Welcome to the forest spirits of Poing!
Created: 03/30/2022, 06:00
By: Armin Roesl
The children made forest spirits to match the name of the group.
© Johannes Dziemballa
Children's laughter resounds through the forest, birds chirp, cars rush by: in the Lindacher forest, near the FTO, forest spirits and co meet. We visited them.
Poing – The birds are chirping, the sun is sending its first warm rays of spring through the trees, the forest spirits are dancing on the ground.
forest spirits?
Yes!
That's the name of the new forest play group of the Poinger Root Children's Association, which meets every Thursday afternoon in the Lindacher Grove.
Forest educator Andrea Eicher directs the forest spirits.
© Johannes Dziemballa
The eleven girls and boys between the ages of four and seven hold home-made forest spirits in their hands: walnuts wrapped in white cloth with a painted face hanging on branches.
Birds are chirping, children are laughing, cars are humming: the Flughafentangente Ost (FTO) rushes in the background, passing close to the Lindach Forest.
It doesn't matter, there is still a beautiful oasis here - for adults who go for a walk or jog here, and for children at the forest playground set up by the Root Children's Association.
The association has set up a small natural playground in the forest.
© Johannes Dziemballa
Andrea Eicher tells the children a story about the "Smiling Lynxes" Indian tribe.
Whenever there are noises, the 56-year-old forest teacher asks the children to imitate the sounds.
The whinnying of a horse, the howling of Indians, the trampling of horses' hooves.
And in the end, everyone makes a rattlesnake rattle out of branch forks and used bottle caps.
Equipped with this and a feather in their hair, they explore the forest together with Eicher.
Five forest playgroups
The Poinger Root Children Association offers five playgroups in the Lindacher Forest.
The
"grasshoppers"
(children from one to three years accompanied by their parents), on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The
"Moosmutzel"
(children from one to three years accompanied by their parents), Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The
"Frechdachse"
(children from five to seven years without parents), Wednesdays from 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
The
"Waldgeister"
(children from four to seven years without parents), Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The
"Schlaufüchse"
(children aged eight and over without parents), Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m.
Information at www.waldkindergarten-poing.de
Two forest kindergarten, the rest "house children": This is how the group is currently made up.
Andrea Eicher calls those children who do not go to the Poinger forest kindergarten “house children”.
This is not even a prerequisite for the total of five forest play groups offered by the association.
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Ebersberg newsletter.)
Four-year-old Frieda, for example, is a “house child”.
Although, she is actually an "outside child", as her mother Julia Himpsl says.
"Frieda loves to be outside, also in our garden." The four-year-old goes to a normal kindergarten, the mother sees the forest playgroup as "a really nice balance to everyday life," she says, while she and her daughter crown caps in their midst a hole is to thread on a string for the rattlesnake rattle.
Frieda has been in the play groups of the Poinger root children since she was one and a half years old.
"We've been here in all weathers, even when it was ankle-deep," says the mother and smiles.
The forest play groups meet not far from the forest kindergarten in the Lindacher forest.
© Johannes Dziemballa
Sharpening the senses for nature, discovering new things, being mindful in the forest, noticing smells and noises, getting to know wild herbs and other plants - all this and much more awaits the children in the forest play group of the "Waldgeister".
Parents only accompany the girls and boys at the first meeting or the trial lesson.
Otherwise, the forest spirits stay among themselves for two hours.
Relatively close to civilization, i.e. the FTO - and yet in the middle of a different, natural world.
You can find more current news from the district of Ebersberg at Merkur.de/Ebersberg.
