Guest Post: Winter in Wise Owls

Embracing the concept of Hygge in our Montessori preschool Wise Owls (follow on instagram  @wiseowlsmontessori)  has been both magical and gratifying. The concept of living in the now and embracing the simple and natural things in life has been wonderful to see first-hand amongst the children. We embrace the sense of togetherness as well as capturing the feeling of nature, warmth and cosiness.

Throughout the year, we love to incorporate materials from our outdoor environment, for example, going on nature walks to collect branches and leaves to make our season tree which is proudly painted and created by the children and displayed in the classroom throughout the year. The children love learning about the different seasons and incorporating nature and hygge into the classroom. Providing natural objects made from wood allow us and the children to feel closer to the simplicity of nature. We have also recently gathered natural materials to make our own Winter Wreaths for our school doors. The children had great fun wrapping straw around some wire and gluing on some dried oranges, pinecones, and flowers from the garden. This creates a lovely natural sensory experience where the children gained more independence and self-confidence to master their abilities and skills. They also got to explore the natural environment and develop their sense of wonder and awe through active learning.

We also get the children bundled up in their cosy wet gear and wellies to explore the icy outdoors every day. Jack Frost arrived in Ireland with a bang over the last couple of weeks and the children were immediately filled with excitement. They were invited to explore the ice that Jack Frost had left and were actively encouraged to use their imaginations to think about where the ice came from and what it felt and looked like. Some of the children told us that the ice “looks like glass and it’s really cold on my hands”, whilst other children told us that it was “really white, and it comes from raindrops”. The children used the various tools from our garden mud kitchen, such as spoons, and wooden spatulas to break and scoop the ice and water from the bowls and to gather some of the ice from the crunchy grass. Our garden provides a natural environment for the children to engage their senses and be in the moment without distractions that may occur within the walls of the classroom. Being present in the moment is at the forefront of our learning here at Wise Owls alongside providing a space that allows the children to work collaboratively with one another on activities such as those named above. This allows for team building skills and building successful relationships and partnerships amongst the peer groups. 

   As part of our winter activities, we love to make our own homemade soup which we find is a lovely simple Hygge task for the children to engage in. The children enhance their teamwork skills as well as their fine and gross motor skills, by washing, peeling, and chopping all the vegetables themselves. Taking inspiration from Meik Wiking, “the slowness of the process and the feeling of taking care of things”, like vegetables and turning them into a warm, nurturing dish to share together, for us, really captures the essence of Hygge; presence, pleasure, togetherness, and comfort, to name but a few.

Discover more about hygge with out Hygge in the Early Years accreditation here