Today was the first day in the Icelandic kindergarten school year of 2024–25 at work. I rolled in having finished my breakfast, excited to get started.

My group this year consists of 1 and almost 2 year olds, which is an age I am used to working with so I can use my enriched knowledge to teach them better. However, they provide a stark contrast to the 4–5 year olds that I was teaching last winter, who really challenged my teaching knowledge and everything I thought I knew about human interaction.

You see, 1–2 year old children are learning how to, well, learn. They come into Icelandic kindergarten having spent most of their life secure with their parents and their demands are easy enough. Feed them if they are grumpy. Put them in their carriage if they are sleepy. Check their diaper if there is a bad smell. Check their temperature if they are not like themselves. And make sure they are not harming each other.

4–5 year olds are more complicated. Their social relationships are starting to get more demanding. They play more but also exclude those that are different or don't want to play. They eat more but don't want the sauce or this type of meat. It is more difficult to see when they are tired because they don't fall asleep in their food, but they are grumpier and have explosive tempers. They harm each other willingly or unwillingly and let the teachers know if something has happened.

1–2 year olds are starting to speak. Their vocabulary consists of single words like "car", "man", "boot", which evolves into two to three word sentences over time. If something bad happens they cry, like the little boy who bit his own finger today and cried about it for 5 minutes. The 4–5 year old children should have good vocabulary and should be able to explain what has happened. Like when they use said vocabulary to complain about how they have been wronged, how the other child purposely threw stones into their eyes and how they did not want to be the werewolf anymore in the big game outside.

4–5 year old children can play by themselves. They have a firm grasp of what it is to play and how to use most toys to enrich their environment. 1–2 year olds need directions and information on how to use most things in their area. This is evident in how the younger kids approach the toys we present to them in kindergarten. They understand boots and clothes because they are objects they see often in their environment. However, wooden blocks are unfamiliar and need more examination. Dolls are similar to themselves but they need to be explained. Their attention spans are 2–4 minutes, tops, so we only have so much time before having to change the topic.

I am still figuring out what I want to teach them this year. Last year I was teaching letter pronounciations and how to be a better friend. This year I will need to keep things much simpler. I will be reading and singing more and explaining myself less. I am looking forward to it.

If you have any suggestions on how and what to teach, I would love to hear them.