This is me, under construction!

Marihøna kindergarten is located in Fjell Municipality in the south of Norway on the west coast, near Bergen, the second largest city in Norway.
In Fjell there are about 23.000 inhabitant, in Bergen there are 280.000. 

Marihøna kindergarten was build in 2002 and privately owned until 2008. Fjell Municipality bought the kindergarten in may 2008, and took over the ownership, all the employees remained there jobs.  There are 11 kindergartens run by the Fjell municipality and 20 private kindergartens in Fjell.

Marihøna is a kindergarten with 65 children from the age of 10 month to 6 years.
The kindergarten is divided in 4 groups based on age, located in different sections of the building. Every group has three or four teachers ( one licenced pre-school teacher an two or three non) Every group has about 9-12 children under 3 years or 18-21 over 3 year. Children with special needs are all integrated in the groups.

The school has 14 full-time employees: one principal, 6 licensed pre-school teachers and 1 licensed primary school teacher, a licensed social worker, four people with other pedagogical diplomas and one with no pedagogical diploma, but long practice. Marihøna kindergarten provides opportunities for internship for kindergarten teachers.

Most of the children live in the same local area, Hjelteryggen, where the kindergarten also is located.

Norway has a strict curriculum. This guides us in what, why and how we should run our kindergarten. In the year plan, the school more specificaly describe how they connect every day life in the kindergarten with the curriculum.

Purpose in the law, §1

The Kindergarten shall, in collaboration and close understanding with the home, safeguard the children’s need for care and play, and promote learning and formation as a basis for an all-round development. The Kindergarten shall be based on fundamental values in the Christian and humanist heritage and tradition, such as respect for human dignity and nature, on intellectual freedom, charity, forgiveness, equality and solidarity, values that also appear in different religions and beliefs and are rooted in human rights.

 

The children shall be able to develop their creative zest, sense of wonder and need to investigate. They shall learn to take care of themselves, each other and nature. The children shall develop basic knowledge and skills. They shall have the right to participate in accordance with their age and abilities.

 

The Kindergartens shall meet the children with trust and respect, and acknowledge the intrinsic value of childhood. They shall contribute to well-being and joy in play and learning, and shall be a challenging and safe place for community life and friendship. The Kindergarten shall promote democracy and equality and counteract all forms of discrimination

In addition to the ground values. Formation through care, play and learning, our curriculum has 7 pillars that we focus on during the year:

1. Communication, language and text

2. Body, movement and health

3. Art, culture and creativity

4. Nature, environment and technology

5. Ethics, religion and philosophy

6. Local community and society

7. Numbers, spaces and shapes
    

Mutual processes of interaction between children and adults in play and learning in the kindergartens, and being considerate of each other, are essential elements in the formation of children. Formation is a lifelong process that includes the development of the child’s ability to reflect on its own actions and ways of being. Formation takes place in interaction with the surroundings and others, and is a precondition for the ability to form an opinion, to be critical and for democracy. The general education in kindergartens shall be based on the values of the purpose clause. By means of good educational processes, children become able to handle life, through developing the ability to continue to explore and be curious about their own surroundings and to see themselves as a valuable member of a larger fellowship.

Every one that works in Marihøna is trained in The Incredible Years, Teacher Classroom Management Program.
The main focus of the program is:

1. Strengthening the teachers’ classroom management strategies

2. Promoting children’s prosocial behavior, school readiness, and reducing children’s classroom aggression

3. To help teachers work with parents to support their school involvement and promote consistency between home and school.

There are two important principals:

1. The principal of role model:
   Children will adapt positive behavior from persons that are important for them

2. The principal of attention:
   The behavior you give attention to will increase.
    

For more information http://incredibleyears.com/

For the oldest children Marihøna kindergarten runs a special program: Dinoschool. It is based on Dr. Carolyn Webster Stratton’s The Incredible Years Series that is used by teachers to promote children’s social competence, emotional regulation and problem solving skills and reduce their behaviour problems. The objective of the interventions is to help parents and teachers provide young children (0-12 years) with a strong emotional, social and academic foundation so as to achieve the longer term goal of reducing the development of depression, school drop out, violence, drug abuse and delinquency in later years. http://www.incredibleyears.com/program/teacher.asp

Dinoschool improves peer relationships and reduces aggression at home and school. We have 60 different “workshops” in the kindergarten, to times a week in 15-20 minute circle time discussions followed by small group practice activities, and homework. Children’s home detective club activities manuals encourage parents’ involvement in teaching their children school rules, social skills and problem-solving.

The main purposes with Dinosaur School are:

To strengthen the children`s emotional and social competence, and their self esteem and experience of succeeding.

The children practice in:

1. Recognition  and understanding  of feelings  - both their own and with others

2. Taking another persons perspective

3. Developing better skills according to problem solving and handling conflicts

4. Dealing with their anger and  develop self-control

5. Social skills like listening, waiting, taking turns, asking, agreement, sharing, helping, cooperating and giving compliments