In July 2021, we were finally able to have our international picnic again.
Take a look on how we celebrated our end of the school year:

Visiting our kindergarten in the afternoons

Are you interested in getting to know the IMK Esslingen?
We will be happy to welcome you in the afternoons, by appointment, and guide you through the rooms and concepts.

Phone: +49 711 3515 634

Maria Montessori lived from 1870 to 1950. She was a physician and educator. She was the first woman in Italy to study medicine, and subsequently headed the pediatric department of the university psychiatric hospital in Rome for two years. In addition to her medical degree, she also taught anthropology, among other subjects. In 1907, she opened her first children’s home in San Lorenzo, a district of Rome. She made the important discovery that even young children could concentrate for a very long time with the help of sensory exercises. She called this process the polarization of attention. Children who can concentrate for a long time become more independent through these exercises and build their personality. Her method has been particularly successful in mathematical development, in introducing reading and writing, and in sensitizing the senses.

IIn 1909, she began her first training course and subsequently founded Montessori societies throughout Europe and the United States.

Montessori traveled to India in 1937 and developed an international educational concept with a focus on peace education and education for global and sustainable learning.

Maria Montessori observed a four-year-old girl working with the insert cylinders. The girl repeated her exercise 43 times and was not distracted by anything. Montessori’s discovery was the polarization of attention: a child’s ability to concentrate deeply. Children thus develop a contented, balanced personality.d personality.

Montessori describes the hands as an important tool for the development of intelligence. For this reason, she developed a variety of materials that lead to comprehension through grasping.

In doing so, Maria Montessori assumes that every child has an inner blueprint at birth that guides development. Every child enjoys learning and is active in doing so. The child itself develops its intelligence by actively engaging with its environment. Therefore, in our Montessori kindergartens, the child’s environment is carefully prepared, and a variety of materials are available to meet the individual needs, interests, and desires of the children.

The prepared environment must be designed to match the developmental level of the age group. It must be well structured and manageable. The children know where to find the material and where to return it. Furthermore, the principle of aesthetics should be realized. Montessori emphasizes bright, friendly rooms, clear colors and shapes.

Each child has a name card that he/she can put with his/her material. When the child leaves his/her place to have breakfast or to get something, he/she indicates through the card that he/she wants to continue working. The children learn to respect each other’s workplaces. In addition to chairs and tables, they can also choose their workplace on a small carpet. Younger children especially prefer the small rugs to play or work alone or with a friend.

Each Montessori material is available only once. Thus, the children can make conscious choices for themselves. Children must check with each other and may have to wait for another child to finish their work. This is an important basis for social education.

Free work means that children decide for themselves within the prepared environment with which material, whom, where and how long they work. They are allowed to decide for themselves when to take a break and go to breakfast, for example.

Children must first learn free choice in our society. This requires practicing self-discipline.

There is no need for them to remain seated in a particular place. They may walk around the group room (quietly and without disturbing others). They may watch other children work or go to the shelves to get their bearings. Once they have chosen a material, they may work at the table or on the floor.

The children choose for themselves whether they want to work with a friend or in a group. They also have the freedom to decide that they will create something on their own in peace.

“My freedom ends where your freedom begins”.

The children live in a community where they can fit in according to their level of development. This includes teaching children to set aside their own interests in favor of the group, when necessary, without having to suppress their individuality. When people spend a lot of time in a community, basic rules of living together are needed. The rules are worked out with the children again and again in group circles. Children are happy to adopt rules that they have helped to develop an understanding of.

On the part of the facility, it is assumed that the parents themselves will observe the rules of the house and support their children in doing so.

International Montessori Kindergarten
Sulzgrieser Str. 114
73733 Esslingen

Phone: +49 711 3515 634
E-Mail: imk@montessori-esslingen.de

The kindergarten is located in Esslingen – Sulzgries center.

Esslingen Sulzgries is a district above Esslingen. The kindergarten is located on the main street. The entrance door is at the back of the building on a cozy plaza with seating area, at a good and secured distance away from the main traffic road.

The view from the kindergarten is towards the meadows, a housing estate, and a forest area behind it. The surrounding area is a good mix of nature and living, which invites to regular walks.

The kindergarten has a bright group room with a large window front, a kitchen, a dressing/wardrobe room, and toilets (2 at children’s level, one adult toilet). The total room size is 150 square meters. All rooms are completely barrier-free and thus also accessible and suitable for wheelchair users.

The garden area with a total size of 800 sqm is surrounded by other green areas, far away from the road traffic. The children’s group can reach this outdoor area daily via the stairs nearby and a small footpath. In the garden there are numerous possibilities to play. There is a nest swing, a large sandbox, a seesaw, a slide, a climbing carousel, a small house, and a climbing tree.
A construction trailer at the edge of the garden stores all the play materials (wheelbarrows, shovels, buckets, etc.). There is also a workbench for the children with a well-stocked tool cabinet.

The international Montessori Kindergarten e.V. is a parents’ initiative.
In 1997 a group of parents and educators organized a private Montessori group for toddlers.
To be able to continue the Montessori pedagogy in the preschool area, the International Montessori Kindergarten in Esslingen was founded in 1998 and in 1999 the IMK was finally able to start with the first group of 20 children aged 3–6 years.

The cooperation of the parents is not only desired, but also an important part of our concept. Through planned and regular parent activities, important work that occurs is covered and taken over. These include, for example, the cleaning days, the garden days, and the craft evenings. For this reason, each family has a target number of hours to contribute each year.

