Welcome to Pilke daycare!
Pilke’s private daycare centres offer innovative early childhood education and pre-primary education based on active learning and professional teaching – in locations across Finland.
At Pilke, high-quality early education means learning through play and gentle, respectful interaction.
We see and recognise each child’s unique abilities and support their individual strengths. We are passionate about our work and committed to creating safe and inspiring learning paths for every child.
All Pilke daycare centres follow the Finnish Early Childhood Education Act and are guided by both the national and municipal early childhood education curricula.
We value the importance of giving our staff the time to genuinely and individually connect with each child and their family.
You are warmly welcome to visit your nearest Pilke daycare centre. See you soon!
Care and education, hand in hand
At Pilke, we are driven by heart. This means we believe every person is valuable just as they are. We see and celebrate each other’s strengths.
We give everyone the opportunity to thrive as their authentic selves, because gentle and respectful interaction supports the well-being of us all.
Our warm interaction also nurtures a child’s growth and inner stability. Early experiences play a vital role in all future development and learning.
Most of a young child’s learning happens through play. We love it when play is visible and audible in our daycare centres!
We also embrace everyday moments as opportunities for learning and joy – like mealtimes and getting dressed for outdoor play.
Planned activities and small group sessions complement the learning that takes place throughout the day.
We believe learning should be fun, because joy sparks a child’s curiosity and desire to learn more.
Children learn through play together and through interaction with adults.
In our daycare centres, adults support playful learning. Children are active participants—not just passive recipients.
Adults create space and conditions for play, encourage children to play, support and guide them during play, actively participate, and observe their interactions.
By enriching play, adults provide children with abundant opportunities to learn, grow, and succeed.
Children learn by experimenting, wondering, and exploring. They use all their senses—and their whole bodies—to learn.
Children are naturally curious and eager to discover the world around them. Even the smallest discoveries bring great joy.
Our goal is to spark the joy of learning in every child, every single day!
What is early childhood education and pre-school education like in Pilke daycare centres?
Early childhood education refers to the comprehensive care, teaching, and upbringing provided by daycare centres. At Pilke, we follow both the national and municipal early childhood education curricula.
Our focus is to ensure that every child feels safe, secure, and well—every single day. Pilke’s early education professionals know how to engage with children in the right way: by truly seeing, activating, and listening to them.
Pre-Primary Education (viskari)
What does “viskari” mean, and what happens there?
Viskari refers to learning sessions specially designed for five-year-olds within the daycare setting—otherwise, it’s the familiar and safe everyday daycare routine.
Preschool (esikoulu, eskari)
Preschool, in Finnish “esikoulu” also often called as “eskari”, is pre-primary education typically offered alongside daycare services.
Explore Pilke’s pre-primary education and preschool activities.
What kinds of things does a child learn at daycare?
Every daycare day is different, even though the familiar routines repeat: play, naps, small group activities, and meals.
In addition, children spend time outside, move around, sing, draw, and do crafts daily. Sometimes we go on trips, and other times we explore the familiar yard or daycare spaces—there’s always something new to discover.
There’s also plenty of time for reading, talking, and cuddling. The children’s day is filled with many joys, challenges, and emotions.
Alongside the adults, Pilke’s charming learning friends, led by Play-Leevi, join in on the daily adventures and play.
Read what our learning friends have to say about everyday life at daycare and children’s learning…
Our learning friend, Hearty Howard, gently but firmly guides children in the learning area Me and Our Community.
“I want every child to feel safe and valued. I help the children to make friends and get along together. Together, we learn to speak to each other nicely, to listen, and to support one another. I also want to participate in role-playing games, supervise, and help everyone to develop their interaction skills. I’m interested in different cultures, and sometimes I ponder ethical questions together with the children. I believe that the power of heart can achieve miracles.”
With the learning friend Rhyming Roger, children’s language skills and abilities develop tremendously every day.
“I love rhymes and riddles, and I always get involved in helping children to practice their linguistic skills. I encourage and motivate children to take part in word games and to use new words and expressions. My aim is to create a positive atmosphere for communication and support good dialogue connections. Most of all, I like to read books and play singing games. Let’s learn our ABCs!”
Colour Paletta supports educators in all activities related to creativity, artistic expression, and communication.
“I love colours and I’m always around whenever the children do creative work. I encourage the children to make individual art from all kinds of materials. I also like music and dance! I believe that singing together makes us all happier – and that songs and music help children to learn things more easily. I want the children to use their senses and their whole body creatively in everything they do.”
In this learning area at Pilke daycares, children go on adventures with Jumping Jack.
“I’m always on the move, jumping and bouncing. Whatever’s happening throughout the day – I’m sure to be there! I want the children to be active, to eat nourishing food, and to be well. I like to run, climb, play ball games, and move to music together with the other children. I really love obstacle courses that adults and children can have fun with. I encourage children to get moving and experience the joy of exercise!”
Woody Woo loves science and excursions:” I use all my senses to experience nature and explore everything I come across with curiosity. Sometimes I ask the children to close their eyes and listen to the sounds of nature. I ask the children lots of questions to pique their interest. I like rocks, branches and pine cones, and sometimes I bring things with me from outdoors and use them for play, exploration, and creativity. I am also really good at using digital devices. I can use the compass on my phone, scan QR codes, and investigate things using the magnifying glass on a tablet. Counting Connie and are a pair of investigators.”
Counting Connie is once again counting everything in sight: ” I always pop up when it’s time to work on mathematical skills at the daycare centre. I like to categorise, sort, and measure. I might arrange the children’s socks by colour or size… I also love measuring and weighing all kinds of things in the kitchen. One of my favourite hobbies is playing board games with the children. Together with Woody Woo, we admire and explore all kinds of things in the nature outside.”
Would you choose a language daycare or a daycare with a learning orientation?
n addition to Finnish- and Swedish-speaking daycare centres, early childhood education is also available in English-speaking or bilingual Finnish–English daycare centres. All Pilke daycare centres follow the Finnish Early Childhood Education Act and are guided by the national early childhood education curriculum.
Many of our daycare centres also offer the option to choose a specialised focus in early childhood education. Pilke daycare’s specialisations include nature, physical activity, music, science, art, and expression.
Learning orientation support each child’s strengths and interests. The chosen specialisation is documented in the daycare’s early childhood education plan and is reflected in many ways throughout everyday activities.
Example Schedule for a Day at Daycare
6.00–7.00
8.00–8.30
8.30–11
11.15
14.00
14.30
17.00
Daycare meals are an important part of early childhood education.
A typical daycare day naturally includes breakfast, lunch, and a snack. The quality of the food served at daycare is very important to us, which is why we strive to offer children domestic, healthy, and tasty meals.
Meal times also have an important pedagogical aspect: alongside eating, children learn good table manners and social skills (Learning area: Myself and Our Community), as well as self-care and everyday life skills (I Grow, Move, and Develop). During meals, we also explore big topics such as the origin of food, sustainable living, and minimizing food waste (I Investigate and Act in My Environment).
How can we help you?
Ask more!
