A practical guide for teachers – with a real classroom example by Kindiedays Education Expert Stella Giota.

Playful, experiential learning is not about spontaneous activities or “free play without purpose.”It follows clear pedagogical steps—but the steps guide the process, not the outcome.

Below, each step is first explained in principle and then illustrated in practice through a month-long restaurant project.

STEP 1: Start With Children’s Ideas and Prior Knowledge

The principle

Experiential learning always begins with:

1️⃣ What children already know

2️⃣ What they believe (including misconceptions)

3️⃣ What they are curious about

The teacher’s role is to listen before planning.

Restaurant Example in practice

The teacher invites a group discussion:

• “What is a restaurant?”
• “Who works there?”
• “Where does food come from?”

Children share experiences, ideas, and questions.
The teacher documents their thinking and uses it as the starting point for the project.

STEP 2: Define Broad Learning Intentions (Not Activities)

The principle

Part 3/6 in a series by Kindiedays co-founder Jessi van der Burgh. If you missed the start of the series, please explore Part 1 and Part 2.

Understanding Objectives Without Limiting Children

One of the most common questions in early childhood education is also one of the most misunderstood:

Do play-based activities need learning goals or objectives?

• Some educators worry that goals will turn play into instruction.
• Others worry that without goals, learning becomes random or hard to explain.

High-quality early childhood education — including the Finnish approach — demonstrates that both concerns can be addressed simultaneously. The key lies in who the goals are for.

A crucial distinction: goals guide educators, not children

In play-based pedagogy, children do not play to meet objectives.

Children play to:

• Explore
• Imagine
• Test ideas
• Interact with others
• Follow curiosity

Learning goals exist for educators, not for children.

Running a successful preschool today is no longer just about loving children or having good teachers. Preschool owners are expected to deliver visible, measurable learning outcomes, adhere to national curriculum frameworks, support teachers, satisfy parents, and still run a profitable business.

At the same time, expectations from parents are rising. They want assurance that their child is learning meaningfully—not just completing worksheets. They want transparency, modern teaching methods, and a school that feels professional and trustworthy.

This is where a curriculum partnership model is becoming increasingly relevant.

The Challenge Most Preschools Face

Many preschools try to manage everything on their own:

• Designing lesson plans
• Training teachers
• Creating teaching materials
• Handling parent communication
• Preparing for audits and reviews
• Marketing the school effectively

Over time, this leads to:

• Inconsistent teaching quality across classrooms
• Heavy dependency on individual teachers
• Teacher burnout and high staff turnover
• Difficulty scaling to multiple branches
• Confused or dissatisfied parents

What school owners often need is one clear, structured system that brings everything together—without turning their preschool into a generic franchise.

A Different Approach: The Kindiedays Curriculum Partnership

Part 2/6 in a series by Kindiedays co-founder Jessi van der Burgh.

What It Means and Why It Works

Finland is widely recognised for its high-quality education system, and this reputation begins in early childhood education. One of the key practices supporting quality in Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) is pedagogical documentation.

In Finland, pedagogical documentation is not an administrative task or a way to prove compliance. It is a practical pedagogical tool that helps educators understand children’s learning, reflect on their own practice, and ensure that education supports the whole child.

Understanding how pedagogical documentation is used in the Finnish context clarifies why it works—and how its principles can be applied elsewhere.

How Finland understands early childhood education

Finnish early childhood education is based on a few core principles:

• Children are active participants in their own learning
• Learning happens through play, interaction, and everyday experiences
• Education supports the whole child — socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively
• Quality depends on reflection, not control

Pedagogical documentation supports these principles by helping educators observe learning in real time and respond thoughtfully.

What pedagogical documentation means in Finland

Part 1/6 in a series by Kindiedays co-founder Jessi van der Burgh.

Early childhood education is full of learning moments — but many of them are easy to miss.

Young children do not learn by completing worksheets or giving the right answers. They learn while building, talking, exploring, negotiating, pretending, and playing. Much of this learning is invisible unless we stop to notice it.

Pedagogical documentation exists for this reason. It helps educators recognise, understand, and support children’s learning in a meaningful way. It is not an extra task or a formality. It is a core part of high-quality early childhood education.

What is pedagogical documentation?

Pedagogical documentation is the process of:

• Observing children in everyday situations
• Recording meaningful moments of learning
• Reflecting on what these moments tell us
• Using this understanding to guide future practice

It focuses on learning processes, not just activities or outcomes.

Instead of asking “What did we do today?”, pedagogical documentation asks:

• What did children learn here?
• What were they interested in?
• How did they think, interact, and problem-solve?

Why documentation is essential in early childhood education

1. Much of children’s learning is invisible