The parents’ conference in Rosenheim

"And"

"Advertising at the conference centre"

"Advertising at the railway station"

The parents’ conference in Rosenheim

I was ill when I arrived in Rosenheim for the conference, I drank tea for colds, took medicine and coughed nearly all weekend, losing my voice completely at one point, and I have been at home in bed almost ever since. 

It is now time to report on the weekend, however late I am doing so.

I cannot honestly say that I got the most possible out of the conference, but I did my best to take part as much as I could and I soaked up the happy atmosphere.

An international flair!

On my way south-eastwards I collected a group of foreign delegates from the airport at Freising before boarding the double-decker train with them all en route to Rosenheim. That put a bit of an international flare on the whole affair for me. It was a delight for me to rekindle friendships made in Hong Kong and meet some people I had known of for years but had never actually met before. Best of all it was a real treat to have an “English” weekend, something I had not thought about before I set off! 

At Rosenheim railway station we were met by my bestest friend and colleague who escorted us to our hotel. Between the two of us we liaised with the organisers for our “English” visitors, made sure that they were comfortable and did our best to translate for them at the presentations during the following two days.

Translating

I found myself at one point translating from Hungarian to English for an Israeli on one side of me, and, while the Hungarian was being translated publicly into German on the stage, I translated from German into English on the other side of me.

Unfortunately there were not enough people at the conference willing to do this kind of translating and some of the delegates from abroad did not always have someone telling them what was going on, leading to them feeling slightly excluded from the proceedings and not in the picture as far as inclusion in Germany was concerned.

The most difficult task for me was as up on the stage translating questions and answers after Dr Andrew Sutton’s presentation about András Petö.

My bestest friend was also put into a very difficult situation about ten minutes before a podium discussion, when she was asked by the pre-arranged translator to step in instead and do German-English-German translating. Of course she said Yes, but it was not easy.

We decided afterwards that this is not a job for us. It is incredibly difficult first to understand what it is that speakers are saying and what it is that they wish to convey with their words, and then to put it into another language at speed. I could manage it from German and Hungarian into English but not the other way round.

I wait with interest to see how translations will be organised at Munich’s WCCE 2013. I expect that presentations will be in English, as always at a WCCE, so a professional translator will be needed for German speaking delegates. We will see how it goes.

Selling books

When I was not sitting in presentations, listening and translating, I was at the book-stall drinking herbal teas, doing my best not to cough and trying my hardest to sell books. I had copies of my first publication with me, but it being a mainly German-speaking audience I did not expect to sell many of them. Mainly I was there to sell copies of my second book, for my client, Waltraud. It was because of this conference that we had set the March deadline. With more than two hundred delegates present, I was sadly disappointed to sell only fifteen copies. 

Unheilbare Krankheiten and Unfug

I also had with me half a dozen copies of each of András Petö’s books, of which I sold three or four. These books were referred to in two of the main presentations, by Dr Franz Schaffhauser and Dr Andrew Sutton, which drew a little interest. But I still ask myself why it is that so many conductors do not read.

One of the more senior conductors present heard my comment and shook her head, she has never found out why either.

A family affair

Yes, this conference had a bit of an international flair about it but more importantly this conference was first and foremost a family affair.

It was during the bits-in-between that the families-at-work were most apparent. There were children giving the guests “Welcome Brezen” in the form of an ‘&’ to symbolize the und in Petö and Inklusion. At coffee time the tables filled with beautiful homemade cakes made by parents, and parents and children were ever present to ensure that the delegates were content all weekend.

Parental involvement was not so obviously apparent in the conference rooms but it was there nonetheless. From the moderation, through the photography to the sound-control desk, everything was in the hands of the families.  

The content

As for the content of the conference, opinions were divided as to how much we learnt and what there was that was new.

It was very interesting development that the whole of a conference on conductive education covered one specific subject, but this still left room for a diversity of speakers and some lively discussion.

The programme can be found here:

http://www.petoe-und-inklusion.de

And in English here:

http://www.petoe-und-inklusion.de/pdfs/english_version.pdf

On the same site documentation of the presentations will be available to be read very soon.

