Getting a 3-year-old into a Kindergarten

We're going to move to Munich next summer and I would like my daughter to start in a kindergarten in September (she's 3 in April). The problem is, we don't know where we're going to live yet, so I can't really apply for a space before the February deadline. Is it still possible to get a space, say in June, or do they all fill up their spaces in Feburary? I suppose the popular ones will be full up, leaving spaces at the not so good ones.

Also has anyone moved to Munich and got their child into a kindergarten during the academic year or have they just got a September intake? I'm talking about a regular, German kindergarten, not an English-speaking and/or private one.

Thanks.

I managed to get offered a place in July for my daughter when we moved here. I was lucky at two places near us they had an opening. I think it will just be luck (a small amount of children do leave for various reasons) and if you have a relocation agent they should help you with this. Our relocation agent would not approach the kindergartens till our apartment contract was final though.

You may not get offered an all day spot, just half day if you are not working, however it is a start!

I think it depends on how many kids they will have already accepted in Feb / March, and if there is still a space left for your child or not.

But from what I've heard (we're moving back to Munich soon, so I've been talking to a Kindergarten about this) some Kindergarten are not full these days and have actually a decrease in children!
So depending on where you'll be living you might just get a space right away. If it's not at your favorite Kindergarten you can always try the ones a bit further away from your future home. I wouldn't stress about it too much.

Hi there,
We moved from UK to Munich last August. Fantastic Kindergartens in our town, but the one nearest to our house is full this year AND closing a class down in September 2008 ie. No places at all for our son. However, with the help of a German friend, we arranged to meet the mayor, and he agreed to let my son into our preferred Kindergarten from last week until end of August 2008. I'm at this precise moment trying to translate the forms for 2008-2009 to get a place for our son once this contract is up.
I wouldn't panic too much about this. I wasn't intending to send our son (3) to KG, but he ended up needing peer friends and to learn German urgently. In our town I learned that there are emergency places that are available usually for our/your situations, but Eichenau has filled all these up until September 2008. I really now need to get a place from September 2008 otherwise my son will hate me for ever!!
If you need any advice from a novice muddling her way through a new life over here, give me a shout!

Hi,
getting a kindergarten spot often has a lot to do with luck. But it pays to be a little bit of a pest once you have started looking. We had friends who just happened to call when someone had backed out of the spot and they said if you say yes now you can have the spot. So register your child at as many kindergartens as possible, and keep calling and chacking if there is a place available. Non-Germans often get pushed ahead of the list as many programs are required to have a certain number of non-Germans (and often get more funding for them) and many of the bilingual programs are eager for native speakers.

Our kindergarten in Neuhausen is looking for a new child now for Sept. 2008, as 2 families are moving away. I am sure ours is not the only one with this situation.