Die Kita „Kleine Füchse“ befindet sich zwar auf dem Campus des Forschungszentrums Jülich. However, it is not a company daycare, but rather a daycare closely affiliated with the company. Parents who are not employees of the research center can also enroll their children at the “Little Foxes.”
The parent initiative “Kleine Füchse e. V.” is the sponsor of the daycare center. It is supported by the district of Düren, the Jülich Research Center, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and the city of Jülich.
The daycare center “Kleine Füchse” cares for 134 children aged 4 months to 14 years. In addition to infant groups, mixed-age groups, and a regular kindergarten group, there is also an after-school group—the last and only one in Jülich. All other after-school care programs have been replaced by open all-day primary schools.
An important goal is to introduce children to science and technology in a playful way. The direct proximity to research center jülich and its JuLab school laboratory is important for this. This makes it possible to go on excursions where children can experience scientific work in a child-friendly way. The direct access to the forest and the natural design of our outdoor area allow the children to understand their environment with all their senses.
The daycare is certified as a “House of Little Scientists”. For For their own, spontaneous or guided experimentation, the children have a wide range of materials at their disposal, which they can find at any time in the research room, in the studio, in the construction room or on the outdoor area.
The second unique selling point is bilingualism: German and English are spoken at the daycare center. Both languages should be used on all occasions and in all situations of daily life, so that the children experience continuous and intensive contact with the foreign language in all relevant contexts. The children should discover that it is possible to successfully conquer the world in several languages. Each teacher speaks only their mother tongue (German and English).