3 parent councils are elected per kindergarten year. Usually, the elections take place on the first parents’ evening after the summer vacations. The parents’ council is the representative of the parents’ interests and the link between the kindergarten teachers and the managing- committee.
her tasks of the parent council are the organization of festivities, such as the joint lantern festival, the Christmas or New Year’s celebration, the International Picnic, and the organization of the photographer.

The involvement of the family in all aspects of kindergarten life plays a vital role at IMK. We do not see our kindergarten as a service institution, but rather as a joint project in which all parents participate, in collaboration with the children, through practical as well as financial contributions.

Five committee members are required. (Personnel, Pedagogy, Finances, Communication and Maintenance/Technics).

The managing-committee is elected by the members of the association during our annual general meeting. As a rule, the committee remains in office for two years and is elected by the assembly of members. The committee directs and leads the association with all its tasks.

The managing-committee

Our educators are committed to the Montessori pedagogy and fulfill the state requirements having the appropriate training qualifications as well as the Montessori diploma.

Regular parent-teacher meetings are held by the educators to discuss the individual child’s behavior/development in one-on-one meetings.

Jeannette Jandl

Kindergarten Director

1991 Graduation “Diplom-Sozialpädagogin” at the University of Bamberg with focus on “Elementary Education”, during her studies training as Montessori pedagogue with the degree: Montessori-Diplom.

Since 1996 Montessori lecturer for the training of kindergarten teachers and teachers.

1995–2005: Lecturer at the Berufskolleg Bestwig with the focus on: Didactics/methodology, play pedagogy and movement education.

2010–2017 Group leader and deputy director at the Montessori-Bildungshaus Stuttgart.

Since 2018 kindergarten director at IMK Esslingen.

Rebecca Matziris

Educator and therapeutic pedagogue with Montessori diploma

2001–2007 Educator at the Montessori Kinderhaus Stuttgart Mitte e.V.

2008–2012 extra-occupational training as curative teacher

since 2012 employed educator at IMK Esslingen and integration specialist in Esslingen

Jana Kobilansky

Educator with Montessori diploma

1999 Graduation as a state-approved educator, Vechta

2001–2004 Montessori diploma course with graduation, AMI in St. Louis, Missouri, USA

2001–2006 Employed as an educator at the IMK Esslingen

2006–2008 Group leader, Zurich, Switzerland

2008–2011 Parental leave

since 2011 Employee educator at IMK Esslingen

Esra Zorbaci

Educator and child pedagogue

2015–2019 B.A. studies in Early Childhood Education at the University of Education in Ludwigsburg, Germany

Since 2019 employed educator and child pedagogue at IMK Esslingen

Currently on parental leave

In our kindergarten, we want to incorporate the children’s everyday situations and topics and take their interests seriously. When planning and designing the educational program, we consider the children’s wishes, ideas, and suggestions. For example, during the morning circle, the children vote on the rules of the kindergarten, on a new project topic, or on the choice of menu for cooking day. The group circle is a daily activity and is used intensively to gather ideas and suggestions from the children.

A glimpse into the current group activities

Apple cutting

Lighting candle

Sewing pillow

Drop wax animals

KISS – an offer of the children’s sports school

All children of the kindergarten participate in sports once a week, on Monday mornings. A sports teacher from the Children’s Sports School (KISS) of the Turnsportverein Rüdern/Sulzgries/Krummenacker/Neckarhalde is responsible for the sports lessons. The educators are present for part of the time and carefully observe how the children’s gross motor skills have developed. The observations are included in the individual documentation of each child’s developmental progress.

For physical education, the children are divided into two groups according to their age. At 10:45 a.m., the sports program for the younger children begins, and at 11:30 a.m., the older children have their sports lesson.

There are usually no sports lessons during school vacations.

Science Lab is an additional offer of our facility for the preschool children, which is financed proportionally by the sponsor and the parents of the preschoolers. The children learn about the world of science in a playful way through a variety of experiments. The Science Lab course is led by an external trainer and usually takes place at our facility on a specific afternoon each week from 14:15 – 15:15 pm.

Further information at: https://science-lab.org/

Nature days are held once a week in the months of May and June. The whole group participates. It is accompanied by the educators and, if necessary, by parents. Within these days the children are invited to experience nature more consciously. They can observe plants and insects, learn to understand natural processes, and acquire a respectful attitude.

Festivals and rituals in the kindergarten year

Children need rituals, this gives them security and structure. They also enhance their understanding of space and time and are therefore an important part of the kindergarten’s daily routine. Here a few examples of the celebrated festivals:

• Birthday party
• Lantern festival
• St. Nicholas
• Halloween
• Christmas or New Year celebration
• Carnival
• Easter
• International picnic
• Farewell of the preschool children

In our international kindergarten, the children gain experience with the English language. We have English exercises in free work and a regular morning circle. Through the playful offerings, it becomes natural for the children that there are other languages they can learn and understand.

Each week a family prepares the morning snack for the children.

The morning snack in kindergarten is intended as a snack, from a selection of foods that is satisfying, healthy and nutritious. The snack should include a variety of vegetables, fruits, and grains each day.

The international weeks take place during the months of June and July. During this time, topics about the different continents, countries and cities are developed with the children. A special focus is given to the IMK children’s origins or stays abroad. During the international weeks, parents are invited to talk about their home country or temporary home and to supplement this with illustrative materials.

Once a year, the kindergarten organizes an “International Picnic” at the end of the school year. All families, including former families and relatives, are always invited. The new families, who will join the kindergarten in the next year, can get to know all members and teachers and the children can immerse themselves in the group and experience the vibrant get-together of the group in the garden.

Each family brings homemade food and an international buffet with many delicious dishes is created.
The children perform something, there is playing, laughing, and having fun.

Take a look at the video of the last international picnic: