About us

Who we are

We work with heart and mind. Our team is characterized by expertise and enthusiasm for valuable pedagogical work with children and parents. Through regular team-building measures, continuous training, supervision and holistic quality management, we ensure respectful and professional interaction with each other and with you throughout the year.

The sponsors

Biberbau Kindergartens in Munich are private kindergartens for children aged 0-6 years, run by the married couple Dunia and Helge Köhling. We focus on a modern reform pedagogical concept and bilingual language support in German and English. High quality in all areas of the kindergarten - from the premises to the concept and the team - is particularly important to us.

Contact us

To get in contact with us, you have several possibilities. For example, you can take part in our viewing appointments online and on location or request a telephone consultation appointment.

Why heart and mind are not a contradiction in child care

From the founders to expansion

Behind every remarkable initiative is a vision, and so it is with our daycare provider. The two founders, Dunia and Helge Köhling, both studied political science and work in the demanding world of digitalization consulting. This unconventional duo has brought a unique perspective to childcare, launching a remarkable journey.

The roots of the vision

The first seed of the idea was sown during their student days. "The exploration of social challenges and the desire to create something meaningful led us to this," Dunia Köhling explains. "This discipline taught us not only to understand social dynamics, but also to take responsibility for the community," adds Helge Köhling.

The fusion of expertise and ambition

Digitization consulting has sharpened Dunia and Helge Köhling's skills in project management, strategic planning and team leadership. These skills, combined with their deep understanding of social dynamics, created the perfect foundation for launching daycare centers that offer more than just care. "Our aspiration is to accompany families - parents and children - in this very important time of early childhood education via reform pedagogical approaches," says Dunia Köhling.

From first to diversity

In 2010, Dunia and Helge Köhling began their journey with their first facility in Bogenhausen. This daycare center was to be the beginning of a movement that challenged and redefined the traditional concept of childcare. "Our vision was to create an environment where children are not only cared for, but where they can truly grow and develop in a stimulating, supportive environment," Dunia Köhling tells us.

Expansion with integrity

The efforts and commitment of the two sponsors bore fruit, and over time their vision grew. The opening of more facilities followed, each with the goal of providing a unique educational environment where children are valued as individual personalities. "From a first daycare center to the fourth, which will open in the fall of 2023, each facility reflects the essence of their vision," says Helge Köhling.

Close to the vision, close to the people

Dunia and Helge Köhling are not porters who operate far away from the action. Rather, they are active and committed to being there for staff, parents and children at every stage. Their presence is evident in the small details and in the great support they provide. "We are convinced that we can only really make a difference if we are close to our employees, parents and children," emphasizes Helge Köhling. "Our facilities are not only places of education, but also of community, and we put our heart and soul into them," he adds.

Innovation as the key

"Our experience in digitization consulting has taught us that continuous adaptability and innovation are keys to success," explains Helge Köhling. "We have transferred these values to our facilities to ensure the best possible education and care for the next generations," Dunia Köhling concludes.

Strong roots and a free spirit

In the Biberbau kindergartens we work according to a modern reform pedagogical approach, inspired by the theories of Maria Montessori and Emmi Pikler. Our most important theme: your child, whose needs and individual development are always at the center of our work.

Every child has its own pace

As a parent, you know very well: children cannot be dictated what they are enthusiastic about. The interests of young children are as varied as the opportunities they are offered - and often go far beyond that: children who can develop freely react sensitively to their environment, find new ideas themselves, and are inspired by their surroundings. We would like to support this freedom in development - and at the same time, through targeted offers, encourage your child to engage with pedagogically valuable play and learning materials. At Kindergarten Biberbau we believe in the "inner blueprint" of your child. We simply prepare the environment so that your child can develop independently according to his or her interests.

We get to know your child

Due to the relatively small groups and the fixed reference teachers, we have the opportunity to get to know your child's individual wishes and characteristics from the very beginning. It is a great pleasure for us to get to know the diversity of "our" Biberbau children and to find out which activity and which pedagogical material is interesting for your child at the moment. We are happy to offer a variety of materials and give your child the space to play with them at his or her own pace.

