Blog

28th February 2021

Are you ready for Intern1ational Hygge Day? 

Around the world Early Educators will be taking inspiration on Hygge and doing lots of cosy activities for themselves and children and sharing them using my #hyggeintheearlyyears

Why not have a coffee and cake break in the afternoon, wear your comfy clothes to work or have a family story time event?

Why not create your own hygge shadow puppets and tell a story or set up a cosy mountain small world scene!

If you're look for some ideas or inspiration then why not download my free guide here

Here are some of my followers favourite ways to make Christmas time more magical for the children.

'Add fairy lights everywhere' Mrspodmed

'Create an activity advent calendar' s28xoxo

'Make cranberry sauce with the children and give them a jar to take home and share on Christmas Day' Acorn_Class

'Have a North Pole tea party with twinkling lights' Dawnwebster29

'Dress up and sing Christmas songs together' Seafoam_green

'We have a nativity advent and each day we add to a wooden nativity scene' katmurphy81

'Sprinkle the children with magic dust from Santa as they leave school for the holiday' amberlou_d

'Family walks in the woods' nerdishmum

'We have a Christmas story that we read a chapter a day of and do an activity related to it' Littleonesatplay

'The children help to decorate the tree' Sarahs_littlestars

'We have a Christmas movie night with the projector and snacks' Laura_diamond_childminder

For more Christmas Child Led Ideas check out my training here.

Hygge feels different for everyone and I wanted to share with you what it feels and looks like for me by telling you about our very Hygge Sunday. 

We began our morning by having a slow breakfast together as a family where we lit the candles and talked about what we all wanted to do on such a cold foggy day. Despite the weather we decided to get wrapped up and embrace the great outdoors. We headed out for an autumn walk through the woods and to a nearby dam. 

Danes enjoy spending time connected to nature and away from electronic devices. Being outside allows you to live in the moment and notice what’s around you which is really important for your mental health. It’s also a wonderfully sensory experience too. 

As we walked along we took in the smell of the trees, the oozing of the mud on our boots and the sound of the birds in the trees. We also loved collecting up many natural treasures like; pine cones, leaves and stones. We used our rustic nesting bowls which were perfect for...

I don’t know about you but I used to over plan my days and schedule too much into them. Having an over flowing to do list. I would find myself rushing from one thing to the next, never having time to eat properly and by the end of the day was exhausted and usually hadn’t got the tasks done that I needed to do. As I mentioned a few days ago the Danes are brilliant at planning their time in an efficient way- working less but in a more focussed way.

Inside the accreditation I talk about the importance of goal setting and aligning these to our overall vision.

1. Each week think about what the top three tasks you must get done each week are. Write these down and put a number next to them for priority and identify why these are the needle movers.
2. Each day look at your top three priorities and break down 3 smaller activities that you must do to moving you closer to that goal.
3. Each week review your week- have you met your goal? What’s gone well? What do you need to consider for the fo
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3 Ways to Bring Hygge to your learning environment

Hygge is often miss understood and people believe that they can buy that hygge look by just changing the environment. Instead hygge is an investment into yourself and the journey of embracing it should be taken slowly. There is so much to hygge from slowing down, discovering what lights you up (and the children you work with) and bringing more balance to your day.

1. Hygge lighting is about creating a warm atmosphere. Open up your blinds and let the natural light flood in. Turn off the harsh strip lights and instead go for table amps, twinkly lights and LED Candles. Add a beautiful glow to your room by draping twinkly lights around suspended branches, the edges of your display board or filling empty jars with them.

2. Adding nature into your environment brings in calmness and also removes the toxins from the air. Yucca's and Spider Plants are safe for young children. You could also incorporate this natural background into small worl...

Hygge is more than a cosy room full of candles, company and good food. Hygge is a philosophy; a way of life that has helped Danes understand the importance of simplicity, time to unwind and slowing down the pace of life.

For my when I discovered hygge considering moments for cosiness, warmth and nature were my first steps.  

Warmth - add soft throws of different textures, in warm shades for the winter. Consider using rugs, layering your bedspread with fluffiness and sheepskin, swapping over cushion cover and curtains at this time of the year. Think about your bathroom too and how you might add soft fluffy towels. When Daisy Chain Nursery started studying on the accreditation they immediately began work on their indoor environment; creating nooks, cosy spaces and adding more warmth. Immediately they noticed a change in the behaviour of the 2 year old children and also the children who have special educational needs. 

Lighting:  Soft lighting with lamps rather than one big light, ligh...

Avoid Burnout with Hygge

As I spoke about in yesterday’s video hygge is all about pausing and taking the time to savour the simple moments in life. For Danes this way of living is the secret to having a good quality of life.

Here in the U. K  11.7 million. working days are lost to stress, depression or anxiety. Working in education is tough and I know myself I have suffered from exhaustion and burnout. In fact it was during these hardest times that I discovered hygge while travelling around Scandinavia. I noticed that the pace of life was so much slower (yet everything was still achieved..if not even better)

Here are some ways to avoid burnout; 

1. As we spoke about yesterday Hygge is being able to let yourself actually enjoy life, Living for each day and not just saving all of your best moments in life for the future. Don’t put your happiness on hold thinking when the pandemic is over I will be happy, when it’s the weekend I will light my favourite candle (light it today!) Or waste
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What is hygge?

Scandinavia ranks highly on all the main factors found to support happiness: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income and good governance.  With the long dark nights, they have to have a mind-set of positivity. So, when it's cold and snowing outside they turn the situation around and light a fire, candles and get blankets. They take enjoyment from the warmth they experience while reading a book by the fire and watching the snow fall outside. This concept around living for now is known as 'Hygge' (which can be pronounced hue-guh).

Hygge doesn't have a direct translation into English but is about embracing the simple moments in life with such joy and appreciation.  Whether it be a meal at home with good friends, playing board games or taking time to enjoy a sunny but cold woodland walk. It’s about tuning into the little moments in life that light you up and give you the fuzzy feeling. 

EYFS Manager Catherine didn’t know what the word Hygge meant but as a new...

Our journey started with a statement from our Ofsted inspector

“Follow your hearts”.

For years my son and I had been working towards blending our family values into our early years setting. We love to upcycle, hate to waste, love the environment and wanted to create a nursery in this image. For years we had been blindfolded, like fish in a bowl we never got to see what life was like outside our own little nursery bubble. When we would receive advice from our Early Years Team or other nurseries in our area it never felt natural to us, it always felt like fitting into a biscuit mould, all the same and no essence of ourselves.

For years we had done everything right, by the book, creative and forward thinking but shackled by the frameworks and policies of a government falling slowly behind the times. Our nursery was beautiful but we had started to move towards more natural, open ended, ethically sourced resources. We had begun to shed the norm and started looking for an approach that ha...