Summing up

As I said I was feeling poorly at the conference, but I was still able to come away feeling that at least in Rosenheim and the surrounding area, big steps are being taken towards inclusion’s becoming the norm and it will not remain for too long a ‘right’ that always needs to be fought for. There was evidence that there are pedagogues and politicians who are fighting for the cause and may even be supporting the conductors in their arguments that they could be the ideal practitioners to be involved in this process, and could quite possibly fill a huge deficit in pedagogues qualified to work in inclusive schools.

I wonder how the implementation of inclusion will develop across the rest of Germany, a country that as far as the inclusion in mainstream schooling of children with special educational needs is concerned, is far behind many other countries. It was very interesting to hear the speakers from England describing their longstanding practice in a country where inclusion and conductive education were both hot topics when I was training to be a teacher back in the early eighties!

All in all I think that for delegates, presenters and organisers it was a very successful meeting, media coverage since has been good, as was the advertising campaign in the town prior to the conference.

Pre- and post-conference work

The German annual conference is always a good opportunity, when many conductors, teachers, centre-managers etc. are gathered together, for the various associations to convene for annual meetings.

On the morning before the conference the Scientific Board for the 2013 WCCE, Munich, gathered to discuss the next steps in planning. 

Post-conference meetings took place for the German Conductor Association, the European Conductor Association, and the National Association for Conductive Education. The website for the German Conductor Association is the place to look out for any notice of information that is made public from these meetings:

http://www.konduktorenverband.de/index.php?page=home

PS

I still have several copies of both the books by András Petö, if anyone is interested in reading them, in German of course, send me an email.

I also have many copies of the book that I edited that was written by my client Waltraud about her life since surviving a stroke. The same applies drop me a line if you would like to order copies.

Conductive mums play an important role in getting the show on the road

"Laddo enjoying Chinese painting",  February 2012

 

It is congress time of year again in Germany

  

The annual German conference on Conductive Education has missed a year. Well as far as numbers are concerned it has, but it is really only fifteen months since the last one.

The last German gathering was in Würzburg in November, 2010 shortly before the 7^th World Congress took place in Hong Kong. The next German conference will take place next weekend, 9-10 March 2012 in Rosenheim. For the third time in succession Bavaria, which could be described as the hub of German conduction, has been chosen as the host Land.

The conference is called "Petö and Inclusion" and I think that there will be some very interesting discussions about the integration and inclusion policies in the different countries that will be represented. 

I do hope so.

Fortunately this year I will be able to attend for both full days of the conference, Friday and Saturday, as my colleague is kindly working in the after-school group on Friday afternoon. Last time I held the fort so she could attend in Würzburg, now it is my turn.

An international affair

We will of course see what happens on the day but from what I have read here:

http://www.petoe-und-inklusion.de/index.html

http://www.petoe-und-inklusion.de/referenten.html

with an English version here:

http://www.petoe-und-inklusion.de/pdfs/english_version.pdf

I am confident that it is going to be a very successful and interesting gathering.

It will certainly be the most international affair that we have ever had at a conductive conference in Germany, with people attending from Germany, Hungary, Austria, England and Israel, and with contributions from many different walks of life too. I always find that one of the nicest things about conductive conferences is the variety of languages spoken, and the different nationalities of the participants speaking those languages and this is going to be even more international than usual. More important for me is the diversity of the presentations, workshops and podium discussions.

Conductive mums help get the show on the road

The conference has been organized by the committee of FortSchritt Rosenheim e.V. and the committee of the Bundesverbandes der Konduktoren e.V., the National Association for Conductors.

As far as I can tell an awful lot of work is being done by a few people in Rosenheim. I know of two mothers from conductive families who are on the committee of the Rosenheim branch of Fortschritt, who have both been working like crazy for months to help get this show on the road.  Well done to you all for making us already feel so welcome. I for one am looking forward very much to the occasion.

