Now Enrolling:
Evening Preschool
A Finnish-inspired programme where your child develops — and you grow alongside them. Every Tuesday & Thursday, 2–5 pm. Ages 6 months to 3 years.
1M+
Neural connections/sec in first 3 years
85%
Brain architecture built before age 5
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Families only — application required
The framework behind everything we do
Finnish National Core Curriculum
VASU 2022
L.A.N.T.E.R.N. Emotional Literacy
Yasmin Mubarak Framework
Forest School Pedagogy
Outdoor Learning Standard
Pikler & Bowlby Principles
Attachment-Based Practice
We know what you're thinking.
"My child is fine at home. I play with them. I read to them. They don't need anything else yet."
Here is what the research actually says.
Loving your child is not the same as developing your child.
You can love your child completely and still unintentionally miss the specific experiences their developing brain needs. Play-based pedagogy, heuristic exploration, emotional co-regulation, Pikler-principle movement freedom — these are professional practices that parents discover they were never taught.
— Harvard Center on the Developing Child
Home alone is beautiful — and limited.
No home — no matter how loving — can replicate the richness of a professionally curated learning environment, peer interaction, Forest School outdoor sessions, natural loose parts collections, and the precise scaffolding of a trained Finnish ECEC practitioner. These things genuinely matter.
— Finnish VASU 2022 Framework
Most parents make their biggest mistakes in the first three years.
Not out of neglect. Out of love combined with misinformation — screen exposure, rushing motor milestones, not allowing big emotions, praising results instead of effort. These patterns, once set, are hard to change. Evening Preschool is where you unlearn them before they become permanent.
— Vygotsky, Bronfenbrenner, Dweck
You don't have to choose: bond or develop.
Evening Preschool is specifically designed for families who are not ready for full-time separation. You attend alongside your child. You learn together. You build confidence — yours and theirs — until full-time is a joyful transition, not a traumatic one.
— Bowlby Attachment Theory in Practice
Evening Preschool is not a class.
It's a philosophy of parenting.
Based on the Finnish National Core Curriculum (VASU 2022) and the L.A.N.T.E.R.N. emotional literacy framework — Evening Preschool runs every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm for families of children aged 6 months to 3 years. Once a month, the programme includes a special Monthly Enrichment Session — held at a curated location beyond the regular space — giving families a rich new experience together.
Tuesday & Thursday, 2–5 pm
Two sessions every week. Consistent rhythm that children and parents can rely on — designed around family schedules without disrupting your working day.
Maximum 6 Children Per Group
Never more than six children in any developmental group. 1:3 educator ratio minimum. This is the Finnish standard and we do not compromise on it.
Parent as Co-Educator
You are not waiting in a lobby. You are in the room, learning alongside your child, coached by our educators in real time.
5 VASU Learning Domains
Languages, Expression, Community, Environment, and Physical Development — all five Finnish curriculum domains, delivered in every session.
Forest School Sessions
Weekly outdoor immersion based on Forest School pedagogy. Nature is the richest learning environment that exists. We take it seriously.
Monthly Enrichment Session
Once a month, the programme moves beyond the regular session space — to a curated new environment, setting, or experience. A special enrichment for the whole family, at no extra cost.
Transition Pathway
When you and your child are ready, we support a joyful, confident transition to full-time Finnish Preschool. No sudden separation — a gradual, supported journey.
Four Groups. One Purpose.
Every developmental group has a precisely crafted curriculum grounded in Finnish pedagogy. Click to explore what your child's age group offers.
What Actually Happens in a Session.
Every three hours is deliberately structured — and deliberately unhurried. Select your child's developmental group to see the full session flow.
Arrival & Settling
2:00 – 2:20 pmLow-stimulation welcome. Babies settle into the environment with their parent. Educator greets each family individually and observes mood and readiness.
Heuristic Treasure Basket
2:20 – 2:50 pmFree investigation of natural and household objects — wooden spools, fabric, shells, metal rings. Sensory awakening through child-led exploration. Parent observes and narrates.
Sensory Stations
2:50 – 3:20 pmRotating stations: water play, light-table exploration, texture trays, mirroring songs. Educator coaches parents in serve-and-return interaction in real time.
Outdoor Nature Time
3:20 – 3:45 pmBlanket time or supported sitting outdoors. Babies experience natural light, breeze, birdsong, and natural surfaces. Forest School foundations begin from day one.
