Lernwerkstatt im Wasserschloss

Our school is a private school, located in one part if a water castle in Pottenbrunn, organized by the parents of our students. We are the biggest and oldest alternative private school of Austria. Our school was found in 1990 by a group of parents. At the moment we have about 90 students who are between 6 and 15 years old. During a school day, the students can choose where they want to be, who they want to be with, work with or play with and for how long. Children from 6 to 12 are called the Primaria and children from 12 to 15 are called the Sekundaria. Our pedagogical work is mainly based on the scientific basic research of Jean Piaget, the findings of Maria Montessori, the practical experience of Rebecca and Mauricio Wild and the newest neurobiology research. Beyond that our organisation is very interested in putting these research results into practise our daily lives and our daily work. Every human/ every person has its own development plan from birth onwards. Therefor it is very important that the kids grow up in an affectionate and harmonious atmosphere, so they can find out more about their own personality and their true interests. In our school we have different learning areas and our students can choose where to go and what to do. Children and youngsters decide independently, there is no set schedule. They are accompanied by and in good contact with our staff members the whole time. Mentioned below a brief overview about our learning areas: language area – offers different materials for writing, reading, painting, telling stories, practising the pronunciation and the tense, practising communication (together with others or by themselves) music area – offers different musical instruments, which our children can try to play mathematic area – offers different materials, games and instruments for learning and solving arithmetic and geometry problems (children can use the materials alone or together with a teacher) kitchen area – our children also have the possibility to cook and to go and buy the food for cooking. Thus they will learn more about different types of food, healthy nutrition, handling money, calculate quantities, etc. cosmic area – offers different materials to learn more about the earth, nature, and about the environment. Our children also organize exhibitions on different topics. role play area – our children can create their own role plays – it´s very important for the personal development. With different fancy dresses, materials and stage props our children can slip into other persons, stories, they can create their own reality –and can thus learn to understand the different roles of human beings. handicraft and workshop area – our youngsters and children can collect experience with different materials like wood, clay and others. So they can create new things outdoor area – offers a big garden with jungle gyms, slides, trampoline, as well as different trees and flowers. We also have a lake – youngsters are very interested in creating different kinds of little boats and ships (paper, wood or other materials). They also can build floats and go on the water with them. Sekundaria – this area is for our pupils from 12 to 15. It is a special place for their individual needs and interests at this age. Besides the regular work in our school there are also some special project groups where parents and teachers are invited to give a creative input. Parents also have the possibility to organize events, exhibitions or special offers. Relying on these pedagogical principles children, parents and teachers work together on a successful realization of attentive and respectful treatment of oneself, the others and the environment, gaining autonomy, social skills and factual competence. Non formal learning plays a big role in our school mornings. So this project is meant to offer children, parents and teachers the possibility to directly deal with individual differences as well as differences in languages and culture depend