Since the 7^th World Congress for Conductive Education took place in Hong Kong in 2010 we have seen a sharp rise in the number of conductive gatherings in Europe. There are three European projects running concurrently, Comenius, Leonardo and Grundvig. Many conductors have been involved in these meeting and I think that especially the Comenius project, that has involved integrated conductive centres from Finland, Austria, Hungary, England, Sweden and Germany, has been responsible for the creation of new relationships between individuals and the development of opportunities for sharing ideas on the ground floor, where we all work with our clients.

I am expecting to see evidence of these newly formed relationships at this conference at the weekend. I am not sure how this will be evident but perhaps this time there will be a few new faces to be seen and some new voices to be heard.

Watch this spot to find out my verdict. I will do my best to be reporting live, that is if I get the time!

Conductors as school assistants?

"Now come on AP, speak to me, tell me what you think."

Petö Institute, 28th Novemeber 2011

Conductors as assistants, that is my thought of the day!

On the first Sunday in Advent I was in Budapest, reminiscing and thinking about things Hungarian and conductive.

On the Second Advent’s Sunday I was in Nürnberg, looking at the photographs that I took in Budapest, so I was still reminiscing, and thinking, as always, of things conductive.

Over breakfast with two candles, I was thinking especially about things conductive with school children.

Main-stream school

I wondered how many conductors there are working as classroom assistants for children with special needs, and how many conductors, like me, are working closely with assistants in an advisory role and often wishing that certain children could have a conductor as a personal school assistant.

I think that this could possibly be the way forward here, in Germany, where so many of our “conductive lifestyle” children are now attending mainstream school. Could it be possible, would it be a good idea, to introduce conductors as school assistants?

I know that there are already two conductors in Germany doing this work. I know that already several ex-middle-school teachers are doing this work too. Could and should more conductors take on this role? 

What do readers think?

One of my colleagues has worked in her homeland as the classroom assistant for a child with physical disabilities for two years, with much success. She was employed by the child’s parents to work in this position.

Conductive input for school children

In Germany he six-and seven-year-old children have a short school day, finishing at 11.30. When they are eight or nine the school-day is longer, sometimes extending to 13.00.  There is still time for these children to attend conductive sessions two or three times a week.

As children get older the school day gets longer, there is also more homework to complete and more after-school commitments.

What happens then?

What happens to the conductive input? How does the conductor keep an eye on the various areas of the children’s lives if they no longer have the time or the energy to attend conductive sessions once or twice a week? There are of course house visits, and summer intensive blocks or conductive holidays for the children, but perhaps the best solution is to have the conductors there is school as the children’s personal classroom assistant.

Conductive upbringing for at least six hours of the day, that sounds pretty good to me.

Still deep in thought while counting the candles

It is now the third Advent weekend and I am still thinking about this subject that was prompted by a presentation given by Dr Franz Schaffhauser in Budapest on 25^th November, titled the Philosophy and Pedagogy of Inclusion.

I have a case at the moment where a conductive assistant would, I believe, be the perfect solution. I think it would ensure that this specific child makes it. He needs that certain extra to makes the grade for gymnasium, which is his ambition for his future. I think that finding solutions for the complexity of his problems needs a conductive eye, and especially as this child has been brought up conductively for six of his nine years he would take to it like a duck to water.

We will see what the future brings

Have any other conductors got experience to share of working as a child’s classroom assistant in a main-stream school? Any comments and information, experiences and advice all gratefully received.

Wouldn’t it be nice if AP had been a prolific blogger too?

“Thanks Mum!”

I wonder what András Petö would think about all the discussion about inclusion.

He may have written about it on his blog, if he had had one!

I always thought that that was what it was all about at the PAI. If you could not get around school in Hungary you could not go to school. When you were active and motivated and had learnt to be independent in your decision making, in your movements, in all aspects of your life , then you went off to school. Of course that has changed over the years since different school systems have developed but it is still basically what happens at the PAI. Children often attend for a couple of years and then off they go into the big wide world, with a top up now and then. Just like our littlies from Kindergarten who are now at school.

I am very late in adding my comment to a theme that began last week on Andrew Sutton’s Facebook page and in the end when I came to writing it down I discovered that it was just a little too long for Facebook.

