The play space at the Stockholm airport. 

We're on our way home.

A wonderful music and dance festival with folks playing Nyckelharpa and dancing the Hambo, or was it a Polska?

Each of the 900 Nobel laureates are displayed on ever-moving banners on the ceiling of the Nobel Museum.

Our last night and my last chance to have seared herring with lingonberries. We'll be back home tomorrow after an amazing trip.

 Amazing natural light at the University of Helsinki Library. A great tour. 

A ferry boat trip to the fortress island of Suomelinna and a visit to the Toy museum there. Ran into several field trips greeted by period-clad characters (sort of like Sturbridge village). 

Ok, a bit creepy.

Today we went to an amazing elementary school. The word for the day is "trust." In Finland the government trusts the principals to lead without rating their schools; teachers to teach without observing and evaluating them; and children to learn without assessing and grading them. No teachers on the playground. They trust children to return to school from the woods when they hear the bird call sent out on the school's outdoor loudspeaker.

The children, as young as 6, walk or bike to school themselves or in pairs. 

Shelley talking shop with the assistant principal (far left) and the principal.

It was the cleanest school, in part because all children remove their shoes when they enter school each day. 

 These children were working on an environment project (with no teacher even in the room) in their mixed-grade groupings of kindergarteners, 2nd, 4th and 6th graders.

The children were asked to place stickers in places around the school. Green for places they learn the most, blue in places they  like the most, and red for places they don't like. I couldn't find any red stickers. 

The Sibelius Monument and some of us with some of our new found friends from 

the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. 

Andrea and Heidi, together again.

Michele admiring of more than a dozen floral designs decorating the streets for 

the Lovely Helsinki Festival.

The Paivakoti Uikunkoto Forest School 

An amazing morning learning about and experiencing the Forest School.

  

Three napping areas.

 

Cooking snack of creamed nettles that were just gathered. 

 Circle Games

 Building Materials
 

First Day in Helsinki

View from the room.

Lobby of our hotel

At the harbor 

Lutheran Church

Silent Church

We're off! Excited for all the adventures ahead. Tuesday, Helsinki!

The HCC ECIE faculty, staff, and guests are off to Finland and Sweden to learn more about their educational system. Follow us here to see where we go and what we are doing. First stop, Helsinki. 

Take a look at a short video that shows the connection between the HCC Early Childhood Inclusive Education Program and China. Click this link From Bridgeport to Beijing