“Sal, solecito, caliéntame un poquito”: Spanish reaches German kindergartens

Understaffing in German kindergartens is a growing problem. According to a DW report, the country currently faces a deficit of 125,000 educators and 430,000 childcare places, which has led the nation to seek international alternatives to meet the demand.

In the midst of this crisis, female educators from Spain and several Latin American countries have filled available vacancies. In Cologne, for example, the Tausendfüssler kindergarten has become an example of how Spanish-speaking educators contribute to the bilingual development of the children while enriching the cultural environment of the center.

You may read: Vision 2030: Saudi Arabia seeks to become an artificial intelligence powerhouse

Spanish is now spoken in German kindergartens

To the rhythm of “Sal, solecito, caliéntame un poquito”, infants at the Tausendfüssler kindergarten begin their days. Thus, with songs in Spanish, these children, who generally do not speak the language, participate in playful activities that teach them vocabulary in another language, something uncommon in traditional German kindergartens.

Jessica Rojas Flores, a Bolivian educator who moved to Germany from Spain, spoke to DW about this multicultural pedagogical movement. According to Rojas, the bilingual method is very effective: although they do not speak Spanish at all times, the educators incorporate songs and key words, such as “chair,” “table” or “plate,” words that the children repeat and memorize.

The model, which has been in place for several years, has proven to be a win-win situation, as teachers and students get to explore their linguistic abilities. Through this interaction, adaptive skills are cultivated in both the children and the teachers, who find in Germany the opportunity to practice their profession.

Germany: a growing crisis in early childhood education

The staffing crisis in German day-care centers is reflected in alarming figures. In September, around 3,600 closures or service limitations were recorded in day-care centers in the western part of the country, affecting thousands of families who were forced to pick up their children early or place them in other groups. In extreme cases, daycare centers have had to close temporarily due to a lack of staff.

Wido Geis-Thöne, a family policy expert at the Institute for German Economics, argues that Germany is falling behind in child care. For more than a decade, the country has guaranteed a legal right to a place in daycare for children under the age of three, but this goal has not been achieved in practice. As Geis-Thöne told DW, Germany’s early childhood education system is in urgent need of reforms to ensure both the availability of places and quality of service.

You may also read: Colombia’s dollar price: fiscal uncertainty and U.S. elections drive up the price of the dollar

Citizen initiatives and government efforts

In the face of the acute situation facing Germans, several strategies have emerged. Katja Ross of Rostock launched a petition called “Every Child Counts,” which gathered more than 220,000 signatures, demanding improved quality and staffing standards in day care centers. This citizens’ initiative was the largest in German history related to child care, and Ross even had the opportunity to present his cause before a committee of the German Parliament.

In response to these demands, the German government has pledged to invest 4 billion euros in the sector through the Day Care Quality Act. This law, which will be in force in 2025 and 2026, aims to strengthen the childcare system in the federal states. However, some experts doubt that this investment will be sufficient to cover current needs.

Top 10 largest steel producers: a look at the global steel industry