I have the permission from Andrew to publish the Facebook conversation here and it will be followed by my rather late thoughts on the matter:

KONFERENZ
'Petö und Inklusion'
Kongress Rosenheim 2012
9.-10. März 2012
Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Rosenheim
... Veranstalter: FortSchritt Rosenheim und der Bundesverband der Konduktoren
8. Fachkongress des Konduktorenverbandes

http://www.konduktorenverband.de/index.php?page=terminkalender

Bundesverband der in Deutschland tätigen KonduktorInnen e.V.

www.konduktorenverband.deFormularbeginn

Susie Mallett Just for clarity, here in the title Petö means conductive practice and not AP, the man himself.

Andrew Sutton So strange, in view of what AP apparently thought about anonymity, personal identity and the reward due to merit, that he should end up an eponym! Not the strangest thing in the whole CE story of course, but an ironical and perhaps telling little aside. Thanks, Susie, for drawing attention to it here.

Susie Mallett ‎"Bärnklau and Inclusion" does not quite have the same ring to it does it?

Andrew Sutton No it does not, and I think this telling. To state the theme in these terms it would be necessary first to read Dr 'Bärnklau' and then ask what on Earth he might have to say of relevance to 'inclusion'... indeed what could he! One might also have to ask specifically what his thinking has to do with what some people call CE and others call 'Peto' (with or without the Umlaut!). By the way, you failed to say that Dr B was in fact Dr P> I suspect that not a lot of people know that!Formularende

Thoughts over the years

Interestingly what Vera Foster says in her book and June Savage said to me personally, one a worker in András Petö’s Institute in the early 1950s and the second a student a little earlier in 1947/8, and also what a young conductor has recently discussed with me, relates to this theme.

All three said that spending eighteen months to two years at the Petö Institute full-time can often be what children need to get all set up for inclusion for the rest of their lives, not just for school. June Savage told me that she is convinced that although she was already in mainstream education before she went to Hungary it was her 1eighteen months in AP’s group that set her up with a lust for living life to the full, gave her the belief that this is how it could and should be.

One of the children that I have worked with in the past remained in the conductive Kindergarten for an extra year for just this reason and it worked. He is set up for life for the whole of his future, not just for attending school. Not only did his walking improve but he also began to learn and to realise how to survive in the big wide world and at school. He worked really hard on spacial awareness, recognizing that there is something to the left of him, something else to the right, under, over, beside and at his feet. Now he sees it all whereas earlier on he did not. He spent a year learning that there is a world beyond the end of his nose and now he is out in it enjoying it, not only at school. This is what inclusion is about and I think this is want AP was on about too.

What do others guess that he was “on about”?

Vera Foster said in her book, and it is my belief too, that it was not important to András Petö whether children missed a year or two of academic schooling. It was important that they learnt how to go to school and how to learn.

AP and inclusion, yes I think so, but not meaning only school. AP was all about learning to live in the big wide world and all that it included.

I get the feeling that nowadays when inclusion is spoken about people only mean the right to go to mainstream school. For me inclusion means learning how to live in the world and this does mean learning how to go to school, that school may be mainstream it may not but it means an awful lot more. This is what we need to fight for, the right to learn how to achieve as much as we can, to learn how to want to be involved in life.

We must not only fight for the right to go to mainstream school but also for the education necessary to get there.

Notes

Vera Forster wrote in her autobiography, A Daughter of her Century, The Clucket Press, 2009: “The lack of formal education did not appear to affect the children’s intellectual development. You have to take my word for it, because Petö would no more tolerate a psychologist with an intelligence test than a salesman selling orthopaedic aids. Exercise was education. As far as I know none of the children had any difficulty with learning when they went back to school.”

One of my PSs is needed here…

…because of the picture at the top called: “Thanks Mum!”.

Thanks to my Mum, not only for collecting and scrapbooking endless amounts of treasures, the extent of which I am only now discovering, (oh how I wish we had shared this passion more when she was alive), I thank her also for teaching me how to arrange flowers. Her joy in flowers and presenting them as gorgeous, multi-coloured presents she certainly did share with me when she was alive.

