Week 17 Cultural

A recent trip to Copenhagen has shown me that while I enjoy Vaxjo and the laid back, relaxing way of life I also miss being near to a big city. We have had an exciting trip and enjoyed visiting the zoo, Tivoli Gardens and going to see The Little Mermaid. With H.C. Andersen being one of my favourite authors I have read many of his stories to the children and we have all seen the Disney adaptation of this particular story so it was really good to see her guarding the harbour.

 One of the things we learnt was that public transport is free for the under 12’s on weekends. I think this is such a good idea and would be encouraged to use buses more if they were to imitate this at home. I must say that every bus driver I have encountered in both Denmark and Sweden could not have been more helpful or pleasant and it is lovely to be greeted with a good-morning when you get on a bus at 7am feeling tired and grumpy. One of the drivers told me that it is a rule in Vaxjo that they must look to make sure no-one is running for the bus before they pull away from the stop.

We also went to the friend-family midsummer picnic on Sunday and it was interesting to see how the Swedes celebrate this holiday (officially in June but they have the party so we can experience it). We made crowns from flowers; watched traditional dancing, with some of the students invited to take part; and were given the opportunity to taste sill (herring) with sour cream and chives. Sill is a traditional Swedish food eaten at Christmas, Easter and midsummer, I surprised myself by actually liking the herring and we all enjoyed the strawberry cake that followed. The day was concluded with all the students and friend-families joining together to dance around a maypole. This turned out to be more fun than we originally thought and even the boys joined in with a little gentle persuasion. I was happy to be given the opportunity to experience this celebration even if it was a little early. It was a lovely way to finish the friend-family project and many people were emotional at the thought of it being the last time they met with their family. We will meet with our friend-family again before we leave so the emotions were kept in check for a later date.

Week 16 Personal

Last week I was looking forward to my first visitor. I had been thinking about all the things I wanted to share with my sister and the places we should visit so she could see what it has been like for us during our stay here. I was eager for her to see what it is we like about Sweden and why I will never forget the time we have spent here. I decided that we should visit the glass museum because the glass production is something which I have been told makes the people of this area very proud. It was interesting for us to visit the museum and I discovered that the iconic Coke bottle was actually designed by a Swede. I also felt that a walk round one of the lakes would allow her to see the beauty of this town.  This has made me aware that while I have become more proud of Northern Ireland I also have embraced my new home and am proud to show it of too.

This led me to dwell on an exercise we performed during my popular culture module. The teacher asked us to think about home and what it meant to us. There were a range of responses to this question but for me it helped with the realisation that home is not a house, a city or a country; it is being together with my family and enjoying each other’s company in a place that makes us all happy. This is a particularly important realisation for me because with the job situation in Northern Ireland not at its best I plan to also explore the option of working in an international school. I now know that we can survive away from our normal environment and without the constant support of our extended families. I can, however, recognise that some sort of support network is also essential; an incident where my daughter cut her head meant a swift ‘help’ phone call to Michael as I discovered the sight of blood makes me feel very sick and faint. Thankfully it was nothing serious and he managed to have her (and me) feeling better in a few minutes but I’m not sure how I would have managed if he had not been available.

During this discussion there was a student from Hong Kong in my group. I had stated that occasionally coming from Northern Ireland can be a little confusing; whilst our nationality is officially British, many people associate us with the Republic of Ireland and are surprised to learn that it is two different countries. He said that coming from Hong Kong he can identify with this because while he is Chinese he feels it is a different Chinese than those who live on the mainland. I found it both interesting and amazing that someone from a country I would assume is totally different than ours can identify with this.

