Constructing through play

The "Am Buchenberg" daycare centre in Daubringen receives a construction game - as part of the SWG "Play your game" campaign.

Towers, bridges, tables, chairs - the children at the "Am Buchenberg" daycare centre in Daubringen will be able to build these and much more themselves in future. Without tools, without screws or nails and, of course, without glue. Instead, with fantasy, imagination and simply sticking large building blocks together, each with two holes. It is thanks to Karsten Burbach that the Daubring daycare centre children can now improve their construction skills in a fun way. He is the father of two of the children and treasurer of the daycare centre's support association. In this role, he applied for the Spinifex Cluster construction game as part of the "Play your game" campaign organised by Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). "We on the jury very quickly agreed that we would fulfil this wish," recalls Stephanie Orlik, who is responsible for sponsorship at SWG and therefore also for the "Spiel' Dein Spiel" campaign.

Many positive aspects

There are many reasons for this decision: Because the construction game with its building blocks made of untreated beech wood promotes numerous, sometimes important, skills. It awakens the sense of creating something and trains spatial awareness, fine motor skills and, in particular, hand-eye coordination, which is crucial for general motor development. In addition, children playfully discover basic mathematical and scientific properties - such as shape, size and symmetry - while building and repeatedly encounter challenges. Finding solutions encourages concentration, logical thinking and sometimes also patience and perseverance.

"Playing with the building blocks also gives you the experience of being able to make a difference and create something. As a result, the game also boosts self-confidence," says Myriam Bergmann-Franke, head of the daycare centre, citing another positive aspect. In addition, the children can not only construct different things on their own, but often also together with others. "In this case, they always have to coordinate with each other. And that's exactly what promotes communication skills," says the nursery school teacher happily.

Active support association

The "Am Buchenberg" daycare centre is run by the town of Staufenberg. There are currently 57 children aged from one year to school age in three mixed-age groups and one crèche group, all looked after by eleven teachers. Due to tight municipal budgets, there is often only enough money to run daycare centres, which means that many things that make daycare exciting and varied are neglected. This is exactly where the daycare centre's support association comes in. Its members organise flea markets, collect donations and pay contributions. All of this income benefits the daycare centre. They go towards violence prevention courses, theatre visits and the purchase of educational play materials. "In this respect, the application to 'Spiel' Dein Spiel' fits in perfectly with our work. We are very pleased that SWG have supported us in our endeavours," says Karsten Burbach, summing up.