(P) First days in kindergarten - How is the accommodation of children at DSBU

The first day of kindergarten is always a big challenge for children and means a lot of emotional stress, as a new stage in their growth process begins. Find out in the article below how to prepare your children for the first day of kindergarten and how the accommodation happens at Deutsche Schule Bukarest. Susanne Büddemann, Headmaster of the DSBU Kindergarten, answered some of the questions for us.

What are the first steps a child who starts kindergarten at DSBU takes?

Transitions between the parental home and kindergarten/crèche are particularly important for life’s journey. They are crisis situations, which can be stressful but can also offer great opportunities for development. Close cooperation and collaboration between all the specialist staff and parents promote the development of the child during this period of transition. Parents and Early Years Practitioners have a particular joint responsibility regarding the transitional situations, which are characterized by the following principles:

• Binding structures ensure continuity of cooperation, its quality and sustainability.

• Parents are perceived as partners in education and upbringing and are supported and encouraged in this role. During our settling-in sessions, parents are invited to join our kindergarten program as long as the child feels safe and happy.

• Ensuring a strong key person system is held within the kindergarten/crèche and will help children to settle. The key person will be available to greet the child and the parents to ensure that the child can build up trust and confidence.

• Many children have comforters for some shape or form whether it is a blanket, teddy, tag, bottle, or dummy. These are an important source of comfort for a child.

• Observations are crucial in getting to know a child and helping them to settle into kindergarten/crèche. If there are any parts of the routine of a child, it enables the staff to tune into a child´s interest which means appropriate activities can be planned that a child will enjoy.

What are the activities in which the children are involved?

Most beloved activities of children are certainly outdoor activities. We go on outside trips 3 times a month at least. The benefits of being outside are multiple:

Open Spaces Promote Agility- outdoor activities will help in the development of healthy habits which are initiated at the early stages of a child´s life and can stay with them for life.