Week 15 Professional

 As my placement continues I find that I have more and more to reflect on. The Swedish education system is often cited as being one of the best and yet I think that the level of pressure put on the children and the amount they are required to learn is much lower than at home. The 6^th grade have been learning a mathematics topic which we start to teach as early as year 5 and when talking to the other Stranmillis students, Mary and Michael, I discovered that they were also surprised at how easy the work is. There is no Friday test and I have observed very little testing of any kind. The children also receive very little homework each week and even this is often a point of discussion with many people thinking there should be no homework at all. As a parent I do think our children get too much homework and, as parents often help I am not sure if it is ever a true reflection on a child’s ability. However from a teacher’s point of view I can also appreciate that if the children do not work at home it would be difficult to reach the expected goals on time.

During a science module in the first semester I had to write a paper reflecting on my teaching placement. In the readings I found that self-reflection is the lowest level and to be a truly reflective practitioner we should also be reflecting on our curriculum and the entire education system. Although I don’t think I am near to reaching the point of highest reflection I do believe that this experience is helping me to move beyond reflecting wholly on my own actions and performance. I am constantly questioning what way I think is better and why I think this; next week I have planned to talk more to the Swedish pupils about the differences between our countries and to get their opinions on things such as school start age and school uniform.

 I have also found that the teachers here are more open and frank with their opinions and so it is easier to explore the deeper questions of education with them than it is with many of the teachers I have met at home. They have all been very welcoming and eager to talk to me about our ways in comparison to theirs and I have enjoyed hearing their opinions and different perspectives on many of the topics we have discussed.

Week 14 - Cultural

After spending some time on school placement I can see what a big part education plays in the culture of a country. I am constantly comparing Sweden to home and one of the main areas that I have thought about is the place of parents in their child’s education. As I said before parents can and do spend time with their children in school and this week the teachers are conducting parent-teacher interviews. I was amazed to discover that the children accompany their parents to these meetings and that the standard time spent on each interview is around 45 minutes with the grade 6 teacher saying that on one interview she spent 1 and a quarter hours. I like the idea of children attending the interview and having a say in what their goals are for the future; I believe they will better understand what is expected of them because it is discussed on a personal level when there is time to explain the reasoning. The teachers also conduct these interviews in the evenings and I think this further shows the high level of dedication that I have witnessed. The GTCNI states that teachers should liaise effectively with parents on the progress and attainment of their child and I think the way Swedish teachers do this is more effective than the practice I have witnessed at home.

The GTCNI also states that as a teacher I should be aware of significant features of a pupil’s culture, language or faith and what implications this may have for learning. I have discovered that even the small things might have short-term implications. My son has been taught to tell the time in school in Sweden but as they tell the time differently to us he may have difficulties when this topic comes up again at home. I have also noticed that Swedes use a comma instead of a decimal point and use a point instead of the multiplication cross that we use, again whilst these are easy to overcome they could initially cause problems especially if the teacher is unaware of these types of differences.

When I think of the culture of education in Sweden and at home I can see that on the whole we have the same kind of goals but we go about achieving them in different ways; at the moment I don’t think one way is totally better than the other and feel that we could learn as much from the Swedes as they could learn from us

Week 13 - Personal

 

Our time in Sweden is progressing rapidly and I feel that there are still many places to visit and sights to see.  When I talk to the local people they all have suggestions as to where are the must see spots and I have realised that making these type of decisions does not come easy to me. I want to go everywhere and see everything and am finding it hard to narrow down my list so I can fit the trips in around my studies and school placement. I have asked the children to think about where they most want to go as this Erasmus experience is one that includes us all and is not just mine, maybe they will find it easier than me.

Over the last few weeks, whilst listening to others talk about their home countries, I have had many opportunities to talk about Northern Ireland both to other students and to the Swedish people I have met here. Before I left for Sweden I felt that we lived in a boring country with very little to offer us or those who choose to visit; these talks and presentations have led to me seeing Northern Ireland in a new light. I can now see that we have many interesting sights, many of which I have not visited myself, and that we live in a country known for its natural beauty. I feel myself becoming more appreciative and proud of Northern Ireland with every conversation. Even though I know that when the time comes for us to leave Sweden it will be emotional and we will all be sad to leave our new friends I am looking forward to returning home and to spending some of the summer exploring our country with the same enthusiasm I have shown in Sweden.

