Our pedagogical and methodological work
Needs-based on the child with an interdisciplinary methodical approach
We believe that a balanced interdisciplinary approach and alignment with the latest scientific findings and methods from the areas listed below supports the development of the children's potential.
Developmental Psychology : What are the requirements for developing a healthy body and mind?
Neuroscience : What characterizes our brain in the first 6 years of life and how can potential development succeed?
Evolution : What biological and evolutionary influences are our children exposed to?
Learning Science : How do we learn as humans? And how do children learn? How does learning succeed?
Pedagogy : Which pedagogical and didactic means contribute to the development of potential and are usable? And which ones don't?
The need-based principles
our work with children
Our pedagogical action is based on the situational approach. The situational approach is not a pedagogical technique or didactic method. It is like an attitude, a perspective of holistic pedagogy that takes into account the respective personality with fundamental appreciation of the children, attention to the current situation and the meaning of each new day.
The aim of this approach is to relive the life events and situations that the children have experienced (on an emotional level), to understand them (on a cognitive level) and to process them (on an action level). Children experience understanding of their present life and ability to cope with practical situations.
Through continuous, targeted observation and questioning of the children in everyday life, the educational staff can find out and respond to the current life situations, needs and questions of the children. This results in content and methods that are used with the children in small and large groups in order to encourage them to respond to the situation and appeal to all their senses. The children's curiosity and motivation are aroused and the child enjoys the concrete learning process.
We organize our methodological work in 2 age groups
This division allows us to take the children's age-specific needs into account and offer a more manageable environment for children, while preserving the added value of open work.
1 - 2.5 year old children "arrive" in our crèche with 48 children on the ground floor
Especially in this age group and after the transition to kindergarten, "spatial manageability" is of great importance for children, as this meets the basic need for close relationships and security. Therefore we offer a group structure in this age category. In addition, there are first free exploration areas to introduce the open work.
In our work, the group offers the "safe haven" to fulfill the bonding needs of children under the age of 3 for the comprehensive development of their self-efficacy, as well as the preservation of the intrinsic motivation to "discover and explore" the world.
4 groups with 12 children each and 3 teachers in group rooms
First introduction to open work in the studio, exercise and outdoor areas offer a first approach to open work
From 2.5 years in open work. 56 children per floor (1st and 2nd floor)
Children between the ages of 2.5 and 4.5 "extend" their self-determined radius of exploration
Strengthening of self-determination, the development of action and social skills, ie perceiving, pursuing and researching one's own interests in the community.
Flower companions as reference persons, as well as flower godparents (older children), as well as the daily routine offer security and orientation.
We pay special attention to pre-school age as preparation for the transition to school.
With increasing age and attachment to our reference educator, security arises to expand the radius of the child's exploration. We start with children in this age group the open workshop work (inspired by the Reggio approach) in the different workshop areas, such as studio, construction workshop, pottery, music, project work based on children's fields of interest. In addition, we use daily elements of forest and nature education, especially in our large garden and our "forest".
Spatially, children can move freely on the floor and find all relevant workshop offers there. Our premises support the self-determined experience with a variety of offers in different levels of difficulty. At the same time, we create security through an age-specific orientation and structure along the daily routine. Specialists orient themselves and are sure to always be able to find their reference educator.
4.5 - 6.5 year old children strengthen in "themselves" and prepare for school
In addition to the offers in the previous age groups, we are increasingly expanding their radius with children in this age group and thus opening up more opportunities for research and testing in self-determined action , e.g. children cook in the kitchen and see themselves as culinary designers for themselves and their friends and Families, they explore the diversity of democratic participation, as well as digital tools with their added value but also with their challenges.
In addition to the children and educators, our premises act as the third designer of potential development
The premises of our kindergarten are geared towards the basic needs of children ...
