Can play-based learning support academic skills?
In the ever-evolving landscape of education, one question continues to captivate educators, parents, and researchers: Can play-based learning truly support the development of academic skills? While traditional teaching ...
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Choosing the best curriculum for your kindergarten
With numerous preschool curriculums to choose from, kindergarten/preschool owners and principals often find themselves pondering the best fit for their school. Determining the ideal curriculum relies heavily on your ...
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HEI Schools Saigon Central Opens its Doors: Enriching Education with Finnish Model in Vietnam
HEI Schools Saigon Central, located in Binh Thanh District, has welcomed a decent number of children to its newly constructed six-story kindergarten in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City since its soft opening in May 2023. ...
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The first HEI Schools learning center opens in Canada in 2023
HeadStart Education Inc. partners with Helsinki International Schools Group to open the HEI Schools Early Learning Centre in Canada. The owner, Mr. Geng is an entrepreneur who got interested in Finnish early childhood ...
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Ho Chi Minh City welcomes the first HEI Schools Kindergarten in Vietnam
From right to left: Mr. Hai Le (Managing Director), Ms. Huyen Nguyen (Academic Director), H.E. Mr. Keijo (Norvanto Ambassador of Finland to Vietnam), Mr. Heikki Vartia (Head of Global Partnerships at HEI Schools). ...
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HEI Schools co-operate with $400m city development project in Adelaide
HEI Schools bringing value to commercial real estate development project by opening a high-quality early education center at Adelaide's Market Square development. HEI Schools Australia has signed a 10-year lease and ...
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How to address stigmas about special needs in ECE
According to a recent UNICEF report, there are nearly 240 million children around the world with disabilities, and children with special needs are subject to more discrimination because of their differences. Compared to ...
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6 tips for how to approach special needs in early education settings
Special needs, diversity and inclusion are all highly relevant topics for early educators, especially because the first 7 years of a child's life are crucial for their lifelong success. You may already be familiar with ...
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Finland’s Approach to Special Needs & Inclusion
In Finland, quality ECEC is the right of every child and according to the national constitution, everyone is equal before the law. The country prides itself on taking a holistic approach and providing all citizens with ...
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Defining Special Needs & Inclusion in Early Childhood Education
Special needs and inclusion are two important concepts to know and understand when it comes to early childhood education. After prolonged school closures and distance learning, it’s more important than ever that all ...
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HEI Schools wins Grand Prix in prestigious Fennia Prize design competition
HEI Schools had the honor of winning the Fennia Prize, one of the most respected design awards in Europe. The Fennia Prize competition rewards companies and organizations that strategically use design in their business. ...
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The Top 10 Benefits of the Holistic Approach to ECE
Holistic development is the social, emotional, physical, mental, and intellectual growth of a person. It’s an important focus area in early childhood education and care because children develop rapidly between the ages ...
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How to take a holistic approach to early education?
If you've read our other articles about the holistic approach to ECE, you may now be wondering how you could implement holistic practices in your own classroom. In this article, we'd like to offer a few easy tips for ...
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HEI Schools & Kompas Int. College Start Teacher Training Collaboration
HEI Schools, a Finnish early education company, and Kompas International College (KIC) in Ipoh, Malaysia have signed an agreement to collaborate in Kompas Int. College’s Early Childhood Education Teacher program in ...
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Holistic Education versus Traditional Education During the Early Years
Holistic education and its approach is most often compared to traditional education methods when looking at how children learn and develop skills during their early years. The biggest difference between the two is that ...
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What is Holistic Development?
Imagine you are building a house. You make detailed plans for the study with specifications about how big the room should be, where the desk should go and the size of the windows. As for the rest of the house, you leave ...
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How The Best Early Childhood Education System Really Works
The writer is originally from China, now living and working in Finland. As a mother of a two-year-old boy, she has firsthand experience about the early childhood education system of Finland. Here she shares her ...
