The St. Peter daycare center has space for 75 children aged between two and six, who are cared for in three different groups. Each of them has its own room in which games and books await their use. “Our budget is good, but since daycare toys are often more expensive than in stores and we pay attention to certification, we have to budget our money,” says Jens Blum, the daycare center’s director. For example, there are high-quality games such as spoon golf, in which an obstacle course is built out of wooden parts and a ball must be guided around corners and up and down until it rings a bell at the finish. “This promotes fine motor skills and concentration, and there are different levels of difficulty depending on age,” explains Blum.
There are also digital toys such as the Anybook reader. “We don’t just want to be sustainable, we also want to keep up with the times,” says Blum. The donation from the role-playing and simulation game club KaRoTa comes at just the right time. The club, which was founded in 2002, is all about board games, card games and role-playing games. “Our goal is to support children and young people in and around Kaiserslautern,” explains member Stefan Kleiner. There are events at the university in Kaiserslautern twice a year: tables are set up in the foyer where board games can be played. “Everything that can be played without a computer can be found here,” says Maximilian Lenz from KaRoTa.
Playing promotes children’s development
People from all over Europe study at the university and come together for these events. But other guests are also welcome. Donations are raised through the entrance fee and the sale of food and drinks, as well as an auction or tombola. “We at KaRoTa know that the importance of playing is also immensely important for adults and that everyone should definitely keep the child inside them,” Kleiner emphasizes. Playing brings people together, brings joy and makes friends, and “through playing, children develop socially, emotionally, motorically, linguistically and intellectually.”
It has not yet been decided what the donation will be spent on at the St. Peter daycare center, and it is not intended to be rushed. “We want to think carefully and carefully about what we are going to buy,” says daycare center director Blum. It should be something that would not normally be possible – “perhaps a larger purchase that we can only afford thanks to this generous donation.”
Still questions?
The next convention days of the role-playing and simulation game association KaRoTa will take place in November. More information online at www.karota.de.
