Visit an early childhood activity group

early childhood

I was very surprised that the visit took place in our University. We met up in our school to join the activity with the students and kids.

One of the students told us that the kids are in family care, which means if I understood it correctly, that the parents don’t have time for their kids due to work or else. The children, most of them between one and five years old, are staying the whole day at another place than their home. The “substitute” mother takes care of around 4 kids. She provides them food, activities, fresh air and basically raises them up.

For 12 times the substitute mothers have the opportunity to join the activities at Ruiskatu for an hour each Wednesday.

Around 9:30 the kids arrived. That day around 15 kids participated. They started the activity with a song while they were sitting in a circle. The children were still a bit tired but enjoyed it. After the little warm up the students divided them into two groups. The first group stayed in the same room, while the second group went to another.

The students prepared a big poster where the kids could draw Easter paintings or else. Most of the kids stick some feathers on the poster or pressed their coloured hands on the poster.

The group who stayed listened to some poetry and enjoyed themselves. After every kid had the chance to draw or paint something, the group got together again to enjoy some music. The activity ended with some free time for the kids. Some of them made a puzzle while others just layed on the floor.

Visit in an immigration centre in Turku

immigration centre

The immigration centre is a little bit hidden in the forest. When we arrived there we got the chance to talk to the head master of the centre to ask questions about the place. He told us about the centre itself and the immigrants system. Most of the families are staying in these kind of centres for six months to several years. The centres are meant to be like a transit place. As soon as the court decided if the families are allowed to stay in Finland or not, they have to leave, either in another centre or back to their home countries.

The kids seemed to enjoy the activities which are organized by the students. It was very nice to see how much they liked the activities. Often the kids were hugging the students, or taking their hands.

What made me very happy was to see, that the children played with everyone despite that they couldn’t really communicate with them. Also they did not care where the other kids are coming from, how they look or act. They just enjoyed themselves and the time.

After the organized activities we went with the kids to the playroom. It was amazing to see how the children enjoyed it. The playroom is very small but provides a lot of possibilities to play. Unfortunately the room is locked most of the time, which is very sad.

When the time was over, the kids didn’t want to let the students go. That showed me once more how much they appreciate the time with the students.

Finnish dishes

Finnish food experience

When someone asks me about the traditional Finnish food, only desert dishes cross my mind.

Korvapuusti- Cinnamon rolls

These kind of rolls remind me of Canada. They taste like the typical cinnamon rolls from Tim Hortons but without the icing. He flavor is describable with 3 words. Sweet, “cinnamonish”, and wired. Wired because one spice is quite unusual. It’s called cardamom. I don’t know why the Finnish cook decided to add this spice to the recipe. Of course, the rolls still taste very good, but I prefer the American ones.

Runebergin Torttu

This is one of the most delicious cakes I have ever tried. The taste reminds me of almond. The batter is very soft and moist. A Finnish friend taught me how to make it and I was surprised how easy it is. All you need are cookies, eggs, butter, milk, baking powder and sugar. After scrambling the cookies it is almost done. Simply mix all the ingredients and bake it in the stove. For finishing the cake it is necessary to put jam and powder sugar mixed with water alternatively on top of the cake.

Karjalanpiirakat – Rice bread

This is the only dish I know which is not related to any sweetness. I can exactly remember when I first tried this dish.

I have no idea what I expected, but I was a little bit disappointed. The filling, which is mainly made of rice, milk and butter is not every tasty in my opinion. Neither is the bread.

A few weeks later I was told, that I ate it the wrong way and that I should give it another try. I followed the preparation advice: I heated the rice bread up and prepared some beaten butter with boiled eggs and salt. After baking I spread some of the egg butter on top of the bread and I have to admit, it is definitely not bad, but not my favored dish at all.