Archive - Kitas in Steinfurt

2022

Action week

In line with the story "The Rainbow Fish" we have transformed the adjoining room into an underwater world. Small campaigns will take place here over the next few days.

Be curious what the children experience in the underwater world.

Farewell to Mrs. Kismann

On Tuesday, March 22, the daisy group said goodbye to Ms. Kismann over a leisurely breakfast. She and her husband are going to be foster parents to a boy.
We say goodbye to Mrs. Kismann with mixed feelings. She was a great colleague and educator for the children and she inspired many with her positive charisma.
But we are very happy for the Kismann family about the addition and are excited when they come to visit us.

See you soon Ms. Kismann, have a nice time getting to know each other and all the best.

Visit from the fire department

On March 16, the school children from the corn poppy group received a visit from the Steinfurt fire brigade.
The two firefighters showed the operational clothing of a firefighter and a firefighter.

How do I behave in an emergency? How do I get out of a burning room properly? What do I have to say on the phone if I call the fire brigade? What are the tasks of the fire brigade?
These and many other questions could be clarified in the morning.

Thank you to the firefighters for taking the time.

2021

New games and books

We received sponsorship from Stadtwerke Steinfurt. Together with the children, we decided to refresh our Tip-Toi range.
The corn poppy children ultimately decided what exactly we order. Now everything is being tried diligently.

Our St. Martin time

Now everyone help in any way they can

and start sharing.

And be it small and be it plain,

Bring your light into the darkness.

In the last few weeks, St. Martin has accompanied us in our kindergarten days.

Together with their parents, the children designed beautiful lanterns. We read St. Martin's story in the groups and the children had the opportunity to role-play as St. Martin, the poor man and the horse. Of course there was also a lot of singing and handicrafts.

In the cross-group "Hello God" rounds, the topic of sharing and St. Martin was discussed with Ms. Brebaum. The children of the corn poppy group played the story of St. Martin to the children of the other groups.

On November 11th, 2021 the time had finally come, the children proudly carried their lanterns at the St. Martin procession around the Tiggelsee.

As in every year, food donations for the Steinfurter Tafel were collected again this year. We will hand over these donations to the Steinfurter Tafel together with the children over the next few days.

Kibaz

On October 20th, 32 children successfully took part in the Kibaz (Children's Movement Badge). The hard-working helpers from the Gymnastics Association have come up with many great stations that the children mastered. The children could climb up a mountain on a wall bars, crawl through a tunnel, balance across a gorge or even show their talent in building houses and towers. But throwing and recognizing objects under a swing sheet was also tested.

In the end, all the children successfully mastered the stations and received a great certificate. Congratulations on this great achievement!

World Children's Day campaign

On September 24, 2021, we celebrated World Children's Day with a family party. All families were invited to spend a happy afternoon in the kindergarten.

To pass the time, you could do handicrafts together or conjure up giant soap bubbles. The children especially had a lot of fun on the wheel of fortune and on the carousel.

For refreshment in between, there were grilled sausages, waffles and popcorn.

We received a lot of support from the association, the parents' council of the kindergarten and from Ms. Schwarthoff.

Thank you very much.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!

When we looked outside on Monday morning, we saw a beautiful large Christmas tree.

The association wanted to do something good for us and felled this tree in the forest and put it up with us.

That was a great surprise. Thanks so much. We were very pleased. Now all we have to do is make some jewelry for it to make it even more beautiful.

City cycling

This year we took part in city cycling again. With a total number of kilometers of 3672 km, we were the most successful day care center for cyclists.

We received the gold award for this.

Congratulations to all hard-working cyclists.

Farewell to Helga Ewering

On July 1st, Ms. Ewering said "Goodbye to you beautiful kindergarten days". After 44 years we said goodbye to Helga Ewering in her well-deserved retirement. Even the sky was sad and so we had to move our breakfast together into the house. We were able to celebrate a great farewell with two rewritten songs by Mrs. Ruschulte.

As a surprise, Helga has ordered an ice cream truck for all children and adults. The ice cream tasted delicious.

