Description and Stations

You can find us at Friedrich-Karl Straße 218 in 50735 Cologne-Niehl.

You can reach us by tram lines 13 and 16 (stop: Amsterdamer Straße/Gürtel), bus 147 (stop: Friedrich-Karl Straße/Niehler Straße) or conveniently by bike or car.

There are plenty of public parking spaces available, which makes it easy for parents to drop off and pick up their children.

Bicycle trailers can be parked at our premises.

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Introduction/specifics

Opening hours:

 

Monday to Thursday: 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

 

Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The Karlchen daycare center is a single-group, operator-run facility, i.e., not a parent initiative, which started in 2014 with eleven children aged zero to three years. As the demand for places for children under three (U3) remains very high, we regularly look after twelve, sometimes 13, and a maximum of 14 children.

 

We want to give the children a place, a “second home,” where they feel safe, valued, and comfortable, and where they receive optimal care and individual support. This is based on a set of values that is shaped by our desire to raise our children to be open-minded, interested, and strong personalities.

 

In line with current infant research, we assume that children are born with all the skills they need for their further development. From birth, they are able to actively use these skills and interpret human actions.

 

We implement this in our daycare centers by addressing children holistically—with their heads, hearts, hands, and sense of humor—supporting them in their developmental steps and activities, and helping them to try out new things.

 

We draw on children's natural spirit of inquiry, their joy of learning and curiosity, their enthusiasm for the world and life, and their urge for independence and movement.

 

As residents of Cologne, we live tolerance and value constructive coexistence between different cultures and ways of life. Even though we are non-denominational, we teach children both the central elements of the Western Christian culture in which they are growing up and those of other cultures.

 

It is important to us that every child in our daycare centers feels like a unique individual, regardless of nationality, appearance, gender, or religious affiliation.

 

Rooms

Like the Niehlpferdchen daycare center, the Karlchen daycare center has very spacious, light-filled rooms, with the 90-square-meter group room, which can be divided into different areas, being particularly noteworthy. The rooms have a special feature in the form of a height difference between the bedroom/quiet room, the cloakroom with entrance area, and the parents' area, which is further emphasized by a play platform with a cave, stairs, and slide.

Of course, the children at the Karlchen daycare center regularly use the Niehlpferdchen gym and outdoor play area, or visit Miss Schmitz and Mr. Müller at the Niehlpferdchen Kninchen daycare center.

Outdoor Facilities

A quiet outdoor area in the backyard with a large sandbox and gnome house invites children to play and explore, and is complemented by a side terrace.

Daily Schedule

A structured daily routine and rituals help children to find confidence, security, and orientation. Of course, this does not mean that every day is the same.

The times in brackets are for before and after school care, preparation, and follow-up work, and must be registered in advance.

(7 a.m.) 7:15 a.m.:

The daycare center opens. The teachers prepare breakfast and the first children arrive. All children should be there by 9:30 a.m. at the latest.

7:30 to 10 a.m.:

During this time, there is an open breakfast, which the children can attend several times. For many children, this is the space to make initial contacts or make plans for the day. Some may still be sitting at the table, sleepy, waiting quietly for their spirits to awaken.

The entire breakfast time is always supervised by an educator, not only to help the children with breakfast, but also for other reasons.

10 a.m. to 12 p.m.:

Lunch is very important, as it gives children and teachers the opportunity to talk about their day or other experiences in a cozy, relaxed atmosphere. The teachers place particular emphasis on teaching the children good table manners and helping them to see eating as more than just nourishment and a necessity.

By brushing their teeth afterwards, the children learn the basics of personal hygiene, which are expanded and reinforced by the teachers as they get older.

2:00 p.m.:

“Quick” pick-up time

2:00 to 3:15 p.m.:

Rest period with quiet activities, such as painting, looking at books, or imaginary journeys

3:15 to 3:45 p.m.:

Second pick-up time

3:45 to 4:30 p.m.:

Coffee break, free play

4:30 to 5 p.m. (5:30 p.m.):

Third pick-up time

Food

Another important part of our daily educational work is fostering a pleasant eating culture, which we want to teach the children. The children should not only see food as sustenance and a necessity, but also as a socio-cultural experience.

This begins with breakfast, which we offer the children between approximately 7:30 and 10:00 a.m. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, we serve muesli, on Tuesdays and Thursdays bread (including homemade bread) and occasionally rolls. We also serve cheese, jam/honey/beetroot syrup, vegetarian spreads, and occasionally some cold cuts. In addition, fresh fruit and raw vegetables are always available for the children.

Drinks include water, tea, milk, and sometimes cocoa.

