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Educational project – Nursery | Chalet des Aiglons

How the nursery operates

The Chalet des Aiglons nursery is a facility tailored to welcoming young children holidaying in Val d’Isère during both the winter and summer seasons.

In summer, we are open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday. While we accommodate up to 8 children at any one time, we care for around forty different families each week. This is made possible by offering flexible booking options designed around holiday routines, including both full-day and half-day packages.

Our childcare team

Throughout the summer, a team of 3 professionals welcomes your children, ensuring the successful day-to-day implementation of our educational project. The team is structured as follows:

A Team Leader Currently completing her VAE (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) as an Early Childhood Educator (Éducatrice de Jeunes Enfants), she holds an educational role with the children as well as a management and coordination role within the team. She is responsible for the smooth running of the nursery, overseeing staff recruitment, onboarding, and scheduling (including conflict resolution). She manages family relations, professional equipment, and communication with the management. She also works directly with the children, bringing the unique energy and expertise of her profession. She collaborates closely with the Manager of Chalet des Aiglons, the resort’s consulting doctor, and the PMI (Maternal and Child Protection) doctor. She oversees the children’s medical follow-ups (health records), health monitoring, and prevention guidelines based on established protocols. Additionally, she manages the nursery’s medical supplies and pharmacy stocks.

Two Early Childhood Professionals (holding CAP Petite Enfance and Auxiliaire de Puériculture qualifications) They foster the intellectual, motor, and emotional development of each child. They identify individual needs and provide corresponding care, both individually and in groups (meals, hygiene, sleep, activities). They organize and lead activities within the nursery that respect each child’s psychomotor development and abilities, while encouraging independence. They actively contribute to the team dynamic, bringing their knowledge, insights, and personalities to create a truly complementary team.

A typical day

10am:Drop-off and welcome

10.15am to 11.30am: Activities and outdoor playtime

11.30am to 12.15pm: Bathroom/nappie checks, hand washing, followed by lunch

12.15pm to 2pm: Bathroom/nappie checks, hand washing, and getting ready for naptime. Please note: children booked for a half-day session are woken up at 2:00 pm.

2pm to 4pm: Gradual wake-up and free play

4pm to 4.30pm: Bathroom/nappie checks, hand washing, followed by afternoon snack

16:30 to 17:30: Activities and outdoor playtime

5.30pm to 6pm: Staggered pick-up and departures

Key Educational Priorities at the Chalet des Aiglons Nursery

Fostering Independence: Helping Children Grow

We strive to achieve this objective daily through several concrete actions within the nursery. First and foremost, this is made possible by our unique mixed-age setup (inter-âge). This blend of age groups allows the younger children to observe the older ones and mirror their actions. Driven by natural curiosity, they experiment and test new skills that help them progress (such as walking, language, and motor skills). For the older children, this approach builds a sense of responsibility by encouraging them to care for the younger ones, in whom they naturally take a keen interest.

We also encourage children to “do it themselves” across various daily routines. When it comes to dressing, we let them experiment—even through challenges—with putting on their shoes, zipping up their jackets, and getting ready for naptime. The older children sleep in low floor-beds, allowing them to lie down and get up independently. During meals, a professional is present at every table but allows each child to put on their own bib and eat independently; they are also encouraged to wash their own face with a washcloth at the end of the meal. During activities, we give children the freedom to experiment without trying to impose a final result that satisfies our own expectations.

Developing independence also means nurturing free will. We give children the freedom to choose their own activities. We never force a child who refuses to participate, and we always adapt to offer something that meets their current needs and expectations. We speak directly to the child—rather than talking over their head—acknowledging their age and their ability to understand us.

Finally, we support parents through the potty training process. We guide the older children toward child-sized toilets, where they learn to undress themselves, flush, and wash their hands.

Developing physical, sensory and intellectual abilities

Early childhood facilities are places of VITALITY—spaces for discovery, learning, experimentation, and social interaction for both children and professionals. With this in mind, we always strive to encourage children to explore their environment through several concrete actions.

First and foremost, we are committed to offering a wide variety of activities—activities that inspire and excite us, allowing us to share these warm, engaging moments with the children. We provide experiences tailored to their individual needs by using a diverse range of educational resources.

For instance, we encourage physical development through psychomotor obstacle courses, the ball pit, dance, and outdoor outings. We foster cognitive growth with construction toys, puzzles, sound recognition games, lotto matching games, and books. We also organize dedicated times for singing and learning nursery rhymes. Sensory activities include baking, playdough, manipulating semolina, and exploring messy play with cornstarch (patouille de maïzena). Finally, creative crafts involve painting, collages, coloring, and drawing.

We also organize outings outside the nursery, taking the children to our local village farm. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to the mountain environment and let them meet the animals (cows, pigs, chickens, geese, horses, rabbits, and more). We also take them on the Solaise gondola lift to look at the mountains and the ski lifts.

Lastly, for our youngest guests, we practice the free movement method (motricité libre). We believe in giving children the space to experiment with their own bodies to achieve milestones independently. We will never place a child in a physical position or situation they have not yet discovered or mastered on their own.

Ensuring Emotional and Physical Security
Welcoming holidaymakers requires a very specific approach to guarantee that children feel completely secure. Indeed, they are discovering a new environment, new staff, and new children. Unfortunately, they do not have the luxury of a traditional settling-in period to adjust. Therefore, we must work even harder than usual to build a warm foundation of trust.

This begins with a high-quality welcome, active listening, and deep respect for families. For a child to feel comfortable with us, our top priority must be to reassure the parents and earn their confidence. During drop-off times, we take the time to learn about the child’s daily routine and home habits, allowing us to align our care as closely as possible with what they know, while balancing the realities of a group setting. We respect parents’ requests to the best of our ability. Handover times at the end of the day are crucial; we always take the time to share our observations with parents regarding their child’s day (mood, play, milestones, etc.). We are also highly attentive to the transitional objects (comfort toys/blankets) that are so vital to the children.

Furthermore, throughout the day, we respect the individual needs and abilities of each child. We offer tailored activities that will never put a child in difficulty. To provide familiar landmarks, we make every effort to use the native language of foreign children. We allow children to naturally gravitate toward the specific adult they choose as their reference person, nurturing this special bond before gently introducing them to the rest of the team. We also take the time to explain our actions and gestures to the children before performing them (lifting them up, dressing, wiping, etc.) so they are never startled or frightened.

During diaper changes and bathroom routines, we are deeply committed to respecting the child’s body and privacy. We pay close attention to our movements with the youngest babies: we never lift babies by their feet to clean their diapers, and we avoid sudden movements that could feel aggressive. We adapt our handling to each child’s psychomotor development.

Finally, at naptime, an adult is always present in the room to reassure those who find it difficult to fall asleep, rock those who need physical comfort, and maintain a comforting, caring presence.

Inspiring Imagination and Creative Expression

When we choose to work with children, it’s also to give them the chance to dream, create and imagine every day as they discover their environment. We will be setting up a variety of manual activities based on French culture. At Christmas, for example, we’ll be making Christmas tree decorations, cooking one for the galette des rois, painting flowering trees in the spring, etc. We’ll be looking for new materials and themes on a regular basis (animals, nature, fantasy, etc.).
We have set up a partnership with the village media library, which enables us to have someone come in every week to run a reading and storytelling workshop. This precious time allows the children to project themselves into the stories and develop their imagination.
We will be providing access to several types of imitation games. Around the dinette, the children can practise preparing meals and serving at the table. They will develop their imagination by making concrete the scenarios they have observed. With dolls, clothes and pushchairs, children learn to take care of each other and reproduce the actions of their parents. Around the doctor, the fire brigade and the police, children discover the society in which they are growing up.

Learning Shared Values and Social Skills

To grow and thrive, children need a clear framework and secure landmarks provided by the adults around them; we therefore have a vital role to play in helping them learn about citizenship and community life. With this in mind, we are committed as a team to maintaining a solid foundation of shared rules and operational standards that we all uphold. Whenever differences arise in how we handle situations or authority, we discuss them as a team to understand each professional’s boundaries and realign our rules for the children. Providing a consistent response across all adults is essential, as it gives children a stable foundation to build upon as they grow.

We also make sure to explain our decisions to the children to avoid creating any sense of unfairness. Our goal is to maintain a structured framework specific to the nursery, which may differ significantly from what the child experiences at home. To achieve this, we rely on the complementary nature of our respective qualifications and backgrounds, allowing each of us to bring fresh perspectives to the team.

Encouraging Social Interaction and Positive Relations

The nursery offers children the wonderful opportunity to make new friends and build countless connections, and it is our role to encourage them. Our mixed-age approach is a major asset in this regard, allowing children to connect with peers of their own age or a different age group, depending on their wishes. For instance, they might share a building toy with an older, more dexterous child, or play “house” with a younger one.

We also design team-building and cooperative activities to encourage children to interact with one another. Examples include painting a giant collective mural, sharing a tub of fresh snow brought inside the nursery, or working together to build a playhouse out of blocks. We foster mutual support by encouraging older children to help the little ones during meals or playtime.

Finally, we are deeply committed to fostering inclusion and welcoming children with disabilities, ensuring they have the opportunity to share experiences with their peers. We have previously welcomed children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as children with developmental delays or impairments; these differences have never been a barrier to meaningful interactions among the children.

Introducing Eco-Friendly Practices and Nature Awareness

In early childhood, introducing the concept of ecology can be abstract, as young children do not yet have a full awareness of the planet. Instead, we focus on fostering awareness of their immediate environment. We showcase the rich nature surrounding them by observing the mountains and local wildlife through our various outings and activities. We also build a sense of responsibility around daily habits, helping them turn eco-friendly actions into natural reflexes; for example, we explain the importance of turning off the lights when leaving the bathroom, conserving water while washing their hands, and making sure trash goes into the bin. Additionally, we serve smaller portions during meals to prevent food waste and encourage children to finish their plates.

Creating a Supportive Environment

Children come to our nursery on vacation; they are here for fun, relaxation, and shared moments. To make this possible, we carefully design the environment they discover. From the very first moments of morning drop-off, we set up a warm, playful space that makes children excited to step inside. For instance, we set up the play kitchen with plates and cooking accessories on the table, we might start a puzzle for a child to come and finish, or build a block tower that they will eagerly want to knock down.

For the environment to truly encourage fun, we must also remain agile—adapting our activities and modifying our plans based on the energy and feedback of the group. If we had planned a craft activity but the children are too energetic and uninterested, we will pivot instead to a psychomotor session in the ball pit or head outdoors. We are committed to constantly reflecting on our practice and our daily offerings to realign our objectives with the children’s immediate needs.

In conclusion
We have thus outlined the objectives we strive to achieve, evaluated our current practices, and identified those that are truly meaningful and that we wish to maintain and strengthen. It will be essential to review this educational project (projet pédagogique) regularly to assess our actions and determine together the improvements to be made. This document is a foundational draft, designed to inspire and guide our team’s continuous reflection on a daily basis.

Educational project - Crèche

How the nursery operates

Our childcare team

A typical day

Key Educational Priorities at the Chalet des Aiglons Nursery

Discovering Other themes