We would like to thank Helga Ewering for many great years and are happy that we were able to get to know her, whether professionally or privately.

Goodbye dear Mrs. Ewering :-)

From caterpillar to butterfly

Especially in spring, a lot of things in nature begin to change.

In the poppy group, caterpillars had a special place. It was exciting to watch the caterpillars eat themselves fat. They then pupate and need a lot of rest. After some time, the caterpillars slipped out of their cocoon and became beautiful butterflies, like in the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". Things got exciting when the butterflies were released into the wild. Some needed some help and some flew right off. A few courageous children carefully took the butterflies on their fingers.

Perhaps someone will see one of our butterflies from time to time.

Rubbish detectives in the Willibrord kindergarten

On a walk around the kindergarten, the dandelion children discovered that there were many things in nature that didn't belong there. This quickly developed into a rubbish project, because the children were highly motivated to collect it. With garbage tongs borrowed from the neighboring elementary school, the garbage detectives then set out to clear the area around the kindergarten of garbage. The children then sorted the rubbish and thus got to know the different colored rubbish bins. The topic was deepened using photos and everyday rubbish, movement games, videos and discussions. At the end, the children have earned a medal.

Insights from Lent

"Let the good in you grow..."

In the weeks before Easter - Lent- we paid attention to our senses.

In the first week of our fasting project, we dealt with our eyes. The children led each other through a parkour with one child wearing a blindfold and the other child being the leader. This week we were also accompanied by the story of Bartimaeus.

In the second week we listened more closely: "You did a great job!", "That's a great picture!", "But you can sing beautifully!". Giving compliments is not that easy, but when you get them, you are very happy. We watched the movie "Frederick" together. There Frederick collects not only supplies for the winter, but also words and colors.

In the third week we dealt with the hands. We also heard the story of the good Samaritan and acted it out in a role-playing game. With a touch memory, we had to concentrate well and could only recognize different objects by touch.

In the fourth week we heard the story of Jesus and the children. There Jesus blessed the children with his lips. We also gave each other blessings.

In the fifth week, our feet took center stage. We heard the story of Jesus and the paralytic. We massaged our feet with hedgehog balls and feathers. We use our barefoot path to feel different materials and our feet.

In the sixth and final week before Easter we read the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. We baked together and thought about heart's desires, which we wrote on self-designed hearts. We ended Lent with a breakfast together at Easter.

If you want to read or hear the stories, lyrics and songs again, you can check out the archive. There you will find all documents from Lent.

"The great storm" - a biblical story is re-enacted

You can see a boat in our porch. This symbolizes the religious story "The Great Storm".
The children acted out the story with Mrs. Kisman.

If you click on the boat, you can see the story. Have fun.

Lent at home

Dear families,
we want to focus this year's Lent on the theme "Let the good in you grow".
You might be thinking, “What does Lent have to do with growing? Isn't this about giving up chocolate and gummy bears?"
Let's find out together. Every Monday morning a new button opens for you, filled with ideas, suggestions, stories, songs and prayers that want to let the good in us grow.
Let's discover our senses and draw new strength on a common path.
We wish you a lot of joy.

Eyes

Eyes that see...

Fasting Experiment
How about exploring your surroundings
over the next few days with your eyes wide open perceive to:

See what we otherwise miss
Seeing the familiar with new eyes
discovering new things in others and in me
Focusing on what really matters.

As a family, think about what it would mean for you to go for a week without television, video, computers, and cell phones. How would you use the free time,
how would it change your everyday life, what exactly would you miss?
We are excited to see what discoveries you will make...

Bartimaeus
www.youtube.com/watch</ <br /> https://www.die-bibel.de/media/articles/pdf/4273_dokument .pdf

Craft and game idea

Take a hike with the family - with particularly wide eyes. what do you perceive You might discover something you've never seen before... a mirror or magnifying glass will help you get a new perspective. Allow yourself to be blindfolded (and perhaps guided by someone) part of the way - on a safe route. How does that feel?