It was because I grew up learning about nature, loving the shapes and the colours, the height, the smallness and the greatness of it all that I won my one and only prize ever at school for flower arranging, and I was only nine-years-old.

Mum kept this treasured First Prize tag that had stood up against the pewter vase with my spring arrangement of daffodils and lambs-tails. I may have been only nine-years-old but I had been learning how to arrange flowers from the garden and the hedgerow all my life. I picked red-dead-nettles for my Grandmother and arranged them for her in her scullery in a lovely log-like miniature vase. I picked primroses and violets for my Mum for Mother’s Day and arranged them in tiny posies. I was still arranging flowers with my Mum in the weeks before she died and I always arrange flowers for her, each time I am home, in the same pewter vase that won the prize with the display of daffodils and hazelnut-catkins.

I won that prize early on in my schooling and I never ever felt the need to win another. It did not matter to me whether I was good at mathematics or chemistry (I was not), or whether I could make the best Victoria Sandwich in the school, (I suspect that the person who could do that was my sister). What mattered to me was learning stuff from my Mum and Dad. 

Stuff like arranging flowers, hanging wall paper, cutting out jigsaws, polishing shoes, mending a bike, plucking a pheasant, catching and filleting a plaice, sewing a dress, grouting tiles, cutting glass, or double digging the garden. All of that, plus winning first prize for a flower arrangement, I had done before I started grammar school. It is that kind of “stuff” all part of growing up, learnt on the side, it seemed at the time, that has motivated me to go out and make the most of my life.

And I also think that it is why I am the pedagogue that I am.

Thanks Mum, and Dad of course.

Stars in your eyes

Sis and I, off to Sunday School, 1962

Always stars

I was at school with Little Princess last week when the teacher asked the class if they could guess why the television crew had asked whether they could come to film in the classroom.

There were so many different answers but not one child guessed, until the teacher fed the answer into their mouths.  The teacher explained that it was exactly for this reason that it is just taken for granted by them that they have a child with disability in the class, that the television wanted to make a film about them.

The film would be shown with the hope that it would educate others the teacher explained. The teacher said that how the children accept each other in their classroom is ideally how it should always be and not an exceptional situation and that this is what the television wanted to present.

Witnessing this dialogue between the teacher and the class brought tears to my eyes. Having found this class for our Little Princess three years ago really was a splendid thing.

I had tears not only in my eyes but rolling down my cheeks this evening when I watched the results of this filming project.

Fame for a day

Little Princess went home on Friday evening in a hurry. She wanted to be home to watch herself on the television.

Her last words to me as she left were to ask if I would be home to see it too.

“I have no television”, I answered.

“And the neighbours?” she asked.

She was really pleased with her performance at school that morning and wanted me to see the film about her and her school-day when it was aired that same evening.

I did not tell her that I would probably not be home until after nine o’clock and would probably miss the repeat showing too, but I promised that I would see the programme somehow, even if it was later, in a recording.

I was out all day yesterday and have just had a look in the archives of Franken television to find the super-star and there she is, smiling so early in the morning and still smiling after a hard day at school and even harder day under the spotlights. The classroom assistant, teacher and all the children were excellent in their supporting roles too.

Take a look here:

http://www.frankenfernsehen.tv/default.aspx?ID=4448&showNews=1058762

I have translated the text from the website and posted it here, below. I will post a PS later with a rough translation of the film script.

Behinderte und Nichtbehinderte Kinder lernen gemeinsam

Behinderte und nichtbehinderte Kinder können nicht gemeinsam lernen, so ein lang gehegter Irrglaube in deutschen Klassenzimmern. Vor etwa zehn Jahren starteten die ersten Modellprojekte um das Gegenteil zu beweisen.

Seit diesem Schuljahr gibt es in Bayern 41 Schulen, die sowohl von nichtbehinderten als auch von behinderten Kindern besucht werden. Es handelt sich um sogenannte Inklusions-Schulen. Dass das bestens funktionieren kann, zeigt das Beispiel der kleinen Felicia.

