The world-renowned Finnish early childhood education curriculum has been adopted at ILO Norlane, a centre providing high-quality education and care for children aged six weeks to five years.
Centre Director Lisa Blackwell explains that “ILO” means ‘joy’ in Finnish, which she believes reflects the essence of great early childhood education and care.
“At ILO Norlane, we believe joy is vital to a child’s learning journey. Our curriculum supports children’s holistic growth, with our approach and methods based on the latest research in education,” says Lisa, who has 20 years’ sector experience.
“It’s been rigorously tested in preschools across Finland, with proven results established by the University of Helsinki.
“We believe children learn while they play. Our centre uses lots of wooden furniture, soft lighting, and natural colours and materials, while our spaces receive natural light – collectively creating a calming atmosphere for children to focus and learn.
“Learning happens in every situation and we practise a healthy way of living that promotes socio-emotional competence and physical wellbeing.”
KIDE SCIENCE
Lisa says that research shows seeds for scientific literacy need to be planted during early childhood.
“ILO introduces children to science with the Kide Science curriculum. Learning scientific thinking in early childhood predicts better learning outcomes in school.
“We support children’s scientific thinking through play-based learning. Kide Science was born through years of academic research done in Finland, where the play-based STEAM concept was developed for children aged three to eight.
“We use imaginary science scenarios as the basis of STEM learning, combining hands-on, hearts-on and heads-on learning in a play-based environment.
“Instead of doing it ‘theory-first’, we look at the situation from a young child’s perspective to best benefit learning. Imagination cannot be isolated from a young child’s learning.”
BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE
“We also provide before- and after-school care to our community. We operate from 6.30am-6.30pm Monday-Friday, except for public holidays.”
ILO Norlane Early Education Centre, 11 Gerbera Avenue, Norlane. Inquiries: 5292 2179, email: norlane@iloee.com.au, website: www.iloeec.com.au