Perhaps you are looking for another game idea for the forest walk? All you need is a 10-egg carton and the master copy at the end of the letter. You are already equipped for a round of “nature bingo”. In a team or individually - who will find the treasures they are looking for in the forest, garden or park? (Alternatively: Instead of looking for specific things, the game can also be modified as color bingo.)

Song Thank you God you gave me eyes www.youtube.com/watch p>

Prayer
Lord, give us open eyes - for the beauty of nature, the wonders of your creation, all
the good and wonderful that surrounds us. Let's take a close look at what's around
happens. Open our eyes so that we can also see when something is not good. Show us where
our help is needed and we can be there for others. Lord let us grow in you.

Here you will find a coloring picture to print out and color in and a template for a Nature bingo.

Ears

Ears that hear...

Fasting Experiment
This week we invite you to shut up and open your ears to

listening to what we otherwise tend to miss
listen more carefully to what others want to tell us
quiet and listen to us
listening to God's word with more openness

"Hearing" is mostly done on the side - we do 1000 other things. This week may
be different: maybe you want to think about which song, which radio play,
which podcast you want to listen to together - with full attention, maybe with
closed eyes. Maybe you want to call someone you haven't talked to
in a while heard more?

History of Frederick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPyH_EyWBs0

Song
Thank you God you gave me eyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ffu1146UJU

Prayer
Lord, let's be quiet. So that we can listen to what is important. So that we don't
ignore when others need our help. So that we are open to what you tell us
want. Thank you for always having an open ear for us.

Here you will find a coloring picture to print out and color in.

Hands

Hands giving…

Fasting Experiment
Our hands are often our most important "helpers" - they have a lot of strength and can do so many things
are used and therefore rarely come to rest. Let's be special this week
perceive how and for what we use our hands:

Have my hands done you any good today?
Have my hands done the little chores I've been given at home today?
Have my hands surprised anyone today, made them happy?
Did my hands help anyone today?
Did my hands hurt anyone today?

Story of Good Samaritans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-00tRKyxEsE < /p>

Suggestion
Living Easter nest
You need a bowl, some soil and some
cress seeds or wheat grains. When you order the seeds
sow the 5th Sunday of Lent, put in a bright place and
water regularly, you may soon discover that they
swell, germinate, small roots and leaves
develop.

Song
Thank you God you gave me eyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ffu1146UJU

Prayer
Good God,
I have folded my hands now because I want to talk to you.
My hands, my fingers are important. I can do a lot with them.
I can talk to them and tell them something about myself - without words.
But the others still feel and understand it.
I want to make sure I do good things with my hands.
Thank you for my hands, good God! Amen.

Here you will find a coloring picture to print out and color in.

Lips

Lips that bless...

Fasting Experiment
How many words do we speak every day? What do our words do to others? How do I set
my vote? How does my "yes" change when I say it loudly, softly, softly, sadly, angry,
happy, anxious or bored?
This week, we invite you to use your words mindfully and...

Saying good words to encourage others.
to refrain from hurtful words and arguments.
Thinking: When is a "thank you" important to us, when does a "please" make the question friendlier, where do we gather our courage and apologize?

God wants us to talk to him in prayer - to tell him what is troubling us or happy. We may also for our family, friends, for all people in the world pray for him to bless them. Let's take time this week to say to God in prayer tell.

A story from the Bible
The Blessing of the Children
Mark 10:13-16
Children were brought to him so that he could touch them. But the disciples rebuked the people.
When Jesus saw this, he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me;
don't stop them! For such as they belong to the kingdom of God. Amen, I say to you:
Anyone who does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. And he
took the children in his arms; then he laid hands on them and blessed them.
(in http://www.allesumdiekinderkirche.de/textsuche/index.htm)

Family discussion

Has anyone told me something that has blessed me? carried me?
Have I ever said something to someone that helped, comforted, carried, blessed them?
In what situations might one say a blessing to someone?
Can you bless someone with words to carry them in the next few days?

Song Thank you God you gave me eyes www.youtube.com/watch

Prayer
Dear God, thank you for my vote. I enjoy trying them out, yelling as loud as I can,
and to whisper very softly. With my voice I can imitate animals and invent words that don't actually exist.
I think it's wonderful that I can do so much with my voice and
that there are people who can rejoice with me.
Amen.

Here you will find a coloring picture to print out and color in.

Feet

Feet that carry us...

Fasting Experiment
Our feet carry us through life. We walk our ways with them, sometimes "only" to the car or the bus, other times they pedal hard.
We walk over hill and dale, over soft meadows and in the water. Some surfaces are pleasant to walk on, others feel shaky or uncomfortable.
What do you think of, where have your feet taken you, for which paths are you grateful?
Try to pay attention to this week: when is it worth putting your feet up and consciously taking a break. And when is a certain determination required?
Some people are on their feet a lot because they don't have a permanent home and are always looking for new places to live and sleep.
Also, many people are still on the move in search of a safe place to live, fleeing across many countries and seas.
Let's consciously take them into prayer this week.

A story from the Bible
The Bible also tells us a story of how a man "gets back on his feet" in encountering Jesus. This man was paralyzed and could not walk at all. He lay on his bed at home all day and was very sad. Because he could no longer be among the people, he had the feeling that he no longer belonged. Only the visit of his four friends in the evening cheered him up. Once his friends came to him: “Jesus is here, he is in Capernaum today. You absolutely have to come with me." they shouted. But he couldn't walk. He wanted to see Jesus because he had heard so much about him. Maybe Jesus could help him. But how was he supposed to get there? His friends just took his bed and lifted him up. The bed back then was like a mat that friends could easily carry. So they ran to Jesus. Jesus was in a house with a flat roof. But so many people wanted to hear Jesus that there was no room in the house for the friends. They looked in through the window, but everything was full. "How do we get to Jesus now?" the friends thought. They were determined to bring their sick friend to Jesus. "Jesus can help him." they thought. They looked around and saw a stairway leading to the roof. They quickly carried the paralyzed man up the stairs to the roof and began digging a hole in the roof. Soon they could see into the house from above. Below them they saw Jesus. The four friends carefully lowered the man from above, and he landed right at Jesus' feet. Jesus stopped speaking and looked at the paralyzed man. He saw his friends up on the roof and Jesus saw that they believed that he could help. Then Jesus said to him: "God gives you the strength and courage to stand on your feet again. You should feel the ground beneath you again and the strength within you. You should stand with your feet up. That's why I say to you: Get up and go!" Then something miraculous happened that the paralyzed man could not explain. Jesus holds his hands and pulls him up very carefully. Suddenly the man feels a strength and joy in himself that he has never experienced before. He stands there and takes a step. “This is the step into your new life” says Jesus to him.
(according to Mark 2:1-12)

Foot Art
Let's bring spring into the house and spoil our feet with a short tickling massage. Take off your shoes and socks and paint the soles of your feet with bright colors. Then you stand on a piece of paper and you already have a colorful footprint. With a second footprint and some paint, a colorful butterfly is created on a flower meadow. So a whole family of butterflies can flutter across the meadow, with children's feet, daddy's feet and mum's feet.

Song
Thank you God you gave me eyes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ffu1146UJU

Prayer
Good God, it's so nice to walk barefoot, feel the soft grass, bury your feet in the sand, wade through the creek and so much more.
Thank you that there are so many beautiful things that I can feel with my feet.
Amen.

Here you will find a coloring picture to print out and color in.

Heart

Hearts that open...

Dear families,
you have just opened the last letter of Lent. How have you experienced the past few weeks? Have you been able to let the good in you grow? Did one of the letters inspire you to experience one or the other moment more mindfully? Did one of the letters inspire you to take a closer look and listen, helped you to an unexpected experience or gave you a nice family moment? That would be so nice...
Today begins the last week of fasting - the so-called Holy Week. Again and again in the past letters it was about consciously discovering God's work and God's love in the insignificant and everyday. Mostly it was things that we can hear or see. Now we invite you to feel what we can only feel deep in our hearts:
Joy - like Jesus' happy entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday;
Fellowship and love - like the last supper and the washing of feet on Maundy Thursday;
Sorrow we feel at the death of Jesus on Good Friday and
Hope that Jesus will be resurrected.

