First Steps

About us

The Kita First Steps was founded in May 2008. Since December 2015, the day care centre has been run by the non-profit International Schools GmbH.

It is located in the Berlin suburb near the Neuer Garten and the Heiligen See, surrounded by wonderful nature. The day care centre is located on the mezzanine floor of a Gründerzeit villa. Behind the nursery is a 700 square metre garden with trees.

Up to 20 children aged 1.5-6 years can be cared for in two groups in our day care centre, which is open weekdays from 8:00-16:30.

The First Steps day care centre is a private facility for which parents pay a monthly fee irrespective of their income.

The outdoor area with its large free play area offers enough space and room for young and old.

Click here for contact & registration

What makes us different

At the First Steps day care centre, we implement bilingual education according to the immersion method. English is consistently used alongside German as the everyday language. There is no language blurring, as the children have clearly assigned persons for each language. The children thus experience the second language as a natural interaction with the people who naturally speak this language.

The immersion method is not bilingual teaching, but bilingual education. By this we mean natural bilingual acquisition. Therefore, in addition to German songs, books and materials, there are also English-language ones in our everyday life.

Our preschool work is geared towards ensuring a smooth transition from kindergarten to school for every child.

Pre-school children know that they are coming to school and most are looking forward to it. This positive attitude must not lead to anticipating school forms of learning or content. It is much more important to create a motivating learning environment, to make the start of school a topic of discussion and to familiarise children with the institution of school. The children's willingness to learn and their interests are stimulated by topics and projects that are closely linked to their experiences and everyday life.

In the crèche group (1.5-3 years), a maximum of 8 children are looked after by 2 teachers. The group of older children (3-6 years) is attended by 12 children and is also looked after by 2 teachers.

All children can move freely throughout the kindergarten and use all the rooms, which means that everyone gets to know each other quickly. Each child has a permanent primary teacher.

Our image of the child is strongly oriented towards the approaches of Montessori education. We see each child as a "master builder of his or her own self" and see in him or her an individual personality with talents and abilities, with interests, needs and feelings.

Each child determines the time frame of his or her emotional, social and intellectual development.

Our day care centre offers full board.

Lunch is provided by a regional organic wholefood supplier from Berlin. The children prepare their own breakfast and snack. The food required for this is delivered to our premises. Sufficient drinks (water and/or tea) are available to the children throughout the day.

Movement is an elementary need of children and takes up a lot of space in our early musical education.

Once a week, a music teacher visits our kindergarten to make music with the children.

daily schedule

Arrival of the children / free play

from 8.00 a.m.

Breakfast (incl. setting the table, washing hands and clearing away)

8:15 – 8:45 a.m.

Morning round

9:00 – 9:30 a.m.

Group-specific activities (movement, creativity, early musical education, etc.) and free play

9:30 – 11:00 a.m.

Lunch

from 11:00 a.m.

Midday rest/nap (depending on the age and need of the child)

12:00 a.m.

Free activities in the group rooms (design, board games, books, puzzles, etc.).

1:00 p.m.

Snack

2:30 p.m.

Free play in the garden or in the rooms of the day care centre

3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Gallery

Contact

Kita First Steps
Ludwig-Richter-Str. 9
14469 Potsdam
Tel +49 (0)331 273 85 44

If you are interested in enrolling your child, please complete and return the enrolment form by email to firststeps@school-international.de..

The contact person is Ms Plage.