We offer bonding and relationship places:
For example, our central "market place" represents a common focal point of the spatial structure on each floor. This is the place where people meet in the morning, have breakfast and eat lunch together. Here you can play together, work on a project, make music. Working on a play and performing it, for example on the stage on the 2nd floor, which borders the market square. Exhibitions can be made here about the families of the children, their cultures and traditions. This place represents the heart of each floor as a shared place of relationship.
In contrast to this are the individual contact places, such as the rest and reading rooms on the respective floor, in the respective age-appropriate modification. Especially for the younger children, individual corners, niches, platforms, etc. in the group rooms or workshop rooms can be used for this. In these rooms, children can find individual exchange and retreat alone, with their reference educators or with friends.
We offer spaces for autonomous and self-determined action within the framework of age-appropriate skills:
These are in particular our workshop rooms, which we see as spaces for experience in the different areas of education. Such as the movement rooms, the studios, the construction, the research, the music, the numbers/ABC/digital workshops and of course the outdoor area. These experiences are based on age-appropriate skills. Using the studio as an example, we differentiate between painting, drawing, collages, clay works, fabrics + felt, light + shadow, video + photography, etc. Within these fields, in turn, there are different levels of skill or difficulty.
In the first age group, the children process fabrics and felt into collagen, for example. It is primarily about exploring material and promoting personal skills, such as cutting with scissors, handling different glues, etc.
In the 2nd age group, children can explore the fabric work in a more differentiated way, eg get to know different qualities and their properties, as well as their individual influence on the material through their own doing, such as when felting.
The older children explore the creation of fabric - from sheep to fabric. They experience the individual steps themselves and contribute to shaping the development process themselves. At the end, the children make an individual studio piece from the fabric they have created.
We offer space to experience recognition and self-esteem to shape your own identity:
Children in our facility are supported in strengthening their self-esteem through the attitude of our ped. Specialists towards them, as well as the accompanying role of these (details in the pedagogical concept p. 8), which emanates from the child's self-determination process. This, coupled with a secure bond with reference educators and other children, represents the the best prerequisite for success.
In our facility, children are supported in their activities and the ped. Specialists and stimulated by the room concept to expand their limits. By offering different levels of difficulty in all areas, we make it possible to consolidate what you have learned and to climb to the next level. Each child chooses the area and time individually.
We do not understand recognition as simple praise, but much more as an empathetic perception of the challenges that have been overcome. the ped. Specialists are on hand to provide support and security, and steps taken independently by children are recognized consciously and appreciatively. They verbalize their observations and their appreciation. If necessary, they talk to the children about how it felt to overcome challenges, what worked well, what didn't and what could be an alternative when trying again.
It is important to us to meet children with their needs at eye level and to expect them to share their experiences with loving care. We pay particular attention to moments when children reach their emotional limits. Moments of anger, sadness and even doubt. Moments when children are overwhelmed by their feelings because they don't yet have the tools to deal with those feelings. We help them to experience feelings, to acknowledge them, to reflect on them afterwards and, above all, to learn to deal with them in a self-regulatory way over time. This enables children to lay an emotional foundation for their personal identity in a self-determined manner. For this form of individual discussion, we have areas of spatial calm and distancing despite maintaining the overall overview.
We create an environment that enables physical well-being through a balanced offer for exercise and rest, as well as time for individual needs.
Our premises stimulate and inspire in the different need dimensions and combine them with playful elements. For example, we have a freely accessible water tap or drinking fountain on each floor in the dining area, which children can use freely and at any time to quench their thirst and are encouraged to drink in a playful way.
We offer suggestions for meaning and spirituality in our attitude towards the "beautiful" and the "wondering" and the resulting mechanisms.
A wide variety of adventure and exploration workshops let your child discover and learn
In our workshops we follow the principle of open work in our facility. We offer a variety of open programs geared to children's interests and needs. Hereby we strengthen the self-determination of your children.
