At Thursday the 10^th of March a couple of us visited the kindergarten Hokus Pokus next to the University. Our mission was to observe their day and I was really excited because Len told us some things about kindergartens in Norway. A lot of them were different in contrast to the habits in Germany. We met at 10:45 o’clock at the main entrance of Hokus Pokus where all the little boys and girls stood two by two. It was a view that made me smile and remembered me why I want to become a teacher and why I definitely want children. A couple of minutes later we were divided into two groups and mine headed to a forest that starts behind Kaserneveien. There was a small shelter with a fireplace, a separate fireplace outdoors and a jungle gym house. The first thing that was very different to Germany was the number of male kindergarten teachers. The group I was allocated to consisted of 50% men. In Germany are almost entirely women, men are really rare in kindergartens which is also a result of the low wages. I spoke to one of the female teachers and asked her if it is common in Norway that there are so many men. In her opinion the situation at Hokus Pokus is over-average but nevertheless there are more male teachers than in Germany. In my opinion this is a very good thing because the little boys often are looking for a male example. In German kindergartens and in the primary schools are almost no men as I mentioned before and as consequence the boys are not able to find a male example.

After arriving Amy, Craig, Jill and I started to observe and the first thing we could see was that one of the kindergarten teachers started a small fire. Moreover, I was anxious to see if the different ways of leading kids really existed/are really observable. One of these things was for example the way the kindergarten teachers deal with dangerous situations. Len told us once in class the kids are able to explore/test their limits without limitations and if they e.g. fall of a tree and break a bone no one complains because the Norwegian credo is: that is life. In Germany it is not possible to climb trees because the teachers stop you all the time with the danger-argument. Before my exchange I never challenged this habit because that was how I grew up. With the new experience of the kindergarten visit where indeed it was possible to observe what I described before I decided to adopt the Norwegian way for my parenting.

In addition, the children were allowed to play all over the place but they should be able to see at least one kindergarten teacher. One of the kindergarten teachers took some kind of colour to the playground which was mixed with snow. In the end, there were a lot of colourful towers and other figures and of course, a lot of coloured snow. At first I was a little bit confused and thought about all the mess on the cloth but I guess this is typical German as well… The kids wore all waterproof and easy washable clothes wherefore it should not be a big deal to clean them.

The day in the woods was nearly like a day indoors with all its habits. The teachers brought books and read them to the kids in front of the campfire. Furthermore, there was a lunchtime where all the kind sat around the campfire and the kindergarten teachers handed out fruits and sandwiches. A last thing that was surprising was that the teachers changed the children’s diaper. I am not sure if this happens in Germany as well…

On my way home a won a new friend. A waited until all the kids stood in a row with a friend next to them and suddenly one of this small dwarfs appeared next to me and took my hand. First I was a little bit unsure if it is okay but the teachers did not say anything so we walked back to Hokus Pokus like this and even after arriving there the little boy did not want to release my hand. Jill, Amy and Craig left and I decided to stay a little bit longer even as a kindergarten teacher asked me if I want to leave as well. After a while he asked my name and I was able to answer in Norwegian which was a good feeling because I was curious about not speaking Norwegian very well. After a while a second boy joined and we played a little bit together until the first one released my hand and started to play in a more intensive way with the second boy. I took my change and left but after looking back I saw both standing behind the fence watching in my direction and I said goodbye with “Hyggelig å hilse på deg”.