IPW - International Preschool of Warsaw

25/09/2026

📚 “Again!”

The same book.

Again.

The same song.

Again.

The same game you have already played approximately 746 times.

Again. 😄

And if you’re reading their favourite bedtime story and quietly decide to skip two pages because surely nobody will notice…

Your preschooler will notice.

Immediately.

Possibly from another room. 😉

To an adult, repetition can feel boring.

To a young child, it is doing something completely different.

Every time children hear the same story, sing the same song or repeat the same activity, their brains get another opportunity to understand it a little better.

At first, they listen.

Then they begin to recognise what comes next.

Soon they remember words and phrases.

Eventually, they can “read” half the book to you before they can actually read at all.

And that moment when they know what comes next matters.

Because repetition doesn’t only help children learn.

It gives them confidence.

The world of a preschooler is full of things they don’t yet understand and cannot control.

But in this story?

They know the wolf is coming.

They know what happens on the next page.

They know exactly when the funny bit happens.

And for a few minutes, they are the expert. ❤️

That’s also why repetition is such an important part of preschool life.

Songs return.

Stories return.

Games return.

Daily routines return.

And every time something familiar comes back, children get another chance to practise, predict, participate and eventually master it.

So tonight, when you hear:

“Again!”

and realise you are about to read that book for the 47th time…

remember that your child isn’t necessarily bored by knowing what happens.

Knowing what happens may be exactly why they love it so much. ❤️📚

24/09/2026

23/09/2026

Today is the first day of autumn, and suddenly the world outside our preschool has turned into one enormous box of art supplies. ❤️

Leaves in every possible shade of yellow, orange and red.

Shiny chestnuts hiding under the trees.

Acorns, pinecones and tiny sticks that preschoolers somehow manage to spot from twenty metres away. 😄

And, of course, the beginning of chestnut-people season.

Because give a preschooler three chestnuts, two toothpicks and an acorn… and five minutes later you may be introduced to an entire family. 😉

Autumn is wonderful for little explorers.

We can collect leaves and compare their colours and shapes. Count chestnuts. Sort our treasures by size. Listen to leaves crunching under our shoes. Watch the trees change day by day.

And then bring some of those discoveries inside and turn them into something completely new.

A chestnut becomes a person.

A leaf becomes a lion.

A pinecone becomes a hedgehog.

And a stick?

Well… a stick can become absolutely anything. ❤️

There is just one small challenge with autumn.

Getting dressed. 😄

Cold in the morning, warm in the afternoon, windy five minutes later — which means layers are officially back in business.

So bring on the little jackets, sweatshirts and hats.

Bring on the muddy shoes.

And prepare your pockets, parents.

For the next few weeks, there is a very good chance you’ll be bringing half the park home with you. 🍁🌰❤️

Happy first day of autumn from IPW!

21/09/2026

😴 “I’M NOT TIRED!”

Usually announced while running through the living room at full speed at 8:37 p.m. 😉

Adults tend to imagine a tired child as a sleepy child.

Yawning. Rubbing their eyes. Quietly asking to go to bed.

Sometimes, yes.

But preschoolers can have a rather different way of showing us they’ve had enough.

Suddenly everything is hilarious.

Running gets faster.

Listening becomes… optional.

A tiny disappointment turns into a huge tragedy.

The wrong pyjamas are unacceptable.

The banana breaks.

Someone looked at them incorrectly.

And apparently bedtime is now a violation of fundamental human rights. 😄

What looks like a sudden burst of energy can sometimes be exactly the opposite.

A child may simply be overtired.

Young children are still learning to recognise signals coming from their own bodies and regulate their emotions. After a full day of playing, learning, talking, negotiating with friends, following routines and processing hundreds of little experiences, their resources can simply run out.

And when they do, self-control often goes with them.

That’s why predictable evening routines can be so helpful.

Dinner.

A bath.

Dimmer lights.

A book.

A cuddle.

The same familiar sequence that quietly tells the brain:

the day is ending.

Not every evening will be peaceful. We are talking about preschoolers, after all. 😉

But sometimes, when your child appears to have mysteriously transformed into a tiny tornado just before bedtime, the answer isn’t more entertainment.

It might simply be:

“You’ve had a very big day. It’s time to rest.” ❤️

18/09/2026

Yesterday they were best friends.

This morning they couldn’t wait to see each other.

By lunchtime?

“She’s not my friend anymore.”

And by 3 p.m. they may be sitting next to each other again, planning something extremely important involving dinosaurs and a cardboard box. 😄

Welcome to preschool friendships.

For young children, friendship can be wonderfully intense… and surprisingly changeable.

They are still learning what it actually means to be a friend.

How do I join a game?

What if we both want the same toy?

Can my friend play with someone else?

What happens when someone says “no”?

How do I tell someone I’m angry without pushing, shouting or declaring the friendship officially over forever? 😉

These little conflicts can look trivial through adult eyes.

For a preschooler, they aren’t.

They are some of the first opportunities to learn negotiation, empathy, boundaries, compromise and how to repair a relationship after something goes wrong.

And sometimes our instinct as adults is to fix everything immediately.

But children also need opportunities to practise solving small social problems themselves, with an adult nearby to guide them when they need help.

At preschool, friendship isn’t only about finding someone you like to play with.

It’s also about slowly discovering:

Other people can want something different from me.

I can be angry with someone and still like them.

A disagreement doesn’t have to end a friendship.

And sometimes saying “Can I play too?” takes quite a lot of courage.

These may look like tiny playground dramas.

But underneath them, children are practising some of the most important skills they will use for the rest of their lives. ❤️

Even if today’s best friend changes again tomorrow. 😉

17/09/2026

But … why?

“Because we need to get ready.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re going outside.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s time for the playground.”

“Why?”

…welcome to life with a preschooler. 😄

Young children can ask an astonishing number of questions. And sometimes they ask the same question even when they already know the answer.

But they’re not necessarily trying to test our patience.

Questions are one of the most powerful tools children have for understanding their world.

When preschoolers ask “why?”, “what happens next?” or “are you coming back?”, they may be looking for information.

But sometimes they’re looking for something else entirely.

Reassurance. Connection. Conversation.

Repeating a question can help a child check that the answer is still the same. Predict what will happen next. Practise new words. Organise their thoughts. Or simply keep an interesting conversation with an adult going.

And there is something rather wonderful about the preschool years:

almost nothing is too ordinary to be questioned.

Why do leaves fall?

Where does the moon go in the morning?

Why can’t dogs talk?

Why do we have eyebrows?

And, inevitably…

Why do I have to go to bed? 😉

At IPW, we don’t see endless questions as interruptions to learning.

Very often, they are the learning.

Every “why?” is a little attempt to connect one piece of the world with another.

So yes, sometimes answering the seventeenth question before breakfast requires a little patience.

But behind that question is a brain doing exactly what a young brain should be doing:

wondering, testing, connecting and discovering. ❤️

15/09/2026

🔴🟡🔵 Celebrating The Dot Day in Owl Class! 🔵🟡🔴

Our Owls had a very special and creative day celebrating International Dot Day! 🎨✨

The children read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds — a wonderful story that encourages creativity, courage, and believing in yourself. ❤️

We also explored a book featuring the fascinating artwork of Yayoi Kusama, the world-famous artist known for her love of dots, polka dots, and endless circles. 🔴🟠🟡🟢🔵🟣

Inspired by these wonderful artists and stories, our Owls discovered just how much creativity can begin with one simple DOT! ⚫️🎨

What a colorful and inspiring day it was! 🌈✨