Free open early childhood education activities provide families with activities for everyday life and support their child's growth in line with the early childhood education plan. Open day cares, play schools, baby groups and play ground activities are organised in different parts of Turku.
The early childhood education pathway from infant to pre-school
Open early childhood education activities are mainly aimed at families with children in residential care, who do not need a full-time early childhood education place. A typical client of Early childhood education is a parent with a child or children at home. There are no income limits for free services and their use does not affect Kela care allowance. Open early childhood education and care services are available from infancy to pre-school age. Family groups and open day care are attended together with a parent. Playgroups for children aged 2.5-5 years are attended independently for three hours to learn group skills with other small group members. The playgroups offer a variety of guided activities that take into account the needs and wishes of the children, ranging from handicrafts to music, physical education and reading. The City of Turku also offers outdoor activities.
– The activities are in line with the City of Turku's early childhood education plan. Pedagogy is one of the main advantages of open Early childhood education and care. We also make a personal early childhood education plan for each child participating in the club activities. But of course, play is also an important part of the activities and the child's growth," says Utu Jakonen, an Early childhood education and care teacher at Nättinummi play club Nasu.
After learning to walk, children can participate in playground activities independently. This allows the parent to have some time of his/her own, which supports the parent's ability to cope and enables him/her to take care of things or work part-time. Playground activities and playschools are options, the child cannot participate in both at the same time. The weather regulates playground activities and the park is not open in severe frosts. The frost limit is -12 degrees Celsius. To register for playground activities, please register in eVaka. The playground activities are implemented in accordance with the Turku Early Childhood Education Plan, where applicable.
Join us! There are places available in playschools and playgrounds
Emilia Jendi (left) and her children have participated in the activities of the Hunajatuva open day care centre in Nättinummi and have found that the activities bring much-needed activity and peer support from other mothers. Teacher of Early childhood education and care Niina Kortelainen joined in the games.
From the Kaninkolo to the Hunajatupa and the Nasut
Open Early childhood education in Nättinummi is located in the former Teräsrautela youth centre, Antreaksenkuja. Under the same roof you will find the amusingly named baby group Kaninkolo, the open day care Hunajatupa and the playschool Nasut, inspired by the Winnie the Pooh books. A few steps away is also the Martanpuisto playground. The proximity of these services offers a low threshold and a smooth transition from one service to another as the child grows.
Kaninkolo's concept of multi-professional baby care is different from other family groups. It is referred through the child health clinic. The baby family group meets once a week for five months. Babies are the first children in the family. Each group is unique in that its activities are planned together by the group members. The group has had lectures from experts ranging from physiotherapists to sexual counsellors and baby masseurs. Several groups have continued to keep in touch after the group has ended.
Support and community are also important elements of open day care. Groups share life's joys and sorrows, get to know each other and thereby create safety nets for parenting.
– Parent groups and open daycare clients find it important to have support and activities for everyday life. At the same time, parents living in the area getting to know each other creates a sense of community. We recycle baby supplies and clothes and make friends in other ways," says Niina Kortelainen, an Early childhood education and care teacher working in Kaninkolo.
There's no need to commit to a group at a open day care, you can join when it suits you best. The activities are planned and varied, just like in full-time day care centres. At the Hunajatupa open day care, the days include music-making activities, as well as small excursions requested by the clients. The group has gone on excursions to Ruissalo and Kurala village.
Learning time at the Nasu play club. Teacher Utu Jakonen in early childhood education and care reads a book.
Don´t stay home alone
The effects of the Covid isolation are still visible in families with children. Parents are no longer as active as before in seeking out guided activities. This is why we want to keep the threshold for participation in open Early childhood education very low.
– Not all parents are familiar with the services of open Early childhood education. There are certainly many children in fulltime day care, even for whom half-day Early childhood education and care would be sufficient. And many would benefit from open Early childhood education and care services, Utu Jakonen points out.
While in the past, for example, there used to be a queue for months for playschools, there is now plenty of room for new children in many groups. Applications for a place in a playschools are made through the electronic eVaka system for early childhood education.
– Participating in open Early childhood education does not take anything away, quite the opposite. The activities are free of charge and, for example, children participating in playschools receive Kela care allowance, Jakonen emphasises, adding:
– The pedagogical benefits of early childhood education are perhaps even more apparent in a small group. And the children are not so burdened when the group is smaller and the club lasts only three hours.
Emilia Jendi, an active user of the open Early childhood education services at Hunajatupa, found her way to the open day care with her 3-year-old firstborn in the autumn of 2021. The firstborn also participated in the Nasu playschool. Now, Jendi's middle child attends the playschool and Jendi participates in the open daycare with her youngest child. Logistically, it is convenient to have both locations under one roof.
– This works for us because we can participate when it fits our schedules and there is no pressure to commit. You can always talk to other mothers here and it´s better than stay alone at home, says Jendi, who would definitely recommend the activity to other parents.
Play is an important part of activity and child growth
Find an activity in your neighbourhood
Open early childhood education activities run by the City of Turku are organised in a variety of locations across the city. Some activities are organised in co-operation with the Turku and Kaarina Parish Association or the Well-being Region of Southwest Finland (Varha). The form and focus of the activities may therefore vary from one location to another.
For the open day care, family groups, playschools and playgrounds nearest to you, see the list of service locations. The Early childhood education Service Helpdesk in Kauppatorin Monitori, the Service Helpdesk telephone and chat service, will also help with any questions you may have.
Related content:
Related content:
