KILONPUISTO KINDERGARTEN
"I like that we do fun things with friends. I'm happy that we learn."
In our small Kilonpuisto kindergarten, everyone knows each other and there is room for everyone's thoughts and opinions. At the heart of everything we do is the interaction between the children and the adults in the kindergarten. Joy, laughter and humour are part of our everyday life. We invest in play and support children's friendships. We work a lot in small groups, but in our kindergarten, children of all ages learn to work together.
We encourage children to try new things and create situations that give them a sense of achievement. The child has an eagerness to learn new things and we support this. Every child is unique and valuable just the way they are. In a small kindergarten, we can get to know every child and children have the right to express themselves, their opinions and their ideas.
We are grateful to be able to support the growth and development of young children all the way to being "big school" children, in a familiar and safe environment.
Call | WhatsApp: 044 577 5356
Vanharaide 3 A, 02610 ESPOO
Open
weekdays
07:30-17:00
LOCATION:
Our Kilonpuisto kindergarten is located right next to the Kilo train station.
The entrance is located in the courtyard of the apartment buildings near the
train park.
PARKING SPACES: The nearest parking spaces can be found in the train park at Kilo Station (24h). When bringing and picking up a child, you can leave the car for a while in the kindergarten's courtyard, where you drive from Kilonpuistonkatu (one-way). For the drop-off or pick up of a child in front of the kindergarten courtyard, the car must be parked with the front of the car facing the direction of travel to avoid danger. Small children may be present in the courtyard! You can get a parking permit for the yard from the kindergarten.
PUBLIC: The Kilonpuisto kindergarten is accessible by trains U and E (Kilo station). Bus 114 is also available near the kindergarten (Trillakatu stop).
IN KILONPUISTO KINDERGARTEN LEARN AND WONDER ABOUT THE WORLD
Stars, Clouds ja Rainbows -groups
All our
groups of children, Stars, Clouds and Rainbows, practice everyday life skills,
social skills and play skills through daily activities. As a rule, we teach in
English.
The areas of learning in both early childhood and pre-school are; The rich world of languages, Many forms of expression, Me and our community, Exploring and acting in my environment, and Growing, moving and developing.
The focus of the different groups' activities is described in more detail below.
STARS
3 to 4 YEARS OLD
At the
start of kindergarten, we get to know each other and practice following the
routines and rules of kindergarten. Particularly with children who have just
started with us, our policy is to keep things unhurried and child-centred.
In the Stars group, social and play skills are a priority. With the support of teachers, children practise interaction skills such as taking turns, sharing and expressing their thoughts and ideas to their friends. We also focus on strengthening fine and gross motor skills through play and creative methods.
Stars learn and practise everyday skills such as dressing, independent toileting, looking after their belongings and good table manners at mealtimes. The use of polite language is part of daily life.
Learning English starts with the basics. Please, thank you, help me, please. We also approach language learning through play. The child learns English by singing, listening to stories and following pictorial instructions. The child is encouraged to speak and repeat words in English.
CLOUDS
5-YEAR-OLDS (Viskari)
The Viskari prepares children for pre-school. The age of five is considered a period of intensive development and learning. This is when children's thinking skills become more varied; they enjoy exploring and experimenting with different phenomena and thinking about big questions with adults.
One of the Clouds group's priorities is the training of socio-emotional or 'feelings' skills. This includes identifying and naming emotions, practising regulating their own emotions, and becoming aware of the impact of their own actions on other people and their emotions.
The Clouds group continues to practice everyday skills such as washing hands with soap, cleaning up after play, getting dressed and looking after one's own belongings. We get used to longer table work periods and practise sounds, numbers and shapes. Children learn to identify, write, count, and associate numbers and quantities with objects. By the age of five, children can say most sounds, so we go through letter-sound correspondences in English.
Children learn new words and phrases in English every day as they listen to stories and talk to friends and teachers. The viskarit already communicate quite well in English.
RAINBOWS
PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN AGED 6
The
Rainbows are the oldest in the kindergarten. As the oldest children, they can
be role models for the younger ones.
Rainbows attend daily formal pre-school classes that prepare them for school. The main aim of pre-school education is to promote the child's conditions for growth, development and learning.
Pre-school education provides good pre-reading and working skills for school. The main language of instruction is English, but it includes a Finnish language lesson once a week.
An essential part of the pre-school curriculum is an observational approach that encourages children's activity, independent exploration and creativity, as well as guided and independent play. The Rainbows learn to solve problems and act more independently. The important learning of friendship skills and emotions also continues throughout pre-school.
When possible, the pre-schoolers participate in guided swimming lessons at the swimming school in the spring at the Leppävaara swimming pool, and there is a sleep over organised for them at the kindergarten.
DAILY RHYTHM
We are open from 07:30-17:00
- 07:30 The kindergarten opens, free play
- 08:00-8:45 Breakfast (Please note that breakfast is served until 8:45).
- 09:15 Morning circle
- 09:30 Stars outdoors | Clouds and Rainbows educational session
- 10:45 Stars class | Clouds & Rainbows outdoor class
- 11:30 Storytime
- 11:45 Lunch
- 12:15 Rest time
- 13:15 Stars play or rest | Clouds and Rainbows free play or afternoon nap
- 14:30 Storytime
- 14:45 Snack
- 15:30 Outdoor play
- 17:00 Day kindergarten closes
BROAD AND VARIED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Depending on the children's interests, we regularly organise joint parties and excursions outside the kindergarten. These activities broaden and diversify the children's learning environments.
In addition to the kindergarten yard, we also enjoy outdoor activities in the surrounding nature. Depending on the season, we visit the nearby forests, the Köysipyramidi sand field, the ski trails in the Kilo and Leppävaara areas, and the artificial ice of the Säteri field. Every week, we go to the Olarin voimistelijat gym in Kilo. In addition, you can take part in Juvenalia's weekly kindergarten music class under the guidance of a music teacher. We also go on regular hikes in Espoo and elsewhere in the capital region.
In addition
to excursions, our everyday life is enriched by parties. We celebrate Finnish
festivities, as well as celebrations from family and employee cultures. We
celebrate holidays and children's birthdays together with all groups.
Halloween, for example, is an annual favourite with the children. Parents also
have the opportunity to celebrate Christmas, Spring Festival, Mother's Day and
Father's Day with us. Through the kindergarten's messaging app, the shared
moments of joy are captured for families in pictures and videos.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PLANS
When a child starts kindergarten, we invite the family to a Welcome to Early Childhood. During this meeting, we go through the things that will help us to provide early childhood education and/or pre-school education that meets the needs of your child and family. See also what should you consider when starting kindergarten.
We follow Espoo's early childhood education and care plan and each year we make child and group-specific plans. We work together with carers to draw up individual plans for each child in the Early Years (VASU) and Pre-school (LEOPS) meetings. The group plans are based on the needs and interests of the children as identified in their individual plans.
In addition to the discussions described above, the family can contact the staff at any time and, if necessary, make an appointment for a discussion if there is even the slightest concern.
At least
once a year, we organise our own parents' evenings for the groups.