Montessori Kinder Barcelona
International Multilingual Center for Children aged 0-6
Our Ethos
Linguistic immersion
We promote the acquisition of each language at a native level through daily interactions between children and teachers. In each group learning is through 100% immersion in English, German, Spanish and Catalan.
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Working with parents
The link between Kinder and our families is a key part of the great work of parenting. We aim to communicate with families on a daily basis, at ‘drop off’ and at collection of the children and through the groups’ online diaries which document activities and photos.
Our professional team includes teachers with degrees in child development or related disciplines and includes a psychopedagogue, a pediatrician and a doctoral director in pedagogy. Team members are available for meetings and consultations on demand regarding issues of parenting, education and physical and emotional health.
The adaptation process
The child and their family are able to become familiar with the educator, the space and the other children and their families through our adaptation process. The goal is to build a bond with more adults and requires a bond of trust between the child, their family and the educator.
Low child to adult ratios
In order for the teachers to be aware of the needs and interests of each child, they require a low ratio in a small group. By recognising each child’s starting point, the teacher can optimise their development in all areas, including cognitive, emotional, social, linguistic and psychomotor.
Our Pedagogy
Our curriculum is enriched by the ideas of alternative pedagogies, based on research in pedagogy and psychology and on educational practices that postulate the positive uniqueness of child development, as opposed to the concept of the child as a small imperfect adult.
We believe that free play within a prepared environment is the tool of knowledge par excellence in early childhood. Maria Montessori called this type of play ‘children’s work’. Each environment is prepared with specific play and learning materials for each age group with 100% complete Montessori materials in each group. 2 Montessori Institutes in Barcelona are sending their students and tutors to carry out their internships with us. (IMI: https://montessorispace.com and Montessori Canela: https://www.montessoricanela.es)
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Emmi Pikler developed and implemented the concept of free movement as fundamental for physical and emotional wellbeing of the child and this is reflected in the design of furniture for each age group, including ramps and drawers adapted to the age of each group.
We encourage creativity, reflection and dialogue, allowing children creative expression without a focus on the aesthetic or appraisals (following the concepts of Arno Stern). This allows children to be creative and connect with their emotions and thoughts, without judgment.
Children are encouraged to express their individual emotions and manage them in interpersonal conflicts. This is what Howard Gardner calls ‘interpersonal intelligence and intrapersonal intelligence’.
Our Food
Kinder is committed to environmental sustainability. Our 100% organic food from Nabibi Vital Cooking catering is not only a healthy option for our children, it is also a sustainable option for our planet. Nabibi’s fresh fish is from near the port of Barcelona and the beef is from the Pyrenees. The menu does not contain sugar, eggs, cow’s milk, gluten or soya to avoid common allergies and vegan or vegetarian options are also available. Nabibi does not freeze food and has a kitchen which uses gas and iron and stainless steel utensils. Monthly menus are distributed to parents as well as recommendations for dinners at home. Nabibi offers the take away option of our organic menu for families.
Our environment
We encourage the children to develop a relationship with the natural environment around them and to understand the processes of agriculture. Children over the age of three attend a weekly permaculture workshop at the Connecthort community garden, where they sow, plant, water, fertilize and harvest.
We promote links with the neighborhood and local community because we believe that the neighborhood can function as a ‘big classroom of real life’ in which children can experience new activities, communities and places, exploring more natural environments like the beach or parks. We follow the principles of Reggio Emilia’s pedagogy (1945) focussing on learning in the environment.
We are also committed to sustainability with regards to our building spaces, which are old properties we have recovered, reconditioned and rehabilitated. We clean our spaces daily using environmentally friendly products. We also use environmentally friendly diapers and wipes to help reduce our carbon footprint.
We are members of neighborhood associations and take part in the organization of local events and solidarity campaigns.
