EN
Volunteering in kindergartens in Tallinn
My name is Elena and I am currently in my second month of my nine-month volunteer program in Estonia. I am a volunteer at the Planeedi Kindergarten in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The kindergarten consists of four classes, each with a different name. My class is called “Vikerkaar” which means rainbow in Estonian and consists of 20 children from 1.5 to 3 years old. Every day we have a different number of children due to their age, not all children come every day. So some days things can be more chaotic and others
other days quieter.
The day at the nursery starts with the little ones eating their breakfast, followed by an hour-long educational activity which is mainly about teaching the children all about the forest. In Estonia, the forest is very sacred because 60% of Estonia is forest and by the age of 7 you have to know how to survive in it. Usually in these activities, a teacher uses educational robots, which impressed me at first but then I learned that Estonia is very technologically advanced.
Then comes the free time where the children regardless of the weather have to go outside to play for an hour. After we go back in, the kids watch until the food is ready and after the food it's bedtime where they sleep for 3 hours. Then they wake up and their parents come to pick them up. Also, 2 times a week we have music lessons, which have given me the opportunity to learn children's Estonian songs. My main duties in the nursery are helping the teacher with the little ones and playing with them. Now I have become more active so I create small art projects with the children and participate in the events organized by the daycare center. And little by little I want to start organizing my own educational activities and my own events.
In general with the weather I think I am doing well, of course I need to buy special clothes to survive the -20 that will come soon. With this temperature I have a love hate relationship, because I want it to come to see what the real cold is like and I love the cold but on the other hand I think I will regret it once I feel it. I try to follow the life of the locals so the weather and the few hours of daylight because we have polar nights here, do not stop me from going out to explore the city and Estonia or go on a trip.
As time goes by I learn more Estonian and I have started to notice that I understand a lot of things now when someone speaks to me in Estonian. But in general I didn't have much problem getting along so far because most Estonians know English. In my free time I try to learn more about Estonia and its history and the customs and traditions of Estonians. The good thing is that because I work at the nursery I have been given the opportunity to eat with the children so I try Estonian food
and sweets.
My favorite moments so far in the program are three. The first was when I was given the opportunity in my on-arrival training to try a sauna for the first time in my life and experience the experience of going to a spa. The second was when I went for the first time in my life solo trip for a weekend in Riga. I've been wanting to try a solo trip for a few years now and I'm glad that the program gave me the opportunity to finally do it. And the third is the most recent one, it was when I went on my first excursion inside Estonia with the friends I have made while I have been here. We went to Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia. -Έλενα Λυμπέρη.
Share