Englannin kielisuihku 2024-2025
Let's go to Enkkumaa!
April
March
February
January
December
November
October
September
Englanninkielisuihkun vuosikello
September - My name is.... What's your name? Numbers and colours
Ready, steady go!
How do you get to Enkkumaa? At the beginning of each session, everyone can decide how they are going to travel - car, aeroplane, tractor, train, bus... Did you know you can travel in a unicorn rainbow car? Or on a turbo quad bike? Or on the back of a dragon? You can go with a friend or on your own. The children of Tammela have wonderful imaginations! Safety first: helmets and seatbelts on, turn on your engine, brrrrmmmmmmm and let's go!
In Enkkumaa Emma speaks English to the children. If needed, another adult translates to Finnish, however, the children are fast learners and don't need everything translating. They understand a lot more than you might think. Repetition, pictures, facial expressions and miming also help with understanding.
English started in September. We learnt to say who we are and ask each others' name. We played the zombie game which was a big hit!
Hello, it's nice to see you!
It's nice to see you too!
What's your name?
My name is...
We also practised the numbers (1-12) with games like bomb counting and the song 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, once I caught a fish alive
We sang the song multiple times as the children drew their fish - this kept it interesting and we got lots of practice with the vocabulary. Doing the actions also promotes understanding.
We were so good at the numbers in English that we quickly moved on to colours. We learnt to recognise and say red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple and black and we practised them with different games, like the chicken game below.
Chick, chick chicken,
Lay an egg for me,
Chick, chick chicken,
An egg for my tea.
Chick, chick chicken, 123,
Chick, chick chicken,
Lay an egg for me.
Catchy rhymes that are easy to remember and repeat are a great way to get children using English - they get a feel for the rhythm and sound of the language. Using repetition and rhymes that become familiar over time also creates a sense of security - it's easier to learn when you're feeling safe and relaxed!
1,2,3,
Which one will it be?
I say, you say!
How do you get to Enkkumaa? At the beginning of each session, everyone can decide how they are going to travel - car, aeroplane, tractor, train, bus... Did you know you can travel in a unicorn rainbow car? Or on a turbo quad bike? Or on the back of a dragon? You can go with a friend or on your own. The children of Tammela have wonderful imaginations! Safety first: helmets and seatbelts on, turn on your engine, brrrrmmmmmmm and let's go!
In Enkkumaa Emma speaks English to the children. If needed, another adult translates to Finnish, however, the children are fast learners and don't need everything translating. They understand a lot more than you might think. Repetition, pictures, facial expressions and miming also help with understanding.
English started in September. We learnt to say who we are and ask each others' name. We played the zombie game which was a big hit!
Hello, it's nice to see you!
It's nice to see you too!
What's your name?
My name is...
We also practised the numbers (1-12) with games like bomb counting and the song 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, once I caught a fish alive
We sang the song multiple times as the children drew their fish - this kept it interesting and we got lots of practice with the vocabulary. Doing the actions also promotes understanding.
We were so good at the numbers in English that we quickly moved on to colours. We learnt to recognise and say red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple and black and we practised them with different games, like the chicken game below.
Chick, chick chicken,
Lay an egg for me,
Chick, chick chicken,
An egg for my tea.
Chick, chick chicken, 123,
Chick, chick chicken,
Lay an egg for me.
Catchy rhymes that are easy to remember and repeat are a great way to get children using English - they get a feel for the rhythm and sound of the language. Using repetition and rhymes that become familiar over time also creates a sense of security - it's easier to learn when you're feeling safe and relaxed!
1,2,3,
Which one will it be?
I say, you say!
October - Food words, yummy! I like/ I don't like
In October we moved on to food and drink and we had lots of new words! 
Water, cucumber, ice cream, fish, chocolate, cheese, milk, sausage, potato, bread, tomato and meatballs! Phew! What a lot words! Luckily we can practise them everyday at mealtimes! To learn the words we played games like flashcard race and find the difference.
