Kindergartens in Düsseldorf

Hi I have just moved to Rethelstrasse, Dusseltal area of Düsseldorf, from Australia with my eighteen month old son. We are exploring all sorts of child care options. I would prefer a German speaking kindergarten. We are also looking for babysitters. If anyone is interested in babysitting, or has any experience with kindergartens in this area, I would appreciate the advice.
Regards,
J

I have no advice to give you (we haven't yet moved to Germany), but I'd love to know if you've found out anything.

We'll be moving to Wuppertal in September-- my husband is Spanish and I'm from the US. We have an almost 4 year old son and an 18 month old daughter. We also prefer regular, German kindergarten, but I was hoping I could find a place for my son where the teachers were familiar with "German as a second language" teaching supports.

Any info you've found helpful would surely help me...

Thanks-
Vanessa

Hi Vanessa.
I am not sure about Wuppertal, but I can tell you, we had a really hard time finding a place in a kindergarten, and my husband is from Düsseldorf! I don't want to give you the wrong impression, and I am sure things are specific to your locale, but getting selected for a kindergarten place has been a slog. First of all, many kindergartens do not take children under the age of 3. Then there is choice of state run, or "eltern-initiative" kindergartens (Kitas, as they are referred to here, since there has been a format change to how they operate...). The "parent-initiated" kitas, I gather, are private enterprises. We have been lucky enough to be selected by one in our neighbourhood (after a ninety minute interview). The amazing thing is that they specify our son must attend five days per week. Also, there is a requirement that each set of parents contribute 12 working hours per month to the running of the Kita. I actually like the idea of this, but it is fascinating seeing a whole community actually doing this (it would never happen in Australia). The reason our son must attend, is that they want all of the children to have a stable social environment. They provide all meals, and have a specialist chef who cooks only bio-organic food, with meat dishes only once per week...

Anyhoo, our place is yet to be confirmed, as everyone is on holidays (another thing that doesn't happen in Australia) and I am not sure how it will all work out, but if I were you, I would start looking now. We found our kita on google maps (do you speak german?). Best of luck, and let me know if i can be of any further help.
J