Finland – travelteachlove

Practice What You Read: Teach Like Finland

March 6, 2018 No Comments

My obsession with Finland and everything Finnish is no secret. When I heard about Tim Walker’s book, Teach Like Finland , I knew I had to have it. I devoured the pages in a single sitting over the summer and couldn’t stop thinking about all the ways I could implement what I read into my classroom. You can read my thoughts of Teach Like Finland here. Now that the school year is more than halfway through, I can honestly say that the tips I read in Walker’s book were spot on. It didn’t take a major overhaul to incorporate much of what I […]

Classroom Connection, Science, Social Studies, STEAM, Travel

Finland STEM Boating Challenge

April 30, 2017 No Comments

What a week back from spring break! It was go, go, go from the moment we returned. We received our eggs to hatch, students wrote a class book of poems to send off to Student Treasures to be published, we started a new unit in math on money, Thursday was poem in your pocket day, and we had boat building and a big boat race on Friday for STEM. There was a lot to be excited about but the STEM lessons were some of my favorites. We kicked off the STEM lesson with a social studies connection. I wrote a small […]

Travel

The Sound of Silence

February 1, 2017 1 Comment

This week I continue down travel memory lane. My photo wanderings brought me to one of my favorite spots in Helsinki, the Kamppi Chapel of Silence. Believe it or not it took me a while to find this giant building. As I was trying to get my bearings of Helsinki, riding the tram up and down Mannerheimintie and surrounding streets, I found myself hoping off stops and wandering around. Map in hand (trying to be discrete, I didn’t want to look like a total tourist!) I would meander down streets, circle around, double back, all in search of must see highlights, […]

Social Studies, Travel

Family Holiday Traditions

December 7, 2016 No Comments

With the month of December comes lots of excitement and traditions that students are eager to share. At morning meeting on Monday I kicked off talking about holiday traditions by sharing one from my family in Finland. Last week our family received a package from our family for Christmas. It was filled with a few little goodies from some of our favorite Finnish shops and an advent calendar for both my sister and I. Right away I knew it would be perfect to share with my students at school to kick off our study of holiday traditions around the world. […]

Social Studies, Travel

What’s In A Map?

November 8, 2016 1 Comment

One of the social studies topics we cover in second grade are types of maps and how we use them. Obviously this is a perfect opportunity to share with students maps I have picked up over the years during my travels. I have to admit that everywhere I have been I have collected maps, brochures and other literature just waiting for the right opportunity to use them one day. That day has finally arrived! By using real maps of places around the world, it will be an authentic way of showing students different styles of maps to students. I […]

Classroom Connection, Food, Travel

Fall Foods Near and Far

September 27, 2016 1 Comment

Fall has finally arrived! Besides the onset of cooler weather, wearing cozy sweaters and acclimating oneself to back to school routines, there is my favorite fall tradition of going apple picking. What made this fall even better was hearing from my family in Finland. They may not have gone apple picking, but they were gathering food as only the Finns can do. Back in the States, it doesn’t matter where I go, all that matters is that each fall I find a weekend to go and fill a bag with more apples than I could ever possibly consume on my own. […]

Classroom Connection, Travel

Family Connections

September 23, 2016 1 Comment

This week in school my students read a informational text about family. During our readings of the selection we took a close look at the family to better understand and learn more about them. We asked questions like, what kinds of things do they like to do? How many people are in their family? What hobbies do the people in the family have? There was so many great points to look at and compare to students’ own families. This story was also a perfect opportunity for me to make a connection to global learning. How could I do this? Well, I […]

Travel

Teacher in Moomin World

August 19, 2016 No Comments

With the start of school right around the corner I thought it would be fitting to write a post about the most child friendly place I visited in Finland, Muumimaailma! Moomin World as we would call it in English, is a magical place, but before I get carried away let me give a little background on what the heck Moomin actually is. Moomintroll is a white, hippo looking character created by Tove Jansson in the 1940s. Moomintroll and along with his family and friends grew in popularity over the years and can now be found all over the world. The […]

Food, Travel

Turku Medieval Festival

August 9, 2016 1 Comment

This summer I was lucky enough to be in Turku during the final day of their big medieval festival. Along with my sister, our family who live in Turku, picked us up from the train station and brought us right to the festival. It was quite the introduction to Turku! We had a great time wandering around from stall to stall. Many of the people were dressed in medieval clothes, helping to create a festive atmosphere. There were all kinds of handicrafts, food, and goodies to be bought, all of which were set for the time period. There were also […]

Food, Travel

Helsinki Favorites

August 8, 2016 1 Comment

Helsinki may just be my favorite city I have traveled to. Not too big, clean, easy to navigate and lots to see and do, what isn’t there to love? I loved spending some time there on my own before being joined first by my sister and later by my mum. It gave me a chance to discover some of my favorite places in the city and then share them with my family. Here is a break down of my favorite must see places and must do activities if you visit Helsinki. Sit on the steps of the Helsinki Cathedral. This […]