Do you like cheese? Yes, I do! Do you like milk? No, I don't. I like chocolate, do you? Yes! Ooh, look at that delicious ice cream! Yummy!
At the end of October we were invited to a Halloween themed cafe. Getting to the cafe was exciting, we had to climb through a spiders web! At the cafe we got to smell different foods and guess what they were using only our sense of smell! This was really exciting and fun. Can't wait until next Halloween, can you?
Water, cucumber, ice cream, fish, chocolate, cheese, milk, sausage, potato, bread, tomato and meatballs! Phew! What a lot words! Luckily we can practise them everyday at mealtimes! To learn the words we played games like flashcard race and find the difference.
Do you like cheese? Yes, I do! Do you like milk? No, I don't. I like chocolate, do you? Yes! Ooh, look at that delicious ice cream! Yummy!
At the end of October we were invited to a Halloween themed cafe. Getting to the cafe was exciting, we had to climb through a spiders web! At the cafe we got to smell different foods and guess what they were using only our sense of smell! This was really exciting and fun. Can't wait until next Halloween, can you?
November - animals and shapes
In the first week of November we found ourselves in the forest where we made some new friends. Incy Wincy the spider taught us a new song, Incy Wincy spider which we sang while drawing the story on each others' backs. Most of us agreed that it felt nice! Then Incy Wincy introduced us to more forest friends, Elk, Fox, Snail, Ant, Bear, and Mouse. We did actions for each animal to help us remember the words, and then we played a fun pantomine game.
What animal are you? Are you a bear? Yes, I am! Are you an elk? No, I'm a spider! Are you an ant? No? A snail? Yes! Snails are slow!
What animal are you? Are you a bear? Yes, I am! Are you an elk? No, I'm a spider! Are you an ant? No? A snail? Yes! Snails are slow!
The following week we found ourselves in the jungle. We had to find 6 animals that had hidden - frog, gorilla, elephant, lion, monkey and ladybug/ ladybird. We learnt to say them through repetition and actions, and then we sang a new song Five green and speckled frogs. In the song we were the frogs that jumped and splashed about in the pool - this was great fun!
We also sang Incy Wincy spider again and the children remembered it well. Finally we played a memory game with the animal cards. In games we can practice lots of familiar phrases; 'It's your turn', 'Well done!' 'What animal is it?' 'How many are there?' 'Please give me the elephant' 'Thank you!' Memory games are great for learning vocabulary - everytime you turn a picture card, say the words out loud too.
The following week we played 'find your pack'. The children had to find their animal pair by asking each other 'Are you a lion? Yes, I am' ’Are you a monkey? No, I'm not.' When the children found their pairs, their next task was to build them a home. We had a wonderful range of animal houses, made from all kinds of different materials.
Where do the elephants live? Here! The elephants have food to eat and water to drink.
Where do the monkeys live? Here! How many monkeys live there? 2!
Where do the gorillas live? Here! What colour are gorillas? Black! Gorillas like to play, they have a playground!
We also sang and played five green and speckled frogs again which we all enjoyed.
Five green and speckled frogs,
Sat on a speckled log,
Eating the most delicious bugs, yum, yum!
One jumped into the pool,
Where it was nice and cool,
Then there were four green speckled frogs…
In the last week of November we looked at shapes. We learnt to recognise and say square, circle and triangle. We had to make the different shapes using our bodies, and we collected items that were the same shape. Look at all the different things we found!
With a little bit of magic...
Recently we have found that it's also possible to 'travel' to Enkkumaa with a little bit of magic, that is, magic dust. Combined with fairy music we can create a special moment that signifies the beginning of our journey.
Close your eyes, relax, and wait for the light touch of the magic dust to fall over you... Did it work? Yes, we're all here!
