Here’s what Parents have to say about KinderHaus:
“Our daughter who is three now started KinderHaus a year ago and we could not be happier with our experience here. While there were some challenges in the beginning with getting her accustomed to being away from us and napping on her own, the teachers were incredibly patient and tremendously helpful with this transition. It was clear by the end of the year that she had a very strong connection with all the children and teachers from her class and she is continuing to forge new bonds with her new class this year. In addition to enhancing her social skills, KinderHaus has played an integral role in developing her language, creative, and abstract thinking skills. Our daughter already had a pretty extensive vocabulary of English, Chinese and German words, but while her Chinese is still limited to words and short sentences or songs, she is able to have full conversations in German and translate stories and songs between German and English. In addition to the regular classes, our daughter has participated in the after school programs and camps and we have been happy with those programs as well. It is clear from the updates we get, exhibits we’re invited to, the work our daughter brings home, and feedback from our daughter that the teachers put a lot of thought into providing the best learning opportunities for the children while still allowing plenty of free play. We would recommend KinderHaus without reservations to any family interested in giving their child a wonderful learning experience, whether they come from a German-speaking family or not.” – Grace & Fouad
“We enrolled our daughter Claire at the Kinderhaus when she was 18 months old and from the get go she has loved going to “school” as she likes to refer to. The teachers at the Kükengruppe are absolutely wonderful, caring and focused on making every day for the children an adventure filled with new things to be discovered. We love their philosophy that emphasizes creativity, outdoor activities and playtime.” – Christine
“The way Saion grew and spurted in his development is just astounding. Saion did not really speak before he joined KinderHaus and within 2 weeks he started to speak German. It is amazing what the KinderHaus education does with the children, the way their imagination gets stimulated and not to mention that Saion still reenacts the St Martin story. I am often wondering what Katja and Nina are doing to get Saion’s mind wondering about the universe and talking about nature and each week he is using new German words… there must be some kind of magic trick behind this. KinderHaus has changed his educational path in life, forever.” – Murielle
Bruno started at KinderHaus when he was two years old and loved it right away. He is now three and a half and looks forward to his days with friends and teachers, and we love the thoughtful, creative approach to teaching which blends so many real-life lessons and skills with a fun, warm environment for learning. KH is a special place where each child is known individually, and it has been a pleasure to see Bruno develop under the care of his wonderful teachers.” – Melanie
“As a household with only one native German speaker, Kinderhaus has been a great partner with us in fostering bilingual development in our 2.5 year old son. He’s only been in the Froschgruppe for a month and already he sings the songs he’s learned around the house with gusto, gives us an animated run-down of the day’s activities – neighborhood walks, leaf pressing, or learning about seasonal fruits and preparing a class salad. His comfort level with German has increased many fold and we’ve already seen the change from complete comprehension with primarily English replies to more and more German mixed in his responses to us. Most importantly, the nurturing environment Maxine and Patricia have created in the classroom means he now wakes up saying, “I get to go to Kinderhaus today!” We know his intellectual, emotional and social development will only continue to flourish at Kinderhaus.” – Jessica & Ralph
“We are in our third school year and second child at Kinderhaus. Our son started at two speaking very little in both English and German–he can now effortlessly code-switch between both languages. Our two-year old daughter just started and her newfound German skills surprise us everyday. The child-centered and hands-on curriculum prompts the children to learn German through context-bound and experience-oriented activities. The teachers are amazing and truly get to know each individual child; they even tailor the curricula to the children’s interests and learning needs. Our son was delighted to have his passion for knights and Ritterburge come to life during one unit. Being an educator myself, I have high standards and could not be more delighted with our experience at Kinderhaus. A second language is a gift and I truly look at my children’s experience at Kinderhaus as one of the most important things I’ve given them.” – Alyssa