During one of my presentations the children were given time to ask me questions. One of the children asked me was I brave and with almost no hesitation I said yes, not wanting to admit to a child that I am scared sometimes (especially of spiders). However when I thought about it later I realised that even though I am fearful of some situations I usually try to face them and overcome my nervousness; I think this makes me as brave as someone who isn’t scared to start with. This realisation has made me see myself in a new light as in the past I have felt silly about being scared and overlooked the fact that I have overcome my fear.

Week 12- Professional

This week I started my five week placement in a local school. The classes I will observe are grade 1 and 6 which are the age equivalent of our year 4 and 9. The grade 6 class is interesting because I will not teach children of this age and have no prior experience of secondary school teaching. The grade 1 class have not yet learned English and this is very frustrating when we want to communicate with each other and don’t know the right words.

Throughout this first week I have been thinking about how I can compare these classes with year groups at home. I am not sure if grade one should be compared with our year 1 or year 4 or are they even comparable at all?

One of the first things I noticed was that the children interact with a lot of adults. In grade 1 there is a permanent class teacher and she is supported by at least 3 other adults at various times throughout the week. There is also a special needs teacher who helps with the class on certain days and they go to specialised music and PE teachers. This means the children experience a high level of support and can work in smaller groups more often so getting more one to one contact than we can give the children in our classes. I think this level of support can only be good for a child’s development, both academic and emotional.

It is also a common occurrence for parents to attend school with their children in order to observe what they do with their day and I have met 1 parent already and will meet a grandparent next week. I really like the practice of parents observing what their children are doing in school. I think it helps them understand how and why teachers do what they do. Also, from experience when I ask my children what they did in school the answer is often ‘nothing’ which in the past has led me to wonder if they are actually doing nothing or if they just don’t understand what it is they are learning. The open door policy also creates a high level of trust between the teacher and the parent as nothing is hidden from view.

I am not sure this practice could ever work in Northern Ireland because we are not used to it. I do hope that when I am a practising teacher the parents of the children in my class will feel that I am approachable and will feel able to ask me any questions they have concerning the education of their child. This is because I think the relationship between a teacher and parent is important for the successful progression of the child.

Week 11 Cultural

Easter tree in town

This week we have been celebrating Easter in Växjö. The town is decorated with colourful feathers and we decided that we should have a feather tree of our own. We have also been told that at Easter the Swedes have Easter witches; little girls dress up as witches and go door to door exchanging songs or pictures for candy. This is similar to our Halloween activities and it was good to see that the children here have as much fun dressing up as our children do at home.

Here in Sweden the children are presented with cardboard eggs filled with sweets as their Easter treat. While we joined in with this tradition I also asked family to send chocolate eggs from home and so we celebrated in both Swedish and British styles. I think it is important for us to experience things as they happen in Sweden; it is an integral part of being a member of a community. However doing things as they are done at home also helps us to keep our links with family and friends who we are thinking about, especially during holidays and times of celebration. This experience has helped me to realise why it is essential for us to take into account the sometimes diverse cultural experiences of the pupils in our classes. I think it is good for children to know that we don’t all experience things in the same way and to be aware how others do things differently from them and why.

Our tree on a much smaller scale

Meeting people from many different cultures has also made me realise that while there are many things that we all do differently there are also a number of things that are universal to all of us. The boys have been guests at birthday parties and reported that they took part in many of activities common to parties at home. They did however describe a game, I understand in place of our pass the parcel, where they had to ‘fish’ for small trinkets and candy. They said that this game was a lot of fun and are going to show me how it is played so we can play it at parties when we return home.

This along with an Easter tree every year will help to keep the experience in our memories. After posting pictures of the Easter trees on Facebook I had friends and family messaging me saying how they loved the tree and next year they wanted one as well, it will be a nice way for our family to be involved in our experience if they do this.

