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About Little Finns

Little Finns provides a fun environment for children to socialize with each other and to learn about Finnish culture and language. Children aged 3 and above are welcome to join Little Finns regardless of Finnish skill level. We are hoping to have many more children join us next season! Currently, Little Finns is run by three teachers: Inkeri Kankaanpää, Malla Paloniemi and Heini Oguike.

Coming up this season

This season 2022-2023, we will enhance the learning experience by introducing skill level groups, where each child will be better able to learn and advance at their own pace. The leveled groups will also help us better ensure age appropriate learning. Each group will have their own learning plan, specifically designed for each child’s unique learning needs. We have some new exciting materials to use next season. The children will also get to mix and mingle with everyone while playing games and doing crafts, which is the favorite part of the class for many! The kids will listen, speak, read and write Finnish through various activities and play, with breaks in between. All kids over 3 are welcome. Lots of fun activities and games are planned for this year.

Please inform Heini Oguike at finlandiacalgary@gmail.com if your child would like to attend. Here is the link to register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfI8W0Oukr0-BJcOewS2o4uERGKei9Sij9iSJ1KQUEzntARLg/viewform. We plan each class based on the attendees, and sessions run each Sunday from 4-6pm. Hope to see your kids in the classes!

Little Finns dates for Fall 2022:

September 11

September 25

October 16

October 23

November 6

November 20

About Little Finns (Finnish School of Calgary)

  • Children aged 3 and above are welcome regardless of Finnish skill level.
  • During the sessions, the children will listen, speak, read and write Finnish using fun, age and skill level-appropriate activities, games and play. We will also get to know Finnish culture and traditions through hands-on experiences.
  • We organize events for parents and share information about raising bilingual children.
  • We maintain a library of Finnish children’s books that students can borrow to read at home. Donations of gently used books are welcome!
  • The school is run by three trained teachers Inkeri Kankaanpää, Malla Paloniemi and Heini Oguike with the help of volunteers.
  • There is no school fee, but the Calgary Finlandia Cultural Association membership is required to participate in Finnish School (https://finlandiacalgary.com/membership/).

Bilingual Parenting Event on Oct 22, 2022 at 10am-12pm

Join us for a 2-hour webinar for the parents of Calgary Little Finns, where Soile Pietikäinen will answer questions about bilingual development, specifically with focus on Finnish language. Soile is Finnish and lives in London, UK. She is trilingual in Finnish-English-Italian and a mother of native trilingual young adults. At work she is a sociologist specialized in bilingual family interaction. She studies how parents and children really interact in bilingual family homes, and helps parents transform their children’s bilingualism. The first hour of the event can be held in English if we have English speaking parents interested in attending. The second hour will be held in Finnish only.

Please reach out to finlandiacalgary@gmail.com if you are interested in attending this event.