graz for kids
Hello Expat Families! Find out about activities for kids in Graz!

Category Archives: Graz

First snow… oh no!

October 29, 2012

Somehow I didn’t want to believe it – the weather forecast was right! It’s SNOWING already.

October was so beautiful and sunny, with some cool days but still felt like Autumn.

Well today it’s Winter, I’m telling you! Temperatures are between 2 to 4 degrees Celsius…

I am posting this photo for my friends and blogging fellows in Singapore. Hope you like it!

I am hoping this Winter is not going to be full of dark foggy days though. Those days depress me.

But I am looking forward to having fun in the snow with my son! That is gonna be cool.

Posted by in Graz, News Tags: , , ,

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New cultural events for kids in Graz

October 4, 2012

From October to December 2012 there is a serious of cultural events taking place in Graz for children aged 4 – 8.

These are organized by Kultum: Kulturzentrum bei den Minoriten.

The serious is named “Junge Augen” – “Young Eyes” and it is a Winter edition. The events go from puppet shows to theatre and there are different times and locations. My favourite is already:

“Es Weihnachtet bei Mimi und Brumm” / Puppet theatre by Margrit Gysin from Switzerland! It surely sounds like a lovely story of two little bears, who celebrate Christmas in the forest with lots of candles, the sound of violins and gold glitter…!

Dates: 12 + 13.12.2012

  • For all details (in German) please follow this link:www.kultum.at/junge-augen

Posted by in Events, Graz, Graz for Kids, Kids Activities Tags: , , , , ,

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Graz for Kids – Preschool Education in Graz

September 13, 2012

Another school year just began! For my son it’s his 2nd year at nursery school in Graz. One year ago I was an absolute beginner and I encountered many questions and doubts along the way…

What kind of daycare to choose from?
How to get started?
What to expect?
How to get accepted?

This article is just for reference and it does not aim at replacing any research that parents should do on their own. The goal is to give a first guidance and to share some personal experiences, especially as this topic is missing on the Graz Expat Blog and I was asked to contribute. So here it goes!

1. General Information
Preschool education is not compulsory in Austria. Except for the last year before primary school, children have the right to stay at home until the age of 5. This means the state is not 100% responsible for providing families with enough daycare centers to cover the actual demand. When I applied for my son in 2011, one director told me that the state centers only cover for about 30% of the actual demand in Graz!
This said, you can imagine how DIFFICULT it is to get your child admitted into a state daycare – or any daycare at all.
Until the age of 3 children attend the “Kinderkrippe“. Sometimes it is called “Krabbelstube”. Here the teacher to student ratio is quite good. The younger the kids are, the higher is the number of staff looking after them. Maximum are 12 kids per group and it can amount to 5 teachers/assistant teachers. There are currently 16 such public centers in Graz.
From 3 to 6 children attend “Kindergarten“. And then they move on to primary school, which is compulsory as is education until the age of 15. Here you can find groups of maximum 24 kids being supported by 2 teachers. There are currently 48 kindergardens in Graz.


The differences among the different centers are huge:

Some offer only half-day, others full-day. Full day can mean from 7am to 5pm OR from 7am to 3pm. Children are not allowed to stay for longer than 8 hours/day. Some offer all snacks and lunch, others don’t. Some have large green outdoor spaces, others have smaller ones but in general they all cater for outdoor activities. Some are closed during 8 weeks in Summer (plus Christmas, Carnival and Easter) and other offer their services almost continuously except for 3 weeks in Summer and all public holidays.

2. Finding a daycare center
There is a centralised organisation in charge of the entire coordination, it is called Kinderdrehscheibe Graz: kinderdrehscheibe@stmk.volkshilfe.at.
3. Applying for daycare
The period for application normally takes place in the beginning of March each year. However, all public centers have open days during January and February. You can check the dates at:
It is very advisable to go there on such days and get to know the director and staff. However, my experience has shown that what you see during the open day is really just a reference. More interesting to me is how the center WORKS on a DAILY BASIS. If you would like to see that too, try to schedule a visit for a regular day. Some centers go with that.


4. Plan B
If your child does not get a vacancy at a daycare center, you might want to think about going for a care taker. Care takers are called “Tagesmuetter”, i.e. “day moms” because they look after the children during the day.
4a) Is it easier to find a vacancy? NO.
4b) Will you need to make several phone calls, visits and spend sleepless nights before you EVENTUALLY find the right care taker? Definitely YES.
4c) Are there happy endings when looking for a care taker? I’ve heard of some!


Here’s where you can look for one:

Tagesmütter Verein
Volkshilfe

GOOD LUCK and happy beginnings!

 

Posted by in Education, Graz, Graz for Kids, News Tags: ,

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Graz4Kids is a blog for families and their kids in Graz/Austria.

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