Preschool education is not just playtime — it is a crucial moment in the development of a child aged 2.5–6. At Przedszkole i Żłobek Siedmiu Krasnoludków in Saska Kępa (Praga-Południe district, Warsaw), we focus on comprehensive growth — intellectual, emotional, and social — delivered in line with the core curriculum of MEN (Ministerstwo Edukacji Narodowej — the Polish Ministry of Education) and combined with the Positive Discipline methodology (Jane Nelsen, in the tradition of Alfred Adler), to provide the youngest children with a solid foundation for the future.
Why is preschool education so important?
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Social development: Children learn cooperation, sharing, conflict resolution, and building relationships with peers. It is in preschool that little ones begin to develop their social and emotional skills through daily Circle Time and the TUS programme (Trening Umiejętności Społecznych — Social Skills Training) run by our director Karolina Anioła.
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Intellectual development: Through educational games, logic puzzles, and early attempts at reading and counting, children develop their cognitive abilities while learning logical thinking and problem-solving. We use our in-house Matema/Nemi mathematics programme and the Jolly Phonics method for learning English.
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Creativity and imagination: In preschool, children have space for creative self-expression — through painting, singing, dancing, theatre (Bajkoterapia — story therapy), and various experiments (Sensoplastyka — sensory plastics). Ceramics classes are led by Piotr Choma (a graduate of PWSFTviT — the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School), music inspired by the Orff method focuses on rhythm and improvisation, and play pedagogy in the Klanza tradition combines all these elements. This kind of development prepares children better for future challenges!
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Core values: Preschool education is also the time when children learn the basics of respect, empathy, responsibility, and teamwork. These are foundations that will accompany them throughout their lives. Cooperation with child psychologist Klaudia Markiewicz (SWPS — SWPS University) supports this process from the earliest years.
How we do this at our preschool in Saska Kępa
Preschool education at Przedszkole i Żłobek Siedmiu Krasnoludków (ul. Irlandzka 7, Saska Kępa, Praga-Południe, Warsaw) is a coherent system from the first days of the nursery (from 12 months) through to the pre-school group before primary school. Every day we work in the Positive Discipline tradition, once a week we run sessions in the Sherborne Developmental Movement method, and daily classes with a native speaker between 9:00 and 13:00, along with our in-house Les Petits Français programme, build natural bilingualism. Families from Kamionek, Grochów, and Saska Kępa can take advantage of the government Aktywnie w żłobku programme (PLN 1,500/month). See our full preschool offer and the profiles of our team — in one place you will meet 16 specialists (psychologist, special-education teacher, speech therapist, PID-certified dietitian, AWF-trained sports coach) who together create this education.
School readiness as an outcome — not a goal in itself
Preschool education is not a “preschool race” to school. School readiness, in our view, is the result of consistent work on emotional, motor, and language development — never the other way around. A child who at age 6 (before primary school) can name their emotions, knows 200 English words from Jolly Phonics and 100 French words from Les Petits Français, independently solves conflicts (TUS), and can concentrate for 20 minutes — starts school with an advantage that no additional preparatory course can buy.
Preschool is the time when children learn how to learn — it is not just play, it is an investment in the future! If you want to learn more, we recommend our posts on language education and therapeutic activities (including Sensory Integration and hand therapy).