The Optimist Project
A Playful and Innovative Learning Programme
Kid’s Garden Maastricht follows the Optimist Project, a pedagogical-didactic programme for children up to 4 years old. It was developed by the Fomento Education Group and is characterised by playful and innovative methods to stimulate creativity and enthusiasm within children. The programme focuses on your child’s growth as a person.
Optimist provides a daily programme that combines physical, motoric, cognitive, social-emotional and moral learning so that the children can grow in the broadest sense of the word. As part of this programme, parents and teachers work together to develop a personal development plan for each child. Read more on our Parents page.
Playing is Learning
When children have objects in their hands they are encouraged to start a conversation. They discover the properties of these objects and the mutual relationships between them. They can group them, compare them, solve problems, and learn to count with ease.
Specialized baby care
Professionals specially trained for baby care recognize the phase each baby goes through and know how to offer the child emotional safety, security, care and guidance in development.
Meet the dedicated team behind Kid’s Garden here.
Developing Motor Skills
Discovering, imitating and learning are inherent in children. We do daily exercises to stimulate Motor Development. Through games the children learn, discover new things and have fun while developing skills and creative potential.
Speech and Language Development
Children learn to pronounce words clearly through stories, rhymes, songs and role play. These types of activities enhance their listening comprehension, understanding and ability to express themselves orally.
A second language
If children are introduced to a foreign language during their first years of life, they will learn languages more easily later on. They also develop better communication skills. The programme is designed so that they learn to communicate naturally in English about familiar surroundings - the nursery, the family, the important celebrations.
We use the Hello Sally method to teach English.
Musical Formation
Children learn to distinguish sounds by singing, listening and making music. We sing children's songs together but also connect them with classical music. By listening they develop their auditive discernment, creativity, imagination and sensitivity to beauty.
Emotional Security
Each age group has their own programme:
Bobby (0-1 year)
Lotje (1-2 years)
Nico (2-4 years)
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We facilitate development according to individual capacities and achieve a complete and integral education for each child. They get structure and peace of mind in a cozy and safe environment.
Touchscreen
Touchscreen technology is a part of our teaching method. It makes the lessons more dynamic and motivates the children. We use touchscreens to teach language and to stimulate musical and artistic creativity.
Flashcards
Flashcards are very useful for practicing and repeating concepts. It helps children improve their attention, memory, vocabulary and knowledge. We use flashcards with diverse cultural content, accurate information, figures, words and images.
Activity Corners
The corners are divided into different activity zones, each with their social and personal development areas. Every child can make his own choices: what he will do, alone or with others. Making these little choices is important for their development because it gives them autonomy. At the same time, playing with others promotes functioning within a group. Children can grow in resilience, self-confidence, flexibility and creativity when dealing with different situations.
Healthy Food, Healthy Habits
At Kid’s Garden we try to create the first healthy eating habits that are beneficial to your child's development. We prefer fresh, organic food with no artificial additives or sugars.
Lunch
The menu is healthy and varied. We alternate between home-baked bread or a hot meal consisting of vegetables with meat, fish or vegetarian products. All meals are freshly prepared by our pedagogical staff using a steam cooker and bread maker.
Snacks
In the mid-morning children get fresh, seasonal fruit. In the afternoon we offer healthy and nutritious snacks. These can consist of vegetables, dried fruits, whole-grain crackers.
Drinks
For refreshments, we provide water, milk or decaffeinated and sugar-free tea.
Does your child have a food allergy? We are happy to help you find a suitable solution.