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Hygge in the Early Years At Pownall Hall School

In April 2019, I introduced the Hygge approach into my home and felt the benefits instantly. I was therefore keen to introduce it into our nursery setting.

Hygge is about sharing and enjoying small moments together, every day. It is about slowing down, being together and building relationships.

At Pownall Hall School Nursery we believe in all the benefits that a Hygge environment brings. We have used the Hygge approach to create a Nursery environment that captures the feeling of cosiness, warmth and togetherness for all who enter into it.

Our Nursery is a calm space filled with cosy nooks, soft lights, warm textures and interesting objects to encourage curiosity and discussion. We bring nature inside and connect with nature outside daily.

We believe that wellbeing is key to our provision and our children are comfortable to have fun, explore or just snuggle down when they want to. Children should experience happiness and other emotions...

This year at Kinderworld Day Nursery the staff team have embarked on a journey together studying for the Hygge in Early Years Accreditation. We started this because as the manager of the nursery I could see and feel how the covid pandemic has had such a detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of many families, staff and children. As a team, we wanted to feel calmer, less stressed and happier. Coming myself from a very Hygge home (as my mother is Danish) and having grown up with the concept of Hygge and basing our nursery around this when we first opened 25 years ago, along with other Danish philosophies and what we called always called ‘home from home’, I was overjoyed to find this course so I could better share our ethos with my staff and the families that attend. I am so happy that finally Hygge is recognised outside of Denmark, as it is a way of life and can really only be embraced if everyone understands it and is on board with it- creating a culture of Hygge....

Guest blog post by Sarah Rawson, Normanton All Saints C of E (A) Infant School

"During the pandemic, our setting, like many others, were keen to not only spend the majority of our day outdoors but also encourage our families to do the same. Making the most of the daily walk quickly became part of the new ‘norm’ for families and schools in the world of home learning.     Our love for the outdoors continued to grow and this is when we stumbled upon the Wanderlust nature study program. This amazing 52 week plan has totally transformed our outdoor provision and the way in which we use our outdoor space. The level of engagement has increased, behaviour has improved and we have been in awe of the knowledge that the children had gained about the world around them. Inspired by Kimberly and her Nature...

There are many different ways that we can prepare for advent with young children and our loved ones. I like to make this time full of hope in my setting and learning environment and think about ways we can add a dose of cosy too! 

I have created a  FREE printable hygge in the early years advent calendar that can be used as a family to focus on collecting moments and making memories together over the festive season. Let's not forget the only Christmas present we wanted last year was to see family and friends. It's easy for the commercial side of Christmas to run away with us and make us forget what's important. 

I like to stick my daily hygge prompts into a little envelope or a postage tag and hang these up. We then take it in turns to open one each day over breakfast. 

 You might also decide to light an advent candle. In Denmark families enjoy foraging for natural treasures in the forests like bark, berries, twigs, moss and pine. They then enjoy...

I am a Forest School Practitioner and Teaching Assistant working across all primary year groups.  I was introduced by a work colleague to the Wanderlust Nature Study.   This has led me on a journey and helped me to bridge the gap between the classroom indoors and the classroom outdoors so that they become one.  I feel this is important, not only for the children, but the adults alike with small steps taken inside the classroom to bring nature inside thus helping to make those steps outside.  This is something I am passionate about as a Forest School Practitioner.  Through my Forest School Practitioner training I understand the importance of nature/the outdoors and child led learning.  This accreditation course has fitted perfectly within this.

I have worked closely with Year 1 and EYFS and the Hygge feeling has started to spread throughout the school.  There are still lots of areas to improve, this isn’t something I feel will just...

A guest post by Sophie-Ann Grant @smallworldsecrets on Instagram.

I chose to document the Hygge course through journal method, using a scrapbook to write down my journey. Journaling is one of my favourite hobbies and it really helps me have a more reflective mind.

I enjoyed adding pictures to prompt myself, especially when I found myself in moments where I was doubting my achievements.

I would spend the first half listening to the webinars and videos, jotting down my own notes and take-aways in a separate notebook. I liked referencing to the module booklet to prompt me to respond to the action tasks.

I then set the layout in my scrapbook, and took more time, to read over my notes and add my own reflections.

Documenting it this way will ensure that I look back, when there are times when I am struggling to stay inspired or in need to a boost my motivation and support my core values in my practice.

Discover more on changing the quality of your life with the Hygge in the Early...

The Icelandic people practice something called 'jolabokaflod,' which translates to 'Christmas book flood. ' Jolabokaflod involves giving books as presents on Christmas Eve, so that friends and family can spend the cozy night in curled up with a good story.

Here is my list of favourite winter books:

Share some kindness, bring some light by Apryl Stott 

One Snowy Night by Nick Butterworth

Under the Stars by Rosie Adams

Someday by Stephanie Stansbie

Christmas Farm by Mary Lyn Ray

The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits by Ulf Stark 

The Message Of The Birds By Kate Westerlund

A Simple Christmas On The Farm By Phyllis Alsdurf

The Lights That Dance In The Night by Yuval Zommer

A Scandinavian Christmas 

A Thing Called Snow by Yuval Zommer

The Snow Dragon by Abi Elphinstone

Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht

 Christmas is coming: An advent book by Katie Hickey

The Christmas Pine by Julia Donaldson

Walking in a Winter...

My Name is Adele I am a registered childminder in Kent.

I have worked in childcare for 23 years doing may different positions as Nursery nurse, Nanny, TA and Respite Nursery Nurse for a children’s hospice.

After having my two beautiful girls currently aged 4 and 8 years old, I was finding it increasingly more difficult to find the correct position that fitted around our family life. After taking to close friends I decided to take up childminding.

I found it all quite daunting to start with as even though I have been in childcare for a long time I hadn’t had to do much paperwork as having dyslexia this can sometimes be very time consuming and difficult writing policies, planning and learning journals for the children was taking a lot of my family time up. Also had never run my own business before. I really enjoyed childminding but was overwhelmed and stressed that I wasn’t doing enough with the children.

A fabulous friend of my Samantha who I...

When considering gifts for your Wanderlust Children why not think about items that will help them be excited about future adventures! Here is my list of ideas to get you started.. 

Small World Woodland Animals

Let children create their own re-tellings of their adventures with a set of some beautiful handmade wooden figures. 

A Cosy Nature Based Book

Get cosy and snuggle up together with a cosy book. On Christmas Eve the Icelandic people practice something called 'jolabokaflod,'  which translates to 'Christmas book flood. ' Jolabokaflod involves giving books as presents on Christmas Eve, so that friends and family can spend the cozy night in curled up with a good story.

Wanderlust Patches 

Whether you're following the Wanderlust Child Nature Study or you're making up your own nature challenges, these make a wonderful gift for young children to collect and be proud of their achievements. 

 Bird and Bug Boxes

Encourage young children to invite wildlife...

Member Case Study by Vania Almeida

The Hygge in the Early Years Accreditation has been a journey of personal growth and enrichment in my life-long learner journey. My name is Vania Almeida and I heard about hygge and KSEY’s work last year in a webinar when Vicky Murray, a childminder in England, presented the benefits of using the approach in her setting. I searched about it and I decided to join the accreditation in January 2020. I have been completing different trainings since I started my career in Early Years seven years ago, although I work in Education for nearly 15 years. The pandemic context led me to invest a lot in my self-development. I became first time manager last year and my intention was for the accreditation to help me create a hygge environment in a setting that was everything but hygge – very urban, colourful, depressive and empty. I had only two children enrolled and one staff member. I will share very few photos from this setting but I feel most of the work...