Deep feelings that lead us to Easter, which we can celebrate next week. We look forward to accompanying you through this very special week of fasting and this time we invite you to open your hearts wide. Let the good in you grow.
Your team at the St. Willibrord Family Center

Fasting Experiment
Who are you? This isn't just a question about your name. It's more about what really makes you who you are. God doesn't care what you look like, whether you do well in school, or whether you have particularly great toys. He only looks inside you and what you do "from the heart". Let's try to place less value on externals this week and for example: • be more original and "real", get a look for "inner beauty" • perceive which feelings accompany us through the day • be more open, compassionate and warm to reach out to others • to share with one another • to settle disputes and celebrate reconciliation • to open our hearts to feel God's love

A story from the Bible
Jesus had come to Jerusalem - as the king of men, very modestly, riding on a donkey. So many cheered him on. But Jesus knows that he has enemies who cannot believe that he really is the Son of God. They want to condemn and kill him. Jesus celebrates one last big feast with his friends to show them how much he loves them:

The Last Supper
It was at the Last Supper. Jesus knew that he would now die and thus go to God. He loved his disciples. He wanted to show them that until the end. So he got up from the table. He tied a linen cloth around his belt. Then he washed the disciples' feet. He dried her with the linen towel.
Simon Peter said to him, "You cannot wash my feet. Only servants wash people's feet. You must not do that!” But Jesus said, “I must wash you. Otherwise you do not belong to me.” When Jesus had washed the feet of all the disciples, he said: “Do you understand what I have done? i am your master Yes, I really am. And yet I washed your feet. This is an example for you. You should serve each other. Just like you saw me."
(from "The Bible for Sunday Painters 2015" based on John 13:1-15)

Physical exercise: feel your heartbeat
Take hold of your heart, feel the rhythm. how does it beat How many punches can you count? Now run around the table or dance and jump to loud music. How is your heartbeat changing? When you're excited or angry, when you're quietly reading a book or when you're engrossed in a game - what's your heartbeat like? A good practice to notice how your body reacts to feelings and moods.

Recipes

Unleavened flatbread
250g flour, 125ml water, a large pinch of salt, 1-2 tbsp oil
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and knead well. Depending on the type of flour, you may need a little more water (wholemeal flour absorbs more water and ends up being a little firmer than "white" flour). Divide the large ball of dough into several bun-sized pieces. Flatten them or roll them out with a rolling pin. The flat cakes are now baked on a baking sheet in the oven at 150° for around 20 minutes. If you prick them with a fork beforehand, fewer bubbles will form during baking.

Baked yeast
400g flour (wheat and spelled are also welcome), 40g sugar or 1 tablespoon honey, a pinch of cardamom if you like, 1 pinch of salt, 10g fresh yeast, 150g warm

2020

Wonderful Advent and Christmas season!

Advent is the best time of the year! We eagerly await Christmas, when we will remember the birth of Jesus Christ.

Each group has decorated their group room for Christmas. The children learned the Christmas carols to chanting and clapping or singing along diligently outside.

Every day, a story was told about the Advent path that took us together on the journey of Mary and Joseph. Thanks to the advent calendar, the children could see how long it was until Christmas.

In addition to handicrafts and painting, the children had the opportunity to make chocolate pralines. As a Christmas present for the parents, there was a towel with the saying "Helping Hands" and the children's respective handprints.

Helping each other became especially important this Christmas. So we got in the mood for a nice but different Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Parents digging

The fathers, mothers and their children were hard-working and beautified our outdoor area with a big digging campaign on a Saturday. Lawn edges that grew beyond the paving were trimmed. A fresh border was drawn around the swings and other play equipment and the areas were filled with sand.
It was a sweaty but successful campaign.
We would like to thank all diggers for their hard work!

Kibaz

On October 14, 2020, 20 children mastered the Kibaz (Child Movement Badge). They put their skills to the test at many exciting movement construction sites.
At the end you received a certificate and a little surprise.
It was an exciting and moving afternoon. We would like to thank all the helpers from the Turnerbund for the great preparation and implementation.