Well-being, health and exercise

At the Hamravellir health nursery in the Valla district, there are four groups and up to 84 pupils. The school was founded in 2008, but on 1 July this summer, the City of Hafnarfjörður took over its operation from Skólar ehf. Following these changes, the position of nursery school director became vacant, and Hildur Arnar Kristjánsdóttir was appointed on 1 August. She was already familiar with the school, as she had served as deputy director there until 2018. 

Hildur says in the local newspaper Hafnfirðinginn from the school's ambitious work, which has been based on the Health Policy formulated 15 years ago and which 23 nurseries across the country have incorporated into their own policies.

Emphasis on nutrition, exercise and artistic creation through play.

„The aim of the Whole-Child Approach is to enhance students“ joy and well-being by focusing on nutrition, physical activity, and creative play to support their development. If a child receives healthy nutrition and plenty of physical activity, a need to create will emerge.“ says Hildur, quoting the policy which she clearly knows well. Unnur Stefánsdóttir, head teacher at the Urðarhóll Health Nursery School in Kópavogur, took the initiative in formulating a health policy for nursery schools. The aim was to increase the children's joy and well-being by focusing on nutrition, physical activity and artistic creativity through play.

^{The teacher Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson starts all group sessions with group singing.} 

Menu based on recommendations from the Chief Medical Officer

Hildur says that the people who ran Hamravellir before had a nutritionist design a menu, which ended up becoming the menu that the City of Hafnarfjörður uses in all the town's nurseries today. „It is based on recommendations from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer regarding nutrition and diet. However, we do maintain traditions such as serving game meat. However, we don't serve processed meats, and our cook bakes the bread and cooks everything from scratch. We also have fruit breaks and always serve vegetables with lunch.“

^{Fun challenges that test strength and balance. Photo/submitted}

Sports hall and art pavilions

The Hamravallar facilities include play areas and a toy museum. In addition, the building houses two art studios and a sports hall equipped with a variety of sports equipment, including ropes from the ceiling, parallel bars on the walls and a soft floor to reduce the risk of injury. „The nursery employs subject coordinators, one for sports and the other for the arts. Under normal circumstances, the children in each group go to special PE and art sessions each week. This hasn't always been possible this year because of Covid, but we also have a very active outdoor play policy. The children go outside daily, weather permitting. If parents wish for their child to be indoors, it is often better for them to stay at home. We like to be able to follow the programme we have in place here. It starts at the age of two for all the children.“

^{The student Sylvía Rós in a creative moment. Photo/submitted.}

When asked, Hildur says that the children love going to the art gallery and to sports. „We can see a difference in them now, after they were allowed to do it again following a ban of several weeks. We managed to allow one compartment at a time. Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson, a Pollapönkari, is a teacher and head of sports at our school, and he always sings with the children at the start of each lesson. Then we also do some relaxation and calming down at the end. They have very varied PE lessons, and they are very welcome, especially for children who find it difficult to sit still at a table. This is where they thrive and get to release their need for movement and expression.“ It has therefore certainly been quite restrictive to have limitations on this part of the job. „We notice that there is more calm in the departments when the children have had a chance to move around and let off steam,“ says Hildur at last.

Photo by Hildur/OBÞ. Other pictures submitted.

An interview with Hildur Arnar was published in Hafnfirðinginn on 21 December 2020.