📌 About project 1: Teddybär

WHAT?

Our group is an initiative by parents who want to secure high quality care for their children and located in the 7^th district of Vienna (Wimbergergasse 13). We are a children´s group for up to 14 children between the age of two to six. The children are supported by a team of early childhood educators, daily work includes outdoors and group activities, sports, preparing food and assisting the kids with all their needs during daytime.

Our three kindergarten teachers closely work together with the parents, who play an important role in the organisation of the kindergarten. They cook meals, keep the garden, and help taking care of the children if need be. They are also involved in all decisions concerning the children, the site, and the activities of the group.

The small group and a co-operative approach enable the children to develop their social, intellectual and motoric skills according to their needs and with all the time they need. Our kindergarten teachers have been working for Teddybär for some years and are experienced in handling all possible activities, new group situations and occurring difficulties. We have been working with volunteers for some time and experiences have always been positive – for the children as well as for the volunteers.

ACTIVITIES:

Regular activities of the group are:

Outdoor days
Visits to museums, theatres or similar
PE-trainings (at gyms, swimming, ice-skating etc.)
Indoor activities according to given themes or needs of the group (music, movement, creativity, language, pre-school-trainings etc.)

As a volunteer, you will be working with a team of early childhood educators and get the chance of deeper insights in the work with children aged two to six. You will:

Support the educators in their work, which includes an interesting daily routine for the children
Have the chance to learn German and some of the cultural surroundings in Vienna
Train your communication and social skills
Bring in your own ideas, plan and realize activities with the children under competent supervision
Share your language and cultural background
Get to know the organizational structure of an NGO
A typical day could look like this:
8:00 – 10:00: welcoming of the children. Breakfast; children can engage in free play, creative work and activities offered by the kindergarten teachers
12:30: Lunchtime. You will have your lunch together with the children.
13:00 – 14:00: Calmer phase of resting and reading
14:00: flexible time. Create own projects and support the daily rhythm of the kindergarten. The rest of the day (normally: till 17:00, Monday 16:30, Friday 16:00) can be spent in free play, in the outdoor area or with other activities.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

Ideally you should be interested in working with children and taking part in the above mentioned activities. All young people who are interested are invited to apply.

📌 About project 2: Amerlinghaus

WHAT?

It is a kindergarten located in the 7^th district of Vienna (Kindergruppe means children´s group in German). The Amerlinghaus is a cultural centre, built in the early 19^th century and named after the painter Friedrich Amerling. Since the 1970s the Amerlinghaus hosts a number of NGO´s in the cultural and social field.

The Kindergruppe is organized and run by parents. It hosts up to 13 children between the age of three to six. Pedagogical work follows the principles of Maria Montessori and Rebecca Wild. Through our activities, children shall be supported in their social, motoric, cognitive, creative and emotional intelligence and find the space to grow themselves.

ACTIVITIES:

As an ESC volunteer, you are expected to spend around 30-38 hours per week in the kindergarten and support the staff with daily activities. You are granted the opportunity to improve your language skills and to get important insights into the work with children. All our kindergarten teachers are well trained and support the group with their various backgrounds.

You will support our kindergarten teachers with their work, especially when the group is having lunch or they go out on playgrounds, museums and so on. And we want to encourage you to share your cultural backgrounds with us. What can be done, depends on the knowledge of the volunteers. For example, one of our last volunteers had good practice in working with children and was a good musician. She therefore could offer polish songs to the group, which the children enjoyed.

A day in our Kindergarten can look like the following:

8.30 h – 10.00 h

Arrival of the children, they decide themselves what they want to play; breakfast will be prepared

10.00 h – 12.30

Circle session or any other prepared session guided by one of the teachers with different content (e.g. music, fairy tales, creative painting or little hand crafts, working with Montessori material, excursions, gymnastics or different games which play with all senses).

Lunch (12.30 h)

The lunch is one of the main fixed rituals, after lunchtime there is a space for relaxing and digesting. As a volunteer, you are expected to take your lunch together with the kids.

Afternoon

Usually in the afternoon the main focus is on playing especially outside or „doing nothing“; children get picked up by their parents

14.30 h

The group is getting smaller, after noon break with, individual activities can be done.

Fixed weekly activities are: toy day (Monday), gymnastics (Tuesday), excursion (Thursday) and rhythmic (Friday). The Kindergruppe is closed during Austrian public holidays as well as during summer holidays. We are hosting ESC volunteers only between September and July.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

As a volunteer, you should be interested in and willing to work with children. No further skills or experiences are required.

