A Hygge Case Study: "I was at one of the lowest points in my career."

When I started the Hygge in the Early Years Accreditation, I was at one of the lowest points in my career.  I work full time as a childminder and was waiting for hip replacement, the pain affected my sleep and I worried how I would manage and afford time off.  This I could cope with, but I also felt I had no time for myself, struggling to run voluntary groups I’d always managed and juggling family life.  The Hygge course helped me take a good look at my life and realised I was stuck in a rut, doing things out of routine, not necessarily what I wanted to do.  The children were happy but I noticed they too were playing with the same toys, doing same routines and places.

I decided I had to priorities my own wellbeing and I wanted to make changes in my work place too. 

As part of the course I set the following three Hygge action points:

• Improve own health/wellbeing
• Establish joint weekly Forest School sessions
• Reduce the use of non-natural and non-recyclable materials and resources

Improve own health/wellbeing.

What a difference a year can make!  In August I got my hip replacement, I needed extra physio and it was much harder than I imagined but I was back to work by November, four days per week (deliberately not at maximum capacity).  A combination of taking well-being steps through the Hygge course, being able to sleep more/less pain and having the break plus cutting back on volunteering, has allowed me to reflect, recharge and prioritise myself (and not feel guilty).  We now do things we really enjoy, like walks with my daughter and gorgeous granddaughter (born in the Summer) on beautiful crisp mornings or exploring the frost patterns at our local park.  I try to do things that help me unwind like being close to nature. I feel more positive and much less stressed and that this has had a positive impact on my childcare and the children’s well-being too.  We have just introduced a yoga session each day.  We are not very good at it but are having a lot of fun and laughter trying!

Establish joint weekly Forest School sessions.

Unfortunately, this did not go quite as planned due to unforeseen circumstances; however we still managed to embrace the natural world, creating a sense of awe and wonder.  We visited our allotment, growing and harvesting food and also did Forest School activities at our local woods.  The Wanderlust Nature Study Programme has helped inspire me and kept me grounded, reminding me its ‘process over product’, especially at festival times.  For example, we went on a Winter walk and collected natural resources to make a natural wreath together (rather than the generic foam stickers on a card wreath).

Reduce the use of non-natural and non-recyclable materials and resources.

This has been a huge success.  The Hygge course has given me the confidence to change all my resources around (most I had already).  I have swapped the storage so that open-ended and natural resources are more easily accessible (plastic ones are still in boxes under couches). I’ve changed the plastic boxes to wicker baskets.  I’ve added more soft furnishings, a cosy reading corner in my conservatory with a lending library (children now borrow a book to read at home), some more plants and battery candles to add softer light.

I got creative to save money- painting my own nursery rhyme and emotion spoons and painting some with chalk board paint, adding a mirror and creating a brilliant ‘feelings’ resource.

I have gathered my loose parts together, picture frames, more wooden bowls and pots and pans (can you have too many?).  I have added seasonal themed loose parts too like mini Christmas trees, cinnamon sticks, orange slices and tea-lights. Most recently, I have just changed my playdough resources to more natural themed ones.

I have looked at ways to be more environmentally friendly.  We already grew food on our allotment, composted food and garden waste and either reused or recycled well.  We buy lots of second hand, everyday objects like wooden bowls, pots, pans, kettles and picture frames.  We looked at other areas such as biodegradable wipes/bags, excess packaging on products.  I have changed to bamboo plates, bowls and cups (already used metal cutlery) and we changed our children’s table and chairs to wooden ones.

The children are much more engaged with the activities, not just guided by routine.  Activities are child led- one child wondered what noise a giraffe makes (google giraffe humming at night, it’s very funny!), which led to lots of daft humming, the story book ‘giraffe’s can’t dance’ and talking about feelings. The pace of the setting is much calmer and relaxed too, which has had a calming effect on the children.  I believe these changes have made my setting more homely and relaxing. I particularly love the Hygge aspects of ‘Presence’ (living in the moment) and ‘Togetherness’ (spending time with people you care about and those that make you smile).  These are important aspects to me and ones that I think were missing in my life but are back now. 

Rachael Hill