Possibly the first Finnish novel I’ve ever read, and quite a gripping introduction – I even had dreams I was learning to speak some Finnish-type language afterwards! Paasilinna relates the es…

In a new book, an American teacher in Finland collects the best teaching practices of the world's most lauded school system.

Need more Finnish Nightmares in your life? Well, you’re in luck! Finnish Nightmares: A Different Kind of Social Guide to Finland has just been released by its creator, Karoliina Korhonen.

For the last decade, Finland’s success on international tests has caught the attention of education policymakers around the world. What is it about this small Nordic nation that has led to its students’ high performance in science, math and reading assessments? Are there lessons for other countries, such as Canada? Pasi Sahlberg, a former teacher […]

These are the top things to do in Lapland. From snowmobiling, to husky sledding and reindeer safaris, I've included all the exciting activities. Read more here.

Use these 10 incredible books to acquaint yourself with Finland a beautiful country of extremes.

This post might contain affiliate links. That means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, if you buy through my site. I appreciate your support of my site. The Nordic Countries are known as some of the safest, most democratic and greatest countries to live in the world. There is

Stories about ravens in Finnish mythology and folklore.

Sometime ago a friend told us about a special drink her son had made - a fizzy, lemon drink. I knew E would be interested because he loves anything lemon, enjoys being able to make things himself and anything fizzy is an unusual treat around here. The friend was kind enough to share her recipe and I tucked it away in E's folder and the months went by. Then on Saturday I was looking through a library book - Lotta Jansdotter's Handmade Living: A Fresh Take on Scandinavian Style - and saw a Swedish drink called Mead that looked and sounded very much like the Sima that our friend had let us sample. I found her Sima recipe again and sure enough...it was very similar. I told E about it Sunday morning and he decided that we Must make it Now! So after our walk in the woods we stopped at our neighbourhood shop to get some lemons and sugar and came home to make it.E boiled the water and added the sugar, lemon rind and lemon juice then left it to cool a bit. Once it was cooled to the right temperature he added a bit of yeast and then we left it overnight. The next day we bottled it with a few raisins in each bottle - meant to tell us when it was ready by floating to the top of each bottle...I do love a clear indication of things going well!! Then the next day E checked on them and two of the bottles had raisins floating and tiny bubbles in the neck. He was thrilled. Of course, he had to sample immediately...and was delighted. The other bottles are in the fridge and I have a feeling they won't last long. ;-) He wants to make this regularly and I'm hoping he will make it for May day as the start of a new tradition. We've read that Sima is a traditional May Day drink in Finland and who doesn't like a special drink to celebrate Beltane - the renewal of nature and the beginning of the bright half of the year? Speaking of that "bright" half of the year, rather than waiting patiently for it to bring us blooms, I decided to "force" the issue and bring in some Forsythia to force. The branches of yellow flowers bring a bit of cheer to our living space! Edited to add recipe - Here is the recipe from our friend - we actually used two lemons and, after removing the zest from them, instead of slicing them we juiced them so that we wouldn't have to bother removing the white pith. You can see another similar recipe and directions here. Sima 1 lemon 5 liters water 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 granulated sugar 1/4 tsp. yeast additional granulated sugar and raisins Remove zest from lemon and place in a large non-aluminum pot. Slice the lemon and set aside. Add the water and sugars to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir until the sugars dissolve. Remove from heat, cover and cool to 110 degrees F. Stir in lemon slices and yeast. Cover and let stand at room temperature until the next day. Bubbles should appear. Strain through a sieve and fill five 1 liter bottles. Add 1 tsp. sugar to each bottle and 2 raisins. Seal and store in a cool place until raisins rise to the surface (2-4 days), Chill until ready to serve.

What are the best features in Finnish homes? These 10 things you want to have in your home too. Finnish design is practical and beatiful.

Evening Reading, by Swedish painter Georg Pauli (1884). Finnish National Gallery.

Finlandia forms Jean Sibelius's most famous composition. Read about it and listen to it here.

Have you always dreamed of staying in a glass igloo in Finland? Read this guide to know how to make it happen.

Curious about Finnish greetings? How to say Hello in Finnish? Discover Finnish greeting words with a helpful pronunciation video by a local.

Väinö Aleksanteri (Aleksander) Hämäläinen oli suomalainen taidemaalari, graafikko ja kuvittaja.

The world of Moomin - by Finnish author Tove Jansson, was first published 75 years ago, and was an important part of my childhood. I read the books, watched the TV-series, and are thrilled to see the Moomin characters still have a place in the children (and adult) culture. “Hattifatteners are small white ghost-like creatures, from Tove Janssons «Moomin» series. Hattifatteners are always on the move and travel in large groups (but always in odd numbers), such as boat convoys. Their only goal in life is to reach the horizon. They may communicate using telepathy. They cannot see very well, but their sense of touch is very strong, and they can feel ground vibrations and electricity. Hattifatteners assemble once a year when they “recharge” in a thunderstorm, when they can cause electrical burns. They grow from seeds, but only if this seed is sown on Midsummer Eve.» (Wikipedia) As we we are currently fighting a virus - and socialize as little as possible, I decided to knit one of the “oldest” patterns in my queue, a pattern I’ve always loved- The “Hattivatti - lapset / Hattifattener Mittens by Soile” from 2012. I had some trouble finding the right fit, and ended up rewriting / recharting the entire pattern. I later found out the original pattern has been made unavailable as a Ravelry download. So I contacted the designer - who very graciously allowed me to publish my version of the pattern. So here it is, for everyone to enjoy! Yarn: Women´s: Drops Fabel or Flora, or similar fingering weight wool yarn; (200m/50g). 50 g black and 50 g white. Men´s: Rauma Finull/Pt2, or similar fing./sport weight wool yarn (175m/50g). 50 g black and 50 g white. Sizes: Women’s and Men´s. The charts are the same for both sizes, only made bigger / smaller by the choice of yarn and needles. (Note: The men´s size has not been tested, but has the same amount of sts, same yarn and needles as a testet pattern.) Measurements: Women’s: circumference: 20 cm / length: 26 cm. Men’s: circumference: 22 cm / length: 30 cm. Gauge in pattern: Women’s: 36 sts = 10 cm. Men´s: 32 sts = 10 cm Needles: Women’s: 2,25 mm (US 1) Men´s: 2,5 mm (US 11/2) DPN´s, or your preferred type of needles Pattern available in English and Norwegian As this is a free pattern, questions about the pattern will generally not be answered. But if I find a lot of comments around the same issue, I will of course look into it.