“We are now going into our third year with Kinderhaus and couldn’t be happier with the warm environment and amazing teachers. As our elder daughter spent the first four years of her life in Germany, we were very pleased to have found such a great German kindergarten in the heart of Park Slope. She has now been with Kinderhaus for 2+ years in the pre-K, afterschool programs and summer camp. And now our youngest has started at Kinderhaus.” – Parents of a PreSchool and a former Pre-K child
“It has been such a pleasure over the past 2 years to see our daughter’s German bloom under the care of her wonderful teachers. We also love the focus on nature, music, art and health that KinderHaus teachers provide, from lessons about good food and great artists, to using natural materials for outdoor play and to learn counting. The teachers are competent and loving, and we’re grateful our daughter loves getting up in the morning to go to school.” – Tim and Kiersten
“What keeps us coming back is the wonderful and dedicated teaching staff. They always have the best interest of the kids at heart and are always open to working with the parents at all levels. We couldn’t be happier and we look forward to many more happy years for our daughters at Kinderhaus.” – Gabrielle & Chris
“Currently in her second year at KinderHaus, our daughter has made great friends and loves going to school every day. The teachers are – without exception – very competent, always approachable and native speakers. Teaching independence is a big focus of the KinderHaus curriculum and one that we are particularly fond of. For our family, this is the next best thing to sending our child to school in Germany.” – Owl Group Parents
“KinderHaus is a warm, nurturing, and creative environment, and attending it has been a tremendous experience for our son David. Every morning, David expresses enthusiasm about going to KinderHaus, his teachers there, and his friends. Over Christmas, visiting his grandparents in Germany, David chatted happily with them in German; at home, he has talked eagerly about his Fasching costume and walked along Vanderbilt Avenue holding his Laterne and singing. His experience at KinderHaus contributes immeasurably to his joy, development, and self-image; we feel very fortunate to have found it.” – Claudia & Andrew
“I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful evening we had at the KinderHaus Laternen party. The turn out of all the families was so impressive and even more, the music and skit at the park were equally entertaining. We have been to Laternen festivals in Munich in the past, but nothing matches the scale of what we have seen the other night. Thank you again, and hopefully we can attend the festival again next year. Very much appreciated.” – Jean, Ralf and Jasper
“After only one week of attending KinderHaus, our son’s active command of German went from near zero to speaking in fully formed sentences. Apart from enjoying the language benefit, we have come to appreciate KinderHaus as a fun, warm and safe place for our child to learn, play and make friends.” – Benjamin & Stephanie
“Our daughter has attended KinderHaus for almost a full academic year now; she was 2.5 when she started. We have been very happy with her progress there. She has overcome her shyness and has developed her social skills. She has made new friends and is talking excitedly about her days at KH and her teachers. We have been very impressed with all the instructors there. They are caring and loving, extremely competent in early child education, and completely dedicated. They have followed our instructions and special requests and have given us meaningful feedback about, and detailed accounts of, our child’s development at KH. We feel that we can trust them completely. We also have had very positive experiences with Simona, the founder of KH. She is approachable, open and accommodating when appropriate. There is not a KH related issue that we feel we cannot talk to her about (or that we have not talked to her about). We are excited about the new location and are looking forward to the new academic year.” – Thomas & Maya
“I just wanted to let you know that the Froschgruppe has really been a wonderful experience for Dashiell so far, and we really feel that he has blossomed. Also, I note that although I figured that two days a week would be sufficient to spark his German usage (I have been speaking and reading to him exclusively in German since he was six months old), it really wasn’t until this term when we switched to 3 days a week that he started to consistently address me in German at home. The change has really been dramatic and he brings home new vocabulary all the time. Fortunately, he translates for daddy – if he didn’t, his poor English-speaking daddy would be really lost!” -Yvonne & Hampton
“The KinderHaus is such a fine institution, and we cannot compliment you enough on what you have built. Everything is so well organized, and you employ the best teachers one could wish for.” -Herbert & Sheridan