A little magic works wonders to create a peaceful atsmosphere where everyone has the best opportunity to learn. It's important that there is a signal for the children that now we have 'arrived' and the language changes. At the end it's also equally important that we travel back, again signalling to the children that the language is going to change and creating a clear ending.
Close your eyes, relax, and wait for the light touch of the magic dust to fall over you... Did it work? Yes, we're all here!
A little magic works wonders to create a peaceful atsmosphere where everyone has the best opportunity to learn. It's important that there is a signal for the children that now we have 'arrived' and the language changes. At the end it's also equally important that we travel back, again signalling to the children that the language is going to change and creating a clear ending.
December
Let's make a Christmas tree! This week we did crafts in English. Do you know what scissors are? Or glue?
We do! How about sequins?
We listened to instructions on how to make a 3d Christmas tree with a star on top, and then we got to it while enjoying some seasonal music. We can do all of the activities we do in Finnish, in English too - everyday situations give us a fantastic opportunity to hear, learn and use English - by using English in front of the children, we're giving them something amazing - the development of their language skills which has huge benefit for them in the future. When the children hear their role models using English, it helps them to be inspired and brave enough to use it too! Children learn fast and they're not afraid of making mistakes - when you're learning on the side as you do something you enjoy, it's easy! So let's say it in English! We can do it!
These Christmas trees were made by the Ilvekset group - aren't they beautiful!
Our Christmas related vocabulary is growing - we're going to learn all of the following words: Christmas tree, star, elf, bells, sleigh, Santa Claus, present and reindeer. This was our treasure hunt activity, it was a big hit with all of the groups.
In December we also learnt Jingle Bells . Why not sing it at home too? If you like to sing in English, how about learning Twinkle Twinkle little star as well?
We do! How about sequins?
We listened to instructions on how to make a 3d Christmas tree with a star on top, and then we got to it while enjoying some seasonal music. We can do all of the activities we do in Finnish, in English too - everyday situations give us a fantastic opportunity to hear, learn and use English - by using English in front of the children, we're giving them something amazing - the development of their language skills which has huge benefit for them in the future. When the children hear their role models using English, it helps them to be inspired and brave enough to use it too! Children learn fast and they're not afraid of making mistakes - when you're learning on the side as you do something you enjoy, it's easy! So let's say it in English! We can do it!
These Christmas trees were made by the Ilvekset group - aren't they beautiful!
Our Christmas related vocabulary is growing - we're going to learn all of the following words: Christmas tree, star, elf, bells, sleigh, Santa Claus, present and reindeer. This was our treasure hunt activity, it was a big hit with all of the groups.
In December we also learnt Jingle Bells . Why not sing it at home too? If you like to sing in English, how about learning Twinkle Twinkle little star as well?
Merry Christmas!
In the last week before Christmas the Christmas train took us to Enkkumaa where we sang Jingle Bells and practised our Christmas vocabulary with a memory game.
You can listen to some of the preschoolers at Tammitarha singing below.
A big cheer for the Ketut from Taikatassu and Tammitarhan eskarit for also learning and surprising Emma with We wish you a Merry Christmas.
Well done everyone, what a great surprise!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
You can listen to some of the preschoolers at Tammitarha singing below.
A big cheer for the Ketut from Taikatassu and Tammitarhan eskarit for also learning and surprising Emma with We wish you a Merry Christmas.
Well done everyone, what a great surprise!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
January
Happy New Year 2025!
It's winter and it's cold! Teddy joined our English sessions and told us how cold he was; Teddy is cold. Where are teddys' clothes? Teddy has got a red scarf, an orange woolly hat, two boots, an orange and dark blue suit, two red gloves, two blue mittens, some blue trousers and a black jacket (or coat). Can you help to find teddy's clothes?
We opened the word bag with the rhyme 1,2,3,whose turn will it be? It's your turn! Repeating the words helped us to learn how to say and remember them. Then it was time to dress teddy. This was a fun activity in all of the groups. Put on teddy's red scarf! What next? His orange woolly hat. Thank you! Dressing him wasn't so easy, and he didn't help at all, we had to do everything for him. At the same time we heard body parts like arms, legs, head.
