Enthusiasm for reading from an early age: At the Frankfurt Book Fair, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association and the German Library Association awarded the Kindergarten & Hort im Alten Schulhaus the Buchkita seal of approval for its commitment to promoting reading in early childhood.

The Buchkita seal of approval recognizes childcare facilities in which early childhood experiences involving storytelling, rhyming and reading are a focal point of the educational concept. Buchkitas emphasize regular reading aloud, a varied approach to books, age-appropriate media education and bringing children into contact with reading locations such as bookshops or libraries.

The kindergarten & after-school care center in the old school building impressed with its concept, which includes its own library with over 600 books and free lending for all children as part of the book exchange.

In 2022, 108 daycare centers throughout Germany were honored for their special commitment to getting children interested in stories and language at an early age. 260 facilities applied for the seal of approval. The Kindergarten & Hort im Alten Schulhaus is the only daycare center in the district of Ebersberg to receive this award.

“We are very pleased that this seal makes the great work of our team visible in an area that has been so important to us for so many years,” says Carola Steiner, 1st Chairwoman of the Markt Schwaben e.V. preschool.

“In times when digitalization continues to advance, we as educators are very pleased that reading promotion continues to be an essential part of early childhood education. It promotes calmness, concentration and language development,” adds Heike Thamm, Head of the Kindergarten & After-School Care Center in the Old Schoolhouse.

The Buchkita seal of approval will be awarded for the fourth time in 2022. The children’s book author and illustrator Paul Maar is the patron of the seal of approval. Sponsors are Verlagsgruppe Beltz, Carlsen Verlag, Buchhandlung Eulenspiegel (Hochheim am Main), Moritz Verlag, Verlagsgruppe Oetinger, Taunus Sparkasse, Thienemann-Esslinger, Irmgard-Clausen-Stiftung, S. Fischer Verlag GmbH – Fischer-Sauerländer, Loewe Verlag GmbH and Magellan GmbH & Co.KG. The seal of approval was initiated in 2019 by the Börsenverein’s reading promotion interest group and the German Library Association’s commission for children’s and youth libraries.

Further information can be found on the website www.guetesiegel-buchkita.de.

Our facility has its own library with more than 600 titles. Here all children have the opportunity to help themselves at any time. There is also the possibility of “book exchange”. Here the children can take home a book of their choice once a week.

Books also find their way into our everyday lives in many different ways:

• Advent stories with a visit from a gnome
• Picture book cinema
• Kamishibai
• Reading corners
• Radio plays, Tonies
• Participation in the nationwide reading aloud day
• Book presentation and sale in cooperation with the parents’ council
• Cooperation with the Markt Schwaben community library e.g. book driving license for pre-school children
• Book boxes (e.g. the “Bee-Box” project)
• Various accompanying projects, games and creative activities to go with the stories read
• and much more.