Educational Project in Wayenberg Creche
Foreword
The educational project of the Wayenberg crèche serves as a guiding document for both professionals and families. It provides meaning to our team’s actions, ensures high-quality childcare, and evolves through ongoing reflection.
Our main objectives are:
- To create an environment that supports children’s overall development;
- To nurture the children’s natural curiosity and love for exploration;
- To build strong relationships between families and professionals;
- To involve parents in the life of the crèche;
- To offer clear guidelines for our team.
This project complies with the Quality Code of the French Community of Belgium and draws inspiration from developmental psychology and neuroscience, emphasizing Montessori pedagogy, socio-constructivism, and Loris Malaguzzi’s "theory of a hundred languages."
Our Approach
We see each child as unique, capable, and actively engaged in their own learning. Children are natural explorers, driven by curiosity, creativity, and a desire to understand the world.
At the Wayenberg crèche, children express themselves through many creative avenues, including artistic creations, music, dance, puppet theatre, construction, and early scientific exploration. Our team fosters a stimulating environment where diverse forms of expression are encouraged, helping children build confidence and self-esteem.
Working in small groups allows our caregivers and educators to tailor activities to each child’s needs, ensuring they grow at their own pace in a nurturing setting. Our goal is to guide new generations with values like responsibility, active citizenship, and environmental sustainability.
Main Themes
- Embracing a Multicultural Environment
The Wayenberg crèche values diversity and sees multilingualism as a strength. Early childhood is when a sense of belonging develops, and we support children in recognizing their mother tongue while discovering new languages. Our diverse team plays a crucial role in fostering an inclusive atmosphere.
Intercultural exchange is encouraged through nursery rhymes, world cuisine workshops, multilingual storytelling, and family-led activities. Our "Library of Europe" offers children’s books in various languages, inviting families to explore stories together. In this space are organized storytelling workshops involving both children and families, further strengthening the crèche’s sense of community and multicultural identity.
We also offer a weekly English workshop across all sections, introducing language playfully and naturally, in tune with children’s curiosity and desire to communicate.
- Environmental Awareness
We believe in raising environmentally conscious children through hands-on experiences in nature. Nature-related activities such as observing plants and insects, tending a vegetable garden, and exploring local parks help children connect with their surroundings.
Our ecological commitment is embedded in the educational experiences we offer children. Indeed, we believe that today’s children are tomorrow’s adults and citizens, and fostering good habits early on is essential. Frequent outdoor activities provide sensory stimulation, enhance motor skills, and foster a love for nature.
Outdoor education is a fundamental pillar of our approach, considering outdoor spaces as rich learning environments. In nature, children can release energy, explore, build confidence and autonomy, and interact meaningfully with the world around them. Sustainability is integrated into daily life through recycling and upcycling projects, inspiring children to think creatively about waste and consumption.
This approach highlights the importance of early environmental education, recognizing that frequent exposure to nature plays a significant role in cognitive development. As Celine Alvarez wisely puts it, "Children’s brains are nourished by the world around them—let’s give it to them."
Specific Objectives
Our primary goal is to provide high-quality childcare, not only for children but also as a support system for families, helping parents balance their parental, professional, and social responsibilities.
We recognize the vital role families play in a child's social and identity development. From the very first meeting, we focus on creating a welcoming and reassuring environment, establishing a foundation of trust that grows throughout the child’s time with us.
Positive communication is central to our approach, especially during key moments like morning drop-offs and evening pick-ups. These moments allow for valuable exchanges about the child’s experiences at home and at the crèche. To further support this connection, we document educational activities through photographs, giving families insight into their child’s daily learning journey.
We place the child at the heart of our project, offering spaces that encourage multiple intelligences and development in a multicultural and inclusive setting. We aim to foster an environment where children can express themselves freely, families can actively participate, and professionals are fully engaged in their role.
A Professional Team
The Wayenberg crèche’s team is composed of dedicated early childhood professionals, whose expertise is one of our greatest strengths. We prioritize continuous training and workplace well-being, encouraging teamwork and active participation in our educational approach.
Our goal is to cultivate a culture of professional growth, fostering meaningful reflection and respectful collaboration among colleagues. We also place great emphasis on integrating new team members smoothly; ensuring they feel valued and empowered to contribute fully.
