Morning gathering "Morgenkreis" at kindergarten - Germany

Right then, [rant mode]

I'm not normally given to this these days as I've got used to the idiosyncrasies of living around Germans - believe me it took years - but one thing I can't get my head around is the idea of our local KG where the Erzieherin make the children stand in a ring then they - I don't know as I am not allowed to see it - tell some story then decide what the children want to play that morning. I've been told off many times for not getting mine in time for "Morgenkreis". now when they go to primary school I can accept they need to be on time, but 3 year olds needing to be punctual? In order to decide what they play? Isn't that being a bit too organised and "German?"

Okay this afternoon I shall stand in a ring with my kids and offer them lego, painting or Cbeebies.

(Mind you I know what they'll end up with later)

They also do that in Hannover, however it is around 10:00am for my little fellow, so all the kids are already in kita for at least one hour.

yup, they do it at our kindergarten too, at 8.30, and have their own morning song too. It's quite cute, and good to let the kids into the habit of a structured day, for the younger ones maybe not so important, but the older ones getting ready for school more so.

Sounds a bit like "Assembly" that UK schools used to (maybe still do) have. A way to add structure and a time to give the children information if they need to. Not such a bad idea - it makes them more of a unit than just being a bunch of littlies all doing their own stuff. Kids like "shape", it makes them feel safe.

I can see how 8:30 for the circle would be a little early. My kindergarten does it at 10 a.m. and it's really the only formal "listening time" of the day and a skill my toddler certainly needs to develop.

I work in a Krippe here in town, and yup, it is just the way they do it here in Germany. There is a very strong philosphy that the group is the group and everyone needs to be there for the 'whole' day so that the child is part of the routine and doesn't come in in the middle of things later. Some centers say get here by x o'clock or we will lock the doors and you will not be able to enter. Centers also get funded from the Jugendamt and that funding is based on the number of hours each child spends at the center, so regular 'punctual' attendance also can play a factor with that.

We were lucky in the fact that my daughter went to a Kindergarten run by the parents. Structure was not top on the list of priorities .. hahaha. It used to surprise me when people said that their children had to be in kindergarten by 9.30. (I was wondering who had said "8.30" - it was Derek. That would be a wee bit early for me *yawn*!!!).

On the other hand, I have to think of my friends' kids .. actually I have to think of myself. While children are going to Kindergarten here in Germany, 4-year olds are already going to school in Ireland. They have to be there at 9am every morning. Many have to wear a uniform. They [s]may not[/s] should not miss school just because they do not feel like going. There is a roll call. There is an attendance list etc.

As I said, I do not know the "Morgenkreis". It does sound like a good idea, to me. Maybe the only thing that needs tweaking is the time it takes place at.

Is it the 3 year old who has trouble making it there on time or their Daddy? [sorry, couldn't resist that one]

Our son's pre-school has this, with another one at the end of the day. He has to be there by 9am, but we always get there by 8:40-8:50 so he can eat fruit with the others. There is definitely a strong group feeling they have. Haven't heard about them making decisions regards what to do, just singing a hello song and such like.

There is a primary school on his complex and when we pass they are playing outside with their bags all in a row by the door, then they all have to line up with their bags and walk in formation into school. Looks like a mini-army.

Ours used to have Stuhlkreis at the end of the morning session, never the beginning. Considering we could drop the kids off between 7.30am and 9am it wouldn't have been practical. All the kids would gather round, sing a few songs and then sing the goodbye song and off they went. They did want all the kids to join in during this time, nobody was allowed to be playing at the side of the room. It was kind of cute to watch them all sing their little songs.

At my son's old Kindergarten they used to lock the front door at 8:45 and not unlock it until 9:15. This was so the children were not "disturbed" by late-comers during their morning meetings. So if you came late you had to wait outside until 9:15. They were pretty strict with alot of things. We moved cities so my son doesn't go there anymore. His new kindergarten is very friendly and flexible, thank goodness.

Circle time (as we call it back home) has a purpose, mainly to encourage speaking and listening (language) development and, as such, is an important part of the day. Really, they should have it at a time when they know all kids will be in except for exceptional circumstances. It's not like assembly and is actually a planned-for lesson, in schools in any case.

So you think that after not learning to respect a schedule within a social entity from either you or Kindergarten they will make the transition to primary school and its demands immediately? I admire your optimism.

At our local kindergarten,the kids have "redeverbot" during mealtimes,in english a rule of strict silence while eating!!!

In our case it's always a nightmare getting them there as they mess about all the time. Altho I often feel half dead in the morning - I am a night owl - I still get them there. Only a few days ago though I was too ill to get them there. That's the only time I haven't made it on my own account.

That's what they do at ours, lock the door. That's what I get fed up with in Bavaria, the pointless strictness. Ours have to be there 8.30 sharp.

Ours too. I actually appreciate this idea.

This concept makes me want to stick a pencil into my ear, and jab the piece of brain that is now storing that information, so I forget it forever. No talking whilst eating? Fuck me, what a great way to make kids not appreciate the congenial act of a shared meal. Utterly abhorrent idea if you ask me.
If you do not learn that eating is fun, then you never get to experience the awesomeness of the prawn head puppet theatre, or making a well in a pile of mash potatoes, filling it with gravy, and floating peas in it.