Columbus

We offer emotional security by ensuring a good atmosphere, including greeting by name, showing interest, offering help, learning to ask for help, humor, joking and having fun, caring for each other, listening to each other, giving lots of compliments, make eye contact. But also by being clear and consistent, explaining why we do or do not do things and we are honest and offer structure.

We create safe development situations by offering children a fixed morning program with 2 development-oriented activity blocks for 3- and 4-year-olds together. We also offer enough moments of rest and free play, so the children can explore and discover.

We encourage the development of personal competences by challenging the toddlers to climb, glide, run, cycle or dance. By trial and error they discover their own physical talents and the opportunities of the environment. But also by reading together or telling stories, making things, drawing, arts and crafts (tinkering) and doing some language games in Dutch and English and math games.

The development-oriented activity blocks  are supervised by a Dutch-speaking pedagogical staff member and an English-speaking pedagogical staff member from school. We encourage children by letting them try something new every time and give them the time for it, give compliments, join the game or offer new game material. By actively looking at what children pay attention to and what they are doing, we offer activities that suit their development and interest.

Our group rooms are designed with challenging play material that children invite to various activities such as playing games, a group activity, reading, singing, music or crafts. There is a lot of attention for circle discussions to encourage language development. We use gestures and pictures when needed. And for games with numbers. In preparation for the primary school.

We offer care to children from 4-13 years old after school or during holidays the entire day.  

We think it’s very important to offer the possibility to relax and tell there story after a long schoolday.

Emotional security

We offer emotional security by ensuring a good atmosphere, for example by showing interest, humor, caring for each other, being positive, listen and making eye contact. There is plenty of room for children's own opinions and wishes and we encourage the children's involvement in problem-solving. We also offer emotional security by being clear and consistent, giving explanations, being honest and offering structure. By offering moments of rest, having fun with the children and creating safe but sufficiently challenging activities, we stimulate the well-being of children. Emotional safety also means giving us more freedom and independence for children, showing confidence in children and the agreements we make. That increases the self-confidence of children.

Development

We encourage the development of personal competences by supporting children with new things they want to try and give them time, resources and space for them, asking questions and showing interest. Our location is designed so that children are invited and challenged to various activities such as playing games, crafts in the studio, doing experiments with color, smell and taste, baking and cooking in the kitchen, chilling in the living room, reading in the library, building or design in the construction corner, acting in the dress up corner. Or, of course, run outside, play, enjoy yourself and participate in a sports activity.