Kinderhaus Tom Sawyer – English

We offer (an overview)

• immersive bilingual education
• cooperation with a German-English primary school
• participation
• education, supervision and support for children with special educational needs
• breakfast, lunch and snacks from our own kitchen.
• individual acclimatisation periods
• transparency and disclosure
• flexible holidays

Our groups

In our six separate group-rooms, we supervise up to 107 children from 12 weeks of age to school age, the youngest of which are placed into one of two age-homogeneous groups, where they can learn about and experience community and togetherness. Children from age three to school-age are supervised and educated in one of four elementary groups. Our groups are characterised by a balanced mix of gender and age. The linguistic background of each child is also taken into account, so that German, English and bilingual children are represented equally in each group.

Our kindergarden

The Tom Sawyer Kindergarten is located at the end of a play street in a residential area.
Ceiling-high glass windows and doors look onto and lead directly from the spacious, two-storey building into the garden, hereby admitting a lot of natural light and creating a bright, friendly atmosphere. There are multiple sports facilities within the immediate vicinity of the Kindergarten, and the many public playgrounds and parks of the area are within walking distance.

Cooperation with parents

We aspire to cultivate a harmonious, collaborative relationship with parents. We organise regular group parent-teacher evenings and well as individual conferences to discuss the child’s progress, in order to assist and support each child in his or her individual development. We also collaborate with professionals from outside of our own facilities in order to offer workshops for parents on topics such as “Transitioning from nursery to school” or “Consequent parenting.” We are happy for parents to support our work by accepting a role as parent representative or by proposing other valuable activities.

Application

Please use our application form.

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Participation and Integration

Every child has a right to care, education, participation and mutually appreciative relationships- this is the philosophy on which our educators base their work.

Our approach is based on the principles of participation. The children are included in all decision-making processes, in compliance with their interests and abilities. Children are thus able to develop individual and social responsibility and independence. The children’s development is constantly supervised, documented and supported by our educators.

We also provide care for children with special needs, paying attention to the possibilities and capacities of all children, rather than any deficits. Integration is a continual process, which includes children, parents and teachers alike. It is a system based on learning and living together, from which everyone involved can benefit.

Immersion and bilingual education

Our facility is a German-English Kindergarten, with at least two qualified employees in each group that speak English or German at mother-tongue level. We work according to the principle of immersion, according to which a foreign tongue is not taught didactically, but rather by regular, daily use. The educators generally speak their respective mother tongue and the children are free to choose whether they would prefer to speak English or German. Both languages are spoken equally throughout the day. Due to the equal balance of English and German speakers in the groups, the child’s respective second language becomes a possible language for socialising, and thus, bilingual communication becomes normality to the children.

Nutrition

Breakfast, lunch and snacks are prepared in our own kitchen. We will gladly take nutritional requirements due to health, religion or ethics into account. In compliance with our participative approach, children are included in the production of our weekly lunch menu.

Settling in

Every child’s acclimatization process is constructed under careful examination of the child’s individual needs and in close cooperation with child and parent.