Your children can discover and experience the following content:
We move every day (sport - psychomotor - dance)
We design (art)
We research (nature - environment - technology)
Music as a daily companion in everyday life
pleasure in reading
Cuddling & Resting
Early childhood media education
What is important to us in the everyday life of your children in our "Bloomtime" daycare center?
1. Our basic principles of open workshop work along the educational areas of the Berlin educational program
The basis of the pedagogical work in the workshops is our pedagogical concept of open work. Accordingly, we offer different adventure and exploration workshops.
The basic principles for daily work in the workshops include:
We see our workshops as places where children can plan, design and implement according to their ideas. This means that self-determined learning can take place there according to the principle of free choice.
Workshops have a prepared environment and a themed facility.
In our workshops, we take into account multiple areas of education and thus stimulate interdisciplinary development.
We offer different levels of difficulty so that children can choose their own pace of development.
In the workshops, we offer a variety and variety of materials to choose from.
The call to action arises from the context in which a material is offered, e.g. A bowl of glass nuggets can be used in the kitchen as an ingredient for cooking and sizzling in a pot on the stove, or in the math workshop as material for numbers and structural exploration .
In all workshop areas, materials are openly presented, freely accessible and stimulating for children.
There are real materials and tools in the workshops. Children are introduced to materials and tools that require special skills and after they have gained confidence, for example in the form of a "construction workshop driver's license", they can also work with them freely.
In the interests of the child's well-being, there are clear access conditions and rules in every workshop and educational support and supervision is ensured at all times.
As part of the daily routine, there is both free time that children can organize independently in the workshops, as well as time in which they can take advantage of offers in a small group
Our facility has the following workshops:
workshop studio
Nature and Researcher Workshop
construction workshop
role play workshop
music workshop
Mathematics & ABC & Digital Workshop
World and culture workshop
range of motion
Our outdoor playtime
in the forest
in the garden
on the playground
Our restaurant workshop
rest and reading rooms
2. Child-friendly food in our day-care centers
In the Blooming Daycare Centers, we focus on the evolutionary and scientific evidence that clearly shows how important childhood eating experiences are for the rest of life. Our goal is to find a healthy relationship to nutrition through a child-friendly approach.
Details from the pedagogical and room use concept (via a more button)
3. Sleep and rest situations in our day-care centers
We consider rest and sleep breaks to be an important part of the day, which enables children to process what they have experienced and create the necessary energy balance for a successful day. our ped. The specialist is aware that falling asleep is not easy for many children and that it is also a sign of trust. Anyone who falls asleep says: I feel safe here. I am safe here. Because falling asleep means letting go and this is only possible if I feel safe.
The most important prerequisite for problem-free sleeping in the day-care center is good, gradual acclimatization . Only when a child stays to eat without their parents and copes well with it should they sleep in the facility.
We understand falling asleep as an individual need and not a pragmatic group task. We recognize the rest or sleep pause as a micro-transition that deserves special attention to the ped. specialist required. Therefore, we consciously design sleeping situations. In order for children to be able to master these successfully, we pay attention to two essential things: On the one hand, our ped. Specialists the awareness that this situation is challenging for the child, on the other hand the awareness of the importance of always the same processes during a transition.
If the transition from eating to going to bed is always the same, the child feels safe because it knows the sequence of events and can predict what will happen next. "After eating I play, then we change diapers and then we go to bed." We also use this nursing situation, which usually takes place before going to bed, to strengthen the relationship with the child, to give it security and to calm it down .
4. We actively shape transitions
We attach great importance to actively supporting children in our day-care centers to shape the transitions in their lives with them and their parents, thereby giving them the opportunity to understand these transitions as an opportunity for growth and to cope well with them. We know from transition research that successful transitions in early childhood strengthen children's confidence in their own strength and thus their resilience. This means there is a high probability that further transitions in life will be more successful.
We differentiate the following types of transitions:
Transitions from family to day-care center
Transitions when changing day-care center
Transitions from day-care center to school
In all kinds of transitions, we believe that children are confronted with significant changes that affect them on different levels.