Tällä sivulla on tunnetaitoihin liittyviä tehtäviä.Klikkaa kuvaan ja pääset tulostamaan ja tallentamaan PDF-tiedoston. Suosittelemme tulostamaan Värinauttien lautapelit A3-koossa. Tunnetaitomateriaalit Tunnetaitosovellus Värinauttien ensimmäinen tarina “Kun yö värittää” on nyt julkaistu myös sovelluksena. Värityssatukirjasta ja Värinauttien taidenäyttelystä tuttuun tarinaan pääsee tutustumaan osallistavien tehtävien myötä. Tarina yöstä, peloista, möröistä ja kadonneista väreistä on osa Värinauttien monipuolisia tunnetaitomateriaaleja. Tarinan … Tunne- ja vuorovaikutustaidot Read More »

How to Marry a Finnish Girl - Everything You Want to Know About Finland, That Finns Won't Tell You Ostin miehelle tuliaiseksi Suomesta kirjan, tätä kun on kehuttu parissakin paikassa. Idea on siis sarkastinen ja humoristinen kirja, jossa opetetaan miten saada napattua kaunis suomalainen neito. No heh, meillehän tämä on jo vähän myöhäistä, mutta ajattelin että hauska Suomi-kirja uppoaisi miehelle. ... A visit to the Finnish summer cabin is like a trip back in time. There's no running water so you'll need to fetch it up from the lake. There's no toilet, so you'll enjoy an outhouse. There may not be any electricity so you'll read. Don't worry if you forgot a book, they'll [sic] be plenty of old newspapers and magazines from the Nineties laying around for your nostalgic pleasure. ... With Finnish, you'll just see vowels, umlauts, and the letter K. "Kokko, kokkoo kokkoo koko kokko!" "Koko kokkoko?" "Koko kokko. Kokkookko?" That's a real Finnish conversation! (Albeit a real stupid conversation.) ... Kirjassa oli monia hyviä huomioita, ja osa jaksoi naurattaa ääneenkin. Suurimmalle osalle hymähtelin. Periaatteessa kirja oli hauska, mutta minua rassasivat muutamat asiat. En ole koskaan lukenut näin lyhyttä kirjaa, jossa olisi ollut näin monta kijroitusvihrettä ja kieliopillista mokaa. Lisäksi kirjoittaja on laittanut mukaan välivitseinä sekä pieniä anekdootteja omasta elämästään ja lisäksi Twitter-letkautuksiaan. Harmi vain että ne eivät oikein sopineet minnekään, tuntuivat kovin irrallisilta vitseiltä, ja ehkä tärkeintä, eivät vain olleet hauskoja millään tasolla. Kirja tuntui kovin hätäisesti kirjoitetulta ja pakolla väännetyltä paikoittain. Kaikki eivät osaa kirjoittaa, mutta pitääkö sitten väkisin? ... Even Jared from Subway doesn't eat sandwiches in the morning, but Finns do. If it's a weekend morning, go for the open-faced sandwich topped with ham, cheese, cucumber... and butter. Not mayonnaise, butter. Or substitute the ham for cold-smoked salmon, then try not to puke. ... Finnish babynames are classified information until the Christening. Finns will divulge top-secret information to Russia before they tell you their baby's name. ... Suosittelisinko kirjaa muille? En tiedä. Minua kirja nauratti paikoittain paljonkin, ja osa huomioista oli samantyyppisiä mitä mieskin on Suomessa kyläillessään tehnyt. Miestä kirja on naurattanut enemmän, mutta loppuun hän ei ole sitä vielä saanut, eli jää nähtäväksi oliko kirja hänelle mieluinen. Tähtiä antaisin kirjalle kolme viidestä, se oli ihan OK mutta olisi voinut olla huimasti parempi. Odotin sen olevan parempi. Ehkä parin vuoden kuluttua ja alennuksien jälkeen kirja olisi hinta-laatutasoltaan sopiva. Tällä hetkellä €25,90 siitä maksaessa kannattaa käydä kaupassa ensin kurkistelemassa iskeekö huumori teihin paremmin kuin minuun. Parhaiten tämä varmasti iskee joko suomalaisiin tai Suomessa kauan asuneisiin ulkomaalaisiin, ihan uusille tulokeille moni vitsi jää turhan hämäräksi. Saa vinkata muita Suomen kulttuurista kertovia kirjoja kommenttiboksiin!