Eighteen students from the Jane Addams School of Berlin (Germany) spent two weeks in Jyväskylä in the framework of their Erasmus+ occupational field study.
Students of the Jane Addams Oberstufenzentrum – future nursery helpers, special needs teachers, after-school care workers among others – explored their field of study during a two-week-stay in Jyväskylä. The career exploration was possible due to Erasmus+ funding and was coordinated by Experience Workshop.
Early childhood education center visits in Jyväskylä
The English-speaking Pilke kindergarten
Visit to one of the “Pilke” daycare centres – a network of private daycares in the Nordic countries. Ellen Virkkunen showed us around the place, which has a bilingual profile – Finnish and English.
Kukkumäki daycare centre
Kukkumäki is one of the newer daycares in Jyväskylä. It is attended by children between 5 am and 10.30 pm so that children of parents with extraordinary working hours can be looked after. Kukkumäki is the daycare centre where several authors of the book Playful Learning In Early Childhood Education in Finland have shared their experiences of learning through play. Kristof Fenyvesi from Experience Workshop was among the contributors, too. We thank the principal Mika Mäntyvaara and teacher Hiskias Hakala for their welcome to the daycare.
Voionmaa preschool
The preschool has early childhood education groups as well as preschool groups. In total, the daycare center has places for about 100 children. Tamara Traiser, one of our interns from Germany, has been doing her practice in this daycare. One of the highlights of this visit was her implementation of a STEAM corner for daycare children.
Life at the University: teaching practice, visual arts and science classroom for early childhood education educators
Thanks to seminars and lectures at the university and at Crazy Town, the group gained an insight into Finland’s education system. After an introduction to the education system by the CEO of Experience Workshop Nora Somlyody, university lecturer Anu Palojärvi invited the visiting students in the so-called demo-rooms of the university, which closely resemble real daycare interiors. There, students welcome children from the nearby daycares and test the activities they’ve developed. In the wonderful buildings and interiors designed by the architect Alvar Aalto in the 1950’s, visiting students could observe how Finnish students work with children.
Visual Arts demo-class in ECEC in the perspective of Finnish and German students
Joint work with Finnish students on the subject of colour theory. Small projects were developed in small groups to bring the world of colours closer to the children. We thank art teacher Marja-Jetta Rissanen for including the visiting group in her class.
STEM Demo Classroom for Preschool Children
In a hands-on class with Anniina Koliseva, the group explored how to develop science education activities for small children. LUMA Centre Finland is a science education network of Finnish universities which inspires and motivates children and youth into mathematics, science and technology (STEM).
Hangouts with Finnish student associations Varkaat Ry and JASTO Ry
To get a real idea of what is it like to be a student in Finland, Varkaat Ry from the University of Jyväskylä and JASTO Ry from the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences prepared afternoon activities for the visiting group. Students could exchange their experiences of being a student of early childhood education and care in different countries and network outside of official educational settings.
STEAM workshop for early childhood education
The group gathered several times in the coworking space Crazy Town. Dr. Kristof Fenyvesi, STEAM director of Experience Workshop, gave a workshop on the possibilities of STEAM learning in early childhood education.
Family centres, playgrounds, after-school care centres
During the two weeks, many of the family and childcare services Jyväskylä offers, were visited. These include:
- the Mäki-Matti family centre with one of the best playgrounds in the city
- the Gloria multicultural centre
- the Yrttisuo family centre
- the Halssila primary school and after-school care centre
Youth Centers in Jyväskylä and the Vocational Special Needs Education College – Spesia
The program included a visit to the Matara Civic Activity Center, an NGO hub of the city.
The group also engaged in an interesting discussion in the Perttula youth centre, where they compared the Finnish and the German systems of child protection. We thank Ismael Omar Sheikh Musse and his colleagues for the fruitful discussion.
Vocational Special Needs Education College – Spesia field visit:
Students with special needs can choose from two main educational fields in Spesia: TELMA prepares students for work and independent living, while TUVA offers programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification. In both cases student students gain valuable home economics skills and. In case of TUVA also specialize in one of many vocational qualifications to help them integrate into the work life after that. We thank Kirsi Teppo and the students of Spesia College for the warm welcome and introduction to the school system.
Finnish Culture
After an introduction to the Finnish culture by Tereza Pruknerová, the visit wouldn’t have been complete without trying some very Finnish things in person. Sauna, hiking and grilling in Finnish nature added to the experience of being in Finland. Night-life activities were also part of the program. During the weekend the students enjoyed their individual visits to Helsinki and spending a night in a Finnish cottage by a lake.
What do students think about their mobility?
“I really appreciated that the programme wasn’t just theoretical—it gave us hands-on, practical insights we can actually use!”
“The ‘Science for Preschool’ sessions were fantastic! Since I work in a primary school, I can directly apply what I learned back home.”
“This experience reminded me: Don’t be afraid to try new things—every opportunity is valuable for growth, both personally and professionally.”
Photo credits: Nora Somlyody, Tereza Pruknerová, Jiayi Li-H, students and teachers of the Jane Addams Oberstufenzentrum
The program was implemented as part of the Erasmus+ KA1 programme, with the contribution of Experience Workshop Jyväskylä and the Gesellschaft für Europabildung (GEB) Berlin.
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