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My Experience with Finnish Early Childhood Education
As a mother of a two-year-old boy, I have thought about finding a daycare for him since he was born. Coming from China where it is usually a long and difficult process, I thought that this would also be the case in ...
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Diploma Diaries: A New Teacher Finds Her Style
Our Diploma community is growing quickly, and we now have over 350 students representing 40 countries! With such a large community, we are highlighting members every month to give them the attention they deserve. This ...
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EF chooses HEI Schools as their teacher training partner
EF, the international education company, selected HEI Schools, a Finnish early education company, as their trusted teacher training partner for an early education pilot program in China.
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Including All Kids: How HEI Schools Incorporates Diversity
Inclusion and special needs are becoming increasingly important in the educational field, especially during the last two years when many schools were required to shut down or implement remote teaching due to the ...
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STEAM Education for Little Ones: It's child's play!
What is STEAM education? There's a lot of buzz about STEAM education, but what's it all about? STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics, and it has become increasingly buzz-worthy due to ...
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Together, We Are Stronger - The HEI Schools Global Community
At HEI Schools, we’re united by one thing: a passion for early childhood education. This common goal has brought us together with like-minded people around the world and helped us create a wonderful community, which is ...
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HEI Schools on CNN — HEI Schools
We were honored to be featured in the following CNN article on April 5, 2019. Can happiness be exported? One Finnish school believes so. By Lianne Kolirin, CNN (CNN) - Finland has emerged as the happiest nation in the ...
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HEI Schools and SEGi University and Colleges to begin a collaboration
HEI Schools, a Finnish early education company, and SEGi University and Colleges in Malaysia have signed an agreement to cooperate in developing SEGi’s Early Childhood Education Teacher Diploma program in Malaysia. With ...
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HEI Schools to collaborate with the City and University of Helsinki
HEI Schools is starting a collaboration with the City of Helsinki and the University of Helsinki in a kindergarten in Jätkäsaari, a neighborhood in Helsinki. The goal of the collaboration is to further develop the ...
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The Best Educational Books and Resources About Finnish Education
Finland is well-known for its education system, and there are many resources out for those who want to know more. We've compiled some of the best books, website and webinars to help you get familiar with the Finnish ...
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HEI Schools receives €2 Million investment
We are very happy to announce that HEI Schools has received €2 million investment from Practica Capital and Tesi in its latest funding round. The money will be used to continue building and strengthening the growing ...
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The Story & Science Behind the HEI Schools Design
Every adult knows that it can be hard to get children to focus. The younger they are, the more easily they get distracted. Research even proves it! [1] At HEI Schools, we created our learning design so that children can ...
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HEI Schools expands into Thailand
The Finnish education company will be opening its first Learning Center in Bangkok in 2021. This will be the first of two HEI Schools opening in partnership with the local team, Children Must Play Co, Ltd. Helsinki ...
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Early Learning for Babies and Toddlers
"Can toddlers learn anything?" "Is early education just babysitting?" "What’s the point of bringing my baby to school?" We hear these questions often in our line of work, and our answers are yes, no and let us explain! ...
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Partner Talks - HEI Schools Australia
At HEI Schools, we receive many questions about what it’s like to start and run a Learning Center with us. To address those topics, we started a new series called “Partner Talks” in which we sit down with our current ...
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HEI Schools to open HEI Schools Club on Nami Island, Republic of Korea
From left: Mr. Fred Minn, CEO, and Ms. Ellen Chang, Chief International Liaison of Nami Island Arts and Education Inc., Ms. Inkeri Mentzoni, Director of Sales, and Mr. Heikki Vartia, Sales and Partnership Manager of HEI ...
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How to Implement the HEI Schools Toolkit in Your School
The Finnish approach to early childhood education is well-known for a reason! Its progressive pedagogy places the child’s needs and interests at the center with a focus on holistic growth and transversal competencies ...
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Partner Talks: HEI Schools San Rafael
At HEI Schools, we receive many questions about what it’s like to start and run a Learning Center with us. To address those topics, we started a new series called “Partner Talks” in which we sit down with our current ...