What do the little ones play? An example of the daily routine of our 0-3 year olds

Even our nursery group children have a lot of fun exploring their new environment. But what does a day look like for such a young child in the Beaver Burrow? We observe Anna, 1.5 years old. After the familiarization phase was well completed, she knows her way around and comes to her group every day very joyfully. During the careful settling-in period, Anna has built a secure bond with her primary teachers and moves very independently and freely in the group room. After the first 5 months, she loves our free play area and occupies herself there for a long time with heuristic material such as cloths and wooden rings. She tries to pull the cloth through the ring for a long time and again. Two months later Anna is busy with the button box in the Monte area. At two years old, Anna can already open and close buttons with the exercise frame. And at 2.5 years old, she can open and close the buttons on her jacket independently. Learning through play enables her to solve small everyday tasks at an early age. Anna is proud of this - and always finds new ideas and inspiration in Bíberbau's everyday life.

Our toddlers: playing, learning, experimenting

Benjamin, 3.5 years old, has been coming to the Biberbau for 2.5 years. After the initial acclimation in the daycare group at 1.5 years, it was time for a change to our "big ones". A short acclimatization, and Benjamin feels completely comfortable in the toddler group. He likes to work in the Montessori corner with the pink tower. His primary teacher showed him the five basic exercises for this learning toy, he observed them attentively and soon began to copy the basic shapes using work cards on the wall. Only a few months later, he has already mastered 12 working cards and is one step further: Benjamin is in the experimental phase. He builds vehicles, buildings and even a small robot from the parts of the Pink Tower, letting his imagination guide him. The knowledge he acquires through play about the different shapes helps him to put his ideas into practice.

We accompany your child in its development

Perhaps you have already seen it from our two examples: In the Biberbau, your child decides for himself what he wants to occupy himself with. This strengthens creativity and self-confidence.

Through our work according to Montessori and Pikler, we have the opportunity to support children of all ages according to their individual interests. This begins with loving communication about the basic needs of the youngest children and extends through our wide range of materials to preparing the "big ones" for school. Our principle of the "language bath" - the children are cared for by one German and two English-speaking educators per group and hear both languages in a completely natural environment - promotes your child's bilingual development, general language comprehension and communication skills.

In the Biberbau kindergartens, we focus on healthy, mainly organic and fresh food when it comes to nutrition. Your child will receive two to four meals a day, depending on the booking time. Unsweetened tea and water are available to your child at all times in the group rooms.

Meals include high-quality and varied dishes of vegetables, pasta, meat, poultry or fish. Our housekeeper prepares the food in our company kitchen. We also prepare side dishes, vegetarian dishes, breakfast and snacks ourselves. Gentle cooking ensures that vitamins and minerals in the food are preserved and always fresh.

Your child spends a lot of time in our rooms and open spaces. So it goes without saying that the rooms at Kindergarten Biberbau are not only safe, but also offer many positive incentives to encourage your child and support his or her development.

Multifunctional group rooms

Reading, building, painting or moving - what does your child particularly like to do? In our group rooms there is a place for every favorite activity. Structure is important to us here: a neat framework and fixed places for age-appropriate play and learning materials help your child find his or her way around and prevent him or her from feeling overwhelmed. For example, there is a building corner, a creative area, space for free play. Places for sensory and learning materials. In this way, your child can occupy himself or herself with what he or she likes to do in a completely unconstrained way. Our educators do not prescribe fixed themes, but provide constant stimulation to discover new things. Interaction with the other children in the group also arouses curiosity: What are my friends doing? Would I like to try that out too? There are no limits to your child's imagination.

Freedom through structure

Our pedagogical approach is also reflected in our room concept: fixed structures offer your child the necessary security to be able to develop freely. For example, each group has its own children's bathroom, where each child has his or her own towel, toothbrush and toothbrush mug, and a compartment for sleeping clothes and a change of clothes. Fixed routines such as mealtimes and bedtimes structure our day and ensure that your child feels comfortable in the Beaver Building. At the same time, we offer many different play and learning materials that - adapted to the age of your child - playfully promote its development and encourage it to be independent. So for our "little ones" - 0-3 years - as well as for our "big ones" - 3-6 years - there is always something exciting to do that is fun.