📌 About project 3:

WHAT?

We provide after-school care for 14 children between six and eight years of age. Kiriku is located between the 6^th and 7^th district of Vienna. We are open from Monday to Friday from 12:00 to 17:30. Kiriku is run by a board which consists of the parents of the kids. In the ‘Kindergruppe’ itself there are two full-time caretakers, who have a pedagogical background and also attended some external training, like Montessori-courses etc. Both are very warm-hearted, patient, and competent people, who are doing the best to provide a nice and warm atmosphere and also support the international volunteers in the best way they can.

Our main goals are to let our children live their fantasy and their own ideas and to provide them safe surroundings so that they can express their own opinions and learn to become socially responsible. We also want to stimulate curiosity and open minds for people with different cultural backgrounds and provide the opportunity to learn other languages, what we see as key to understand people from other parts of this world,

The best way to achieve these goals is to integrate young people from other / different countries and cultures into our project.

ACTIVITIES:

Giving the children a first-hand experience with foreign languages, poems, art and music would be a benefit to all of us. Offering art and creativity occupation to the children and working with the children – together with our professional caregivers – would be our most desired approach within this project.

So during the leisure time programme for the children, we want you, as a volunteer, to start and initiate own activities for the children. You will be given the possibility to execute your own projects with the children. Whether you want to engage in arts, sports, music, history, science, language or a political subject is up to you and your interests or background. Any support necessary for your ideas will be provided by us.

Project examples could be a theme week about the country you are from (every afternoon could have a different focus, like: Music, traditions/habits, games, cooking, language etc). Another possibility would be a project about some special talent of yours.

You will also work with the children in their daily activities, like eating, doing homework, playing, and cleaning up.

You will get the opportunity to:

integrate in our team and play an important role in our process of reaching our goals
learn German
work with children
participate in a non-profit and social project
participate in team meetings as well as meetings with the parents

Your total working hours will be about 30 hours, maximum 38 hours, per week.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

In general, you should be motivated to work with children as well as to learn German. We are looking for socially responsible and patient persons who are creative and equipped with a sense of humour. It would be great if you are interested in introducing the children to your language and your cultural background as well as if you are interested in sports and/or music and/or art, history, politics etc.

📌 About project 4: Farbklecks

WHAT?

Kindergruppe, in German, means children´s group and Farbklecks dab of paint. The Farbklecks is a special form of a kindergarten located in the 18th district in Vienna; it is a non-profit organisation which is run by parents who support the pedagogical aims as well as the day centre on a voluntary basis. The group consists of 14 children between the age of two and a half and six years. The different ages of the children should empower the social learning aspects of younger from elder children and vice versa.

ACTIVITIES:

As a volunteer you will support the teachers (4 pedagogues, they work in groups of two) in the daily activities with the children. Tasks and learning outcomes can be:

helping the children with their daily routines
playing an active role in preparing and leading projects with children;
giving a supportive hand;
reading, singing or other activities;
social learning by dealing with the support of the children´s needs and by realizing how to react on children in different life and emotional stages;
personal development inside a team;
being sensitive for special activities (sports, graphics, music, language etc.) which could be incorporated by you through programs or projects;
preparing meals

A typical day at the Kindergruppe Farbklecks looks like this:

8:00

The day begins. One teacher is present. The 14 children enter between 8 and 9.30 a.m. Making handicrafts and reading books are very popular activities during the morning session.

9:30

You should enter Farbklecks and get prepared for joint care (such as supporting the children in their daily needs). At 10:00 the second teacher will join the team.

10:00 breakfast

After breakfast the group will go outside for outdoor activities, returning before lunch. A common interactive circle will draw attention to the solidarity and communication between the children and the staff.

13:00 lunch

After lunch there is a smooth time where the children can play freely or join in calming activities. In the afternoon the group will get smaller again and the second teacher will leave at 14.00. A joint decision will be made for the following program. This could for example be going to a park.

15:00

Your day ends.

16:00

The Farbklecks closes.

As a volunteer, you will work 30-38 hours per week. Your main role is to take care of the children in their daily environment.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

As a volunteer, you should be an open-minded person and willing to work in a team and fulfil tasks. It would be great if you are interested in cultural and outdoor activities. Since you should be able to communicate with the children and the staff, you also should be willing to learn German during you volunteering.

