Die Erste Tag fur Kindergarten

Evelyn dons her hauschuhe. Slippers are required as it's so muddy and yucky outside. They each do a Mr. Rogers thing when they get inside. These shoes stay at the Kindergarten.


There is a large entryway where each child has his/her own hook and cubby for jackets and their snack. There is no structured learning until 9:30 in the morning, so each child can be dropped off whenever the parent wishes between 7:30 and 9:30. So it's a nice, easy start - no rush, anytime will do! You're never late and it lends to an easy classroom wind-up as the children trickle in here and there rather than all come in a crowd.

The pick up is the same. On the second day I rushed to pick her up at 12:00 thinking I was late because many parents were already leaving. When I asked the teacher what time to pick up, she said "whenever." The children who stay for lunch move into another room; the children who are not staying for lunch just continue to play and may be picked up whenever the parent chooses between 12:00 and 1:30. Again: you're never late!

Here is Evelyn in the classroom. It's well after 8:00am, but you can see only 3 children have arrived. The class is so cute with canopies, learning centers, and typical German wooden toys. The little girl across from her is from Ghana and speaks English as well as German. They are already friends.