There are many ways that we can inject that warm, cosy hygge feeling into your classroom, setting or home. To avoid overwhelm I have 3 tips that you can try today.
3 Ways To Add Hygge To Your Provision Today
Apr 15, 2024
Step 1. Storytelling Opportunities
Happiness Psycholgist and author of The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living, MeiK Viking describes one of the aspects of hygge living is the pleasure that is found in everyday activities.
Storytelling plays a big part in finding joy and pleasure in life and especially so if it contains humour (which is shown to reduce the stress hormone!). The coming together for meals or the long walks in the wild offer many opportunities for telling stories in Scandinavia. Perhaps you could have a bigger focus on storytelling in your practice; outside, in the woods and in tiny nooks of your provision. You don’t need to set up a large area for story telling to happen in. An inviting invitation to play on a shelf will do, inside a box or even in a hat! The stories that are told and made up could be recoded down into a scrapbook and re-told again and again!
Step 2. Add elements of nature
The hygge approach to living is very much based on the senses and reflecting on how different parts of the world impact on the way we feel. Helping us to feel safe and secure in the places that are important to us. Scandinavians recognise the benefits that nature plays on igniting our senses and elements are often brought to admire inside. Meik Wiking explains that when furnishing your house “Basically you want to think: How would a Viking squirrel furnish a living room?” Meik Wiking The same can be considered when building the provision in your classroom. How can you add natural elements?
-
House plants and herbs
-
Foliage in the small world and block areas
-
Nature sensory containers
-
Hanging branches from the ceiling
-
Displaying interesting and unusual feathers in vases
-
Adding natural artefacts to your art studio like pine cones, nuts, seeds, orange slices.
-
Display beautiful flowers to inspire paintings.
Being around nature gives us a sense of calm and allows us to be more connected to our world and spend less time on technology.
Step 3: Add warm lighting
With the long dark nights through the winter lighting becomes one of the most important aspects of living the hygge way. The Scandinavians like to consider having a multitude of lighting sources to bring in feelings of cosiness and warmth.
Consider;
-
Fairy lighting around display boards, in jars, around provocations
-
Replacing harsh overhead lighting with table lamps
-
Adding LED candles around the edges of your room to bring in a nice glow
-
Projectors to display stars and sunsets around your room.
- Light panels - displaying natures treasures.
Thank you to Little Wise Owls Childminding and Fluffy Ducks Childcare for their inspiring Hygge setting images.
Nature play for babies and toddlers
Take part in my baby and toddler nature play course!
