The Rella’s Story …

I must have been 7 years old when I drew a big house with 4 or 5 stories, with lots of windows and flowers. The house was full of people laughing and singing and it was bustling with activity. I gave the drawing to my mother as a gift and she asked me what kind of house it was. “This is my world, Mama, when I grow up: Lots of kids and all the people that I love in one big house."  

And decades later, after trying out many different avenues, I find myself here in New York with exactly that: Rella’s Spielhaus: Named after my nickname in Elementary School, Rella, I started running it in my own apartment. Here I started developing a program where everything that is important to me was present: Music, quality education and the German language and culture. And now, almost a decade and a half later in our newly built Preschool on the Upper West Side, every day I get to share exactly that with people that surround me: The Rella's children and parents and, of course, our wonderful teachers.

It really all started when I toured the various music programs for infants and toddlers when my son was 3 months old. I found myself somewhat dissatisfied with the offerings I found. And – there was no program in German! After all the years of teaching theater and voice, I decided to invite my friends with small children for a round of songs and stories in Central Park: And over 10 families showed up! That was in 2009, and “Lieder & Geschichten” was born. And the classes became many, we expanded to Brooklyn, Harlem and White Plains and ran up to 16 weekly classes all over New York.

In 2011 the need for a German-language Daycare became apparent and through pure coincidence I found out that my own apartment would qualify for an In-Home Daycare. 6 months later, on January 4th, 2012 , Rella’s Spielhaus opened its doors and my son and I shared our home with 12 kids and 2 teachers for 9 blessed years.

Impressions from 2012, our first year at Rella’s Spielhaus

In 2018, the space became too small, and we needed more classrooms. By great luck, I discovered an old dentist’s office on West 97th Street, and I knew I had found our new Rella’s Spielhaus. The location was perfect for our families from the UWS, UES, Uptown, and Midtown!

In 2015, we started offering the “Rella’s Summer Camps”. In the 10 weeks of Summer Break, we offer a different theme every week. The kids get to do arts and crafts, dance, sing, and run around in the sprinklers in Central Park. And once a week, we go on a day trip deepening our knowledge of the weekly topic. Like all of Rella’s offerings, the classes are small, which ensures that we get to foster each child’s interest individually and closely work on each child’s mastery of the German Language.

I look forward to the years to come as we expand our services and add more of “Rella’s". I hope that the children will find a sense of belonging and a 2nd home here at Rella’s Day Care Center, at the Rella's Weekly Kinderklassen, or at the Summer Camps and Community Events, just the way I envisioned when I was 7.