📌 About project 5: BOKU

WHAT?

The kindergarten cooperates with the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, it is organized as a parent-managed corporation. It is open to the children of students and university employees. It is located in the 18^th district in Vienna, near the University, surrounded by several parks. The kindergarten has one toddler group (1-3 year old children) and two family groups (2-6 year old children), in each group there are two teachers and one assistant. In addition, there is a cook who cooks fresh and mainly organic food for the children and staff every day (breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack). Additionally, our members – the children’s parents – are actively involved in the Kindergarten and join excursions as extra support for the staff and care about all administrative duties.

We are financed by subsidies from the city of Vienna, our membership fee, the University, the ÖH (student Union) and special charity events to increase our budget.

In total, 55 children between one and six years visit the kindergarten.

The philosophy of the kindergarten is one of individual care. The pedagogy of the Kindergarten is based on the situational approach. The kindergarten teachers offer activities according to the needs of the children, such as creativity and sports (indoors and outdoors) and pay attention to an appreciative functioning of the community as well as to individual needs.

ACTIVITIES:

As a volunteer, we would like you to be present about 31 hours per week per week. The opening hours of the kindergarten are Monday – Thursday 7:45 to 17:15 and Friday 7:45 – 15:30. You will have your lunch with the children. Additionally, there are regular planning meetings with the parents (your mentors) and the teachers. Following activities are a fixed part of the programme and vary according to the group size:

Creative activities like painting, handcraft, drawing etc.
Sports or movement in general is also part of the programme: The kindergarten has a garden and an indoor exercise room where there are many opportunities for sports and games; there are many parks near the kindergarten and as many times as possible the groups visit them. Furthermore, excursions to the Vienna Woods, to museums or theatres are organised. In summer the older ones also go swimming.
Themes: Many activities are also organised according to themes and seasons: Christmas, Easter, Autumn etc. But as well other themes that are of interest for the children are subject of special projects.
Events: There are small events throughout the year to which the volunteers are invited. For example, the lantern festival or the Summer Party, which are organised as common activities of children, parents and staff. They usually place in the park and parents, children and employees are invited. It’s a saying “good bye” to the past kindergarten year before the kindergarten closes for its summer holidays. A Christmas party and a summer dinner are organized for the staff.

As a volunteer, we would like you to give input to all these activities:

For example, play a typical game from your home country
Teach us songs or rhymes in your language
Prepare a special project week about your home country
Prepare typical food from your home country
Feel free to think of anything that could fit in (and, for example, bring some photos)

Such activities will be planned with the teachers, but you will also participate during the regular activities. Additionally, just like the other staff, the teachers and parents, you will help to clean the rooms.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

We would like someone who really likes to work with children and our teachers. It would be nice if you are creative and willing to bring in your ideas. No skills or prior knowledge is required, however, it would be of advantage if you have basic knowledge of English (or German) to be able to communicate with the team, and if you are motivated to learn/improve your German during your volunteering.

📌 About project 6: Studentinnenkinderort

WHAT?

The StudentInnenkinderhort is organized by the “Verein StudentInnenkinder” (Association for Students´ children) and located in the AKH Campus (University Campus in the 9^th district in Vienna). It is divided into a kindergarten and a day nursery (Hort) for children between the age of six to ten.

We believe that only in a respectful environment, a child can develop his/her full self and his/her creativity. In our long history, we build on and continue the tradition of an education without fear of authorities to ensure that the education of humanity continue to succeed.

As a volunteer, you will work at the Hort. The opening hours of the Hort are Monday to Friday from 12 to 6 p.m., this will be your working hours as a volunteer.

ACTIVITIES:

During the opening hours a volunteer should be present and interact with the children. You bring your own knowledge and experience from your cultural background. This can be music, dance, tales, cooking receipts, games, sports etc. According to your personal preferences you make the children familiar with your background. Generally, a volunteer’s work consists of the following:

Work with the children in their leisure time
if necessary: help with the homework
Attend the regular program meetings of the staff and the children, where the programme of activities is discussed and defined
Be part of the team: team meetings, once per week and meetings with parents once per month

An afternoon starts with a common meal, cooked by our own cook, followed by 1-2 hours where the children do their homework. After that, the leisure time activities start: mostly outdoors, also indoors if the weather is not nice. During the opening hours, two members of the full-time staff are always present. This means that you will never be let alone with the children.