Week 10- Personal

Over the last few weeks I have noticed many changes in my attitude. I have become more open to trying new things including: food, literature genres and television programmes. I have discovered that I actually enjoy many things that I had previously been closed to experiencing and am encouraged to continue with trying new things before I have decided I do not like them. This attitude is also impacting on my children as they are also more open to trying new foods and I have been able to cook a greater range of meals knowing that they will at least try before deciding whether they like it or not.

The last couple of weeks have seen my oldest child really missing home. This had led to me having doubts about whether I should have brought them to Sweden and experiencing many instances of guilt. However in the last couple of days we have been discussing how long we have left in Sweden and what places we want to visit before we leave; the children have all expressed their enjoyment at being here and the oldest has asked when we might return. These conversations have made me realise that even though they miss home they have been given an opportunity which is not available to most of their friends. I believe this experience will impact on many areas of their life as they grow and develop and I am hoping that they continue to remain open to new experiences. It is also encouraging to watch them grow in confidence the longer we are here and to watch the boys become more independent as they take the bus to and from school and make friends with more new people.

Our time in Sweden has also enabled me to spend more time with my children and to take a greater interest in the things that they like. At home they spend their free time playing with friends and there is always some sort of housework or study for me to do. Here the house is smaller and the university work load is not as heavy and so I am able to spend more time talking to and playing with the children. This was something I had hoped would happen as a result of our time here and I am very happy that it has.

Week 9 Professional

As part of a module here we have spent one week in a Swedish school. This experience, while answering many questions I had about the Swedish school system, has left me with many questions about our own.

The children in Swedish schools appear to be given more trust and freedom than at home. They are left to work on their own more than at home and they can leave the room to work elsewhere. We also experienced the children being allowed to have a disco during choosing time, they were able to access YouTube and the teacher left the room. The disco was a lot of fun and while I have never seen it happen at home I think it would be good to allow the children to experience this type of activity during choosing time. I also think that a degree of freedom is essential if children are to express themselves and to become independent, however the idea of no teacher present was hard for me to accept and I am not sure I can see the benefit of this.

Along with the trust came added responsibilities. The children are responsible for wiping the tables in the dining hall and were able to clean up after a woodwork lesson with no instruction from the teacher. They also treat the tools with a lot of respect and do not mess around whilst using them. I was amazed to see children so young taking part in handicraft (woodwork and sewing) lessons and to be learning useful skills in a fun environment. I think these skills are important and would love to see our schools offering this practical education at a young age.

Every school has a profile and while there are compulsory subjects e.g. Swedish and mathematics the school can concentrate on a specific area of the curriculum. The school I was in had a music profile and so the children had 2 or 3 music lessons a week and specific music targets are set for each grade. The grade 3 class were learning ukulele (I was very bad at this when invited to join in) and the teacher told us that they would all eventually learn to play guitar, piano and drums. I like the idea that parents can choose to send their child to a school that will have a focus on their interests while still giving them an overall education. My personal thoughts are that if a child is really interested in a subject they should be given the opportunity to spend extra time on it. As Swedish children do not start school until the age of 7 they have a chance to explore their likes and dislikes before starting school and to make decisions about school based on them. I do think schools in Northern Ireland could learn from this approach and try to offer children more opportunities to take part in lessons that focus on their interests while spending the minimum time in those that do not.

Week 8 Cultural

skogsmulle

This week we have been on an outing organised by the friend family project in Linnaeus. This gave us the opportunity to meet Skogsmulle (forest gnome), a Swedish sprite who takes care of the forests. It gave us the chance to further experience and appreciate the Swedes love of the outdoors. The kids were enchanted by Skogsmulle and I think this is an interesting and motivating way to teach children how to care for their environment and to want to use it for fun and enjoyment whilst making sure not to destroy it. The evening ended with us all sitting in a wooden ‘hut’ eating vegetable soup and enjoying time together. I have discovered that eating outdoors is not only reserved for sunny, warm days in Sweden and I think it is more fun to be eating outdoors when it is cold, dark or even snowing as it is not what we think should happen. When we return home I hope to continue picnicking and to further foster my children’s love of the outdoors regardless of the weather.