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Talking to Mentor Teachers: Liisa
At HEI Schools, we ensure that Finnish pedagogy is implemented in all of our local Learning Centers and Clubs by providing thorough introductory teacher training and management training to all local staff and by sending ...
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Finnish Teacher Training in a Nutshell
As experts in Finnish education, a question we often get asked is: “What’s the secret to Finnish education?” Our answer: The teachers. In Finland, teacher training, as well as the approach to the teaching, is different ...
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HEI Schools opens a preschool in Cairo with Finnish educational model
Laura Kansikas-Debraise, the Ambassador of Finland in Cairo (fourth from right) opened the HEI Schools New Cairo preschool on Sunday, August 16th, 2020 together with HEI Schools New Cairo CEO & Business Development ...
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6 Reasons Why Finnish Early Childhood Education is Excellent
For the past ten years, Finland’s education system has been praised as one of the best in the world. The most recent PISA scores in 2018, showed that Finnish students aged 15 years old were one of the top five in ...
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Montessori & Finnish ECE: Daily School Life, Standardization & Development (Part 3)
Welcome to our article series about how Finland's early education model compares to Montessori. In this series, we deliver a clear picture of how these two different approaches take shape in the classroom and which one ...
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Montessori & Finnish ECE: Learning Philosophies & Environments (Part 2)
Welcome to our article series about how Finland's early education model compares to Montessori. In this series, we deliver a clear picture of how these two different approaches take shape in the classroom and which one ...
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Comparing Montessori & Finnish ECE: Their History (Part 1)
As a parent, choosing the type of early childhood education appropriate for your child can be challenging. There are a variety of well-established alternative preschool models, such as Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio ...
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6 Ways to Effectively Implement Routines with Your Children
Routines are helpful for any person, no matter what their age. However, for children, it is especially important to establish and maintain routines. it gives them a sense of security and comfort, and it can also help ...
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Expanding the circle of compassion in the time of global crisis
By: Professor Lasse Lipponen, Early Childhood Education professor at University of Helsinki and Co-Founder of HEI Schools Who do you care about the most? Who would you help in their time of need? For many of us, the ...
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4 Ways We Localize the HEI Schools Learning Center Concept
One of the most common questions we receive is how we localize the HEI Schools Learning Center concept. Though based on the Finnish curriculum and model of early childhood education and care, we have developed methods ...
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Parents: Are you a Gardener or a Carpenter?
With the COVID-19 crisis closing schools and sending workers home, many parents will be spending a significant amount of time with their children in the next few weeks as children learn remotely. At HEI Schools, ...
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University of Helsinki’s Educational Sciences Ranks 23rd in the World
We are proud to announce that our shareholder and partner, University of Helsinki, has been ranked 23rd in the world for Educational Sciences in the 2020 QS World University rankings. This is the third consecutive year ...
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Nordic Know-How: Teaching Children About Themselves & the World
Nordic education systems, and indeed Nordic values, are renowned the world over. Why? Source: HEI Schools In a recent New York Times opinion piece, “This is How Scandinavia Got Great,”* author David Brooks argues that ...
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Praising Children is More Effective than Reprimanding
Many times it feels like increasing your volume when speaking to children just doesn’t motivate them. So what can help? Research shows that praising children in the classroom leads to more on-task behavior and focus. At ...
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HEI Schools Expands Into Malaysia with Curriculum Partnership
Pictured left to right: Mr Mohamed Farid, Mr Eero Väisänen, Ambassador Petri Puhakka, Ms Mardhiah Zain, Ms Syahirah Hanim Jermadi, and Mr Heikki Vartia. Helsinki International Schools Group (HEI Schools), a Finnish ...
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Children Study Better in Calm Environments
A recent study has shown that visually rich surroundings distract children from their studies, while less distracting environments improve their performance. A recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Child ...