Leisure time activities can be:

Sports, such as swimming, football, gymnastics, ice skating. (depending on the time of the year); if you are specialized in a certain sport, it would be great, if you could teach the children; sports activities are always on Tuesday
Creative workshops like painting, drawing, baking cookies or practising for a theatre play
Children can also play for themselves

You can participate in the existing program but also suggest and lead activities, workshops, etc. yourself (with support of the staff) on a topic with which you are familiar and interested in.

Two weeks per year (winter and summer) there is a holiday excursion outside Vienna. During this time, you will support the staff to create a good time for and with the children. The activities depend on the season and weather: hiking/skiing, swimming, barbeque etc. You can help prepare these weeks, e.g. inventing games and activities, help with practical organisational matters or cooking together with the kids and staff. The excursion will also be an opportunity to see other parts of Austria.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

No specific skills are needed. The volunteer should in general be openminded, interested in sports and outdoor activities and enjoy working with children. A creative spirit, good communication and language skills can be of advantage but are not necessarily needed. You should be motivated to learn German though.

📌 About project 7: Simsalabim Zwerge

WHAT?

The Kindergruppe Simsalabim Zwerge is a small kindergarten in the 3rd district of Vienna. It’s based in an apartment with a small courtyard with a sandpit and the possibility to plant some vegetables and flowers. The Kindergruppe has a kitchen, a crafting room, a gym with a slide and a room where the kids can do more quiet activities like reading books or doing role plays. Our Kindergarten is a non-profit organisation run by the parents. We have a team of 3 teachers. There are maximum 14 kids between 2 and 6 years with 2 teachers taking care of them Monday to Friday from 8 am till 4pm.

The idea of our organization is based on a humanistic philosophy. We live diversity, are open minded to different cultures, religions, and rainbow families. The main target of the teachers is to build up individual relationships with the kids and to respect and take their individual needs serious. Our meaning of education is to accompany the children and help if they need it, but not lecture them. Each child is accepted as an individual, encouraged to develop self-consciousness and self-confidence.

ACTIVITIES:

Our Kindergarten is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm and we would like you to participate in the daily life from about 9am to 3pm. You will support the teachers in their daily work with the kids.

Your task will be the following:

- play, paint, sing, read, do handcraft etc. with the children

- bring in your own ideas, plan and realize own activities supported by the teachers or parents

- bring in your own cultural background and mother language, food etc.

- accompany the kids by public transport to outdoor trips

- help to prepare breakfast, lunch and snacks

Your social and pedagogical learning outcomes will be the following:

You will learn how to

- observe the children’s play and not to direct it

- see the kids as individuals and learn more about their different personalities

- support to solve conflict situations or problems

- motivate kids to do things by themselves

- communicate in a non-violent way

You will get to know:

- Austrian Culture and food

- Vienna and its surroundings

- German language

- different ways of living and thinking

The teachers work child-centered, which means, there is a focus on topics which come from the children themselves, like dinosaurs, pirates, sensory material, maths, literatur, circus, theater, nature, environment protection etc.) - the teachers act on the topics that come up. Activities or material that are offered regarding these topics come spontaneously from the teachers' observations and contact with the children. There will be space and opportunities for the volunteer to bring in their ideas, skills and knowledge.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

The volunteer should be interested in working with young children, be open-minded, be interested in getting to know different people, cultures, languages, ways of thinking. The volunteer should respect children, see them as individuals who shall be taken seriously, and approach them respectful, not talk down to them but meet them eye to eye. We invite the volunteer to reflect also on challenges with us and discuss questions and thoughts that will come up during their stay with us. Teachers and parents of the Kindergruppe are open-minded and won't discriminate any applicant because of her/his gender, religion, ethnic group, social and cultural background or sexual orientation.

📌 About project 8: Kinderladen Hütteldorf

WHAT?

Our kindergarten was founded by parents and kindergarten teachers for the collective supervision of children aged 2 to 6 with shared goals and contents. This type of kindergarten is called “Kindergruppe”. Our Kindergruppe is located in the west of Vienna, in the district “Penzing”, which has many green areas, including the Vienna Woods.

The Kindergruppe is managed by the parents and there are two caregivers for 13 children between the age 2 to 6. In our everyday work we value most of all respect, room for individual development and a feeling of security. We let ourselves be guided by the needs of our children and decide with them together our daily activities.

