Showing posts with label Kids - Lapset. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kids - Lapset. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Kela benefits for families in Finland

Are you familiar with the different benefits for families paid by Kela, the social insurance institution of Finland?

Kela information for families in English: 


Ennen lapsen syntymää tai adoptiota - Before the child is born or adopted



Syntymän tai adoption jälkeen - After the birth or adoption



Lapsen hoito - Child care



Kun lapsi aloittanut koulun - When the child has started school




Lapsi metsässä. 


Jos vanhemmat eroavat - If the parents divorce





Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
Hanna

Friday, June 21, 2019

Finnish books for children (and adults)

Here's a small post about about Finnish picture books that you could read with children.

If you live in Finland, you've probably heard of Tatu and Patu. Veera is their friend, and Veera was actually there first and Tatu and Patu were her sidekicks before they got famous.

If you have kids who can understand Finnish, check out these books from your local library:
(If you want to buy them, Booky.fi is a good online store.)






If you want something longer to read, here's a children's novel that I have simplified into easy Finnish:


Lue lisää / Read more:



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About the author of this blog:

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish or novels in easy Finnish. 


Lue lisää selkokirjoista: https://privatefinnishlessons.com/books/

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Selkosunnuntai 42 - Opas koululaisen vanhemmille

Jos sinulla on kouluikäisiä lapsia, 
sinun kannattaa lukea
Opas koululaisen vanhemmille. 
Se on ensimmäinen selkokirja, 
jonka minä olen kirjoittanut. 

Kirjoitin sen keväällä 2016
ennen kuin aloin mukauttaa
valmiita kirjoja selkokielelle.

Opas koululaisen vanhemmille on tarkoitettu kaikille,
jotka ovat kiinnostuneita siitä,
mitä vanhempien täytyy tietää,
kun koulu alkaa.

Kaikki saavat vapaasti
muokata, jakaa ja lukea opasta.
Tärkeintä on,
että oppaasta on mahdollisimman paljon hyötyä
koululaisten vanhemmille ja opettajille.

Voit jakaa tutuillesi tätä linkkiä: http://bit.ly/selko-koulu




Suomalaiset lapset aloittavat koulun sinä vuonna, kun he täyttävät seitsemän vuotta.
Tässä kuvassa on minun poikani ensimmäisen koulupäivän aamuna.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About the author of this blog:

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish or novels in easy Finnish.


Lue lisää selkokirjoistani: www.hannamannikkolahti.com
Voit myös seurata YouTube-kanavaani ja Podcast-kanavaani.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Heinähattu, Vilttitossu ja ärhäkkä koululainen (a children's novel in easy Finnish)

Do you have children? Have you ever read to them, or with them, in Finnish? If normal children's books are too difficult, you could try a children's book in easy Finnish

My latest simplification Heinähattu, Vilttitossu ja ärhäkkä koululainen is a popular children's novel by Sinikka and Tiina Nopola. It is a story of two sisters written by two sisters. The big sister Heinähattu is always wearing a straw hat. The little sister is called Vilttitossu, because she wears woollen shoes. I would translate ärhäkkä koululainen as a mischevious schoolgirl. The covers of the book look like this:

Click here to see an instagram video from inside the book

Here's a sample from the book. The girls are going to bed, but Vilttitossu (the little sister) overhears their parents talking about the fishing trip that Heinähattu's (the big sister) class will have the next day. Notice the easy Finnish style: simple words, simple sentence structures, and short lines.

Illalla Vilttitossun vatsa oli kipeä.
Heinähattu nukkui jo,
mutta Vilttitossu laittoi valot päälle.
- Auts!
Mahaan sattuu! hän valitti.

Heinähattu avasi silmänsä.
- Ole hiljaa.
Minun pitää nukkua,
sillä minä menen
aamulla kouluun, Heinähattu sanoi
- Minulla on maha kipeä, Vilttitossu sanoi.
- Sinä söit liikaa taikinaa, Heinähattu sanoi
ja veti peiton päänsä yli.

