These kids, a 5-year-old and a 2.5-year-old, were born on a farm. They have never not known what it's like to live among animals. They learned how to crawl in the kitchen next to an orphan piglet and they cuddle with newborn baby goats in their bed instead of stuffed animals.
An appreciation for reading doesn't just happen. It needs to be nurtured and
encouraged until a child develops an intrinsic desire to read and the self-confidence to pick up a
book on their own.
Learning requires opportunity and motivation—not one or the other. For many children, learning is perceived as a chore, as the majority of their waking hours are engaged in non-self-directed education.
To the mama who feels exasperated by another mess your little one has made today, I want to offer you this perspective from a mom who misses it now: try to pause and see the magic in the mess.
The country's early-childhood education program indeed places a heavy emphasis on "joy," which along with play is explicitly written into the curriculum as a learning concept. "There's an old Finnish saying," Holappa said. "Those things you learn without joy you will forget easily."