At the level of the individual, on the one hand there is the need to deal with new feelings such as fear, sadness, worries, anticipation, etc., and on the other hand the change in self-image, because now the child is one of the "big ones" (to school eg). In addition, the child experiences changes on the level of relationships, because it separates, for example, from its parents or caregivers in the day care center and becomes part of a new group in which it gets to know new people.
Everything changes for the child at the level of the living environment, for example the premises and the time rhythms, or the degree of independence that is required.
With all transitions, it is important to us to shape them in participation and active discussion with the child and parents in order to open up the possibility of dealing with new life situations in a fundamentally open and positive manner. We are aware of our responsibility and devote a great deal of attention to this topic.
These points are important to us in everyday life
1. Educational situations in everyday action
In our educational work within the context of the situational approach, we attach great importance to understanding and using micro-transitions as an educational opportunity. There are many inconspicuous and small moments that have a significant influence on the development of the child. For example, in the cloakroom this occurs when dressing and undressing, in the washrooms, in the sleeping and resting rooms. It is important to us to accompany these micro-transitions according to the child's needs in order to reduce stress for the children and teachers and thus support the child's healthy mental development.
2. The attitude principle of "wondering" to stimulate children's joy of discovery
The basis of the pedagogical work along the educational areas is based on our ambition to maintain and promote the intrinsic motivation of the children. In this context, we want to encourage children to ask themselves questions and to search for answers. We like to use a basic idea of Erich Fromm
"The ability to wonder is the beginning of wisdom".
If we look at what happens when we are amazed, we find that when we are amazed or amazed, we are confronted with something new, something that cannot be classified with previous experiences. A moment of pausing follows, of “being rigid” and of observing. This appeals positively to people's natural curiosity and joy of discovery. It is an emotional moment that activates our willingness to learn.
Next comes the impulse to want to understand this new thing, ie you use your senses to explore the new thing. I want to touch it, smell it, some children might put it in their mouths, etc.
As a result, within the framework of our cognitive abilities, questions arise that help us to explore this new thing and thus make it our own experience. The questions that then arise with children are not sorted according to areas of education or thematic focus, but according to what interests them, definitely from different areas of education. The aim of our work is to make connections recognizable and usable for children. We see this as the basis of scientific work and use this principle in our daily workshop work.
3. We use the value of free play
Playing is a crucial motor for children's development and a signal for their well-being. When a child is ill, it no longer likes to play. Thus, the desire to play is also an indicator of the child's needs.
As we understand it, play is a pleasurable construction that arises from dealing with oneself and the world in which we live. It is a means of tapping into the materials, the emotional, physical and social world. Play is the core element of child learning while maintaining intrinsic motivation. So we devote a large part of our day with the children to the game or game actions.
We place particular emphasis on FREE play. We understand free play as implicit learning, ie the unconscious and playful acquisition of skills and knowledge through the practice of an activity. We see the game as self-organized, intrinsically controlled learning.
Playing is therefore not in contradiction to learning in our facilities, but
PLAY = LEARN.
Curiosity, imagination and creativity are like muscles. If you don't train them in the game, they will be lost. Learning always takes place where what has been learned is meaningfully integrated into life. Where experiences are made on the whole body, including all senses, with emotional participation. Where what has been learned is useful in practical life. Applicability is key as it is through it that learners benefit. We learn brain-friendly when we feel that we are right where we are.
Details from the pedagogical concept can be found here.
4. Democratic participation of children as part of everyday life
Children must grow into the democratic processes through the developmentally appropriate stimulation of the ped. Specialists through their participatory ped. Work. Our ped. Specialists accompany the children in the democratic education processes with tips and suggestions on how the children can take on more responsibility in the process until the children are able to carry out the strategies they have learned independently.
In accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as our federal and state legislation, children in our facilities are generally allowed to have a say and help shape all topics of everyday life, depending on their development.