Movement & Music Circle
3:45 – 4:15 pmPikler-principle free movement on floor mats. Educator-led Finnish songs and fingerplays. Gentle movement facilitation — no rushing, no propping.
Wind-Down & Feeding Support
4:15 – 4:45 pmCalm sensory closing activity. Quiet books, soft music. Feeding and settling support as needed. Educator available for one-to-one parent questions.
Parent Handover Circle
4:45 – 5:00 pmEducator shares individual observations for each child: what was noticed, why it matters developmentally, and one specific thing to try at home this week. Discovery Card sent home.
Five Domains of Learning.
Drawn directly from the Finnish National Core Curriculum (VASU 2022) — the most child-centred national curriculum in the world. Click each domain to see exactly what your child will explore.
The programme that prepares the parent
so the child can truly grow.
The Monthly Aviana Parent Session
Once a month, parents gather — without children — for a deep, facilitated session on the most important job you will ever do. Because without preparing the family, without preparing the environment, you cannot prepare the child. The environment is you. Your partner. Your home. Your responses.
Emotional Attunement
Learn to read your child's emotional cues before they can speak them. Understand the neuroscience of big feelings — and how your calm becomes theirs.
Co-Regulation in Practice
Tantrums, separation anxiety, sleep resistance — these are not behavioural problems. They are developmental invitations. You will learn to respond, not react.
Preparing the Environment
You cannot prepare the child if you have not prepared the environment. The environment is you, your partner, your home, your rhythms. Without this, nothing else works.
Growing the Family Together
Children grow fastest in families that grow together. These monthly sessions bring both parents into alignment — same language, same values, same response to your child.
Led by Yasmin Mubarak and our senior educators. Every session includes take-home frameworks, partner exercises, and a Discovery Plan for the month ahead.Fully included — no additional cost. Both parents strongly encouraged to attend.
This programme is for you, too.
Most parenting mistakes happen not from lack of love — but from lack of knowledge. Evening Preschool gives you the professional framework you were never taught.
You will learn serve-and-return interaction.
The single most powerful thing you can do for your baby's brain. Most parents have never heard of it. After your first session, you'll never stop doing it.
You will understand why tantrums are neurological, not behavioural.
The toddler's prefrontal cortex does not mature until age 25. "Big emotions" are not manipulation — they are underdeveloped brain architecture. Your response literally shapes its development.
You will learn L.A.N.T.E.R.N. emotional literacy.
Our founder Yasmin Mubarak's framework for emotional intelligence — developed through twenty years of practice. This is the parenting language that changes how you see your child forever.
You will learn to follow your child's lead.
Not to direct, fill, correct, or perform. To observe, listen, follow, and respond. Finnish educators call it "pedagogical listening." You will leave every session doing it better.
"The handover moment is a masterclass."
After every session, our educators spend 5–10 minutes with you personally — sharing what they observed in your child, why it matters, and what you can do at home. This is the highest-impact conversation in early childhood education. It happens every single week.
— Yasmin Mubarak, Founder
You love your child at home.
But are you doing these?
Research-based activities that are essential for your child's development. Be honest — no one is judging you. This is for you.
Select your child's current age:
Heard from the families inside.
The most honest account of Evening Preschool comes from the parents who live it every week.
Parent Voices — Coming Soon
Real testimonials from Evening Preschool families will be added here. These stories will be the most powerful proof on the entire page.
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Families Only.
Not a waiting list. An application. We review every family personally. We ask about you, your partner, your child, and your purpose. Because this programme demands genuine commitment — from us and from you.
✓ Individual application review
✓ Direct response within 48 hours
✓ Maximum 6 children per developmental group
✓ No compromises on ratio or standards
"I conceived this programme because I watched parents in Colombo doing something extraordinary — trying, in the middle of busy urban lives, to give their youngest children something more. They just needed a place that agreed with them."
Yasmin Mubarak
Founder, Finnish Preschool in Colombo
Questions parents always ask.
We answer them here so nothing stands between you and the application.
Apply for Evening Preschool
This is a detailed application — because your child deserves a programme that has thought carefully about who joins it. It takes 5–8 minutes. Please be honest and specific.
Tell us about your child
Your information is private and secure. Only Finnish Preschool in Colombo staff will see your application.