Berlin Kids International Nursery School
The Berlin Kids International bilingual nursery school, located at the Wichert Strasse 25, in the sub-district of Prenzlauer Berg (district Pankow), began in March 2000 as a parents' initiative. A group of like-minded internationals saw that there was no such offering near where they lived. This would be the first English-German nursery school in Berlin’s former “East”.
The initial Berlin Kids nursery included two native English-speaking teachers and ten children, with half-day care. In January 2001, there were 30 children receiving care, mostly full-time, and over 100 children on the waiting list. With the exploding demand, the Berlin Kids Parents Association (Foerderverein) voted to transfer administrative responsibility effective January 2001 to the experienced non-profit community organisation Pfefferwerk e.V., which runs some 13 nursery schools in the district. Pfefferwerk and Berlin Kids received the entire building facility officially in January 2002. Today, there are 90 children divided into five age groups from roughly walking-age to five years old.
Over the years since its founding, Berlin Kids has assisted a number of other bilinugal nursery schools (French-German, Spanish-German) to get started in eastern Berlin. It has also paved the way for several other smaller English-German parent-initiative nursery schools in the area. Thus, Berlin Kids has made a major contribution to the attractiveness and quality of life in Berlin’s eastern districts.
Children and Language Learning
At Berlin Kids, the successful learning of language is done playfully and is tied to every small daily activity. Above all, our children are normal kids who play, paint, sing and learn - but in two languages. Every child is an individual whose capabilities should be nurtured and developed.
About 70% of our children come from international homes, where English is spoken, as well as German, and in some cases also a third language. About 30% of the children come from a German-only home. Berlin Kids children represent some 20 nationalities, from all continents. Berlin Kids strives to place an equal importance on the traditions and cultures of the various English-speaking families.
Scientific studies (see Literature) have shown that the human capacity for language learning is multi-lingual. It is also known that during the primary years this capability for language learning is especially strong. Multi-lingual children, as a rule, have a higher potential for creativity and are more tolerant and open to other languages and cultures.
Our goal is thus to maintain a 70% to 30% language-relationship, with the majority of the children being bilingual. Over the years, we have developed a list of acceptance criteria together with Pfefferwerk in which to select new children without sacrificing our original concept. New children are accepted according to:
- Siblings
- 70/30 English/German relationship
- Age and Gender
The child will lose its place on the waiting list if the parents do not stay in contact with the committee after three months.
District and city
At first it may seem that the parents and children are the only ones who benefit from this parent-initiative KITA. But what does the support of the project bring to the district and the "Senat"?
The "Senat" Berlin and the district Prenzlauer Berg, with their financial support, have had a one-time chance to aid a project in the eastern part of the city. Through the work of the parents, the administration costs are reduced, and they achieve nonetheless a project in the middle and eastern part of the city that benefits the entire community.
The parent-initiative "Berlin Kids - International Kindergarten" is part of an already existing group, Pfefferwerk GmbH, which offers support and advice. Pfefferwerk has for years been an important social-cultural community project in the middle of Berlin and in Prenzlauer Berg. As a sub-project of Pfefferwerk, the KITA will work closely with other projects and initiatives in the districts and therefore become an important face in the social network of Prenzlauer Berg. This includes, for example, taking part in street festivals and other public community events.
The advantage of our new KITA, for Mitte/Prenzlauer Berg and Berlin as a whole, is not only that our parents take over the organization, therefore reducing unnecessary city expenditures, but also that our project helps Berlin move towards becoming a more metropolitan and international capital in the new century.
Berlin, the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, is changing constantly. New construction sites spring up, whole districts are modernized and improved, and people from many different cultures are moving in. Berlin is becoming more international, more colorful and more open to the new and different. With so much diversity, we have a chance to produce a new, more world-responsive cultural capital. A German-English KITA is just a small but important link in the chainwork of groups that is creating in Berlin a metropolis of the future.
Educational Concept, download PDF
