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“Strive to make everyday the best day of your life, because there is no good reason not to.” Hal Elrod

A Swedish Midsummer

Jun 21, 2024

A time of coming together with a slower approach

Midsummer in Sweden

Midsummer comes on the 21st June and this is a time when it feels as though the sun never sets. In fact in northern parts of Scandinavia it doesn't!

In the 1500's this time of year was seen as a magical time where fertility levels were high. This was celebrated by the Swedes decorating the outside of their homes and farms with green foliage.

As we moved into the industrial period mill workers would come together at Midsummer for a wonderful feast of pickled herring.

More recent traditions have seen the making of floral crowns from the wildflowers and maypole dancing in the local area.

On Midsummer Day in Sweden many of these traditions remain. It's also very much a time of coming together with family and friends over delicious meals. Pickled herring is still a feature on the midsummer menu along with a grilled dish of salmon or spare ribs.

The evenings are spent gathered around a bonfire, enchanted by the ...

Mental Health

Oct 06, 2020

A few years ago working in early education was tough for me. The pressures of knowing what young children needed to flourish but having the daily battles of trying to help others see. Breaking down the relationships built up with children and the time for connection because ‘formal learning was a priority.’ As a leader I often felt that I spread myself too thin. The more I did, the more that was expected from me.

Those above me didn’t want people who loved and cared about their job. They needed machines that were unconnected from love to go through a process. This sadden me deeply.

I remember one day stopping to look at my reflection in the mirror. My skin looked grey and tired, my shoulders and neck ached, I felt dizzy with worry about all that was expected from me and wondering how I could ever do all these things well.

My weekends had become consumed with work. Often turning down invites from friends and family. When I did go out I felt like ...

Nikki: Wellbeing of the team

Aug 11, 2020

In this weeks blog article my lovely member Nikki, a daycare manager of a nursery based in Leeds, shares with us how she supports the wellbeing of her team.

I suffer from burn out. I have done for years. I think Early years lends itself to never ending to do lists and wanting to get it right for children, families and the team. I now know I have to plan self-care in to my routine to look after myself. I make sure I spend time outside throughout the week (usually at the local nature reserve), I use a meditation app daily and to support my sleep and in the darker months I use my daylight lamp to improve my SAD (Seasonal affective disorder). These changes to my life style is what led me to discovering Hygge and then Hygge in the early years.

As early years practitioners we know the importance of children's wellbeing, we even go as far as to monitoring wellbeing levels using the Leuvens scale. We are also aware that low wellbeing results in low levels of involvement and engagement, s...

Live a Simple Life

Jun 20, 2019

Purchase what will bring you great happiness in the future.

Sometimes we can get a little lost along our track in life and we can benefit from a little reminder every now and again on what’s important for us.

Living a simple life is what the Danes pride themselves on. Nothing complicated, slowing down the pace and being present.

When it comes to spending their money the same applies. Danes will carefully plan their purchases and put thought into the ways they spend. it’s not about how much money they make and showing off but actually about how they spend the money to invest in That’s why you won’t see lots of new cars driving around Denmark or designer handbags on show. For them experiences mean more as they make you feel alive and bring you together. memories and experiences.

For example a holiday with the family would cost a lot of money but think of all the wonderful times together and the memories created will last a life time. How...

Hygge Quotes

Jun 11, 2019

A good motivational quote always fills with me positivity to start the day.

Here are some of my favourite Hygge inspired quotes.

“Just living isn't enough," said the butterfly, "one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower." -Hans Christian Anderson” ― Louisa Thomsen Brits, The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well

“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity. -Simone Weil” ― Louisa Thomsen Brits, The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well

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“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." -Annie Dillard

“You cannot buy the right atmosphere or a sense of togetherness. You cannot hygge if you are in a hurry or stressed out, and the art of creating intimacy cannot be bought by anything but time, interest and engagement in the people around you.” ― Meik Wiking, The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well

“Craft makes our homes more human." -Ilsa Crawford

“Material goods rarely alter our levels of ha...

Be More Optimistic

Jun 11, 2019

Feeling more optimistic has a link to our level of positivity and happiness. When we feel more optimistic we approach a task with increased confidence and strength that it will go well. Yet it's really easy to get stuck in a cycle of self-doubt when it comes to things going wrong.

Identify Negativity

First identify what it is your feeling negative about. Make a list of all the solutions you can think of to solving the problem you have. Moving towards positivity and hope. Then commit yourself to taking one of these actions next time you feel this way.

For me my house sale has recently fallen though. My initial thought was “Oh no this is terrible what are we going to do now. Then I turned the situation around and thought well at least now we have more time to find our dream home (as we were about to move in with relatives), I'm saving money (as our next house will be bigger and have a more expensive mortgage) and lastly, I'm feeling tired so at least I do...