Introduction/specifics

The Knusperhäuschen is a parent initiative with one group. Twenty children between the ages of two and six, including four children under the age of three (U3), attend our daycare center.

Rooms

The children can develop freely in our house on 90 square meters over two floors.

• First floor: a group room with craft, reading and building corner; kitchen and bathroom.
• Upper floor: a room with a puppet corner, dress-up box, hand puppet theater; a playroom with building elements.

Outdoor Facilities

At any time the children can also play outside. Our idyllic outdoor area is about 450 square meters. This includes old trees, flower beds, a small vegetable garden, a large sand area, a playhouse, a workbench, climbing trees, a climbing frame, car tires and a wide range of playground equipment and vehicles. In the summer, it is allowed to play with the water hose.

Daily Schedule

7:30 to 9:15 a.m.: Arrival of the children at the Knusperhäuschen.

8:00 to 9:45 a.m.: A free breakfast invites at the round table in the group room: Whole-grain bread, various spreads, yogurt, muesli, tea, water and milk are part of the offer.

9:45 a.m. to noon Free play, free choice of play type, play partner, play duration, play location. The team of educators uses this time to pay attention to individual children and to give impulses. Meanwhile, one parent prepares lunch each day. The cooking parents are happy to help individual children with the preparation.

noon to 1:00 p.m.: Lunch together with table saying. If the weather is nice, we eat outside, followed by brushing of teeth for all.

1:00 to 1:30 p.m.: we read with the children in two age groups. For the younger children there is a possibility to sleep until 14:30h.

1:30 to 3:00 p.m.: free play, playing in the outside area

3:00 to 3:30 p.m.: common snack

3:30 to 4:30 p.m.: free play 

Food

• Free breakfast: wholemeal bread, spreads, fruit, cereals
• Lunch: Raw vegetables and main dish freshly cooked on site by parents
• Afternoon snack: fruit, wholemeal bread with spreads

Description and Stations

Stop 'Weyertal' of line 9

Employee

3 Erzieher und 1 FSJler

Additional Offerings

• Weekly music, English, and gymnastics for children ages three and up.
• Yearly themed field trips, projects and crafts.

Teamwork with school

Cooperation with nearby schools and after-school care facilities.

Teamwork with parents

We are a parent initiative with active cooperation of the parents.

The parents are the employer and take over all organizational and manual tasks in the kindergarten.

A board of directors is formed by the parents (chair, family, finance and personnel board).

In the "Knusperhäuschen" the parents cook daily for the children and the team. In addition, the parents also take on other services such as board work, garden maintenance, renovation work, laundry, shopping, compiling lists of offices, etc. For this, it is an advantage if at least one of the parents works part-time and is flexible in terms of time.

Projects

• Annually changing theme, such as: Journey around the world, nature, city of Cologne, professions, garbage and so on.
• Celebrations on the occasion of the seasons, for example Saint Martin, Christmas, Easter, summer
• Kindergarten trip to the Eifel for two days
• Monthly excursion and picnic

Overview

1. Hospitation afternoon to get to know the Knusperhäuschen
2. Registration form
3. Selection of suitable children in terms of age and gender
4. Personal introduction at the parents' evening
5. Selection procedure by the parents