Celebrating multiculturalism at Álfaberg today

Multicultural Day at Álfabergi

„It was brilliant. The children went between the different groups with homemade passports and got them stamped on each visit. “It was an experience for the children and their parents," says Lilja Kolbrún Steinþórsdóttir, head teacher of Álfaberg nursery, about the nursery's multicultural day, which was held this morning. She describes the day in more detail.

„Parents brought homemade food, a little taste of their countries and toys from different countries. They made a flag and sang “Meistari Jakob' in many languages. It was a major day," says Lilja, but this is the second time the international day has been held in a targeted way at Álfabergi.

Eighteen of the eighty children at Álfabergi have a mother tongue other than Icelandic. Linda Björk Halldórsdóttir, the deputy head teacher, oversees the service for them and ensures that the children and their families are well looked after.

„We here at Álfabergi place great emphasis on early intervention in language stimulation and teaching. We create competency frameworks and cater to each and every child. We use the “Give 10' method, for example, to boost language development,' she says, describing how the nursery works closely with Hafnarfjörður's bridge-builders.

„We work really well with the bridge builders and don't hesitate to ask them to help us so that parents feel safer in our community. It's important to build a good relationship with them so that the children do as well as possible.“

She says it is important to respect the children who come. „We talk about diversity and celebrate it. We tell the children how fun it is to speak different languages. For example, we learn to say Good day in the languages spoken in each class. We also have the children's flag prominently displayed on the school walls and in front of each class and how Good day is written in those countries. That way, we know how many mother tongues are spoken in each department,“ she explains.

Linda says this is the second year in a row that staff at Álfaberg, whose mother tongue is not Icelandic, have been offered the opportunity to learn Icelandic during work hours at the Icelandic Village through the Education Web. Two last year and two this year. „There, the staff learn the specialist vocabulary of nursery work,“ she says.

„We, the management, are their mentors in relation to the Icelandic village, and we met regularly where I assisted them with their studies. We talk together, and they learn to work with stories and music for the children. The programme is practical and has had a very positive impact, and the staff are happy. This work clearly benefits all our children,“ says Linda in conclusion.

So now we say a good multicultural day!