European Solidarity Corps volunteering at Kindergruppe Amerlinghaus 

What is the Kindergruppe Amerlinghaus? 

It is a kindergarten located in the 7^th district of Vienna (Kindergruppe means children´s group in German). The Amerlinghaus is a cultural centre built in the early 19^th century and named after the painter Friedrich Amerling. Since the 1970s the Amerlinghaus has hosted a number of NGO´s in the cultural and social field. 

The Kindergruppe is organized and run by parents. It hosts up to 13 children between the age of three to six. Pedagogical work follows the principles of Maria Montessori and Rebecca Wild. Through our activities, children shall be supported in their social, motoric, cognitive, creative and emotional intelligence and find the space to grow themselves. 

For more information: http://www.kindergruppeamerlinghaus.at/web/ 

Proposed activities 

As an ESC volunteer, you are expected to spend around 30-38 hours per week in the kindergarten and support the staff with daily activities. You are granted the opportunity to improve your language skills and to get important insights into the work with children. All our kindergarten teachers are well trained and support the group with their various backgrounds. 

You will support our kindergarten teachers with their work, especially when the group is having lunch or they go out to the forest, playgrounds, museums and so on. We would like to encourage you to share your cultural background with us. The commitment depends on the knowledge, motivation and initiative of the volunteers. For example, one of our last volunteers had good practice in working with children and was a good musician. She therefore could offer polish songs to the group, which the children enjoyed. 

A day in our kindergarten can look like the following: 

8.30 h – 10.00 h 

Arrival of the children, they decide themselves what they want to play; breakfast will be prepared.  

10.00 h – 12.30 h 

Circle session or any other prepared session guided by one of the teachers with different content (e.g. music, fairy tales, creative painting or little hand crafts, working with Montessori material, excursions, gymnastics or different games which play with all senses). 

Lunch (12.30 h) 

Lunch is one of the main fixed rituals, after lunchtime there is a space for relaxing and digesting. As a volunteer, you are expected to have your lunch together with the kids. 

Afternoon 

Usually in the afternoon the focus is on playing especially outside or „doing nothing“; children get picked up by their parents 

14.30 h 

The group is getting smaller, after noon break some individual activities can be done. 

Fixed weekly activities are: gym (Monday), rhythmics (Tuesday), excursion (Thursday) and arts (Friday). The Kindergruppe is closed during Austrian public holidays as well as during summer holidays. We only host ESC volunteers from October to July. 

Profile of the volunteer 

As a volunteer, you should be an open-minded person and willing to work in a team and fulfill tasks. It would be great if you are interested in cultural and outdoor activities. Since you should be able to communicate with the children and the staff, you also should be willing to learn German during you volunteering.

How to apply

This European Solidarity Corps (ESC) project in Vienna is coordinated by the association Grenzenlos within the MELANGE program. If you want to apply for this project, please fill in the Melange application form and send it together with your CV (curriculum vitae) and motivation letter to application@melange.wien  

Please state the name of the ESC project (Kindergruppe Amerlinghaus), that you would like to apply for, in the subject of your e-mail. Grenzenlos will forward your documents to us, the hosting project, where the selection will be made.  

Important! Your application will only be accepted if it is complete and if you already have a supporting (sending) organization. 

All ESC placements coordinated by Grenzenlos are generally available to everyone between the age of 18 and 30 who is residing in an ESC program or partner country. However, in the selection procedure a preference is shown for candidates with fewer opportunities. You will be informed about the outcome of the recruitment process after the application deadline. 
For more information, please visit www.melange.wien