Pre-school: Where kids are left to be kids

Putting on another layer of outer wear, head teacher Linda Loh-Tammila heads outdoors with her group of 30 pre-schoolers, a daily activity she has yet to get used to.

The Singaporean, who has been living in Finland for three years, shivers in the sub-zero temperatures while her pupils romp the snowy park grounds.

“When the parents come to pick their kids up, they ask whether their child has been outside to play today, not about what was taught in class,” said Mrs Loh-Tammila.

Hence, in her pre-school that caters to children ranging in age from three to six, the daily timetable includes at least two hours of outdoor play.

Mrs Loh-Tammila, 49, who is married to a Finn and has two teenage children, used to help a friend run a pre-school when her husband was stationed in Japan. She enjoyed the experience so much that she studied for a certificate in Montessori teaching and obtained qualifications to teach English as a foreign language.

After moving to Finland, she found a job with Fountain Square Playschool, an English Language private pre-school in Espoo, which is 30 minutes from Helsinki.

The former luxury goods brand manager said that in Finland, “children are left to enjoy being children”.

Finnish parents, both of whom usually work, turn to pre-schools for their child to be taken care of and to socialise with other children, she said. Pre-school education is not compulsory — formal schooling starts at Grade One (equivalent of Primary 1) — but 99 per cent of children attend pre-schools run by the government or private operators.

All Finnish pre-school teachers must obtain a university degree specialising in early childhood education, and there are curriculum guidelines for pre-school education. Pre-schools set goals such as having their charges counting up to 20 by the age of six.

Nevertheless, a child who does not attend pre-school doesn’t miss out by much, as the same things are taught again in Grade One, noted Ms Raija Ikaheimo, who also teaches at Fountain Square Playschool. “The main focus of pre-school here is for children to be able to be friends … things like letters and numbers, that isn’t as important”.