Suomenlinna is celebrating the 100th year of operation of the island’s daycare centre. To the general public, the anniversary offers a look into the past.
Daycare Suomenlinna is turning one hundred years old. Established just a few years after Finland gained its independence, the daycare centre has witnessed the development of both Finland as a nation and Finnish early childhood education and care.
Despite its impressive history and idyllic surroundings, Daycare Suomenlinna is, according to its manager, just an ordinary daycare centre.
- This is a pretty traditional daycare centre. We have a peaceful, unhurried atmosphere, we give the children time and we value play. Our everyday operations revolve around the basics, says Daycare Suomenlinna’s Daycare Centre Manager Maritta Mellin.
The daycare centre, which is located in an old artillery depot, will be celebrating the anniversary throughout the year.
- Our staff has put a great deal of effort into planning the anniversary. We want to celebrate in a child-driven manner while respecting history. The anniversary is reflected in things such as our singing sessions, for which we have selected more traditional songs.
The interest of other city residents in the one-hundred-year-old daycare centre has also been taken into account in the form of an exhibition featuring old archived photographs and documents displayed on the windows of the daycare centre yard. The exhibition highlights memories from different decades all the way to the modern day. The exhibition can be freely explored after the opening hours of the daycare centre throughout the summer.
Most of our excursions take place in Suomenlinna, and we have good relations with local operators.
Private kindergartens were established in Helsinki as early as the late 19th century, especially for the children of the working population. Viapori, which is what Suomenlinna was called back in the day, also had a kindergarten before the establishment of the current daycare centre.
The Suomenlinna kindergarten commenced operation in 1924–1925. At first, the kindergarten was private, although it received financial assistance from the City. The new kindergarten had a manager, two teachers and places for 75 children.
During its early years, the kindergarten’s day programme included chores, play, songs and crafts. In addition to teaching practical skills, the aim was to guide children towards orderliness, cleanliness, diligence and good manners.
The kindergarten operated until 1931 in the Linnanportti building, building C 15. When the kindergarten moved to building C 71, the City paid for the necessary repairs of the building. At the same time, the Suomenlinna kindergarten was brought under municipal ownership.
During the war years, the kindergarten was open irregularly and its facilities were used for military accommodation. In winter 1944, the kindergarten provided accommodation to Ingrian children displaced by the war.
In 1990, the former Suomenlinna kindergarten, which is now Suomenlinna Daycare, moved to its current premises in building C 31. The following year, Suomenlinna was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Today, Suomenlinna is home to approximately 800 inhabitants, and the island’s daycare centre provides early childhood education to approximately 45 children. Although its address has changed over the years and the pedagogy of early childhood education has developed, the names of the daycare centre's child groups have always remained the same: Päivänkukat (‘Daisies’), Pääskyset (‘Swallows’) and Puolukat (‘Lingonberries’).
The everyday operations of Daycare Suomenlinna are very similar to many other daycare centres. Its pedagogical activities are based on Helsinki’s curriculum for early childhood education and care, even though the island is separated from the mainland by a fifteen-minute ferry ride. The historical setting and the surrounding sea add their own unique nuance to the daycare centre’s operations.
- The ferry always operates on time, but leaving the island is no small matter. Most of our excursions take place in Suomenlinna, and we have good relations with local operators. In many destinations we are greeted by one of our children’s parents, who also work on the island, Mellin describes.
At the beginning of June, the daycare centre held a yard party not only for the children and their families, but also the daycare centre’s former employees and cooperation partners, among others. The Governing Body of Suomenlinna provided seats for the party, and guardians were also involved in the implementation of the activities.
The atmospheric yard is bordered by lilac bushes, and there is an old ash tree standing in the middle. The circumference of the tree was measured by the daycare centre’s five-year-old children, who came to the undeniable conclusion that the ash is “five or six five-year-olds wide.”Next to the ash tree stands a new, bright green climbing frame that was erected the previous summer.
- The children named the climbing frame Käärijä, Maritta Mellin says, smiling.
