🌿 Creating Calm & Balance: Emotional Peace in Finnish Preschools
- vanessa speigle
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
The teacher stood in the doorway at dismissal, shoulders tight, voice soft but tired.
“We didn’t have a bad day,” she said quietly, “but I feel like we spent more time managing emotions than enjoying each other.”
If you’ve ever felt the weight of a classroom that moves too fast, gets too loud, or feels a little too unpredictable… you are not alone. Around the world, teachers are searching for a way to bring more peace, presence, and balance into the day, not by trying harder, but by designing differently.
In Finland, emotional calm isn’t something teachers hope for. It’s something they create.
Calm is a pedagogical choice, supported by research and woven into the environment, the rhythm, and the relationships.
Today, we explore how Finnish early childhood education designs for calm and why emotional peace is the foundation of deep, joyful learning.
🌱 The Finnish View: Emotional Peace Comes Before Learning
The Finnish National Agency for Education emphasizes that children’s well-being is the starting point for all learning. When a child’s nervous system feels overwhelmed or unsafe, the brain cannot access the higher functions needed for curiosity, problem-solving, or reflection.
Neuroscience confirms this. Studies in early childhood development show that emotional regulation and felt safety unlock cognitive growth, while stress or over-stimulation shuts it down.
This is why Finnish teachers prioritize:
predictable rhythm
gentle transitions
sensory-safe environments
nature-based regulation
warm co-regulation from adults
The goal is not to eliminate emotion but to create an environment where emotions can be navigated with support rather than resistance.
🌿 Rhythm: The First Anchor of Calm
Finnish preschools rely deeply on rhythm not rigid scheduling, but predictable flow.
According to the Finnish ECEC Curriculum, consistency and rhythm are essential because they reduce emotional strain and strengthen children’s sense of security. Predictability lowers anxiety and allows children to direct their energy toward learning.
A Finnish preschool day moves like a gentle song:
Morning connection
Long free play
Outdoor time
Snack and lunch
Rest
Afternoon play
Closing circle
Nothing is rushed. Nothing is squeezed. Nothing is stacked so tightly that children move in a state of chronic urgency.
This rhythmic balance, alternating high-energy moments with spacious calm, is one of the most powerful tools Finnish teachers have for emotional regulation.
🌿 Environment as Emotional Architecture
The learning environment is not just a backdrop in Finland. It is a pedagogical tool, a place for creating calm and balance in Finnish preschools.
Research in environmental psychology and sensory integration shows that children regulate more effectively in environments with low sensory load and natural materials. Finland has embraced this for decades.
You’ll find:
✔ natural light instead of harsh fluorescent light
✔ wood, wool, cotton, stone, materials that calm the senses
✔ low, open shelves for independence
✔ uncluttered walls and simple color palettes
✔ clear spatial flow that prevents crowding or chaos
A well-designed environment teaches calm long before a teacher speaks a word.
🌱 The Teacher’s Nervous System as the Anchor
Co-regulation theory, supported by researchers like Stephen Porges and Stuart Shanker, shows that children regulate through connection with a calm adult. The teacher’s nervous system becomes the emotional anchor of the classroom.
Finnish teachers are trained to model:
slower pace
softer tone
steady posture
non-reactive presence
It is not about perfection. It is about intentional self-regulation so that children can borrow the adult’s sense of safety.
This is why Finnish educators say, “Calm is something we practice, not something we expect from children.”
🌲 Nature: Finland’s Most Effective Regulator
Daily outdoor play is not optional in Finland; it is grounded in research and protected in policy.
Studies such as Mygind (2014) show that nature reduces stress, supports emotional regulation, and enhances attention. The Finnish ECEC Framework echoes this, recommending extended outdoor time for children’s cognitive and emotional well-being.
The forest is not an “add-on.” It is one of the most powerful emotional regulation tools available to young children.
A child who leaves the classroom dysregulated often returns from outdoor play grounded, reorganized, and ready to reconnect.
🌿 Transitions That Protect Emotional Stability
Transitions are one of the most stressful parts of the school day worldwide.
But Finnish preschools approach transitions as relational moments, not logistical ones.
Teachers:
give gentle warnings
move slowly
maintain warm tone
allow children to finish their thought or action
avoid lines that feel rigid or punitive
Research on stress response in children shows that rushing, abruptness, and unpredictability activate the fight–flight system. Finland minimizes this by designing transitions that honor the child’s pace and emotional experience.
🌱 Sensory Safety: Protecting the Child’s Nervous System
Finnish classrooms intentionally avoid sensory overload.
Environmental psychology tells us that visual clutter, bright primary colors, and excessive noise create cognitive fatigue and emotional dysregulation. Finnish design solves this by emphasizing:
🌿 neutral tones
🌿 soft textures
🌿 natural materials
🌿 quiet corners
🌿 intentional, limited materials
A sensory-safe classroom is not sterile, it’s supportive.
🌾 Three Practical Steps to Try Tomorrow
1️⃣ Slow ONE transition
According to self-regulation research, emotional states shift when adults model calm pacing. Add a moment of breath or connection instead of urgency.
2️⃣ Create ONE calm corner
A small refuge with soft light, a plant, and a few comforting items provides a sensory reset that neuroscience shows supports emotional regulation.
3️⃣ Use rhythm as a regulation tool
Alternate stimulation with calm. Rise → Settle → Rise → Settle. This mirrors the natural regulatory cycles of the nervous system.
These changes are simple but they have deep, research-backed impact.
🌿 Rekla Reflection
Where could you bring just a little more calm into your classroom tomorrow?
Not everywhere.
Not all at once.
Just one gentle shift at a time.
Calm grows from intention and you are already doing the work.
Check out some of our Calm focused resources in the Rekla Store.
References:
Neuroscience & Stress Regulation
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Early Brain Development and Health.
Shonkoff, J. P. (2012). Toxic stress and the brain. Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University.
Predictability, Rhythm & Anxiety Reduction
Perry, B. D. (2006). The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics.
Siegel, D. J., & Bryson, T. P. (2011). The Whole-Brain Child.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation.
Finnish Education, Calm Learning & Teacher Practice
Sahlberg, P. (2015). Finnish Lessons 2.0.
Finnish National Agency for Education (OPH). National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care.
Education Finland. (2023). Why Finland: Early Childhood Education Principles.
Outdoor Learning & Well-being
Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods.
Martensson, F. et al. (2009). Outdoor environments and children's stress regulation. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening.
Play-Based Emotional Development
Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. (2011). The Power of Play.
Whitebread, D. (2012). The importance of self-regulation in early childhood. University of Cambridge.
Mygind, E. (2014). Contribution of outdoor education to pupils’ concentration: A qualitative study. Education 3–13, 42(1), 23–35.
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