Here in Finland, one of the big differences is that compulsory education starts a age 7. I am not exactly sure why this is, but there are publicly funded education options for children who are younger than 7. This is called day care or pre-school, and I got to visit one of these schools this week.
Here there are two certified teachers and some assistants. First thing in the morning, children eat breakfast. Breakfast is prepared in the school and has a very un-institutional appearance. (I did not taste the food at this school, but have had many school lunches, all of which were quite good.)
Children gather for morning circle and talk about much the same things you might talk about it a kindergarten or first grade class - the weather, the activities for the day, and the calendar.
There is lots of time to play with toys, do art projects, and even try out computer activities. The older children today had a 45 minutes lesson on counting and listening to and distinguishing between similar sounding words. The teacher explained that the children work up to sitting for 45 minutes, and that this will prepare them for first grade.
Besides the time in class, there is lots of time to play outside and get involved in self-directed activities. I noticed the children entering and exiting the different rooms and interacting with each other as they wished.
As you can see, the school is a bright, warm, inviting place.
Here is some of the work from the students' portfolios.