The following week we played bingo with the same clothes words and the children remembered them very well. Bingo was fun! What do you say? BINGO!
Listen to the song Put on your boots and sing along!
We revised the clothes words with a new game, Kaboom!
We took it in turns to take a Kaboom stick, which had a clothes picture on it. If we knew the words, and could say it, great! If we didn't know the word, we got help from our friends. Then, the fun part... if you got a Kaboom stick, you got to take a Kaboom card which meant we all had to do the same action as in the picture. These were the pictures on our Kaboom
cards:
Doing the actions was fun and all of the kids were excellent at copying the action on the pictures. It wasn't so easy for the adults! Games like Kaboom are excellent for getting children
to repeat the words many times, without it getting boring. For them, the chance of getting a Kaboom picture made it exciting and was motivating.
WELL DONE!
At the end of January we moved on to winter activities.
Let's go sledging!
Let's go skiing!
Let's go ice skating!
Let's build a snowman!
Let's make a snowball!
Let's have a snow fight!
After we had learnt the words and thought of actions for each activity, we had a big snow fight. What fun!
It's winter and it's cold! Teddy joined our English sessions and told us how cold he was; Teddy is cold. Where are teddys' clothes? Teddy has got a red scarf, an orange woolly hat, two boots, an orange and dark blue suit, two red gloves, two blue mittens, some blue trousers and a black jacket (or coat). Can you help to find teddy's clothes?
We opened the word bag with the rhyme 1,2,3,whose turn will it be? It's your turn! Repeating the words helped us to learn how to say and remember them. Then it was time to dress teddy. This was a fun activity in all of the groups. Put on teddy's red scarf! What next? His orange woolly hat. Thank you! Dressing him wasn't so easy, and he didn't help at all, we had to do everything for him. At the same time we heard body parts like arms, legs, head.
The following week we played bingo with the same clothes words and the children remembered them very well. Bingo was fun! What do you say? BINGO!
Listen to the song Put on your boots and sing along!
We revised the clothes words with a new game, Kaboom!
We took it in turns to take a Kaboom stick, which had a clothes picture on it. If we knew the words, and could say it, great! If we didn't know the word, we got help from our friends. Then, the fun part... if you got a Kaboom stick, you got to take a Kaboom card which meant we all had to do the same action as in the picture. These were the pictures on our Kaboom
cards:
Doing the actions was fun and all of the kids were excellent at copying the action on the pictures. It wasn't so easy for the adults! Games like Kaboom are excellent for getting children
to repeat the words many times, without it getting boring. For them, the chance of getting a Kaboom picture made it exciting and was motivating.
WELL DONE!
At the end of January we moved on to winter activities.
Let's go sledging!
Let's go skiing!
Let's go ice skating!
Let's build a snowman!
Let's make a snowball!
Let's have a snow fight!
After we had learnt the words and thought of actions for each activity, we had a big snow fight. What fun!
February. 112 day and vehicles!
In February we had an exciting journey to Enkkumaa when the train we were travelling on slid off the tracks and we found ourselves in the ditch! This time we had our own soft toys with us and we had to keep them safe.
We looked around and found a telephone, and the children in all of the groups knew what number to call - 112!
Oh no, what happened?
What shall we do? Call 112!
We heard on the phone that we should find an ambulance. At the ambulance we treated our soft toys with medicine, injections and plasters, listened to their hearts, and asked them,
Are you ok?
When everyone was ok, we moved on the the police station. At the police station we had to fill in a police report about our soft toys, their name and picture.
We showed everyone our reports and told; This is.......
Finally we went to the fire station where we put the fire out with real water in spray bottles. Put the fire out!
