In English

At our preschool, Blåbäret (“The Blueberry”), nature is our playground and classroom. Blåbäret follows the I Ur och Skur (“Come Rain or Shine”) philosophy and pedagogy of meeting nature through play. Followed by hundreds of preschools in Sweden and internationally, the method is developed by Friluftsfrämjandet (“The Outdoor Association” https://www.friluftsframjandet.se/in-english/) a non-governmental organization established in 1892 to promote enjoyment of the outdoors. At Blåbäret, children are outside a good portion of the day and are normally dropped off and picked up outside of the Scout cabin in Hästhagen where Blåbäret has its premises – at the edge of Nacka nature reserve and in view of Järla Lake.

Blåbäret is a small preschool of approximately fifteen children ages one through five. Beyond their professional training as preschool teachers and child caregivers, Blåbäret’s three educators are trained in the I Ur och Skur outdoor pedagogy. We try to walk our talk by caring for nature in the forest as well as in our operations. Food served at Blåbäret is, to the extent possible, organic and/or locally produced. The preschool recycles its waste, and the children are involved in composting some of the food waste to produce rich earth for gardening. Come springtime, everything from peas to carrots to pancakes are planted in the kids’ own garden plots.

Blåbäret is a non-profit association* and operates as a parent cooperative. This means that each household participates in Board meetings, which take place approximately every six weeks. The Board makes economic and other decisions related to daycare’s operations and upkeep. These meetings are also a place exchange of information with Blåbäret staff, who provide updates on past and planned activities with the kids. Blåbäret parents also share in preparing lunches for the kids and staff. In practice this means that approximately two days per term are spent at the daycare making lunch and sharing in the day’s activities, with an additional two slots of basic cleaning in the evenings (arriving at 16:00 and leaving around 17:00). This means that as a parent, you are not only part of your own child’s day-to-day life outside of your home, but also that of their friends.

As you are reading this in English, you are probably interested in language! While Blåbäret is a regular Swedish daycare, and correspondence among parents and with Blåbäret staff is currently in Swedish, we want our preschool to reflect society’s cultural and linguistic diversity and are happy to do what we can to be inclusive. If you would like to know more about our preschool (or how the system works in Sweden – for example how to get in queue for preschooling, how many hours per week your child(ren) can be at preschool, etc.) in English, please be in touch.

 * In Sweden, preschools like Blåbäret can be publically funded but privately operated, and preschool attendance for all children is subsidized by the municipality.  Blåbäret is municipally inspected annually, and held to the same standards and receives the same resources as municipal-run preschools.

Contact

For more information you can reach Niklas Quick at Blåbäret.

HÄSTHAGSVÄGEN 4
131 33 NACKA

niklasblabaret(at)gmail.com
087163115