- Höh, Vilttitossu sanoi
ja nousi istumaan.
Hän päätti mennä alakertaan
ja juoda vettä.

Äiti ja isä olivat keittiössä.
Vilttitossu kuuli, kuinka he juttelivat.
- Heinähattu kertoi,
että hänen luokkansa menee
ylihuomenna kalaan, äiti sanoi isälle.
- Kuulostaa hauskalta, isä sanoi.

- Minä lupasin,
että en kerro Vilttitossulle onkiretkestä.
Hänelle tulisi paha mieli,
sillä hän pitää onkimisesta
niin paljon, äiti jatkoi.

Vilttitossu meni lähemmäs.
- Sanoiko äiti “onkiretki”? hän ajatteli.
- Kivaa, että Heinähattu pääsee
narraamaan kaloja, isä sanoi.
- Mitä? Minä olen paljon parempi narraamaan
kuin Heinähattu, Vilttitossu ajatteli.
- Minä ajattelin,
että me voisimme
pestä ylihuomenna ikkunat.
Vilttitossu saa auttaa meitä, äiti sanoi.
- Pestään vain, isä sanoi.
- Heinähattu saa onkia kaloja
ja minun täytyy pestä ikkunoita!
Se ei käy! Vilttitossu ajatteli.

"Read a book in easy Finnish. It helps you learn more Finnish."

Here are some links related to the book:


Heinähattu ja Vilttitossu is a popular series of books. You can also get familiar with the stories by watching these movies:


p.s. Please leave a comment, if you have already read the book! :)

............................

About the author of this blog:  


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti, and I am a native Finn who gives private lessons via Skype and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please leave a comment, if you have something to ask about Finnish or novels in easy Finnish.



"Read a novel in easy Finnish. It might be surprisingly fun and easy!"
www.privatefinnishlessons.com/books

Friday, July 7, 2017

Things to do with kids in Jyväskylä

Are you coming to Jyväskylä with children? Or do you live here and wonder what to do with kids? Here are some fun places to visit and things to do in Jyväskylä in summer:

Free activities:



Other activities:



Who doesn't want to buy a suitcase full of chocolate and licorice from this cute creature?

The best (and the cheapest, as the kids pay only 2,80 €) place to eat with kids is definitely the university cafeteria Ilokivi:


If you like tea, you can leave the children with someone else in your company and enjoy a relaxing cup of tea in Teeleidi on the other side of the road.

If you have more time and a car, these places make a nice day trip from Jyväskylä: 


Missä sinä asut? Mitä kivaa sinun kaupungissasi voi tehdä? 
Where do you live? What are the fun things to do in your town?



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About the author of this blog:

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. You can contact me through www.privatefinnishlessons.com. You can subscribe to this blog from the right-hand banner. 


 

Monday, May 15, 2017

Signing up for swimming lessons and language classes (for kids)

Over the years, I have learned so many things from my private students. For example, I know a lot more about inbound marketingcat cafés and medicine than I did five years ago. Whenever I have a question about this blog or my website or anything related to internet and applications, I can ask Omid, and he has an answer to everything. One student has also affected the life of my kids, as a couple of years ago I signed them up for swimming lessons after talking so much about swimming during the Finnish tutoring. And that is the main topic of this post.:)

So, if you want to start a new hobby in the fall, now is the time to act. Usually those who have already participated in the groups get to sign up first. If there are any places left, they are given to the new swimmers (or dancers etc, depending on the hobby), and that's why it's very important to sign up as soon as the registration period starts.

Google the name of your city and uimakoulut. Notice that some Finnish towns also offer rantauimakoulut, swimming lessons in a local lake, but the water is very likely very cold until the middle of July, so I wouldn't really recommend those to anyone unless you want to wear märkäpuku (a wet suit). 

Another thing that you might be interested is oman äidinkielen opetus, mother tongue / native language classes for bilingual and multilingual kids.  Again, google the name of your town and oman äidinkielen opetus. Usually the classes are held once a week for 90 minutes, between 14.00 and 18.00.

