This year, children across Sweden have been able to play, explore, create, transform, build, try, and experience a lot with some amazing materials: snow and ice! But there are preschools that can do this for months every winter. One of these is in Boden, Barncompaniet, which has created an annual tradition with its Winter Festival that it now wants to share with more people through Modern Barndom.

We want to highlight the positive and unique aspects of living where we do, and make the most of the fun that snow, ice, and cold weather bring. From mid-January until our winter festival on February 17, the entire Barncompaniet will be working with snow and ice. All 84 children, aged one to six, will be involved.

We color and freeze ice in different containers. The children then use the ice to build and create things. This creative activity can be linked to things the children explore in other contexts at our preschool.

The three-year-olds, for example, have explored and thought about cows. What they look like, what they eat, and what they need. What food do we get from cows? Of course, you have to build a cow out of ice. And the books about Mamma Mu inspire a slide for the cows.

The five-year-olds have been studying the phenomenon of tornadoes. What might an ice tornado look like?

The four-year-olds have been studying eggs in various shapes, which is why there is a giant ostrich egg with an accompanying ostrich at our winter festival.

The one-year-olds have explored everything green that can be eaten. Can you freeze green stuff into ice? Through the ice, we also present a recipe for chocolate balls.

Desire and imagination are given free rein, so the festival features a wolf castle guarded by wolves and a giant spider named Her Majesty because she is the queen of all spiders. Stories emerge during the creative process, which visitors can access via QR codes.

On the opening day, February 17, parents and relatives, guided by the children, will be able to view all the winter creations from 2 p.m. onwards as darkness falls, while torches and other lights illuminate the area.

Text by Åsa Rönnqvist

Outdoor educator & assistant principal, Barncompaniet Preschool