KOMPAN

KOMPAN kindergarten

For children between 2 and 6 years, play is the main source of development. If allowed to,  children this age simply cannot help moving! A varied kindergarten playground is an important tool for the young children to be active and build up physical, social, cognitive, creative and emotional competences. In Denmark, KOMPAN has its own kindergarten, The Four Seasons, populated by 30  young children from the Ringe area. The kindergarten lives out the philosophy of KOMPAN, built on a strong belief in the importance of free outdoor play and children’s right to play. 80% of the time is spent outdoors in a landscaped play garden of 3000 m2.


The Kindergarten functions as a home: after all, the children spend almost all day here. So apart from playing, they can participate in tasks around the house, garden or hencoop together with the 5 caretakers. They could also sit by the bonfire, draw at the veranda or build their own stuff with real hammers, nails and saws. No gardener is employed to do the gardening, no chef to do the cooking. Gardening and cooking are part of the daily life of the kindergarten.


The Four Seasons turned 10 this January, and the experiences of having a kindergarten as a play garden, on the children’s premises, so far are amazing: Healthy, harmonic children, full of play -  all day!  Thus the kindergarten kept its three promises to the parents: When they pick up the children in the afternoon the children will be:  Dirty - from playing outdoors, tired – from playing outdoors, and happy – from playing outdoors.


In 2005 The Four Seasons was top scorer in a survey on contentment made by the Association of Local Government in Denmark Source: Association of Local Government in Denmark, Section of Economic Analyses and Trade, www.kl.dk/brugerundersøgelser . In 36 selected Danish daycare institutions parents and employees have been asked to give their opinion on the institution. As much as 94 % of the parents in The Four Seasons are ”very satisfied” against a national average of 40.4 %. The remaining 6 % of the parents in The Four Seasons are ”satisfied”.

As regards ”The ability of the kindergarten to promote the well-being of the children” the KOMPAN kindergarten has nothing but satisfied parents.


Manager of The Four Seasons, Kirsten Bjerre, says: ”For 10 years The Four Seasons was a place where children feel absolutely at home, and where we let them play as much as they want. Gross motor play is very much in focus, and we believe that most activities can take place outdoors. We have chicken, an adventure playground, a KOMPAN playground, a vegetable patch, a veranda with ghetto blaster as well as a place for making a fire – but we have no staff room, because children and adults do most things together.” 


Facts:
Name: The Four Seasons Kindergarten
Erected:  January 1996
Size: 3000 m2, house 212 m2
Capacity/employees: 30 children aged 3-6, 5 adult caretakers


Children do not have to ask for what is their right: They have the right to play!