I also enjoy the meetings with the friend family as it helps us to access more typical Swedish culture. In class there are no Swedish students and as I live in a private apartment and don’t go to the student pubs I have not met many Swedes. The pairing with a family means that we have opportunities to learn more about Sweden, to practice our language skills and to ask questions or discover the local area more easily. I came here mainly to learn about Sweden and the Swedish people so this scheme has been invaluable.

We have also been on a trip to Gothenburg. I drove there and back and am feeling very proud of the fact that I managed this. After several weeks here I discovered that I look for traffic in the right direction so thought it was time I tried. Starting to drive has meant that I can now find my way around easier as well because I have to pay more attention to where I am going. When in Gothenburg we visited Universeum, the biggest science centre in Scandinavia. Although we visited for enjoyment I was also interested to see how it was set-up because I took the science outside the classroom module last semester. Although we enjoyed the visit I do think that our W5 is better at encouraging children to be inquisitive and to work things out for themselves. The focus in Universium appeared to be on animals and the environment with a large aquarium and rainforest environment which were fantastic. Perhaps the differences reflect what is important in our societies although the aims of both centres are the same; to encourage positive attitudes towards science, technology and mathematics and to encourage curiosity through the experiences they provide.

With the Easter holidays coming up I hope to visit more places and to experience more of Sweden.

Week 7- Personal

As time here in Sweden continues to pass by rapidly I have found that I am becoming increasingly confident in my abilities, both personal and academic. I continue to enjoy writing papers which allow me to voice personal opinions and have become more confident in voicing these opinions within the class groups. I also continue to learn a little more Swedish as the weeks pass and have attended another parent meeting, this time at the school the boys attend.

The parent meeting was a humbling experience; as we, the parents, sat waiting for the meeting to start we were told that once the interpreters arrived we could begin. When a man walked in and asked who spoke English I suddenly realised that I was one of the parents who needed an interpreter. Until this experience I had not considered the fact that I was a non-native speaker, as so many people speak English in Sweden I had not been confronted with a situation where I could not understand what the other person was saying. I did understand more of the meeting than I had expected and this was commented on by the teacher although could not have understood enough without the help of the interpreter. Increasingly I am becoming aware of how the parents and children who are non-English speakers must feel when they come into our schools and I know this experience will affect the level of empathy I feel towards these pupils should any of them be a pupil in my class in the future.

I have also tasted more Swedish foods over the last couple of weeks and although there are a lot of differences to the foods at home there are also some similarities. Potatoes are eaten a lot in Sweden and I have discovered that there is also a bread made from potato but have not tasted this yet, I would be very happy if this tasted anything like potato bread at home because it is a food that I like to eat and as time passes I am starting to miss some of the things we can easily get at home.

I have also been missing my nieces and nephew over the last couple of weeks; they are all very young and are changing with every picture or video clip I see. My nephew is learning to say a lot of new words and when my sister sent a video clip of him with a message to us I wanted to reach into the computer and give him a cuddle. I never really anticipated how much I would miss them and can’t wait to see how they all have changed and grown when we get home.

week 6 Professional

Over the last couple of weeks we have spent time talking to others about their education systems and visiting some Swedish schools. First we visited a gymnasium school (senior high school) where we were able to look around and see what programmes were offered to the children who attend; these ranged from construction to bakery to hairdressing. They were similar to courses offered by further education colleges at home except only children aged 16-19 can attend, what I noticed most was that the school appeared to have a lot more facilities than an FE college and the workspace available for each course was larger and better equipped. We have also visited a Montessori school which was an interesting experience and the teachers and children were happy to show us around and talk with us about the differences between Montessori and municipal schools.

