Kindergartens
Unlike West Germany, East Germany accomplished a large-scale education reform and introduced a dense network of high-standard education facilities, especially kindergartens. A unique characteristic of East German kindergartens was the strong educational background of these institutions, even compared to today's kindergartens in Germany. Children from age three to six learned to interact with other children, got used to a stable daily routine and were introduced to the idea of learning. The children stayed together in the same group with the same group educator during the three years. The groups were called the little group (kleine Gruppe) for the young children of the age of three, the middle group (mittlere Gruppe) for the children of the age of four and the big group (große Gruppe) for the older children of the age of five.
Two times a day there were lesson-like pre school activities (Beschäftigungen) which all children had to participate in. These activities were planned by the group educator and lasted 20 minutes in the little group, 25 minutes in the middle group and 30 minutes in the big group. The contents of the activities were regulated nationwide by a uniform teaching plan and included German language and speech, children's literature, mathematics, introducation to the socialistic life (visiting factories, traffic education, cultural life, introduction to important professions), introduction to natural and scientific phenomena (weather, seasons, sky, stars, rocks etc.), music, sports, artistic and constructive handicrafts and esteeming pieces of art.
There was no teaching of reading, writing or arithmetics, but the fundamental conceptions were taught to develop intellectual and motoric abilities. For instance, introduction to set theory within the numbers up to 10, counting up to 20, handling of quantities, crafting and motoric exercises to prepare the handwriting, the handling of pencils, scissors, fabrics and glue, and other skills.
Children were also encouraged to take an active role in the running of their kindergartens. Children often served each other meals and helped keep the kindergarten clean and tidy.
There were no fees charged for the full-day care in kindergartens and there were enough places for 94% to 99% of East German children.
Read more about this topic: Education In East Germany