The following week we learnt the names of vehicles - car, train, truck, bus, aeroplane, and helicopter. After repeating the names of the vehicles we played pictionary. We had to concentrate hard and listen well. Emma told us a colour and we had to take that colour pencil. Then Emma told a number which we had to find on our worksheet. Then Emma told a vehicle which we had to draw in the right number's square.
Take a red pencil! Find number 3! Draw a helicopter. A red helicopter in number 3.
We continued in this way until we had drawn all of the vehicles in the squares 1-6. The children remember the colours and numbers very well! Pictionary can be played using any kind of vocabulary! It works well in Finnish too!
We looked around and found a telephone, and the children in all of the groups knew what number to call - 112!
Oh no, what happened?
What shall we do? Call 112!
We heard on the phone that we should find an ambulance. At the ambulance we treated our soft toys with medicine, injections and plasters, listened to their hearts, and asked them,
Are you ok?
When everyone was ok, we moved on the the police station. At the police station we had to fill in a police report about our soft toys, their name and picture.
We showed everyone our reports and told; This is.......
Finally we went to the fire station where we put the fire out with real water in spray bottles. Put the fire out!
The following week we learnt the names of vehicles - car, train, truck, bus, aeroplane, and helicopter. After repeating the names of the vehicles we played pictionary. We had to concentrate hard and listen well. Emma told us a colour and we had to take that colour pencil. Then Emma told a number which we had to find on our worksheet. Then Emma told a vehicle which we had to draw in the right number's square.
Take a red pencil! Find number 3! Draw a helicopter. A red helicopter in number 3.
We continued in this way until we had drawn all of the vehicles in the squares 1-6. The children remember the colours and numbers very well! Pictionary can be played using any kind of vocabulary! It works well in Finnish too!
March. Which way? Vehicles and directions
Our vehicles theme continued into the beginning of March. We played the popular game 'Peili' with the vehicles, the children got to choose the vehicle that they liked best and many found a favourite. The 'peili' in our game was the traffic lights that directed the traffic by telling how many steps which vehicles could take. 'Traffic jam' meant that all of the vehicles could move.
Helicopter 5! Truck 3! Car 6! Train 2! Bus 7! Traffic jam! The children had to listen out for their own vehicle and concentrate to hear the number that was given.
There are many traditional games that are popular with children year after year. Many of these games can be played in English too.
Then we moved on to directions. Forward and back! Right, left! Forward, back, right and left! Go! Stop! The children picked up the directions very quickly through imitation - following Emma's lead and repeating the words.
We found the same directions on Bee-Bot. Our task was simple: to get Bee-bot to the destination (a vehicle) of our choice by coding it. While the Bee-Bot moved, we said the directions out loud and counted the number of squares it moved.
Where do you want to go? To the aeroplane? Which way? First press x. Forward 1,2,3, stop. Right 1.
We continued in this way, programming the Bee-Bot to get it to our chosen destination. The children concentrated really well and learnt how to use the Bee-Bots very quickly.
The following week we went through directions again by moving the direction that was said; forward, back, right, left! At first, the children followed Emma's lead, but after they showed they recognised the words, Emma stepped back and only gave the directions while the children moved. Forward and back were easy to remember, right and left are a little harder. Then we moved on to our task: program the Bee-Bot to the vehicle of your choice, pick it up and take it to the garage! When we are programming, we have to use many skills - we have to plan and decide on the best route, think about whether we need to turn right or left, count how many squares we need to go forward or back, remember to first clear the Bee-Bot's memory with 'x', then press all of the correct buttons to give the commands we want. As we worked, we said the directions and distance in numbers aloud, all in English! We did it as teamwork, working together and helping each other to achieve our goal. It has to be said that the 5 and 6 year olds in the enkku groups are excellent coders! Well done everyone!
In the last week of March our Captain took us to Enkkumaa to learn about sports.
Let's play dodgeball!
Let's play football!
Let's play basketball!
Let's run!
Let's jump!
Let's bike!
