Basics
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Our Teachers
My name is Nora. I was born and raised in Germany. As an adult, I lived in Denmark for several years, where I worked as a language teacher at an elementary school and as a teaching assistant at an inclusive business high school. I have a MA in Global Studies and a BA in Cultural Studies. Issues of social justice and sustainable food systems have always been of highest importance to me and have guided my decisions in my private and professional life. In recent years, I worked with Veritable Vegetable, an organic produce distributor and legacy business here in the city. In 2020 and 2022, I became a mother. This life-changing event reconnected me with my passion for education and inspired me to open Meine Freunde und Ich – Play and Grow Together. It is a place driven by my believe that early education matters, and it is my desire to create a welcoming, joyful, and meaningful space that nurtures empowerment, independence, confidence and creativity. I am infant and toddler teacher with credentials from City College San Francisco. I am a RIE Foundations graduate, I have taken the Hand in Hand Parenting foundations course for parents and caretakers and have learned creative dance in early childhood education with Luna Dance and Creativity.
Philosophy
Meine Freunde und Ich is inspired by Magda Gerber and the Educaring Approach. We consider the child as an initiator eager to learn. And children learn best through play. We support each child in their undertaking to understand the world by creating a safe and stimulating environment, and by building and fostering a strong relationship with each child. We invest in a secure bond of reciprocal trust that opens up a space in which each child moves about confidently and independently. During playtime, the kids are allowed full freedom of expression while they play, under the caregivers’ supervision. When it is time for caregiving activities (eat, use the potty/change diaper, change clothes, etc.), the caregiver and child handle them together. Expectations are communicated clearly and respectfully.
Children also learn through movement. Their bodies want to move, and need to move. To support this, we dance! The creative dance activities are based on the BrainDance exercises developed by Anne Green Gilbert. They are a multi-sensory experience to spark creativity and bring joy and happiness to our day. Children develop confident and healthy bodies and sharpen their minds.
Meine Freunde und Ich also draws from other theories of education, with bits and pieces of Reggio Emilia and Waldorf integrated into our curriculum.
We are fully committed to building a sustainable world for our kids: -All our meals and snacks are organic and vegetarian, and the children help prepare them. -We have a subscription with ReDyper, a service that delivers compostable diapers and collects soiled diapers to take them to a composting facility (so that they do not end up in a landfill!).
Location
We are located in the Castro close to 18Th Street & Sanchez.
About our program
Meine Freunde und Ich - Play and Grow Together is a small, home-based licensed child care in the Castro, San Francisco. It is a bilingual program (German/English) that nurtures the intellectual, social and physical development of each child. The play-based curriculum is for children age 1 and older who play and grow together in a loving, creative, and sustainable environment.
Meine Freunde und Ich means ‘My Friends and I’ in German. It is intended as an intentional space where each child feels celebrated for who they are, and where they can take those big developmental steps confidently and at their own pace, while learning and growing together as a community.
I am committed to a relationship-based and play-based curriculum. I engage with each child with respect, and practice sensitive observation to honor each child’s individual needs.
The program offers creative dance to encourage each child to find comfort in their own body by exploring voice, rhythm, and movement.