Vuggestue

My cold was beginning to sink in because I was all sniffles this morning with dirty tissues littering my room. Each day I have been feeling progressively better, but I still was battling the remains of my cold. Today is the first day of our practicum where we are required to complete 8 to 10 hours over the course of two days. My practicum placement is at a vuggestue, a type of pre-school or daycare center for children ages 0 to 3 years old. The vuggestue I would be completing my practicum at is an oasis in the city. Surrounded by bus stops, main streets, and heavy foot traffic, the vuggestue was a building hidden from the street by fences covered in greenery. Ava and I would be volunteering at this location for two days, and it was a wonder we were able to even find the building let along the front door. We spend 5 minutes walking up and down the street and around the building looking for the right house number and then a few more minutes attempting to ring the bell and open the front door. It was amazing we managed to arrive by 9am. In the backyard was a little garden with paths, awnings, bridges, and a sandbox.

As part of our practicum, we were expected to connect with the children by making an effort to learn the language or use non-verbal communication to engage with the children and understand their experiences. It was also important that we participated in a professional manner by being on time, communicating with the pedagogues, supporting initiatives from the children, and being prepared upon arrival. Afterwards we would reflect on our experiences referring to theories, frameworks, and perspectives discussed in class as well as drawing comparisons between institutions from varying cultures.

When Ava and I first arrived we weren't given much direction and were told to split up and either stay downstairs with children 0 to 2 years old or go upstairs with the 2 year olds. Apprehensively I went upstairs. I was initially confused because the door handles were towards the top of the door above my head, but I soon was able to outsmart the door. For a room full of 2 year olds this seemed a little excessive, but I was here to observe, not judge. The upstairs room was full of toys, kitchen tables, swings, a couch, and more toys. In the morning the children were able to have free time and play with anything in the room. They chased each other around the room, fought over whose turn it was on the swing, bounced balls, rolled toy trucks and cars, and interacted with the pedagogues. When an argument was beginning to break out or there was pushing and shoving, the pedagogues would intervene and encourage the children to use their words. Perhaps there was less supervision and teacher involvement than the United States, but in terms of development and peer interactions, the children at the vuggestue are very similar to children in the United States.

After a few hours of free play, the children gathered in a circle to sing songs. Each child had the opportunity to stand up in the middle of the circle and dance while everyone else sang their name. Then the children took turns choosing a song to sing from a basket with all the songs written out on pieces of paper. Immediately following the singing, the pedagogue told a story about three goats: a little goat, medium goat, and big goat. Each goat would pass over the bridge of empty egg cartons to get to the food on the other side. In order to pass over the bridge, they had to talk to the troll under the bridge. Each month there is a different theme, and this month was the story of the three goats. Each day the story grows from this initial theme based on what the children want to talk about. They may talk about what the goats eat, where they go to school, their family, or their friends. After the interactive story, the children went outside to play while continuing the basic theme. They looked for snails, worms, and other creatures that were little, medium, and big that could be compared to the goats. Along the bridge there were large cutouts of the three goats.

Shortly before noon, the children headed back inside to put their nap clothes on before sitting down for lunch. All of the children had just their diapers on the bottom and either naked on top or a different shirt. The pedagogues didn't require the children to wear clothes if they didn't want to, especially during lunch time when they might get dirty anyway. Soup and bread was for lunch and the children were given glasses, bowls, and regular silverware; there were no kiddy spoons or plastic cups. The children ate as much or as little as they wanted and when they were done they brought their bowls to the sink, walked over to the pedagogues to get help unbuttoning the apron, and walked over to the napping room. Compared to 2 year old children in the United States, these Danish children were very self-sufficient and took initiative to have their needs met.

We left shortly after the children started napping, and I felt very lucky to have been invited into the daily routines of these institutions and their children. Volunteering and observing was an extraordinary opportunity, and I look forward to continuing my practicum in the next few weeks.