Adaptation Period
We are committed to supporting the holistic development of every child, including those with specific needs, while respecting their individual rhythm. The transition into crèche life begins with a carefully structured three-day adaptation period, designed to ease both child and family into the new environment.
This crucial phase allows children to gradually become comfortable in their surroundings with the presence of their parents. During this time, our educational team pays close attention to each child and family’s unique needs, gathering essential information to facilitate a smooth integration.
A preliminary meeting with parents provides an opportunity to discuss and prepare for this transition, covering both emotional and administrative aspects. The three-day adaptation period is structured to gradually introduce the crèche’s daily routines, allowing the child to adjust at their own pace. The process begins with a simple exploration of the environment and gradually includes mealtimes and rest periods.
This flexible and personalized approach ensures that each child feels safe and secure, laying the groundwork for their well-being and positive experience at the Wayenberg crèche.
Daily Routine
Structured yet flexible routines provide essential cues that help children feel secure. Everyday moments like arrival, meals, rest, and departure offer stability while respecting individual rhythms. These ritualized moments provide a secure environment, both physically and emotionally, by offering stability and respecting each child’s individual pace.
Baby Sections
Care in the baby section is fully adapted to each infant’s needs, ensuring continuity with home routines for a smooth transition.
Older Children’s Sections
As children grow, routines become more structured while maintaining flexibility. This balance helps them develop autonomy while feeling part of a group.
Learning through Play
We believe children are active participants in their learning. Our age-appropriate environment is designed to encourage independence and autonomy, all while allowing the children to express their uniqueness and "hundred expressive languages":
- Structured materials (educational games, musical instruments, books);
- Open-ended materials (recycled and natural objects for exploration).
Special attention is given to eco-friendly practices, emphasizing recycling, waste sorting, and reducing waste. This approach aligns with a broader educational vision aimed at instilling environmental and social awareness in children.
The Wayenberg crèche adopts an innovative pedagogical approach in the design of its sections, prioritizing accessible, recognizable, differentiated, and customizable spaces. This setup fosters children's exploration and socio-cognitive development while minimizing barriers. The sections are organized into interest-based areas that cater to group needs and enjoyment. Each space has a specific, easily identifiable function:
- Cosy nooks for relaxation;
- Reading corners to encourage early literacy;
- Construction zones for creativity and problem-solving;
- Symbolic play areas for imaginative role-playing;
- Board games to stimulate logical thinking;
- A "messaging corner" for early writing skills in older groups.
Each section has a strategically placed hygiene and care area, ensuring constant supervision of the group. For older children, bathrooms and sinks are adapted to their size.
Mini ateliers adapted to the ongoing projects of the crèche encourage creativity and sensory exploration for the children in a dynamic and stimulating learning environment.
Cultural and Artistic Exploration
Creative Workshops
Inspired by Reggio Emilia, our atelier spaces encourage artistic expression. Children experiment with paints, clay, light and shadow, and even early scientific tools like microscopes, allowing children to explore and refine their "hundred expressive languages."
An atelierista, a professional trained in the arts, plays a vital role in these experiences by curating creative experiences that help children refine their creative voices. The atelierista documents the children’s artistic journeys for families.
Music & Rhythm
Music is integrated into the daily life of the crèche. We recognize music’s role in supporting language, creativity, logical thinking and memory development in children. The music workshops are led by our teams through daily activities and by an external music specialist, whose weekly ateliers enrich the children’s exposure to rhythm and melody.
This holistic approach to art and music at the Wayenberg crèche stimulates creativity, self-expression, and global development in an inspiring, child-centered environment.
Conclusion
The Wayenberg crèche is dedicated to holistic child development, cultural diversity, ecological responsibility, and strong family engagement. We strive to create an environment where children feel valued, inspired, and ready to explore the world with curiosity and confidence.
"The Hundred Languages of the Child"
The child has a hundred languages,
A hundred hands,
A hundred thoughts,
A hundred ways of thinking,
Of playing and speaking,
Always a hundred ways
Of listening,
Of marveling and loving,
A hundred joys
For singing and understanding,
A hundred worlds to discover,
A hundred worlds to invent,
A hundred worlds to dream.
The child has a hundred languages
(And a hundred hundred hundred more).
— Loris Malaguzzi