From the moment you set foot inside these places you realise that they are fertile ground for creativity, inspiration and innovation. Here children have experiences that shape their entire lives; foundation stones for life are laid; and while no child is alone, he or she is still able to move around freely and evolve. Children from the age of twelve months to six years and older experience stability, safety and dependability.

Using Maria Montessori’s basic principle summed up in the phrase »help me to help myself«, our Montessori schools view each child as »the architect of his or her own self«. In other words, a child’s own self-effectiveness is the focus of how we work. The environment is created in such a way that a child’s own strengths and resources can be broadened and deployed.

Our creative-work sessions in the art studio and workshop, and an architecture that chimes with a child’s perspective on the world are reflections of the respectful attitude that we encourage.

Part of our philosophy is also to offer places to disabled children and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Kinderhaus Schöpflin (for children aged twelve months to three years); the nearby Kinderhaus auf dem Bühl school (for children from the age of 3 to 8); and the Gärtnerhaus Schöpflin (for school children from the age of 8) together form the Montessori Kinderhaus Lörrach (Lörrach Montessori schools group), which is a joint approach to education.

The Kinderhaus and Gärtnerhaus are in the grounds of the Villa Schöpflin. It was here, at what was formerly known as the Lindenhof residence in the Lörrach suburb of Brombach, that the Schöpflin siblings grew up – surrounded by apple trees, beehives, hen coops and an old redwood tree. In the 1980s, in order to maintain and sustain these idyllic childhood surroundings, the Schöpflin siblings opened up the grounds for future generations of children. In so doing, they stopped the land from being turned into a large commercial site. Over the course of the last thirty years they have created a world for children and grown-ups alike, filled with harmony, affection, security and variety.