The English Kindergarten of Kotka (Kotkan englanninkielinen leikkikoulu in Finnish) provides bilingual early childhood education in English and Finnish for children aged 2–6. The kindergarten is run by the Finnish-American Society and focuses on fostering a caring and respectful learning environment that instills a sense of global awareness and equity. There are 40–45 children in three groups, 4 teachers, and 4 nursery nurses in the kindergarten.
The kindergarten values every child’s uniqueness, respect towards others and the environment, and good manners. Its goal is to introduce children to the English language and culture through play and structured activities and strengthen their self-esteem. Volunteers play an important role in this by engaging with the children and sharing their own cultural background.
Volunteers support teachers with daily routines and activities, play with the children, and help with cleaning tasks, e.g. laundry and changing the sheets. They also introduce cultural diversity. The role provides opportunities to improve English skills, learn Finnish, and experience Finnish culture firsthand
Volunteers should be comfortable communicating in English, enjoy working with children aged 2–6, and have good social skills.
Volunteers stay with a host family and should be open to adapting to family life. Breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack are provided at the kindergarten on school days. Other meals are provided by the host family at other times.
The volunteers work from Monday to Friday, 30–35 hours in a week.
Kotka is a coastal city in southeast Finland with a population of about 55,000. It is situated about 130 kilometers away from Helsinki. Kotka has good public transport connections and offers a variety of recreational activities such as music, sports, and gym facilities
We work with the support of or in cooperation with:
