• Do you have a son or daughter aged between 18 months and 3 years?
• Would you like your child to play outside and have fun with other children?
• Are you looking for a playgroup where your child can make friends?
• Would you like to ease your child into spending time away from mummy/daddy?

Then Aktion Kinderparadies e.V. is just what you’ve been looking for!

Running and jumping, sliding, climbing, playing in the sand and mud...
singing, swinging, digging, playing hide and seek...
being outside in the fresh air, experiencing the changing seasons, hearing the birds sing...
making friends, exploring the world...

… this is what our outdoor playgroups have to offer…and more!

We run supervised playgroups for toddlers (18 months to 3 years) at two playgrounds in Oberursel on two to four mornings per week (9am to 12 noon). Children normally attend two mornings a week, but after they have settled in well, parents may wish to send them for four mornings a week.

The children are supervised at the playgroup by two trained childcare workers (and if the group is larger than 10 (max. 15), a parent also forms part of the childcare team).

We run our playgroups at two playgrounds in Oberursel.

Both playgrounds have equipment suitable for younger children. The playgrounds are fenced in and have “child-proof” gates.

There is a large wooden hut belonging to our organisation at each playground, where we store our toys and where there are nappy-changing facilities. If it’s raining, the groups can eat their mid-morning snack under cover, as the huts have a roofed terrace.

If it’s pouring with rain or particularly cold, each group has access to an indoor playroom (Kinderhaus for the Camp King group, and Christuskirche for the Deschauer Park group) very close to the playground where they can go and play in the warm if necessary! This ensures that our playgroups run throughout the year whatever the weather.

Regular Routine
Once all the children have arrived, the group gathers to sing some “good morning” songs and eat a mid-morning snack together. (This is referred to as breakfast, but children will normally have eaten their first meal of the day at home!) The children bring their own food and drink with them.
At the end of playgroup, the children gather to sing goodbye songs, usually together with their parents, who have arrived to collect them.

What Our Playgroups Offer
Our open-air supervised playgroups are open to children aged between 18 months and 3 years (when they start Kindergarten). They take place two mornings a week (Tuesday/Thursday and Wednesday/Friday) from 9am to 12 noon and are run by two trained childcare workers, assisted by a parent (on a roster basis).
Our playgroups enable children to play alongside, and of course learn to play with, other children, and ease them into spending time away from their parents. They allow the children to play outside whatever the weather and explore their surroundings. They also provide the children with ample opportunity to practise and develop key age-appropriate skills such as running, jumping and climbing as well as fine motor skills.
Rituals such as the welcome songs, sitting down to eat their snacks together, playing games and the “goodbye circle” foster the children’s sense of belonging and community, which also encourages their independence and ability to function as part of a group. The Aktion Kinderparadies playgroups thus also help prepare children for Kindergarten.
For children who don’t (yet) speak any German, our playgroups are the ideal environment in which to expose them to the German language, as the language of play is universal, which means that they can enjoy the group from day one whilst learning German by absorption! Experience has shown that they pick German up very quickly and integrate well.

Our organisation’s playgroups are designed to meet the needs in particular of families who don’t need full-time childcare, but would still like their children to be part of a regular playgroup, and would as parents like to meet other parents and have a bit of free time to themselves.

Parents’ Role in the Playgroups
Our organisation is not a commercial one, and is almost entirely self-financing. This means that we can only offer such good-value childcare if parents form part of the childcare team.
Specifically, this means that as soon as there are 11 or more (max. 15) children in the group, or in the event that one of the childcare workers is ill, one parent is always “on duty” together with the childcare workers. The duty roster is drawn up by a designated volunteer parent representative prior to the start of the month. It is important that the parent on duty arrives punctually. Another parent is always on standby, in case a childcare worker or the parent on duty cannot make it.
We ask that parents support the childcare workers by helping to set up and clear away the toys.


