feel?  What would I fancy?
During this period the children say goodbye to their parents who took them to the nursery. Parents have the opportunity to spend some more time with their child, get latest information and can talk to the teacher.
Until 9.00 a.m. where the children can play freely the educator in particular pays attention to how each child feels. She tries to realise the requirements, mood, feelings and interests of each child in order to be able to respond accordingly. The free play period ends with a “tidy up” song and with another song the morning circle begins.

…Morning circle
At 9.00 a.m. the children are called for the morning circle and they sit down on a cushion to greet each other with a song. Each child is welcomed by its name. Thereafter it is counted how many children have come, who is missing, the actual weather and other news. Afterwards, finger games dependent on the themes are made, singing songs, playing games or dancing. After the morning circle a song escorts us to wash hands in order to have breakfast together.

…Breakfast Time
Between 9.30 a.m. and 10.00 a.m. we have a small breakfast. After the toast the children have varyingly fruit, pretzel, bread or yoghurt with cereals. The important thing at breakfast is the community and delightful eating. The children learn to sit at the table until everybody is finished and table manners are cared for. Short simultaneous games or jokes during that period have room for children who eat faster or less and a finished earlier.

…Time of choices
Between 10.00 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. is time for choices. Each day has an emphasis. During that period targeted offers in the fields of language, music, movement, perception or creativity are carried out.

Mondays:
Main emphasis: material experience. The children have the opportunity to experiment with all their senses with different materials e.g. pouring exercise with rice or peas, chestnuts, leaves, modelling material, paste, shaving foam, tins, boxes.

Tuesdays:
Creativity: painting, drawing, handicraft with different everyday objects and natural materials help to develop freely and to experiment. Thereby the experience is more important than the result. The joy and fun at doing are in the foreground.

Wednesdays:
Physical movement: we go to the gym where we have much space to experience our own body with various materials, to support the natural need for movement and to develop the motor functions.

Thursdays:
Music with instruments: songs with various instruments and illustrative material are to induce singing, listening and making music and support and promote musicality, creativity and the joy in music.

Fridays:
We bake. With various ingredients the gross and fine motor skills of the children are developed.
The aim of these offers is to promote the children according to their development and to appeal to all of their senses. The voluntariness is always in the foreground as while every child is invited to take part it is never forced to do so. Every child is esteemed in its nature and its personal advancements are accepted and praised.

... Yard time
After 10.30 a.m. we go outside in the yard together where the children have the opportunity to play freely with playground equipment such as slide, climbing frame or playhouse, vehicles, balls or sand. In addition there are special opportunities such as water games on hot days. At around 11.15 a.m. we change clothes and go back to the group room. By changing clothes the children shall learn to find their clothes and to change clothes themselves as far as possible.

… Lunch
At 11.30 a.m. we have lunch. After the toast the meal is handed out. The children learn to eat independently and as mannerly as possible and to stay seated until the last one has finished. Each child eats as much as it likes, is encouraged to eat but not forced. When we all have finished the meal is ended with a toast and those who leave at noon bid goodbye.

… Sleeping time
Those children, who stay until 3 p.m. in the nursery are taking a nap after lunch in the dormitory. The situation of going to bed is arranged as individually and relaxed as possible. Every child has the opportunity to sleep as long as it requires.

… Afternoon snack
After the children wake up and have orientated themselves they can have as snack either fruit or cake.

… Yard time, end
After the snack the children go outside in the yard again. The day at the creche shall end pleasantly, the children ought to have time to say goodbye and to welcome their parents.