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How to be Happy: The Importance of Creative, Active Children
The OECD recently released the results for its global test of 15-year-olds in math, science and reading, known as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). China and Singapore ranked first and second, ...
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Let them play: Children who play more grow up healthier
Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash The World Health Organization’s most recent guidelines about physical activity show that children under five should play more and sit less in order to establish healthy lifestyle ...
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HEI Schools again recognized as HundrED Innovator
HEI Schools is excited to announce that it has once again been selected by the global education nonprofit HundrED, in its third global innovation collection, HundrED 2020, highlighting 100 of the brightest innovations ...
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HEI Schools to expand in Saudi Arabia
Press release The Finnish educational company to open three Finnish-based schools in the Kingdom: Riyadh in 2020 and Jeddah & Dammam in 2021 Helsinki International Schools (HEI Schools), a Finnish company backed by ...
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Partner talks - HEI Schools Senayan
At HEI Schools, we receive many questions about what it’s like to start and run a Learning Center with us. To address those topics, we started a new series called “Partner Talks” in which we sit down with our current ...
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HEI Schools chosen as finalist for Fast Company's Award 2019
PRESS RELEASE April 8th 2019 Selected from over 2,000 entries, HEI Schools was named a finalist for its impactful work globalizing Nordic wellbeing through education. Fast Company Media is an international leader in the ...
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HEI Schools and Kide Science join forces to globalize early education
PRESS RELEASE March 15th 2019 HEI Schools, a Finnish early childhood education (ECE) company delivering the acclaimed Finnish model to early education ECE operators worldwide has just teamed up with Kide Science to ...
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HEI Schools named top-100 in global education
The Finnish-based preschool model was selected from over 1,000 participants as one of the most innovative educational platforms in the world. World renowned education nonprofit HundrED (hundred.org) has selected HEI ...
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Kuwait and Saudi Arabia join the global network of HEI Schools in 2019
We are excited to announce the opening of two new HEI Schools in 2019. Kuwait City, Kuwait and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will join our global network bringing a new geographical area and culture to our HEI Schools community. ...
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Expansion of the HEI Schools network in China
With a new multi-unit contract signed, two new HEI Schools in Chengdu and Shanghai are confirmed to open in the fall of 2019. This is an extension to the HEI Schools China family with schools already in in Guangzhou and ...
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HEI Schools Wins 2 Gold Awards and a Grand Prix
HEI Schools, with an international concept in early childhood education, was awarded two Gold Awards (Best Product and Best Service) and the Grand Prix prize of the whole competition at Vuoden Huiput (vuodenhuiput.fi), ...
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HEI Schools Opens in Australia in Autumn 2018
HEI Schools has signed a franchising agreement with University Preparation College in Australia about establishing and operating kindergartens in Australia. The first pilot kindergarten is planned to open already in ...
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Children created spaces with HEI Schools in Helsinki Design Week
HEI Schools participated Helsinki Design Week with a creative space design workshop in September. Children were inspired and encouraged to build and shape spaces based on their own wishes and perspectives. When adults ...
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HEI Schools’ first teacher training for Chinese team was a success
10 Chinese Teachers from HEI Schools’ first pilot project in Baotou participated in teacher training in Finland between May 14th - June 14th. The training was conducted together with the team of early childhood ...
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Prototyping, testing and building HEI Schools Learning Space!
We are proceeding with full speed with our learning space concept. Design work has reached prototyping and testing phase before drawings are flown to China to be build to our new brilliant HEI Schools Baotou ...
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Helsinki University Makes an Additional Investment in HEI Schools
In February 2017, the Helsinki University Funds made an additional investment in the HEI Schools. The Helsinki Innovation Services (HIS), which focuses on the commercialization of scientific research, is strongly ...
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HEI Schools To Cooperate with the Chinese Academy of Science
In March 2017, HEI Schools signed a letter of intent with a kindergarten chain owned by the Chinese Academy of Science. The cooperation aims at strengthening the HEI Schools' kindergarten model, teacher education and ...
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