Claudia Hartzendorf 
Acclimatization in elementary education. ‘Just one more kiss, Mom!’ 

Academic Paper from the year 2013 in the subject Pedagogy — Nursery Pedagogy, Early Childhood Education, grade: 1, 0, , language: English, abstract: When the time comes for a child to be looked after by a stranger, parents have many questions. Will the educator like my child? Will the pedagogical staff understand his or her signals? Can I talk about my fears, my concerns, maybe even my worries? Will the educator compete with me?

To answer all these questions, it is essential to carry out a gentle and individual acclimatization. During my first internship, I was asked by my mentor to carry out an acclimatization as a caregiver. This acclimatization took five weeks. Three years before, I adjusted my son in the same institution, here it took about 10 days. From this practical experience, I know how different the length of an acclimatization can be and what a challenge it is for everyone involved. In order to make the start in the facility easier for the child, close cooperation between the team, the provider and the parents is a basic in acclimatization. But questions also remained unanswered. Is there one right way to settle a child in? How should one prepare for the settling-in period, as an educator and as a team? What possibilities are there to make settling in easier for everyone involved? I would like to get to the bottom of these questions in my thesis.