How does the settling in in a kindergarten look like?
In Germany, the children’s acclimatization to kindergarten is usually based on the Berlin model. However, it also depends on each individual child. Factors such as siblings in kindergarten and the ability of the parents to detach themselves from their children play a major role.
The Berlin Model consists of five steps. In the first step, parents are informed about everything important and the child’s developmental state is recorded. In the next step, the child is accompanied by a parent for three days for about one to two hours in the kindergarten.The parent should signal to the child that the kindergarten is a safe place where the child is in good hands.
Parents should be as passive as possible so that the child can make contact with the educators. In the third step, usually after the fourth, an attempt is made to separate for about 30 minutes. If this is successful, the fourth step is initiated.
The separation phases are extended further and further so that the child can stabilize. In the last step, the child is left alone by the parents in the kindergarten, but remains accessible at all times. These steps are only completed when the child has become accustomed to the kindergarten situation and can be comforted by the educators. According to the Berlin model, the acclimatization period takes about three weeks, but this varies from child to child. For this reason, parents should take as much time as possible to get used to the situation and should not decide on a job too early.
What is a Montessori Kindergarten?
The Montessori Kindergarten is named after its founder, the Italian physician and reform pedagogue Maria Montessori (1870-1952). Her motto and the theme of the Montessori Kindergartens is: “Help me to do it myself. “In a Montessori kindergarten, the child is already seen as a whole person.
In addition to this guiding principle, the Montessori pedagogy is based on the following principles, according to which the educators in the kindergarten act. The education is based on the knowledge of the human being that has been scientifically acquired. The children develop according to their own plan, which shapes their psyche in a very individual way.
Every child has its own inner blueprint. In order not to disturb this plan, they need a protected environment. Furthermore, according to Montessori, children possess an absorbing mind, so in the first years of life they absorb their environment and store it in their subconscious.
Accordingly, the child species should offer the children an interesting and varied environment and should respond to the needs of the children, especially in sensitive phases when the child can develop specific abilities. In kindergarten, the children receive targeted support in four main areas. In the first one, the child gets exercises from practical life, such as lighting candles, carrying water, etc.
Another area is language materials, for example sandpaper letters to feel. In addition, mathematical materials are used, counting and calculating with the help of bead chains. The last main area is sensory materials, such as color chart, etc. It is remarkable that the teacher always remains passive and the child is allowed to try out himself and his abilities.