A Few Important Requests

• Please ensure that your child is always dressed appropriately for the weather (sun protection, waterproof clothing, warm clothing, sturdy shoes).
• Please ensure that your child has a clean nappy on/goes to the toilet before you leave for playgroup. Please pack a spare nappy if your child is not potty trained.
• Please let the childcare workers know in advance if your child will be collected by someone other than yourself.
• Please let the childcare workers know immediately if your child has a serious or contagious illness, and do not send your child to playgroup until they are well and no longer contagious.
• Please pack a healthy snack and drink for your child (no sweets, fruit juice, etc. – especially in the summer, because of wasps).
• Please make sure your child attends playgroup regularly, as this helps them to feel part of the group and makes it easier for them to be apart from you.

The Weather
The children play outside whatever the weather, which is why appropriate clothing is so important. If it’s pouring with rain or particularly cold, each group has access to an indoor playroom (Kinderhaus for the Camp King group, and Christuskirche for the Deschauer Park group) very close to the playground where they can go and play in the warm if necessary. This ensures that our playgroups run throughout the year whatever the weather.

Annual Costs:
Membership of the Aktion Kinderparadies e.V. organisation: €30 per year
(only members can attend a playgroup)

Playgroup times:
Two, three or four mornings per week, 9am to 12 noon
(usually closed only between Christmas and New Year)

Monthly Fees: €80 or €160 per month, depending on how many days
(last increased on 1 January 2023 – subject to change)

We are committed to supporting the social integration of single parents, low-income families, and families new to Germany. We would like to enable as many families who would like to send their child to our playgroup to do so, so have introduced the following policy:

Low-income families can apply for support as set out in our support guidelines. Further information will be available soon under “Downloads”. If you would like to know more in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will of course treat all enquiries confidentially.

When your child is still very young and has always been looked after by a parent up until now, they will need a settling in period so that they can get to know the playground, the childcare workers and the children, and feel comfortable being without you. Every child is different. The “Settling-in Process” document sets out our approach in detail.

Our experience has shown that there are certain things you can do that usually make the settling in period easier for both the child and the parent:

• Bring your child to the playground regularly during the settling in period, and try to arrive at 9am.
• For the first few sessions, stay at the playground together with your child.
• Only leave the playground for a short period of time the first time you go (around 15 minutes), and then extend that gradually as agreed with the key childcare worker. Your child needs to learn that every time you leave you come back!
• Tell your child that you are leaving before you go!
• As soon as you have said goodbye to your child, do then leave. If you hesitate, you will unsettle your child and they will try to get you to stay.
• If your child cries when you leave, wait around the corner (where your child can’t see you) for a few minutes to see whether they stop crying.
• Don’t expect too much of your child! The age at which a child is happy at the supervised playgroup at the playground differs from child to child. Also, the amount of time a child is happy playing there per day can differ – some children are already tired after playing outside for two hours, which can make them grizzly.
• Don’t forget that every child can regress or have a difficult period or a bad day, and at such times it is particularly important not to expect too much of your child.
• Don’t bring your child to the playground if they are not feeling well.

Running and jumping, sliding, climbing, playing in the sand and mud...
singing, swinging, digging, playing hide and seek...
being outside in the fresh air, experiencing the changing seasons, hearing the birds sing...
making friends, exploring the world...

… this is what our outdoor playgroups have to offer…and more!

The offer of supervised play at municipal playgrounds, organised by the Aktion Kinderparadies e.V. organisation, is designed for children aged from 18 months to 3 years (starting Kindergarten).

Our playgroups enable children to play alongside, and of course learn to play with other children, and ease them into spending time away from their parents.

They allow the children to play outside whatever the weather and explore their surroundings. They also provide the children with ample opportunity to practise and develop key age-appropriate skills such as running, jumping and climbing as well as fine motor skills.

Rituals such as the welcome songs, sitting down to eat their snacks together, playing games and the “goodbye circle” foster the children’s sense of belonging and community, which also encourages their independence and ability to function as part of a group. The Aktion Kinderparadies playgroups thus also help prepare children for Kindergarten.

Our organisation’s playgroups are designed to meet the needs in particular of families who don’t need full-time childcare, but would still like their children to be part of a regular playgroup, and would as parents like to meet other parents and have a bit of free time to themselves.