Disabled and non- disabled learn together

Disabled and non-disabled children cannot learn together, or so goes the long fostered misconception in German classrooms. Ten years ago we saw the beginning of the first pilot scheme to prove the opposite.

From the beginning of this school year there are now forty-one Bavarian schools that are attended by both disabled and non-disabled children. These are the so-called Inclusion-schools. An example of how well this system can work is shown here by Felicia.

Equal rights: does this mean inclusion?

Down and up the Tyne

I am writing this on the plane as I travel back from a three-day meeting in England where, although inclusion was not topic of discussion on the agenda, I did discuss it with a few of the delegates who work in England, in between our organised sessions.

In England inclusion is nothing new it is becoming the way of life for teachers working in special schools and conductive centres. In Germany it is, as one special-school teacher said, “still something new”. The same teacher and also a physio-therapist went on to tell me what inclusion means in their own personal opinions. This was the difference that I discovered. In England, inclusion is defined officially within the education system while in Germany it still seems to be a matter of individuals’ fighting for inclusion, expressing their personal opinion and making their own separate decisions as to what inclusion and/or integration mean.

Recently I was told by some parents in Germany that it had been my unthinking assumption that their child would try for a place in mainstream school that had given one of the families I work with the courage, confidence and energy to keep searching for a mainstream placement for their child even after being rejected once. I suppose that this assumption stems from my knowledge of what it is like in the UK.

In Germany it is a long, long fight and only the children with parents tough enough to fight get the chance of attending mainstream school. But does this give them less chance of gaining equal opportunities? I do not think so if the alternative, the special-school placement, is well chosen. If it is chosen because it offers the best possible placement for the child.

It would be really nice to hear reader’s views on equal rights, abuse and inclusion. Get writing please.

Equal rights

York Station, June 2011

Abuse on public transport

In an article that leads the front page of The Times today the chairman of Scope, who is a wheelchair-user, discusses some figures that the organisation has gathered on the level of abuse that occurs towards people with a disability while using public transport in Britain. She claims that the amount of abuse occurring is increasing.

We must realise that these figures have been gathered by Scope, a charity that was founded in 1952 by three parents and a social worker who were determined that disabled children should have rights equal to those of their non-disabled peers. The figures could in some way be biased towards the present activities of this charitable organisation. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, however, also has something to say on this subject. It confirms that public transport is: “a hotspot for violence and harassment targeted at disabled people”.

A report will be published by the Commision in the autumn of this year releasing its research figures on this matter.

What can I contribute on this subject that hit today’s headlines?

As far as what is happening in the United Kingdom I have no opinion to offer as I do not know any wheelchair users with whom I can discuss this. All I can do is to relate stories from my experiences in Germany.

Many of the adults who live and/or work at the centre where I also work approach me regularly to talk to me about their experiences out in the big wide world and in particular while using public transport.

Why me? Well, it is most probably because they know me as a cyclist who jumps on and off public transport with a bike. It is cyclists using public transport who cause difficulties for many wheelchair-users.

My clients and colleagues tell me that they often come across cyclists and bus and tram drivers who an inconsiderate, unwilling to cooperate and actually do not comply with the rules of the local transport system.

There are places on all buses and trams in Nürnberg designated for the use of wheelchairs, prams and bicycles, in that order of priority. If I jump on a bus that is empty enough for my bike to fit, then a couple of stops later mums with prams or wheelchair-users wish to use the place, I have to alight and use my muscle-power or wait for another bus to arrive with enough space for me. According to the disabled people who talk to me, many cyclists are uncooperative and refuse to comply. I am told that they can also become abusive and in such cases the expected cooperation from the driver is not forthcoming.

All cyclists should know the rules of the road: we are only allowed on a bus or a tram when there is enough space not to cause danger or inconvenience to other passengers. Drivers are supposed to reinforce this.

