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We are welcoming the end of August and we're at the end of the school summer holidays in Norway. The last week of August is the start of school and kindergarten once more after 8 weeks of school holiday. In my family my three children are all still in school with my oldest starting his final year of ungdomskole (grade 10), Millie my middle child beginning grade 9 and Mia leaving kindergarten to start barneskole (the equivalent of primary school). As with most schooling throughout the world there are new routines to take into consideration, new equipment to get and preparations to make. There will be a lot of excitement and a few tears and plenty of very tired people for the first few weeks until the new routines kick in.
I've written a few articles about schooling in Norway and they are always something that creates plenty of discussion. As my own family evolves and grows its useful to carry on the discussion. Our experiences change as our children grow and so I want to share that with you.
There is always a lot of talk online and in the media about how the Nordic schooling system compares to the rest of the world. And so I would lie to share our experiences (once more) as a family that is not only Norwegian but also English. So I invite you into our lives fo those first few days of school prep and the start of school:
The Norwegian academic year
The school year in Norway runs from the middle of August to the end of June with a total of 190 school days. Most school days start at about 8.30am and finish around 2pm. Throughout the week there are some shorter days such as Wednesdays when the pupils finish at lunchtime.
There are plenty of holidays throughout the year - October, Christmas, February and Easter. May is a strange time in Norway with lots of public holidays and so many "normal" weeks only have 3 or 4 working days in them.
School bags
When we first moved from England to Norway we brought some pretty inadequate school bags with us, but not knowing what the children would need to carry meant we were a little bit clueless. I have to admit I was rather shocked to see the price of school bags in Norway, but after a little research I realised why they are so expensive. Children in Norway are all given PCs from grade 4 and are expected to carry them around to and from school each day. They also have lots of books, pencil cases, lunchboxes and water to carry. All this adds weight to a school backpack. Norwegian backpacks have been designed with this in mind and they are ergonomically designed to spread the weight and not to damage a little one's shoulders and back. Lots of them also come with a padded metal brace in the back to keep them from collapsing. As so many children walk to school (sometimes a good walk!) or travel on the bus this care for their posture and health is invaluable. As kids get older the backpacks are less structured as are the ones for kindergarten. Kindergarten backpacks are very similar but slightly smaller than those from grade 1 upwards.
Clothes
There are very few schools in Norway where the children wear school uniform. There are pros and cons to this. Cons being that clothes get worn and there is a certain amount of competition to wear the latest designer clothes. The pros are that they are able to express themselves a little more in their choices of clothing and there is no pressure to go out and spend a lot on uniforms. But aside from this, barneskole kids need quite a lot of clothes for school. Lots of time is spent outdoors and in the warm months that can be easy, but as the weather gets colder and wetter they need to keep warm and dry. This means special clothes for school such as snowsuits, plenty of warm underclothes, winter boots and lots of sets of gloves and hats. We also give them spare clothes in case they get wet, which happens surprisingly frequently! Each child has a cubby and locker in a cloakroom where they keep all their spare clothes and outdoor clothes. This keeps the classrooms tidy, and in wet eweather, prevents lots of mud and melting snow from migrating into the classroom.
Equipment for different ages
From grade 4 children at barneskole get their own PC, and this is paid for by the local council. It means that everyone is given the same advantage and you don't have some children with expensive MacBooks and others with nothing. The disadvantage is that they spend a huge amount of time looking at a screen. Lots of the lessons take place with tasks online and children become pretty tech savvy very early. Does this effect their ability to write beautifully and use cursive handwriting? Probably.
From grade 1 the little children use an iPad. It's easier to use and they don't have to struggle with a keyboard.
Of course there are the usual pencils, pens, erasers and other stationery that kids need and plenty of time is pent concentrating on fine motor skills that are so crucual at that age.
School time but shorter days
School days in the Nordics are much shorter than in other parts of the world. A standard school day in England starts at about 8.30am and finishes at about 3pm. Here in Norway they start at about 8.40am, but finish by 2pm. On Wednesdays it's earlier at 12.15pm. So as parents we have to be prepared for that and not expect the kids to be out for a full 6 hours. Luckily every school in Norway is obliged to provide something called SFO (skolefritidsordningen) which is a kind of after school club run by teachers and teaching assistants. There is in no teaching in that time, it's just play and socialising in a supervised way so that parents can carry on their normal working day knowing that their children are well cared for and having a fun time in a safe environment.
Children who start grade 1 have even shorter days as they learn to get used the structure of school and make the gentle transition between school and kindergarten.
And so the school year starts... I am sure will have more insights to share as the year progresses but if you'd like to read more about Norwegian schools and kindergartens I have some other articles that you might like.
Norwegian kindergartens are great places for little ones to spend their time. They start young in Norway often at the age of one. You can read about Norwegian kindergartens here
Are you curious to read more about Norwegian schools? In my article I share the first experiences my family had with schools in Norway from the point of view of a non-Norwegian.
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