I knew before moving here that the preschool system in Germany is awesome. But, the depths of the awesomeness is why the kita, and specifically Hugo's kita, is on the top of my list for best things about living in Berlin.
I did a pretty thorough search in Portland for preschool options for Crosby and settled on a community center based program that was close to our house. We paid $100 a month for two hours, two days a week. Crosby was only two-and-a-half so preschool was about getting him around other kids, a little exposure to some germs, and of course, a little time for me to get some work done. The teacher was friendly as were the other families with kids.
My biggest complaint about the program was that we had to take turns signing up to bring snacks. I objected on a couple levels. First, I thought it was silly that for a two-hour program there needed to be snacks. Our family more or less follows the French "no-snacking so your kids actually sit at the table and eat together for meals" philosophy. Secondly, considering most of the snacks were non perishable specific brands that were no nut, fish, or banana allergy requirement - it seems like something that the program could do in advance without parental involvement.
Fast forward to kita life here in Berlin. For essentially the same amount of money, 93 Euros a month, we get:
- 5-7 hours of care a day with flexible drop-off between 8-9 and 9:30-10:00
- Teachers that have the US equivalent of a Masters in early childhood education
- Play-based learning model in German and Spanish
- Tuesday music class with Lucio, an Argentinian musician
- Wednesday field trip - half or full-day to parks or museums around town (using public transportation when not Corona time)
- Vegetarian, mostly organic breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack
AND, when there is food left over, they send it home with the parents. Well, as you all may know, I am not shy about free food and so, most days, I come home with kita food and prepare what I like to call "Kita Remixes". Enjoy a gallery of typical dishes of amateur photography and above average results with links to my favorite internet recipes.
Photo: Corn Bread
I used a corn based chowder from kita and used it like creamed corn this corn bread recipe. I often use up extra dessert, usually yogurt, in breads.
Photo: Banana Apricot Compote Muffins
I took this photo to show my neighbor Val that I baked in the wrong mix-ins. As you can see, I also do not shy away from discount grocery items. I often use the fruity dessert or fruit, carrot, or beat salad in muffins.
Photo: Shepherd's Pie Surprise
Shocker - Germans eat a lot of potatoes. Thus, I make a lot of shepherds pie. Sometimes we eat it right away, and often there are so many potatoes that I make a pie to freeze. Usually I put frozen peas or green beans in with some kita sauce and some kind of protein on the bottom. For these potatoes, I used up the rest Val's cream cheese to make mashed potatoes. Yes - my neighbors also empty their fridges at my house before they go on vacation. There is a theme here...
Photo: Green Bean Casserole Flop
Germans also eat a lot of knödle - which is basically a dumpling. I put the knödle in the food processor, and then put it on top of green beans to make some kind of green bean casserole. Unfortunately the knödle had a weird taste as did the kita sauce. So, it's going to be desperate times when we pull this out of the freezer again to eat.
Not Pictured: Quiche
Most kita sauces end up in quiche which we eat about one a week. My most recent paneer, cucumber quiche seemed like a real gamble, but unlike the green bean flop, it actually worked. Sometimes I'll use-up extra kita rice to make a rice crust and other times I buy a quiche crust. I also bought silicon molds to make mini frittatas to put on rolls and freeze for easy-on-the-go bike-box breakfasts. Did I mention the boys eat their first breakfast on the bike? The Biggs boys are not morning people, so we get a little more sleep by riding and eating.
Guten Appetite.