Related posts:


Monday, February 27, 2017

Parenting in Finland

Here's a post about all the equipment you need to have if you live in Finland and your children go to either daycare or school here. I hope you all have a Finnish friend with same aged, or even better, older kids, from whom you can ask for advice. I realize that I'm very spoiled because I have a big brother with older kids, and my kids often get their gear directly from their cousins.

For the most time of the year, your children will need some kind of ulkovaatteet, outside clothes. Finnish children go out no matter how cold or wet the weather is, so you just have to dress your child according to the temperature. And don't forget kuravaatteet or sadevaatteet, the rubber-made overalls, jacket and rubber mittens. Usually the daycare teachers advise you to have a set of kuravaatteet and kumisaappaat, rubber boots, that you keep at the daycare. If that's the case, you are also advised to bring the muddy clothes home for the weekend for a wash. Most kids wear some kind of tossut or sisäkengät (slippers or inside shoes) inside.

Of course, it depends on the region, but here's a list of sports equipment your children will most likely need from the age 4 (or maybe even 3) up:

  • sukset - skis (Not the strap-on ones but real skis.)
  • sauvat - ski poles 
  • monot - ski boots
  • suksipidike - the thing that keeps the skis and ski poles together when you carry them
  • luistimet - skates
  • luistinten teränsuojukset - skate blade covers
  • kypärä - a helmet (Ideally the same helmet would work for biking, skating and downhill skiing, but you'll probably need several different helmets.)
  • uimapuku tai uimahousut - a swimsuit or swim trunks (the European style, not the loose shorts.)
  • reppu, johon kaikki mahtuu - a backpack that fits everything

In school, they might also want to have

  • sisäpelikengät - indoor sport shoes
  • salibandymaila - a floorball stick

For organizing art work and different papers you might be asked to bring


And while you're out there shopping, you might as well make a trip to the pharmacy and buy some täishampoo just in case your child (and the rest of the family, too) will get lice. Oh, and at some point your child will want to have naamiaisasu, a costume.  My favourite way of marking my children's clothes and gear is this kangasteippi, fabric tape and this kind of merkintätussi, a fabric marker.

If this was useful, you might also like my e-book A guide for schoolkids parents.


About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 


My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if your want to be the first one to know when I post something new. 

Friday, July 8, 2016

Things to know before starting school in Finland

Is your child starting school in Finland in August? Here are some things that first graders should know before the school starts:

Lapsen pitäisi osata... - A child should know how to...


Haluatko tietää lisää tästä aiheesta? - Do you want to know more about this topic? 


Thursday, June 30, 2016

The importance of [r] in Finnish

Rolling the Finnish [r] is tricky for many language learners, and also for Finnish kids. Many kids end up visiting a speech therapist if they don't learn the [r] by themselves before they are six years old. The [r] is often replaced by [l] which might cause some confusion and giggling.

How many of these words do you know?


  1. hiiri / hiili
  2. karkki / kalkki
  3. karju / kalju
  4. marja / malja
  5. murkku / mulkku
  6. muuri / muuli
  7. ori / oli
  8. purkka / pulkka
  9. rakastua / lakastua
  10. rokki / lokki
  11. suora / suola
  12. varas / valas


Here are the translations:


  1. hiiri / hiili - a mouse / charcoal
  2. karkki / kalkki - a candy / calcium, lime
  3. karju / kalju - a boar, a hog / bald
  4. marja / malja - a berry / a bowl
  5. murkku / mulkku - an ant (spoken language for muurahainen) / a dick
  6. muuri / muuli - a stonewall / a mule
  7. ori / oli - a stallion / (he) was
  8. purkka / pulkka - a chewing gum / a sled
  9. rakastua / lakastua - to fall in love / to wither, to fade
  10. rokki / lokki - rock music / a seagull
  11. suora / suola - straight / salt
  12. varas / valas - a thief / a whale



Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
– Hanna

Friday, May 27, 2016

Being pregnant in Finnish

When a woman is expecting a child in Finnish, she's raskaana, which literally means in a heavy condition. (Raskas means heavy.)  Here are some common pregnancy-related phrases:

  • Oletko kuullut kuka odottaa vauvaa? - Have you heard who is expecting a baby?
  • Mun sisko on raskaana. - My sister is pregnant.
  • Meille tulee vauva! - We're going to have a baby!
  • Villestä tulee isoveli. - Ville is going to be a big brother. 
  • Sinä saat pikkusiskon. - You're going to have a little sister.
  • Laskettu aika on lokakuussa.  - The expected due date is in October. 
  • Onkohan Tiina raskaana? - I wonder if Tiina is pregnant. (Notice that it is not polite to ask a woman if she's pregnant!)

