Preschool

The preschool syllabus clearly encourages transferring cultural heritage from one generation to the next.

The awareness of cultural heritage should contributed to children developing their ability to understand and enter into the values and living conditions of others. This applies even to the youngest children.

This was an important starting point when, for example, children from the Västergården preschool in Edsbyn investigated the Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland World Heritage Site together with their teachers. The House of Literature in Sandviken and the County Museum of Gävleborg followed their journey, and were both a support and a sounding board for the teachers. It was, however, the children who were guides as regards both method and choice of performance.

In the report ”Small Children’s Perspectives on World Heritage Sites”, preschool teacher Anna Nirs Westlund talks about the journey of discovery and reflects on its purpose, and its connection to the preschool syllabus and children’s learning. The report shows how a cultural heritage site can be approached even with the smallest of children, ages 1–3, and how this work can even strengthen children’s linguistic development.

”Knock on the Door of a World Heritage Site” is a guide with its starting point in the work of Västergården. Here, you can find inspiration in working from a starting point in local cultural heritage in a way that is meaningful for children. The material has been developed based on the Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland World Heritage Site, but is excellently suited for use in work with other local cultural heritage.