Daycare centre 't Parelbosch has undergone a metamorphosis!
Our account manager Niels Jellema proudly tells about his project at daycare 't Parelbosch in Eindhoven. Thanks to the good teamwork between 't Parelbosch and Niels, IKC has managed to transform a number of spaces at the daycare centre into a true children's paradise.
Fitting play value for different age groups
Daycare centre 't Parelbosch provides care for children up to 4 years old. Within the daycare, there are various spaces that are each tailored to the age groups that are being looked after there, so each space has a different theme with appropriate activities.
It was time to renovate the daycare centre and the new interior had to offer more experience for the children, with beautiful designs and a lot of play value. "Thanks to the clear explanation and good input from Roel and Bas van de Waal, the owners of 't Parelbosch, together with the IKC design team I was able to come to an appropriate advice. After this, we started redesigning the first room of the daycare centre: Droomland".
Play concepts for children between 3 and 4 years old
Droomland (Dreamland) is the largest room at the daycare centre, here children from 36 to 48 months are cared for. "We have translated the Droomland theme into cosy playhouses, cool floor and wall decorations, tailor-made wall games and an awesome car track." All parts of the play area match the themes nature and fantasy. In addition, there are small graphic surprises hidden in various places in the wall decoration. For example, animals hidden in trees and a ladybug, the logo of the daycare centre, in the air. As a result, the children will be continuously amazed and will be stimulated to explore the room.
A play area for toddlers
The next room is the Zwanennest (Swan’s nest): the room for toddlers from 18 to 27 months. Children of this age experience many stimuli because they have outgrown the baby phase and are constantly learning. To create balance for this age group, the owners stressed the importance that this space should convey a feeling of warmth and security. This leads to calmer children, giving the staff more time and attention to each individual child.
"Through soft materials and light colours, we have shaped this space with many visually recognizable aspects such as swans, a pond, a play farm and bead table." The beads table is a very suitable play system for this age group, the children are stimulated to play with the colourful beads, which is good for the development of their fine motor skills.
Even the youngest children get their own place
The third room we tackled, was the Hertenweide (Deer Meadow). This space is meant for the youngest ones: children from 0 to 18 months. To introduce the children to nature and different materials in a playful manner, we gave this space a natural theme and placed a special feel-house. This house has several different materials and surfaces that the children's sensitive fingers can explore. For example, artificial grass, cork, a mirror, and PU leather.
Indoor play area the Kermistuin
Finally, and to top it all off, we transformed the Kermistuin (Funfair garden) into a true indoor children's play paradise. We had to consider the layout of this area carefully. Here it was decided to separate the practical part of this space, the care area, from the playing area. This way, children can be cared for quietly on one side of the room, while on the other side the children can play freely. The indoor Kermistuin is full of fantastic play concepts. For example, there are playhouses on an artificial grass floor, a “haunted” attic, and a custom carousel. Which child doesn't want that?
Important moments of the day are incorporated in the design
For each age group, a collective circle moment takes place every day. This moment is used by the caregivers to explain to the children what the day will look like. From a pedagogical perspective, these moments are most effective when children experience it as a group moment, where the caregivers are part of the group. We considered the best visual way to reinforce this feeling and ended up adding a suitable, recognisable location for the circle moment to each room. For example, the Zwanennest has a round pond and the Kermistuin has a big, round swirl.
All areas have play modules that focus on the age of the children in that room. Very cool and completely custom made. "The first response I got from the owners was that they are more than satisfied with the metamorphoses that has taken place! This is of course very nice to hear. It was a great collaboration with an even better outcome". We look forward to working together again in the future!