We rely on natural materials

Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is play materials: Montessori materials, Pikler furniture - handicraft materials are, of course, carefully selected in all Biberbau kindergartens in accordance with our concept and are, as far as possible, made of wood, felt or cotton. But we also pay attention to sustainability when it comes to everyday objects: the textiles we use, such as bed and table linen, are certified according to ecological standards, and when it comes to crockery and cutlery, we avoid plastic and softeners as far as possible.

And then there's the opportunity to get creative yourself: We are happy to go out into nature with your child, collect chestnuts and leaves and let your imagination run wild. You'll be surprised how many great ideas your child will bring back from the Beaver Burrow!

Gently discovering the world - that's what we want to enable your children to do in the Biberbau kindergartens. It is important not to overtax the children, but still to give them the freedom to explore their environment. Our groups are the safe basis for this.

Accompanied and protected

For most children, care in the nursery and kindergarten means the first prolonged separation from their parents. It is important that your child feels safe and thus has the space to advance his or her development. Very young children in particular need a basic structure that they know and trust. That is why we work in fixed groups, which are also supervised by fixed reference teachers. This gives your child the necessary security to quickly find their way around us.

The autonomous bond: We create trust

At Kindergarten Biberbau, we focus on healthy relationships between children and their teachers by working according to the principle of autonomous bonding. You can think of it like this: The first and most important attachment figure for your child is yourself. You entrust us with your child and want him or her to feel comfortable in the Biberbau. We want that too! That's why we work with permanent caregivers who build their own bond with your child. In this way, your child learns to trust from the very beginning and will quickly understand the new surroundings as a familiar environment.

Exploring the environment step by step

You will begin the care at the Biberbau with an acclimatization phase in the group. Here, your child will be accustomed to the new environment at his or her own pace. He or she will get to know our procedures, playfully get to know our teachers and, of course, the other children in his or her group. Little by little, we familiarize your child with the different rooms in the Biberbau, take him or her to our yard and accompany him or her on outings in the area surrounding our home. Due to the good and healthy relationship between your child and our educators, your child will always feel safe and will be able to freely explore his or her surroundings.

Well cared for: The group size in the Biberbau

In the crèche groups, 15 children are usually cared for by three members of staff at Biberbau. In the kindergarten group, we care for between 22 and 25 children, depending on the location, also with three employees. In this way, we ensure that someone is always there for your child if he or she needs help, support or closeness.

Hygiene in childcare

The Corona crisis is a challenge for many parents, children and kindergartens. In order to be able to provide on-site care, maintain hygiene and accompany the children in their development despite the circumstances, we have taken many important measures at the Biberbau Kindergarten.

Time outdoors

Part of the Biberbau concept is to spend as much time as possible outside with the children. During Corona time, this approach proves to be particularly good, as the risk of infection outside is low.

Care of the own person

In the Biberbau, we are particularly concerned to encourage the children in their independence. From an early age, we show the children how to wash their hands, brush their teeth and change their clothes in accordance with the Montessori pedagogy. Here, too, we have a great advantage in times of Corona.

Care for the environment

In the Montessori pedagogy the care of the environment and therefore the order and cleanliness is a supporting pillar. Not only the educators and children in the house make sure that their group room is always clean, but also our professional cleaning service cleans and disinfects the house daily.

Special attentiveness

To make sure that infections are prevented in the Beaver Building, we are especially attentive to illnesses of everyone in the house. Of course, we are aware that children in particular often have runny noses in the early days and we continue to allow them to be cared for if the signs are mild. However, in order to ensure that no Corona infections spread unhindered in our facilities, our educators and all other employees in particular perform a test in every suspected case.

Hygiene regulations

In any case, the hygiene regulations in the Biberbau have always been very strict. Cleaning, disinfection, conscious hygiene measures such as ventilation and the obligation to wear gloves when changing diapers have been part of our daily routine for years. In the wake of the Corona crisis, we expanded our hygiene concept - especially by making masks mandatory for adults.

Ongoing communication

The Corona crisis is forcing us all to maintain strict distance regulations - which is why particularly attentive communication is very important. Communication with the families of our facilities, in particular, plays a very important role for ours. With online meetings, regular newsletters and our intranet, we make all relevant information available at all times.