These posts might also be useful, if you are pregnant:


Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
Hanna

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Spoken language words that my kids use

Here are some spoken language words that my 3- and 6-year-old children use. Do you know what they mean?

  1. futis
  2. hyvis
  3. jäbä
  4. koklata
  5. lippis
  6. mäsä
  7. pahis
  8. papru
  9. peba
  10. polttis
  11. säbä
  12. sykky
  13. teeppari
  14. vaklata

Here are the translations and the origins of the spoken language words:

  1. futis < football - football
  2. hyvis < hyvä - a good character
  3. jäbä < jätkä - a dude
  4. koklata < kokeilla - to try
  5. lippis < lippalakki - a cap
  6. mäsä < (I have no idea what's the origin is!) - broken
  7. pahis < paha - a bad guy
  8. papru < paperi - a paper
  9. peba < peppu - a butt
  10. polttis < polttopallo - dodge ball
  11. säbä < sähly - floor ball
  12. sykky < syli - a lap
  13. teeppari < t-paita - a t-shirt
  14. vaklata < vakoilla - to spy

Sunday, November 24, 2013

How to talk like an almost two-year-old

I've been waiting for my almost two-year-old to come up with enough (proper) two-word expressions so I could make a post about them. I don't know much about child language development, but I will pay close attention to my daughter's language as I want to know exactly when her Finnish is better than my husband's, who's not a native Finnish speaker. Our 4,5-year-old son is already outsmarting him when it comes to Finnish peculiarities such as verb rections. When it comes to vocabulary, and obviously reading and writing, my husband is still a bit better in Finnish than the kids. :)

  • Minun äiti! - My mother!
  • Minun vuoro! - My turn!
  • Lisää vettä, kiitos! - More water, please!
  • Lisää maitoa! - More milk!
  • Isä tuli! - Daddy came!
  • Pissa tuli! - Pee came!
  • Ei puuroa! - No porridge!
  • Ei yhtään! - Not at all!
  • Nyt nukkumaan! - Now to sleep!
  • Mene pois! - Go away!
  • Älä puhu. - Don't speak. 
  • Älä laula! - Don't sing!
  • Anna pusu! - Give (me) a kiss!
  • Iso tyttö, iso kakka. - Big girl, big poop.

Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
Hanna

Thursday, August 1, 2013

How to talk like a 1,5-year-old

In case you wonder what kind of things Finnish toddlers can say, here's a list of my daughter's favourite words at the age of 18 months. Test yourself and see if you can understand what my little lady has to say!

  1. Alas! 
  2. Anna! 
  3. Avaa! 
  4. Istu! 
  5. Joo
  6. Ka! (A short form of kato which is a spoken language form of katso.)
  7. Kakka
  8. Kakku
  9. Kiitos! 
  10. Kenkä 
  11. Loppu
  12. Moi moi!
  13. Nam!
  14. Nenä
  15. Noin! 
  16. Papu 
  17. Pois! 
  18. Rikki (or ikki. It takes a while to learn the Finnish r.)
  19. Tuu!
  20. Vauva




About the author of Random Finnish Lesson: 

My name is Hanna Männikkölahti. I am a professional Finnish teacher who gives private online lessons and simplifies books into easy Finnish. Please read more in www.linktr.ee/hannamannikkolahti and follow this blog, if you want to be the first one to know when I post something new.  

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Äiti tietää

Yes indeed, children ask many questions. These are just some of the questions that my almost four-year-old has asked me recently. What wouldn't a mother know?

