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How to turn Finnish-inspired playful learning into everyday practice?
Finnish education has become well known worldwide. Preschool owners hear about playful learning, child-centred pedagogy, highly competent teachers, holistic development and giving children time to explore, experiment and discover. Naturally, this creates interest.
š¤ Could we bring some of these practices into our preschool?
But it can also create a misconception. You may think that adopting Finnish best practices means replacing your existing curriculum, changing your preschool concept, or even becoming a Finnish-branded preschool.
It doesn't have to. There is another way.
šÆ You can keep the preschool you have already builtāyour brand, your identity, your local curriculum, your teachers and your relationship with parentsāand transform the way learning happens inside it.
That is the approach we believe in at Kindiedays.
The real challenge is not knowing what good education looks like
Today, most progressive preschool owners already recognise many of the principles behind high-quality early childhood education.
- Children should be active participants in their learning.
- Learning should be playful and experiential.
- Teachers should observe children's development instead of simply completing activities.
- Children need opportunities to develop language, thinking, creativity, social skills, emotional skills, physical competencies and independenceānot just academic knowledge.
- Parents should understand what their children are learning.
These ideas are increasingly reflected in early childhood education reforms worldwide.
But how do we make it happen every day?
That's a much bigger challenge.
There can be a big gap between your curriculum and your classroom
Imagine your preschool has decided to embrace playful, experiential learning. Your academic coordinator understands the concept. Your teachers attend a workshop. You tell parents that your preschool follows a child-centred approach. Excellent.
But what happens on Monday morning?
- Does every teacher know how to turn a learning objective into an engaging experience?
- Can teachers facilitate purposeful play rather than simply allowing free play?
- Do they know what to observe while children play and explore?
- Can they document children's learning without creating an enormous administrative burden?
- Can the academic coordinator see whether the new pedagogical approach is being implemented consistently across classrooms?
- And can parents actually see the difference?
This is the implementation gap.
A curriculum document alone cannot close it.
Transformation starts with teachers
If you want to transform your preschool, start with the people who make education happen every day.
Your teachers.
- A teacher needs more than educational theory.
- She needs to understand why playful learning worksābut she also needs practical answers to questions such as:
- What should I do with the children today?
- What are they supposed to learn from this experience?
- How should I guide the activity without controlling it?
- What should I observe?
- How can I adapt the experience for different children?
- How can I show parents what their child learned?
This is why teacher professional development is the first step in the Kindiedays approach.
Through Kindiedays Academy, teachers learn about Finnish early childhood education through practical, interactive workshops. But training is only the beginning.
Turn teacher competence into everyday practice
Think about what often happens after an inspiring teacher workshop.
- Teachers are excited.
- They have new ideas.
Then normal preschool life starts again. Children to manage, activities to prepare, parents to talk to, and dozens of things competing for teachers' attention. Within a few weeks, it's easy to slip back into familiar routines.
That's why professional development needs to connect to practical, everyday support.
Kindiedays provides ready-to-use experiential lesson plans that help teachers put playful learning into practice.
Instead of starting with a blank sheet, teachers get a structured learning experience with clear objectives and practical guidance. But the lesson plan isn't a script. The teacher can adapt it to the children, local environment, and situation. This is an important principle borrowed from Finnish early childhood education:
Give teachers structureābut also trust them as professionals.
Make children's learning visible
Playful learning also presents a challenge. Parents may see children painting, building, singing, moving, exploring nature, or playing together and wonder:
āBut what are they actually learning?ā
That is a reasonable question. The answer shouldn't be to abandon playful learning and return to worksheets simply because worksheets are easy to show parents. Instead, we should make the learning taking place through play visible.
- A simple building activity can develop mathematical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, creativity, language and fine-motor skills.
- A nature walk can develop observation, vocabulary, scientific thinking, curiosity and environmental awareness.
- Role play can develop communication, imagination, emotional understanding and social skills.
When teachers systematically observe and document these experiences, parents can see something much more meaningful than a completed worksheet.
They can see their child's development.
Digital tools can make this process considerably easier. Teachers can document observations and learning experiences, connect them with learning objectives, and share meaningful evidence with families.
Give preschool leaders visibility too
Transformation cannot depend entirely on individual teachers. The preschool owner, centre head, or academic coordinator also needs to know:
- Are teachers implementing the approach?
- Are different learning areas being covered?
- Are children's learning experiences being documented?
- Are some teachers struggling and in need of support?
- Is the quality consistent between classrooms?
This is where digital tools and systematic pedagogical processes become important.
They turn playful learning from an educational philosophy into something you can implement, support, and continuously improve.
And that is one of the fundamental ideas behind the Kindiedays Learning System.
You don't have to change who you are
Perhaps the most important point is this:
Your preschool doesn't need to become somebody else's preschool.
You may already have spent years building your reputation. Parents know your name. Your preschool has its own values, traditions, and community. You operate within your national and local educational context. All of that has value.
Finnish early childhood education should not be something you simply copy and paste from Finland. Instead, Finnish expertise can provide principles, practices, and practical tools that help you improve what you already have.
- Your local curriculum remains important.
- Your culture remains important.
- Your teachers remain important.
- Your preschool identity remains important.
The goal isn't to make your preschool Finnish. The objective is to make your preschool better.
From Finnish inspiration to preschool transformation
This is why we see Kindiedays as much more than a collection of Finnish lesson plans or another preschool app.
We see a transformation journey:
1ļøā£ DEVELOP: Build your teachers' professional competence and confidence.
2ļøā£ IMPLEMENTāāā: Give teachers practical lesson plans and tools that help them turn playful learning into everyday practice.
3ļøā£ DEMONSTRATE: Observe and document children's development so that learning becomes visible to teachers, preschool leaders, and parents.
4ļøā£ IMPROVE: Use observations, documentation, mentoring, and quality information to continuously develop your preschool.
Better education can also mean a stronger preschool business
For a private preschool owner, educational quality and business success are not separate issues.
A preschool that can clearly demonstrate competent teachers, purposeful playful learning, children's holistic development and meaningful parent communication has something valuable to offer.
Not simply a slogan. Not simply an international curriculum. But an educational experience parents can actually see.
That can strengthen parent trust, teacher confidence, and the preschool's differentiation in an increasingly competitive market.
šÆ Keep your preschool. Transform the learning.
Finnish early childhood education can provide inspiration. But inspiration alone doesn't change a preschool.
Teachers do.
And teachers need competence, practical support, strong learning materials, effective tools, and leadership that helps them improve continuously.
That is the gap Kindiedays wants to close. We don't believe every preschool around the world should become a Finnish preschool.
We believe every preschool should be able to benefit from the best practices Finland has learned about how young children learn:
- Adapt them.
- Make them practical.
- Bring them into everyday classroom life.
- And use them to build an even better version of the preschool you already have.
Your preschool. Your identity. Better learning every day.
What next?
š Learn more about how Kindiedays can support your preschool by combining Finnish early education principles, digital tools, lesson plans, and teacher workshops tailored for challenger preschools.
I look forward to meeting you.
Milla van der Burgh
š Click here to schedule a consultative call on Zoom or contact me on WhatsApp!
PS Join our official WhatsApp group š click here to join the group!