ACTIVITIES:

As a volunteer, we would like you to be present about 30 hours per week (maximum 38 hours per week). The opening hours of the Kindergruppe are Monday to Friday 08:00 – 16:00. You will have your lunch with the children. Furthermore, there are regular planning meetings with the parents and the teachers. You will be integrated in the daily schedule of the Kindergruppe and will support our team of pedagogues. This includes welcoming the children, helping them with their clothing, participating in the morning activities, such as playing music, doing handicraft, drawing, cooking and baking, going outside into nature, as well as observing and supporting the children in their doing and needs.

Many activities are organized according to the different themes and seasons throughout the year: e.g. Christmas, Easter, Spring, Autumn, etc.

Additionally, there are small events, for example our Summer Party. This is a common activity for all parents, staff, and children.

As a volunteer, we welcome you to support and give input to all our regular activities, but to also create projects of your own. For example, you could offer activities and projects about your home country (making typical food, learning dances and songs from your culture, etc.), or anything related to your interests and talents.

As a volunteer you are invited to join our colorful group of children, parents, and pedagogues at learning, growing, and experiencing together.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

We are looking for a person who really likes to spend time and work with children. It would be nice if you are creative and willing to bring your own ideas, and able to show initiative. You should also be motivated to learn German.

📌 About project 9: Wohnheim St-Martin

WHAT?

St. Martin is a living place for about 25 adults with various disabilities. It is located in Klosterneuburg, a small town near Vienna. We have two living groups/communities and several practice rooms, where the clients (inhabitants of St. Martin) work during the day. Our main task is to offer housing and (re)integration into the society. This is done mainly through leisure time activities and by offering a working place. People are provided training and other practices needed for working.

Klosterneuburg itself is an old town located at the Danube river. You can reach the city centre of Vienna by public transport within 30 minutes. It is surrounded by the Vienna Woods (Wiener Wald), which offers great opportunities for hiking, walking and other outdoor activities.

As a volunteer, you would live at St. Martin, too. This means you are provided meals together with the staff and the clients. Special food arrangements (e.g. vegetarian) are no problem. Exceptions or special arrangements regarding the house rules can be made on an individual basis. Please note, that the rooms are non-smoking rooms (fire alarm) and that you have to register guests with the project leader.

ACTIVITIES:

Our experiences with international volunteers in the past years have been good. As a volunteer, you can deliver valuable input to our work, especially concerning our leisure programme. So you enable the clients to make more excursions, sports, individual shopping or to do other things that normally would not be possible to a larger extent. Your working time will be fulfilled with some of the following activities:

Give new inputs to our afternoon program
Develop an own project, according to your interests, e.g. arts or music.
Support the staff and the clients with the daily program and activities (e.g. help the clients to cook, with eating, cleaning the common room, to dress or watch TV together; maybe your are asked to help out with the personal care of the clients)
Develop your own ideas as an extension of our leisure time and afternoon program.
If you like, make excursions with one or two clients
Attend the team meetings

The relation between daily activities and personal project will depend on your project, but about 50% will be daily activities. You will work between 30-38 hours on 5 days per week. The specific working days will be agreed with your host team.

A regular day looks may look like this:

4 – 7 p.m.: leisure time activities – going for a walk, playing games, doing some gardening, sports, doing shopping with the clients

7 – 9 p.m.: helping to prepare dinner and evening toilette of the clients.

Saturday and Sunday you are involved in the activities from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

Since this project is dealing with disabled people, you should be willing to and enjoy work with them. Open-mindedness will help you in any situation. The working language in St. Martin is mostly German and English. Before you start, no language skills are required, you will be invited to attend a German course during your project

📌 About project 10: Kulturhaus Brotfabrik

WHAT?

KULTURHAUS BROTFABRIK is a Community Arts project situated in Vienna's 10th district, Favoriten. In this very lively and colourful district of Vienna KULTURHAUS BROTFABRIK offers a wide range of cultural events at two separate venues, in order to create new networks within the local community.

The two main targets of Kulturhaus Brotfabrik are to build bridges between different communities, autochthonous Viennese inhabitants and newcomers with the help of art and culture and to make the arts and artistic expression accessible to people whose access to mainstream institutions of art is limited and/or impeded through societal mechanisms of exclusion.

