Forest kindergartens can start again before the regular kindergartens. In everyday life, not everything is the same as before the corona lockdown.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen - Jonathan, Rufus and Toni dig in the earth. "Space there. We are construction workers' animals, they shout and shovel on. Five meters away, Matteo, Leo, Luis and Greta scramble from one fallen tree to the next. "I missed the kindergarten insanely," explains six-year-old Matteo. Five-year-old Greta also found it “boring” at home, she says with a sigh.
The girl and the six boys are among the happy children who have been able to go back to their kindergarten, the forest ants Ammerland, for a good week. While this is only permitted in all other facilities for preschool children, their siblings and children with special needs, the forest kindergartens were able to resume normal operation at the end of May. "We, who are often treated as a marginalized group and are not always taken seriously, are very happy to be able to start first," says Bettina Calliari, director of the facility. In the past ten weeks, a maximum of four adolescents have visited emergency care, meanwhile almost all of the 19 forest ants are back in the forest on Riedweg.
"We experience almost normal everyday life here," Calliari reports, while the children romp under the canopy of leaves. There is enough space in nature, and there is no ventilation anyway. You are currently not allowed to use your construction trailer, in which you like to warm up on cold days - too tight. The canister with water on the welcome board is also new. “The children wash their hands when they arrive,” explains the head of the kindergarten. In general, hands are now washed more often in the forest than before - and every child has his own towel in his backpack. Calliari does not perceive the corona rules as a major limitation. "Here you learn to take things the way they are."
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In the Geretsried forest kindergarten in Isartal, things have changed a lot since May 25, compared to before the lockdown. 16 out of 18 children are back on the Böhmwiese. Instead of going into the construction car with them in the rain, head Christian Schretzenmayr is now setting up pavilions. During the common snack, the children sit on cushions with a space between them. And in the afternoon, the parents don't pick up their offspring directly from the trailer, but have to wait for them behind a rope.
"It is nice to see how happy the children are to be back," Schretzenmayr says on the phone. He is pleased that the advantages of a forest kindergarten are now paying off. "We have been promoting health for a long time," he says. A bit of discomfort resonates with Schretzenmayr. "You worry if you can open Lockdown normally after eight weeks." Body contact cannot be avoided when working with children. When he consoles a child, Schretzenmayr puts on a mouth and nose cover.
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In the “Mamma Lupa” forest kindergarten in Wolfratshausen, the supervisors also wear “mouth caps” when accompanying a child to the toilet, for example. "I have the feeling that it's all right for them," says Sarah Obermeier, first chair of the sponsoring association, in an interview with our newspaper. The new rules would be explained every day in the morning circle. They also include the fact that the children no longer hold hands before eating. They now put their feet together for their food saying.
All 18 children were also allowed to return to the Irschenhauser forest kindergarten last week. The reunion after a ten-week break was exciting for many girls and boys, reports head Anette Hemme. "They were really looking forward to their friends and disappeared into the thicket immediately after being greeted."
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Hemme is happy that it will continue, but wonders how the kindergarten fees are now. According to Prime Minister Markus Söder, these should be taken over for three months. Hemme: “You haven't heard anything since. His announcement is currently causing great confusion among parents, porters and the authorities. ”
Kindergarten day is almost over for the forest ants Ammerland. Mama Antonia Dutchman picks up her twins. It is good that the children can regain their strength in the forest kindergarten, even if they are unsettling the situation, she says. The corona virus, something they cannot see, is difficult for children to understand. For five years she had taught her twins to shake hands and to share. Now suddenly that no longer applies. Dutch: "It takes a lot of patience and time to explain that to them."
