Social and Emotional Competencies

The first step in the development of social and emotional competencies is developing the ability to name and understand their own emotions. This will enable the child to develop feelings and empathy towards others. We approach individual children with a high degree of respect and empathy as we believe that experiencing feelings always goes hand in hand with a positive acknowledgment of oneself and one’s own emotional world.

In the next step, we support the child in their ability to build relations with other children and adults, so they can have fun together, find joy playing and learning in groups and solve  possible conflicts and overcome stressful situations independently using a goal-oriented approach to solve problems keeping their integrity.

Motor Competencies

Childhood is a time of rapid physical development. Acquiring and mastering  gross motor  skills involving large body movement as well  as fine motor skills involving precision are equally important for independence and confidence.

At Tree House Swans educators foster development of motor skills by selecting toys and activities suited to child’s skill level. Children are given the space and time to perform a wide range of physical actions in a safe and supervised environment. The special movement room is very loved and enjoyed by the children.  Activities that foster manual dexterity and hand eye co-ordination are incorporated into daily curriculum. Mastering these skills ensure being better prepared for school.

Cognitive and Creative Competencies

We recognize that children’s thinking is different from the thinking of adults and over time children move through distinct stages as they develop more complex ways of understanding the world.

At Tree House Swans we supply children with a variety of material, expose them to new experiences and encourage them to explore and experiment. Various activities that engage children in problem solving, sorting, classifying, understanding and using information are presented in a playful manner.

Along with this, open ended art projects, music, movement and dance activities are in co-operated in the daily curriculum to foster creative expression. Our early musical education program is conducted by Ms. Grahe. You can read more about her work at www.amiragrahe.de

Intercultural Competencies

The culture of Tree House Swans is characterized by an openness and tolerance for diversity and has team members coming  from different parts of the world. In this way we transmit to our children an authentic understanding of different cultures and religions as integral part of their daily experience. In our curriculum we also plan projects and activities that expose children to different counties, traditions and cultures.

We at Tree House Swans have a culture of our own which is embedded in our values and goals.  Identification with these values is beyond the borders of nationality and religion and a requirement for being a part of the Tree House Swans team.

Language Competencies

Tree House Swans is a bilingual Kindergarten where caregiving and education are done using the English and the German language. During the first years of life, children are particularly receptive to learning a new language.

At tree house swans, the children learn both the English as well as German language parallel using  the immersion principle. In practice, this means that each educator consistently speaks either English or German to the children. Thus for the child, each educator is firmly associated with the language they speak. Each group consists of  English as well as German speakers.Thus the children are continuously surrounded by both these languages and learn them in a playful manner during the course of the kindergarten day.