The project included email correspondence between the students and the contact persons, drawing up a plan for the activities, implementing the sessions and compiling a report. All of this was carried out in English. Here is one example of an activity session:

A Monday morning in Enkkula

Once upon a time there were three girls studying in the degree program in Crafts and Recreation. On one Monday morning they went to test their limits in Enkkula day-care centre. The morning was bright and shiny like the girls’ minds even though they were a little bit nervous.  But when they arrived in Enkkula all those worries went away because the girls felt so welcome.  All of the staff smiled and were friendly. The children looked at the girls with smiley faces, but they were also eager to see what was going to happen.

The girls laid out all needed materials and the activity session was ready to start.  After a little warm-up (including name tags because of the Monday morning and the girls’ bad memory) the girls started crafting door tags for father’s day presents with the children. The children were very focused and creative. The girls were surprised at how talented they were.

After 45 minutes and 10 beautiful and individual door tags everything was almost ready. Everybody had a chance to tell about their own door tags and feelings sitting down in a circle. The girls were happy that everything went well and the children were proud of their works. At the end it was time to memorialize the moment by photographing the whole group together.

How about the girls’ limits and nervous feelings?

Well, the girls were very proud of themselves and the nervous feelings had disappeared immediately when they arrived in Enkkula. So, a happy end for everything and the girls lived happily ever after.

Suvi Saarinen, Kaisa Rajamäki & Anni Holopainen, Degree Programme of Crafts and Recreation