Let's climb!
Helicopter 5! Truck 3! Car 6! Train 2! Bus 7! Traffic jam! The children had to listen out for their own vehicle and concentrate to hear the number that was given.
There are many traditional games that are popular with children year after year. Many of these games can be played in English too.
Then we moved on to directions. Forward and back! Right, left! Forward, back, right and left! Go! Stop! The children picked up the directions very quickly through imitation - following Emma's lead and repeating the words.
We found the same directions on Bee-Bot. Our task was simple: to get Bee-bot to the destination (a vehicle) of our choice by coding it. While the Bee-Bot moved, we said the directions out loud and counted the number of squares it moved. 
Where do you want to go? To the aeroplane? Which way? First press x. Forward 1,2,3, stop. Right 1.
We continued in this way, programming the Bee-Bot to get it to our chosen destination. The children concentrated really well and learnt how to use the Bee-Bots very quickly.
The following week we went through directions again by moving the direction that was said; forward, back, right, left! At first, the children followed Emma's lead, but after they showed they recognised the words, Emma stepped back and only gave the directions while the children moved. Forward and back were easy to remember, right and left are a little harder. Then we moved on to our task: program the Bee-Bot to the vehicle of your choice, pick it up and take it to the garage! When we are programming, we have to use many skills - we have to plan and decide on the best route, think about whether we need to turn right or left, count how many squares we need to go forward or back, remember to first clear the Bee-Bot's memory with 'x', then press all of the correct buttons to give the commands we want. As we worked, we said the directions and distance in numbers aloud, all in English! We did it as teamwork, working together and helping each other to achieve our goal. It has to be said that the 5 and 6 year olds in the enkku groups are excellent coders! Well done everyone!
In the last week of March our Captain took us to Enkkumaa to learn about sports.
Let's play dodgeball!
Let's play football!
Let's play basketball!
Let's run!
Let's jump!
Let's bike!
Let's climb!
April
April began with pantomime and pictionary! We revised our sports vocabulary, associating an action with the words helps with remembering the word and the meaning. Dodgeball was a new word for adults and children alike, but it's good to know because it's popular and lots of our daycare groups play it regularly! Words like football and basketball were more familiar.
Can you guess what sport is being shown below? That's right, let's ride a bike!
How about guessing which sport is being drawn? Could it be basketball?
We also got an important task, to make ourselves a passport to take with us on our journey. When asked about what they know about passports, the children told that it's an important book you need when you travel, you beep it in a machine, you get it stamped, it has your name on it - your full name, and of course your picture. The picture is just of your head and shoulders. Many of us have passports at home. We thought about what we looked like and got on with drawing our own pictures. Writing our first names was easy, our surnames were a little harder but we managed it with help. Then we were ready to go! Once we got to Enkkumaa, we showed our passports and got them stamped.
Hello! What's your name?
It's nice to see you! Welcome!
Around Easter we started learning the names of farm animals and pets, dog, cat, pig, chick, bunny, bird, cow. We learnt a new rhyme;
The children knew many of the animal words already - fantastic!
Can you guess what sport is being shown below? That's right, let's ride a bike!
How about guessing which sport is being drawn? Could it be basketball?
We also got an important task, to make ourselves a passport to take with us on our journey. When asked about what they know about passports, the children told that it's an important book you need when you travel, you beep it in a machine, you get it stamped, it has your name on it - your full name, and of course your picture. The picture is just of your head and shoulders. Many of us have passports at home. We thought about what we looked like and got on with drawing our own pictures. Writing our first names was easy, our surnames were a little harder but we managed it with help. Then we were ready to go! Once we got to Enkkumaa, we showed our passports and got them stamped.
Hello! What's your name?
It's nice to see you! Welcome!
Around Easter we started learning the names of farm animals and pets, dog, cat, pig, chick, bunny, bird, cow. We learnt a new rhyme;
The children knew many of the animal words already - fantastic!