We have also had the opportunity to talk to Swedish students and we used this time to ask what they thought of the fact that Swedish children do not wear uniforms. Most of them agreed that they liked the non-uniform policy and felt that it allowed them to keep their identity. Some of those who thought uniform was better were in favour because they thought it would stop bullying in school as it put everyone on the same level. We know that this is not true as we have uniforms yet there are still problems with bullying and did point this out to the students in our group. Teachers in Sweden also have a more relaxed dress code than at home and wearing jeans on school placement is considered normal. I am not sure how I feel about this as I am used to teachers dressing in a smart way and I am not sure if dressing in a casual manner might take the emphasis of school being important. On a previous teaching practice at home I recall a teacher saying that she never dressed up for parent/teacher meetings because it wasn’t her clothes but was her attitude and personality that determined her ability as a teacher so perhaps this is a reflection of how Swedes think.

Children in Sweden don’t start school until the age of 7 and are in compulsory education until the age of 16. This is much later than at home but appears to be similar to a lot of other European countries. All education is also free, including any field trips that the children may go on. This may sound like a good thing but we have been told that it means there are not many opportunities for children to go on trips because the school budget doesn’t cover the cost. While school trips are not essential I believe that they are an important part of school life and would be sorry if they were not offered to my children.

Next week sees us on a week-long placement in a local school so I am sure my next professional blog will be full of reflections on the Swedish education system and on myself as a teacher outside my normal environment.

Week 5- Cultural

Within one week we have gone from Växjö being a white winter wonderland to experiencing the first signs of spring. The snow has been replaced by sunshine and the ice on the lakes is starting to melt. The improved weather and the fact that it is not so cold now means that being outdoors has become appealing. We have spent the last few days exploring the campus a bit more, visiting Teleborg Castle and walking around one of the nearby lakes. It is nice to see more of the natural environment this city has to offer and of which the Swedes are so proud. At home we do have beautiful surroundings but because it is familiar to us I think we tend to forget it is there; spending more time outdoors here is convincing me that I should continue this when we return to Belfast in June. This week we also became aware that Swedes learn the name of plants and flowers from an early age, walking around the lake today with the kids asking ‘what’s this?’ every five minutes about many of the plants I wished that I had a little of this knowledge. The fact that they learn names and that there is a policy in Sweden which allows the public to walk anywhere and enjoy all nature the country has to offer backs up my expectations that Swedes are outdoor loving people who care for and value their natural environment.

In class this week we have talked a lot about the school system in our home countries, it has been interesting to hear how each country is similar or different to our own. The most amazing thing for me was to be in a group with a Japanese student who was discussing how it is important to learn through doing and having personal experiences; I expected Japan to have a very strict education system that would be based on learning by listening to the teacher and was surprised to hear her placing this emphasis on learning through actions, as we do in Stranmillis.

It has also been pancake Tuesday at home and here it is known as ‘fat Tuesday’ or ‘fett tisdag’. On this day the traditional Swedish food is Semla, a bread roll filled with almond paste and cream, I did feel that I should try one and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it tasted.

It is hard to believe that the weeks are going so fast, sometimes it feels like we only arrived yesterday and others it feels like we have always been here. I love getting to know more about this country and the people who live here and plan to find out much more before I leave.

Week 4- Personal

Week 4 has arrived and along with it a lot more snow; the weather and temperatures I was expecting and looking forward to is upon us.

As time goes on I find myself becoming more confident with the Swedish language. I have had one very short conversation and have also managed to loosely translate and reply to a message left in the laundry room. Although I don’t know a lot of words and mostly need to use English it is nice to be able to say a little in the language of my host country. After using the language successfully it also raises confidence to try it again and I hope I can learn more and have longer conversations by the time I leave here.

I can also understand most of the words on the food packages now as well so I can cook things according to the instructions and also buy the foods that I want with greater ease. The food here is expensive, as I expected, I have found that I shop more often than at home but buy smaller amounts. This helps to reduce the amount of food wastage that I am guilty of at home and I have become a bit more inventive with my cooking skills in order to use all the food I have bought. I have also convinced myself to try a traditional Swedish pastry which I discovered is actually very nice and this has encouraged me to try more Swedish foods if/when I get the chance.