  1. Tykkääkö lohikäärmeet vedestä? 
  2. Tykkääkö hämähäkit vedestä?
  3. Mitä nyt tapahtuu?
  4. Tiedätkö sä missä Prisma on?
  5. Pureeko siilit?
  6. Pureeko hiiret? 
  7. Mikä on "syyttävästi"?
  8. Mitä koirat syö jälkkäriksi? (jälkkäri = jälkiruoka)
  9. Onko tänään sunnuntai?
  10. Saanko jätskiä? (jätski = jäätelö)
You'll find the translations in the comments.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Giving birth in Finnish

Here are some useful sentences for the hospital, if you are ever giving birth in Finnish:

When the baby is coming, forget Finnish and focus on listening to your body and the midwife, kätilö. Here are some typical sentences you might hear in the delivery room, synnytyssalissa:

  • Nyt meni lapsivesi. - Now the water broke. 
  • Hengitä syvään. - Take a deep breath.
  • Rentoudu. - Relax.
  • Nosta tätä jalkaa. - Lift this leg. 
  • Älä ponnista vielä. - Don't push yet. 
  • Kuuntele. - Listen. 
  • Ponnista nyt. - Push now.
  • Pää näkyy jo. - I can already see the head.  
  • Vielä kerran. - One more time.
  • Se meni hienosti. - That went well. 
  • Haluatko leikata napanuoran? - Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?
  • Otatko kahvia vai teetä? - Will you take coffee or tea? (After the baby is nursed, washed and swaddled, it's time to have a family snack.)


I don't usually share photos of ny children,
but I don't think that anyone can recognize this baby on the street. 


If everything goes well, you'll have plenty of time to practice Finnish with the nurses, doctors and your possible roommates at the maternity ward, vuodeosastolla: 

  • Anteeksi, mutta voitteko olla hiljempaa? - Excuse me, but could you be more quiet, please? 
  • Minä yritän nukkua. - I'm trying to sleep. 
  • Kuinka sun synnytys meni? - How was your labour?
  • Voisitko auttaa minua? - Could you help me?
  • Anteeksi, tuli vähän sotkua. - Sorry, we made a little mess. (A little mess came.)
  • Saisinko jotain särkylääkettä? - Could I have some pain medicine, please?
  • Voisitko olla vauvan kanssa sillä aikaa, kun käyn suihkussa? - Could you be with the baby while I take a shower?
  • Onko kaikki kunnossa? - Is everything ok?
  • Saadaanko me mennä kotiin tänään? - Can we go home today?

Some useful verbs:
  1. synnyttää - to give birth
  2. syntyä - to be born
  3. imettää - to nurse
  4. röyhtäyttää - to make someone burp
  5. röyhtäistä - to burp
  6. kuolata - to drool
  7. puklata - to vomit the milk you just had
  8. pissata - to pee
  9. kakata - to poo
  10. riisua - to undress
  11. pestä peppu - to wash the butt
  12. vaihtaa vaippa - to change the diaper
  13. kylvettää - to give a bath
  14. pukea - to dress up
  15. kapaloida - to swaddle
  16. haukotella - to yawn
  17. aivastaa - to sneeze
  18. itkeä - to cry
  19. nukahtaa - to fall asleep
  20. nukkua - to sleep

Here's what inside of äitiyspakkaus, the maternity package. Check out the names of the baby clothes and notice that some of them can be a bit confusing, especially the pants department:

  • sukkahousut - tights with the sock part (sock trousers) 
  • leggingsit - tights without the sock part
  • potkuhousut - basically a piece of clothing that has everything but the sleeves. Used with a onesie or a shirt, has snaps or buttons on the shoulders. (kick trousers)
  • puolipotkuhousut - tights with the sock part, but looser than sukkahousut. (half kick trousers)
  • pöksyt - a cute word, means any kind of pants. Origins form the Swedish byxor.


  • If this was useful, you might also like my post Being pregnant in Finnish.


    Kiitos, kun luit! Jos pidit postauksesta, voit jakaa sen eteenpäin.
    Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it. 
    Hanna