ACTIVITIES:

The volunteers will be involved in organising different opportunities for the residents living around KULTURHAUS BROTFABRIK and STAND 129 to interact with each other. Besides supporting existing initiatives (art workshops, repaircafé, concerts, children's events) the volunteers are also encouraged to present their own ideas which they might come up with when getting in touch with the residents.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

You should be interested in community work, (participatory) art and/or graphic design. The potential volunteers should be open to meeting other people, engaging with strangers and building relationships with the residents and visitors of KULTURHAUS BROTFABRIK. We expect the volunteers to command good communication skills, to be capable of working in a team and to be open minded.

According to the interests of the volunteers in combination with already acquired abilities and skills there are several fields of action. The volunteers will find a big variety of tasks, which offer many possibilities to learn by doing.

The fields of action are

graphic design (illustrations by hand, logo design, Indesign, Illustrator)
marketing activities like preparing posters, leaflets and the like and distributing them in the neighbourhood
photography and video documentation of events
technical tasks / stage hands at events
involvement in conceptual work surrounding art workshops and participatory art projects
decoration and maintenance of venues
coordination of local volunteers

Moreover, since Kulturhaus Brotfabrik will potentially lead a Creative Europe project and is also planning to develop another Erasmus+ application, it is of advantage if volunteers are interested in the following topics:

Theatre work and methodologies like Devised Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed
Antiracism Work
Gender Justice issues, LGBTQIA+ rights
Self-representation
Critical Thinking
Fundamental Rights of the EU
Non-formal and adult education
Participatory methods in project development

📌 About project 11: Naturkindergruppe Gatschhüpfer

WHAT?

The "Naturkindergruppe am Himmel - Gatschhüpfer '' is a small outdoor kindergarten in the hills around Vienna, totally embedded in nature. It is a non-profit organization run by the parents of the children attending the kindergarten. The idea of the organization is based on a humanistic philosophy. We live diversity, are open minded to different cultures, religions, and rainbow families. The main targets of the teachers are to build up an individual relationship with the kids and to respect and take the individual needs of the kids. Our meaning of education is more to accompany the children and help if they need it, but not to lecture them. Each child is accepted as an individual, encouraged to develop self-consciousness and self-confidence.

The main focus of our kindergarten is on being in nature. The kids spend most of the time outside, in the woods and fields around or in their own kindergarten "garden". Besides the kindergarten building the kids have a Mongolian yurt where they can have shelter in case of heavy rain or really cold weather.

There are a maximum 14kids/day between the ages of 2,5 and 6, and two teachers looking after them from Monday to Friday from 8:15 am till 4:00 pm. The kids are picked up form the teachers at a meeting point at two different public transport stations in the city and then go up in the Viennese hills to their kindergarten by public transport (20 minutes). We regularly host volunteers, and the pedagogues offer caring experience in accompanying them. Also the kids are used and open to “newcomers”. The parents are involved in the daily life of the kindergarten, for example once a week for a cooking service or for everything that is needed to run a kindergarten, like buying material for handicraft work, snacks, looking after the yurt, the garden, organizing, etc. The "Gatschhüpfer” children’s group offers a family like environment for the kids and the staff.

ACTIVITIES:

Our kindergarten is open from Monday to Friday from 8:15 to 16:00 and we would like you to participate as a volunteer in our daily routine from 8:15 to maximum 15:00. On Fridays you will finish earlier, and you will have a break of half an hour at lunch time each day.

A typical day can look like this:

8:15 meeting kids and teacher; accompanying kids to the starting point at “Cobenzl” up in the Viennese hills by public transport

8:40 walking through nature to the kindergarten building (minimum 15 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the route and the plan of the day, discover nature, do activities together, etc.

9:00/9:30 snack somewhere in nature, kids have their own snack with them

12:00 lunch time (we have a cook, on Fridays parents prepare the lunch)
After lunch the kids will repose, reading, playing silently, or are picked up by their parents (especially the smaller ones)

13:30/14:00 go outside in the kindergarten garden and to the yurt, play, read, do handcrafts

14:30/15:00 have a snack

16:00 closing time, everybody will leave

Your tasks as a volunteer will be to support the pedagogues in their daily work with the kids during the opening hours, and to bring new ideas and activities to the group, according to your interests and skills, and the interests of the children.

