Nursery In Almerimar

Admittedly our little chap cried every morning for about the first month but I was assured by the girls that run it that as soon as we were out of site he stopped crying. He was always smiling when he came out and pretty soon started to say ‘school good!’, lets go!’ in the mornings which we took to be a good sign. Six months on there’s no holding him back.

Guarderia Burbujas de Colores situated very conveniently next to Puerto Golf in Almerimar is a private (i.e. fee paying) nursery. It has been open for a couple of years and seems pretty well organised and well attended. They take children from 0-3 years in the nursery and from 3 to 5 years in the’ Ludoteca’. From 3 years children are entitled to a place at a state nursery until they start school. There isn’t currently a state nursery or school in Almerimar but it is planned. According to the Town Hall it is imminent and should be completed by around 2010. (The nearest state nurseries and schools at the moment are in El Ejido and Balerma).

When you go to enrol your child, don’t expect the full on whistles and bells tour. If you want it, you need to ask for it. In fact anything you want to know you have to ask. I understand from my friends back home that things are done rather differently in the UK and I get the impression that parents back home expect a lot more detailed information up front. I’m also not sure that they have the same rules about ratios of adults to children here in Spain either.

In terms of activities there seems to be all the usual stuff: painting, crayoning, singing and dancing and every so often they will have a party to celebrate a fiesta or saints day. They work on specific ideas involving for example colours and seasons of the year and encourage parents to talk about these subjects at home in order to reinforce what they children are learning at nursery.

It is open all year round Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm including throughout the summer with the exception of the Spanish ‘fiestas’ or bank holidays of which there are a fair few throughout the year. Parents can drop off their children any time between 8am and 10am and collection times are between 1pm and 2pm or between 4pm and 8pm. Rates are based on the number of hours per day the minimum being 4 hours and the maximum 12 hours.

For 2007/2008 Prices started at a very reasonable 150-170 euros per month for 4 hours per day for the under 3’s. (The price reduces the older the child) and 150 euros per month for 4 hours per day for the over 3’s in the ‘Ludoteca’ There is an additional one-off 60 euros registration fee and if you need extra hours on odd occasions there is the option to pay an extra 6 euros per hour. They offer a discount to families enrolling more than one child. If your child is going to be absent for a month or more you have the option to pay 50% of the monthly charge to keep their place open. There are also extra charges for catering. If you want your little one to stay for lunch they charge 90 euros per month. You also have the option to provide a packed lunch or your own baby food and for dealing with this they charge 30 euros per month.

Once your little one has settled in you are encouraged to purchase their materials pack which contains everything that they will use for the year including, a daily diary, coloured paper, crayons, paints and each child has their own locker where their things are stored and it also ensures that they all have exactly the same things. They also have a devastatingly cute gingham smock and matching rucksack for the under 3’s. The whole pack including the smock and rucksack for 2007/08 was 65 euros this year.

At the end of the winter term all the children arrived home one day with their first ‘school report’ outlining their progress and development socially as well as what they had learned. The summer term now sees the 2 year olds on potty training and they have even had a class photo taken.

Overall we have been very pleased with the excellent value and levels of care and feedback from staff. We are soon to return to the UK and it will be interesting to see how the nursery there compares once we’ve recovered from the shock of the difference in cost.”

Almerimar is a great place to live as an expat amongst the expats, or to work amongst the Spanish. There are all kinds of properties including villas, apartments and town houses for rent or sale. It is a very traditional part of Spain, with traditional Spanish foods so if you plan to travel to Spain either to look for jobs, for your company to trade with companies in Spain, or to learn Spanish and enjoy the Spanish weather then come and take a look.

If you are interested in purchasing a property in Almerimar please visit our sponsors Mirror of the Sun or Mediterraspain. If you have purchased a property and need it furnished please check out our Sponsors DBJ who will give you a Exclusive 5% discount with the code AL2008.

If you want to learn Spanish, get help with anything to do with the legal issues in Spain, or want WiFi access in the marina please check out our sponsor CentrePoint who will give you a 10% discount off all services with the code AL2008.

If you want an amazing activity based day out in the mountains and to learn how to ride a motorcycle off road then check out our sponsor The Long Way Round and get 5% off with the code AL2008.