Eating the pastries has convinced me that I need to be a bit more ‘Swedish’ and get active. I am enjoying walking to school and daycare when I have the time and when the weather is a little warmer we plan to buy bikes and get out in the fresh air more often. I am looking forward to this because although we have bikes at home we live in an area where I would not feel safe using them and so they are rarely out of the garage; here there are better cycle paths and because bikes are so common they are treated with more respect than at home.

So far Sweden is living up to my expectations of being a family-friendly country, where children are valued and listened to. Many of the adults you speak to think that perhaps the child is too much in charge in Sweden at the moment but I am enjoying the change from home. During next weeks school vacation there are a lot of free activities planned for children to take part in and the afterschool opens all day every day so parents do not need to use their holidays from work for childcare reasons. I think this is really good as when I worked I often heard parents worrying over who would mind their children because they had no leave left. Also they would ask what they were going to do with all the kids at home for the week that would be cheap and prevent boredom, next week I will find out if Sweden has the answer to these questions.

Week 3 Professional

We are getting well settled in now; the kids are enjoying school and forskola (this reminds me of a mix between a daycare setting and a school nursery unit) and I have attended, and am enjoying my classes too. Linnaeus University is situated on a large campus and is comprised of several large buildings, it is much easier to get lost here than at Stranmillis where most of our classes take place in one building.

The class groups are similar in size to Stranmillis and I spend a similar amount of hours in class. The assignments, however, are very different both in amount and expectations. We are expected to hand in a paper every week but the guidelines are that two pages should be written and a lot is based on personal opinion rather than information from other authors. We were also informed that while there is a deadline it is not rigid; this is in contrast to essays at Stranmillis where late submission results in reduced grades. I think it is harder to get motivated when the deadline is flexible but enjoy voicing my own opinion as it is something I don’t think we get to do often enough in Stranmillis.

This week we discovered that until recently Swedish children did not receive school grades until around age 14. Now they get their first grades at around age 12. All grades are mainly based on the teachers opinion and not on test results. This is very different from home where children are regularly tested and the results often used by teachers; I am not sure what I think about this system as the benefit of no exam pressure is balanced by the reliance on an opinion which may be subjective and partly based on the relationship between teacher and pupil.

This week I also attended a parents meeting in the forskola that Sarah attends. While it was conducted in Swedish one of the leaders made every effort to translate the main points of the information and to include me in the conversation. It was relaxed and informal and the parents were provided with information on: the forskola curriculum; how the activities develop the child; and how this particular forskola implements the curriculum. They do have many of the resources seen in our nursery units but the kids play with more freedom; toys can be mixed, dens are built using sofa cushions, tables and blankets, and if the play is good the clock does not dictate a change of activity. Prior to attending Stranmillis I had never been told why it was important to do particular activities or how this was done I was just told it had happened. I also realised that we focus a lot on the well-being of new comer children but don’t really discuss the new-comer parents. Being in a country where I don’t understand the language I have appreciated the consideration shown by the teachers and have also relied on them for e.g. when translating notes. This experience will definitely help me to show empathy toward and to further consider how parents are coping with their childs attendance at a new school.

I have rambled on a little so I will leave it there for this week and tell you more about Swedish schools sometime soon.

Week Two- Cultural Experiences

I have now been in Vaxjo for two weeks and have attended sessions for all the modules I am enrolled on in Linnaeus University. I am living on campus in student accommodation and have started to become accustomed to the cultural differences between this and being a live at home student. Sharing a laundry room being a totally new concept to me as is leaving for classes five minutes before they start. Having much less inside space has also made me realise that when you have to you can cope with less material things; the kids are managing without a room full of toys and are spending more time making fun for themselves.