You tasks can, for example, be:

➢Accompany the kids by public transport

➢Walk with the kids and teachers to the kindergarten

➢Play, pain, sing, read, do handcrafts with the kids

➢Brin in your own ideas and personality. Plan and realize own activities supported by the team of teachers and parents

➢Help before, during, and after lunch with food and dishes

➢Help prepare the afternoon snack

➢Help parents with some of the organizational tasks depending on your skills

➢Take part in parent meetings and teacher meetings

➢Help to maintain the garden and yurt

Your social and pedagogical learning outcomes will be the following. You will learn how to:

Observe the children’s play and not to direct it
Motivate children without lecturing
Support to solve conflict situations or problems
Teach kids to do thing by themselves
Communicate non-violently
React on kids different life and emotional stages
See kids as individuals and learn more about their different personalities

Furthermore, you will learn

How a parental administrated organisation is working
What different tasks have to be fulfilled to run an organisation
How democratic communication, planning and decision taking is working in a self-administered organisation
How to dress in different weather conditions

You will also get to know.

Austrian culture and food
Vienna and its surroundings
The German language
Different ways of living and thinking
What kind of plants are growing and what animals are living in the hills around Vienna

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

We are an open minded organisation, we don’t discriminate any applicant because of their gender, religion, sexual orientation, origin, cultural background, etc. The volunteer should

like working and being with children
be open-minded
have an interest in learning and getting to know different cultures, ways of thinking, new languages (German!), and new people.
be interested in human beings, especially children and treat them with respect and see them as individuals.
like challenges and be able to reflect on them
be willing to become part of our organization and to learn from each other.

As we are an outdoor kindergarten you should also

love and respect nature and
be weather resistant!

Please inform yourself about the seasons and weather in Vienna, so you are aware what to expect when working in our outdoor kindergarten!

📌 About project 12: Butterbrot

WHAT?

It is a kindergarten with 14 children between the age of two and six, and 3 to 4 educators. The kindergarten is run by parents. We are located in the 9^th Viennese district. Our educators come from Guatemala, Spain, Austria and Germany, so our main languages are German and Spanish.

We, the parents, meet regularly and share our functions in the kindergarten (e.g. cooking). Our aim is to create a protective environment for the children to convey joy of life, courage and self-assurance to them. Our pedagogy is anti-authoritarian, which means that children stand in a democratic contact with the educators – they participate in the decisions about what and how to play. Because of our two Spanish speaking educators, children also learn Spanish.

ACTIVITIES:

The Kindergruppe Butterbrot is opened from Monday until Friday from 8:00 to 16:00. A typical day could look like this:

8:00 The kindergarten opens, the children start playing. One educator is present. At 9:30 the second educator starts working.

10:00 Breakfast. Then the children do handcrafts, play or go to the playground with the educators.

12:00 Lunch time. After lunch the children will repose or sleep. Some are picked up by their parents.

14:00 One of the educators finishes work. In the afternoon children will be playing, reading books or doing handicrafts. At 15:00 there is a little meal, between 15:30 and 16:30 the parents come to pick up the children.

We also have different themes each day of the week, focusing on different aspects of development, including for example motility and exercise (yoga day), language (Spanish day), creativity (handcraft day), exploration and curiosity (excursion day).

As a volunteer, you will learn:

how to interact with 14 active children without getting authoritarian, rude or impatient;
to watch rather than to direct the children’s play;
how to motivate a group of children without commanding them,
how to help them solving their problems in a reasonable, non-violent way;
learn about the ways of democratic communication and planning by a non-profit organisation

We want to cultivate an international look into the world and are interested in the culture of the volunteer. As measured by your interests and knowledge, you can work relatively independently in the kindergarten. Some of your activities could be:

do handicrafts with the children: paint, play, sing or read
plan own activities (with the support of the team)
prepare meals
go for excursions or to the playground (together with the educators)

We offer three meals a day where you will eat together with the children. During your volunteering, you will work about 30 hours a week, maximum 38 hours per week.

VOLUNTEER PROFILE:

In general, you should be motivated to work with children as well as to learn German. We are looking for responsible, loving and caring persons who are active, stress-resistant, team-oriented and open-minded (especially for alternative educational ideas).

📌 Reimbursement:

Transport costs will be covered up to the limit of 275 EUR for round-trip traveling from Bulgaria to Vieanna and back.

📌 To apply:

Please fill in our application form. In addition, you need to send us your CV and Motivation Letter in English indicating the receiving organisation in which you would like to go. We suggest you put some pictures of your experiences in the motivation letter and send it to us: absociety.erasmus@gmail.com

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