At lunchtime, our daycare centres serve freshly prepared, child-friendly ‘home cooking’ that is varied and balanced. One week we offer a meat dish and the next week we offer fish. It goes without saying that we make sure to buy fresh, high-quality food. We source most of our fruit, vegetables and meat from local farms.

When eating together, the children are allowed to eat everything, but they don't have to eat anything. However, we encourage them to try the food.

As this involves almost all the senses – sight, smell, touch and taste – we give the children room to experiment. Of course, we make sure that this experimentation does not lose its actual purpose and that the children also learn to appreciate food.

Food is never used as a reward or punishment in our facilities. The weather the next day is independent of how much has been eaten, and those who couldn't finish their broad beans may still have room in a little corner of their stomachs for the fruit quark that is served for dessert.

Employee

The team at the Karlchen daycare center consists of the educational director and three educational specialists, as well as usually two part-time working students.

Trainees in professional internships and/or practice-integrated training (PIA) round out our team.

Both facilities are supported by a kitchen fairy who takes care of our well-being, a caretaker, and two cleaning staff.

You can find the latest staffing levels on our homepage at any time.

Qualification

The educational management of the facility has many years of experience working with children between the ages of zero and three. This benefits children, parents, and, of course, employees and trainees in a collegial exchange.

In addition, all employees undergo continuous further training.

Cooperations

We actively promote networking with other daycare centers in the area, with facilities for children with special needs, with early intervention centers, with educational counseling centers, with the relevant authorities, and with other specialist centers for children, as well as participation in specialist working groups.

We also work closely with physiotherapists, speech therapists, and other specialists as required.

We are a member of KEKS (Cologne Parents' Self-Help and Children's Self-Help) e. V.

Teamwork with parents

For simplicity's sake, we use the word “parents” to refer to the entire spectrum of people with parental responsibility.

Positive, trust-based cooperation between parents and educators is an essential foundation for high-quality educational work with children. In family-supportive daycare work, the skills of the caregivers and the skills of the parents are incorporated into the educational work, enabling constructive and optimal coordination of the child's two worlds.

The first contact between the facility and the parents is the personal introductory meeting. Parents are introduced to the educational work of the daycare center, organizational issues are addressed, parents' questions are answered, and the premises are shown.

It is important to us to provide parents with comprehensive and professional advice on all issues relating to their children, to take their fears and concerns seriously, and to present our educational work to them in a realistic and transparent manner.

After the child has been admitted to one of our facilities, a detailed initial meeting takes place between the parents, the management, and the primary caregiver. During this meeting, detailed information about the child's care, development, and needs is gathered, questions about home habits are asked, any open questions are clarified, and the settling-in period is discussed.

During the settling-in period, parents have the opportunity to get to know their child's caregivers and the group of children. Their presence gives them an insight into everyday life at the daycare center. During this time, parents can slowly detach themselves from their child and gain confidence that they have made the right decision about their child's care. This is very important for the child's future care, as children quickly sense their parents' latent insecurity and dissatisfaction, which makes them feel insecure themselves.

The educators provide parents with individualized, needs-based support and advice during the separation process.

The doorstep chat is an important basis for mutual supportive cooperation. This chat provides an opportunity to exchange information and events, as well as any special occurrences, on a daily basis.

This is important for both educators and parents in order to be able to respond to the child individually and in a situation-oriented manner.

Scheduled parent-teacher conferences usually take place every six months. However, both parents and educators can request a meeting at any time.

The development discussions are based on the observations and documentation of all educators and are recorded in writing in a documentation form.

The topics covered in the parent-teacher conference include:

The child's stage of development Observations from everyday group life Observations and current issues from the family environment Development of a support concept to strengthen the child's personal development as well as support for “weaknesses” in line with our capabilities.

Parent-teacher conferences allow all parents to be informed about current topics and to exchange ideas with each other, but can also focus on a specific educational topic. Our daycare centers hold one to two parent-teacher conferences per year. These are supplemented by parent cafés, which take place at least twice a year.

Information about everyday activities and projects is displayed in the hallway/coatroom area for all parents to see. In addition, current photos from everyday life at the daycare center are regularly displayed. This gives parents an insight into what happens during the day. Important information or invitations are sent to all parents in the form of a parent email.

We are always happy to receive requests, suggestions, constructive criticism, and of course just nice feedback from parents, and we try to incorporate this into our educational work as far as possible.

Overview

The gender and age of the child are decisive factors in the allocation of places, so that the group structure is as balanced as possible.

In both facilities, places for children under three years of age are generally allocated to children under one year of age during the admission process.

Siblings are given preferential consideration.