Multinational flagpole at the Smáralund nursery school
Sixteen national flags flew at the Smáralund nursery school during the national weeks, which concluded last Friday. The national weeks have been held at the nursery school for around two decades.
National Weeks at Smáralundi Nursery School
Sixteen national flags flew at the Smáralund nursery school during the national weeks, which concluded last Friday. The children learnt about countries, languages and cultures connected to their families and sang popular songs. The national weeks have been held for around two decades and have become a regular feature of the nursery's work.
„We have these weeks to honour and respect the families“ cultures and to fly the national flags associated with the children here in Smáralundur. We want to show that we are one team, no matter where we are from," says Inga Fríða Tryggvadóttir, the nursery head teacher.
Getting to know each other's different roots
During these national weeks, the children look at where the countries are on the map, learn about their languages and work on a variety of projects. Parents take part by telling the children what is characteristic of their countries and suggesting favourite songs in their languages. The songs are then played during the nursery's singing sessions.
The children's connections to the countries are widespread and can be through their parents, grandparents, or other relatives. The national weeks give them the opportunity to learn about their own roots and the origins of their peers.
„The children enjoy it and we see that parents are touched when we show their heritage respect and talk about it. It also improves communication with parents when they drop off and collect their children,“ says Inga Fríða.
Celebrate diversity
The idea for the national weeks came about when staff began to look at the children's diverse backgrounds and how they could be better reflected in the nursery's work. It then emerged that the families' connections extended to more countries than the staff had initially realised.
The result was that flags of the countries the children were connected to were flown. The number of flags has mostly been nineteen, but this year there were sixteen. The Foreign Office has assisted the nursery school by lending it flags.
Every morning during the national weeks, the flags are hoisted, and in the afternoon they are lowered. The flagpole at Smáralund is thus a visible reminder of the diverse origins of the children and their families, as well as the community they form together.
This year the flags were from: Denmark, the Philippines, Ghana, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Syria, Thailand and Vietnam.