I have helped all I can by acquiring the leaflets from the local transport company that explain the rules-of-the-road, hoping that by distributing these amongst the wheelchair and public transport users they will give confidence to confront the passengers who occupy their rightful spots, and to ask the drivers to help them in educating the general public, encouraging all to act with due respect to fellow travelers.

In the sixty-six years since Scope was first established I wonder how much further we have gone along the path to equal opportunities for all, of gaining equal rights for disabled and non-disabled people.

It would be interesting to know what people have to say in other countries.

Notes

“Disabled face rising levels of abuse, says charity boss”, The Times, June 11, 2011
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/

Back to the daily routine

Bus in Kowloon

Temple Street

In amongst the many emails I have looked at this morning there were two from friends sending me the following link presumably received in a Google Alert. One friend sends it with no comment and the other with a message asking me what this is all about.

http://www.maerkischeallgemeine.de/cms/beitrag/11943864/61129/Konzept-fuer-Integrationskita-vorgestellt-Ex-Buergermeister-wirbt-mit.html

I do not know what it is all about but I will try to find out.

The article states that Sabine Falkenberg, the director of one of the providers of Kindergartens in Berlin, Berliner Kita-Trägervereins; a physiotherapist, Katrin Winterfeldt and an ex-Lord Mayor, Joachim Bienert, have joined forces and are searching for a building where they can set up the region’s first integrated Kindergarten. The three have got together to open up a Kindergarten that will eventually provide places for fifteen children with special needs.

All Kindergartens in Germany state what method of upbringing they will be using with the groups of children and in this case it will be Conductive.

They say they will be using this holistic form of upbringing, through which a complex learning system is developed. They say that physio-, occupational, speech therapy and Heil (healing) pedagogic upbringing should all be integrated into one method, so that the classic individual treatments can be avoided. During the time in the Kindergarten the disabled children will learn to become active, to become independent in everyday activities, and when the time comes to attend mainstream school.

It is encouraging to read that others are moving forwards in the direction of integrated Kindergartens. We have very successfully developed integrated Kindergartens in Nürnberg , and the progress is especially good for those children who have attended a parent and child group before moving on to Kindergarten.

We are a few steps ahead of the Berliners here in Nürnberg. We opened our integrated Kindergarten several years ago now and have recently received the funding from the government for our after school conductive group for the children from mainstream school. The article does not say whether, like us, conductors will be employed to work in the Kindergarten.

I will try to find out more from my colleagues when I return to work tomorrow.

Apple crumble and the supermarket dash

Off to the oven with the crumble

Snip snip

Sometimes I hardly believe what a wonderful team we have developing in the lives of our little ones who attend mainstream school. Every single person involved in their lives is determined to succeed.

Last week one of the school assistants asked whether, on the day that she visits "Petö" to pick up tips and ask questions, she might do some cooking with the children. Not only that, she offered to take the children shopping for the ingredients on the way over to us from school.

Shopping

The school assistant later showed me the photos and the videos of the children that she had taken in the supermarket. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was hard to believe that she had had the chance to take photos, but the two children are really independent.

There were pictures of Little Princess, who nly three months ago started to walk home alone, and her mate the Jolly Prof., who had learnt to walk independently two years ago, whizzing around like mad things with their own hand-made shopping lists made in the group last Friday, each with a little shopping trolley. There was a video of Little Princess hanging on to her trolley and chasing Jolly Prof. with his, both of them shrieking with joy! I do hope that the other customers enjoyed the sight as much as I did on film.

In Germany we have child-sized trolleys in many supermarketsIt was these that the two children had been using today.

They did not seem to mind that they were eating their lunch at three in the afternoon, or that the apple crumble that they cooked was not out of the oven ready to take home for tea. They had had a whale of a time and had no idea that they were "at Petö" for the afternoon!

Including

When I was at the Petö Institute we had lots of wonderful role-play mornings and afternoons, enacting real life in the group rooms. I am so happy that with this wonderful team we are able to do more than role play. We do the real-life action, and even get it down on film!

I do not have the photographs of the dash around the supermarket yet, but I do have some of the cooking action.

A big thank you to the classroom asssitant who set off this spontaneous spot of action!