Where to find English education for your children
If you were asked to mention a few of the good reasons for living in Munich, you would probably think of the plethora of leisure activities, the low crime rate or the idyllic Bavarian countryside. What you might forget, however, is one aspect that is particularly important to the English-speaking community—the large number and wide range of English preschools in the city. If you’re not sure what exactly is on offer, read on …
For those of you looking for a kindergarten, where languages spoken are not limited to German, Munich has at least four locations to choose from. The Rainbow Preschool e.V. (Josef-Retzer-Str. 46, Tel. 82 97 90 03, www.rainbowpreschool.de) was set up as a parents’ initiative but is run by trained professionals according to the principles of the Italian educator Maria Montessori. Montessori (1870–1952) pioneered a style of teaching that allows young children to follow their own interests within a structured environment, encourages them to be self-reliant and sees the teacher less as an authority figure and disciplinarian than as a facilitator. Though each Montessori school may interpret the principles a little differently, common denominators are a gentle learning environment with plenty of practical activities and a lot of parental participation. Rainbow hours are daily from 8.30 am to 2 pm. Like most of the preschools listed here, Rainbow receives only nominal financial support from the City of Munich, so expect to pay around € 300 a month as well as a one-off fee when you register your child.
Also set up as a parents’ initiative, and teaching according to Montessori, is the preschool Chocolate Butterflies (Gaissacher Str. 21, Tel. 746 07 00, www.chocolate-butterflies.de). Chocolate Butterflies likes to emphasize the bilingual aspect of its school, which means that children will be spoken to in the teacher’s native tongue of either German or English. One advantage for working parents is that the kindergarten offers 15 whole-day places (7:30 am–5:30 pm), though as with all the preschools mentioned here you will need to get your application in early. Fees are around € 215 a month for a half-day place plus registration fee.
One of the oldest English preschools in Munich is the Education—English Montessori Preschool. The center, which takes children aged two to seven, is proud of the fact that it is licensed by the Bavarian government, which, in the past, has had a reputation of frowning on any form of “experimental” education. Located in an attractive old townhouse in Laim (Perhamer Str. 49, Tel. 546 08 55, www.englishmontessori.de), the school has a teacher/child ratio of about 1/7 and runs morning, afternoon and full-day sessions.
Another one you might like to try is the Montessori Kindergarten Munich (Espenstr. 1a, Tel. 354 1752, www.montessori-ami-edu.de). Close to the Olympic Park, this small (15–22 children) kindergarten, open daily from 8 am to 2 pm, provides an imaginative environment for both English and German-speaking children.
One establishment that follows no particular educational creed, but offers a program aimed at encouraging children’s play and social skills, is Sticky Fingers (Erzgiessereistr. 30, Tel. 86 46 61 18, www.stickyfingers-munich.com), run by Brit Lara Kroll. Recently moved to new premises close to the tram lines 20 and 21, the play center is aimed at ten-month to six-year-old children. <<
