Week 2, 22.01.11 – 28.01.11 (Professional Blog) - Mandy Brown

It is now my second week in Finland and I have only had one class again so far (Finnish language).  It seems it is the only class that will be on the same day, at the same time each week!  In saying this though, the tutor was twenty minutes late, with no apologies whatsoever – I found this odd.  It was difficult with many more new words and phrases to learn, however an interesting challenge.  My timetable for classes will become more frequent from week beginning 7^th February, as will the placement experiences.  Hence, I intend to have more to report on this from then onwards.

In relation to Early Childhood Studies (or Social Services as it is named here), I attended a meeting with my tutor in ‘Daycare Daisy’ – my placement for the next twelve weeks.  Prior to the meeting I researched their website to gain some background information.  The setting is a private international and multicultural daycare, providing daycare and pre-school provision.  I am impressed by the diversity in this setting as it does not only care for Finnish children, but various other ethnic cultures.  I look forward to the experiences of caring for these children over the duration of my placement.

I met my mentor Henna, the pre-school teacher.  I was informed that the Finnish children do not speak English and often ask questions in Finnish.  Henna said that although this is the case, the teachers tend to reply in English to encourage development of the English language.  It appears that the setting’s ethos places an importance on learning the English language from the age of three years old, as they state that a child has acquired his/her native language by this age.

My time here will be primarily based in the pre-school with some opportunities to experience other areas of the setting.  According to the teacher, the six year old children have one hour in the morning routine where it is required that they sit at a desk and participate in formal learning.  Generally the remainder of the routine involves indoor/outdoor play, lunch and sleep time.

This first meeting has given me an insight into the nature of the setting and I look forward to the forthcoming experiences ahead; in particular their planning techniques, early years curriculum, communication and interaction with the children.

Picture: A typical kindergarten (play-park).

Week 1, 15.01.11 – 21.01.11 (Personal Blog) - Mandy Brown

Prior to arriving in Finland, my expectations were that it would be extremely cold and that the childcare provision was to be more advanced than that of Northern Ireland.  These expectations were established when I arrived in Finland.  The weather was cold, however this was not an unexpected climate shock for me as the weather was similar in Northern Ireland before I left.  During my travels from Helsinki to Turku (and Turku itself) I have observed interesting childcare facilities.  For example, when travelling from Helsinki to Turku by train I noticed what I can only describe as a ‘mini play-park’ or as they name them here ‘kindergartens’!  In addition to this, I have seen three kindergartens in the area where I am living and there is also one beside my University. 

The local buses appear to be well equipped for the elderly and young infants, as it seems the front half of the bus is allocated for them and the back half is for the more able person.  I have also observed that there is a ‘stop’ button for prams (it is blue with a pram symbol) and that mothers with young infants do not have to pay for the bus journey.

Living away from my home country in this first week has affected me marginally; I have been so busy getting settled and sorting out practical tasks (for example buying a bus card, setting up a bank account, exploring Turku and my host University) which can be timely.  The main change for me has been the transition from being a part-time student, in full-time employment and studying in the evening; to a full-time student attending classes during the day with more ‘free time’ than I am accustomed to.  Therefore due to being unemployed, and not having a student loan, I have arrived with my own savings (not forgetting the British Council grant) to reside in a more expensive way-of-life than that of Northern Ireland.  That said, my apartment is lovely and the rent expenditure is very reasonable to include heating, electricity and internet access.  At University I have attended my first Finnish language class to learn basic day-to-day phrases.  The language appears difficult as it is not related to the English language; however I am intrigued of the forthcoming challenge.

Finally, I have met a number of other international exchange students from countries including Canada, France, Germany, Turkey and Thailand (and of course the Finn’s in Finland) – I anticipate there will be more.  It has been interesting to meet these students and to exchange information about language and cultures from each others’ home countries.  I look forward to extending my knowledge and understanding of the Erasmus experience over the coming weeks.

Picture 1: Turku City Centre

    

      Picture 2: Turku University of Applied Sciences