Hospice meets kindergarten for the first time in Taiskirchen

2023-11-14 20:30:00

Hospice employees from the Ried Red Cross recently visited the Taiskirchner kindergarten. Andrea Hartinger and Gabriele Thrainer spoke to the children about the topics of death, loss and farewell.

The children were previously made aware of these topics through discussions and prepared for the visit. They were allowed to decorate grave candles, paint memorial stones and have picture books on the topics read to them. Even days after what the children said was a not-at-all-sad morning, they found opportunities to explore the topic of the transition between life and death by drawing, playing and telling stories.

This visit arose from the “Hospice Makes School” project, which offers children and young people the opportunity to raise their awareness of this topic. “With the aim of clearing up uncertainties about the topics of dying, death and grief,” says Andrea Hartinger, coordinator of the mobile hospice in Ried.

She and colleague Gabriele Thrainer therefore completed the mentor training in order to be well prepared for the visits to schools. They were the first in Upper Austria to carry out the project at a school. They have now adapted the program for kindergartens and used it for the first time in Taiskirchen.