The area surrounding the university is much less built up than what we are used to in Belfast and it is normal for Swedes to walk, cycle and take the bus (when you buy a trip into town on the bus the ticket remains valid for free return for a two hour period) so traffic congestion is not as big a problem as at home. I am also in the ‘greenest’ city in Europe and as well as reduced traffic there is a strong emphasis on recycling; bins for every type of rubbish can be found both at home and in public areas and bottle return points where you can get Kroner when you recycle your plastic and glass are observed in every supermarket. I think if this was the case at home we would recycle more as accessibility to recycling points would increase. I have certainly become more aware of what can be recycled and try to follow the example of the Swedes and separate rubbish accordingly.

I have not yet sampled any traditional Swedish food but the children get provided with lunch in school and so far have tried a range of different foods including meatballs and ‘green soup with eggs in’ which apparently was delicious and was later discovered to be spinach. I am proud of them for being so receptive to their new surroundings and for attempting to embrace the Swedish way of life, I think they are doing better than me at the moment. I have also discovered that lunch is served very early in Sweden (11.30) and so the children are eating more often than they were at home. It is compulsory for the break I provide to be fruit, the school/daycare provides lunch for all children, they also get sandwiches in afterschool and then come home for dinner.

 Seeing how the school system operates has given me a lot to think about and to compare to home. The children start earlier in the morning and the teachers appear more laid back than at home. Being offered to stay for the day if I want to observe my children in school came as a shock to me and the preschool teacher informed me that they feel they have nothing to hide from parents and so an open door policy is normal. His advice to me was to do the unexpected and to show as much ‘lust’ for the activity as I want returned; advice I will remember and act on in the future. The children in preschool and school spend time outdoors everyday whatever the weather and it has been said that there is never unsuitable weather just unsuitable clothing. Today in afterschool the boys were skating and ‘skiing’ in the school grounds; an experience they would never have had at home not only because of the weather but because the leaders would be scared of the repercussions if an accident happened. I feel very lucky to be able to experience what is on offer here and hope to become more involved in Swedish way of life as my time here progresses.

Week One- Personal

Hej all, well one week has passed since arriving in Vaxjo and what a week it has been. On Friday we all said goodbye to our friends, it was the kids last day at school and ended up being more emotional for me than them. Recognising they were leaving all they know and where they are safe and happy so that I could come to Sweden created a sense of guilt but also pride in how they coped with it. I also had a last night out with my friends, one of them ready to have a baby, and realised that I am going to miss getting together with them both to offload frustrations and have a good old laugh. The hardest thing, however was saying goodbyes to elderly grandparents who, having never travelled outside the UK cannot understand why we would want to; knowing how the decision to come to Sweden has affected them has been the most emotive.

Sarah and I travelled by airplane to Copenhagen and on to Vaxjo by train, both of us excited about what awaited us (and me a little worried that finding the right train would prove beyond my capabilities as I couldn’t even find the toilet on the plane). Arriving at night meant we didn’t get to see very much although the very light coating of snow meant that I spent ages outside the hotel watching Sarah make barely visible footprints. We both went to bed tired but happy.

Since our arrival we have moved into our student accommodation, the boys have arrived and orientation weekend is over. I have also met my buddy, the lady who has helped arrange school for the boys and attended my first class. All these steps have helped me realise that I can be independent and although I am a shy person I have talked to lots of new people and even attempted the odd word in Swedish (without getting laughed at).

I cant say its all been easy, the first couple of days I did wonder what was in my head bringing us all to Sweden and could have easily got on a plane home again, especially when we moved into the apartment and it just didn’t feel homely. We have now added personal touches to the apartment and it gets more cosy as the days pass. Im also sure that next week when the boys start school and classes start properly we will get into a daily routine and it wont be long until we settle and get used to life in Sweden.

On a final note it was disappointing to arrive to only a little snow but we finally have enough snow to have a snowball fight. We had a fun family time rolling snowballs, making snow-angels and just laughing together. The mugs of hot chocolate when we came in warmed us all up and we sat talking and reflecting on our very busy week.

Until next week…