Lone Jensen

Bach Teach EC 0-8, Diploma EC & Primary Montessori, VIT Registered EC & Primary

Lone grew up in Copenhagen (Denmark), where she was born into a dynamic family. During her teenage years, her family moved to Sydney. There she continued her education, became a copywriter, and later an early childhood teacher and a Montessori trained director.

Over the years, Lone also worked and spent extended time in San Francisco, Nice, Malmö and Gothenburg.

Lone married an Australian, and for thirty years she lived on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula just south of Melbourne, where she worked with children 1-8 years of age, and had her own Montessori school for 15 years.

From 2014 - 2017, Lone lived in Copenhagen - working in and developing international preschools in both Sweden and Denmark. 

Throughout her 20+ years teaching in Australia, Denmark and Sweden, Lone has worked with children of many nationalities, cultures and backgrounds. She is fluent in English, Danish and Swedish, and has professional working proficiency in German and French.

She has taught children from...

• Afghanistan

• Australia

• Chad

• Chile

• China

• Croatia

• Denmark

• France

• Germany

• Greece

• Hungary

• India

• Ireland

• Israel

• Italy

• El Salvador

• South Africa

• Turkey

• Lithuania

• Poland

• Russia

• Rwanda

• South Korea

• Spain

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Thailand

• The Netherlands

• UK

• US

• Vietnam

• Jordan

• Hong Kong

• Iran

• Sri Lanka

She is committed to assist parents with all aspects of their child's development, and is particularly caring of the growing and developing young child’s personality and sensitivities. Some of her greatest accomplishments are...

• Teaching English to children as a second language

• Teaching children with learning difficulties

• Ordering children’s language and processing disorders

• Building authentic confidence in children ("They are able, because they think they are able." - Virgil)

• Repairing garbled and unintelligible speech

• Assisting in the re-training of the brain following brain tumour removal and radiotherapy

• Assisting children wearing hearing technology (CI) with BabyBeats music development and at Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT)

• Helping countless children concentrate on a task in order that they may learn

• Setting out a bird’s eye view of simple mathematics so that a young child may understand the four hierarchies of our decimal system

• Teaching enrichment in all areas of learning

When working with children who are displaying learning difficulties, Lone believes in simplicity and clarity, thereby establishing sound work habits. Simultaneously, she helps these children improve their social skills and develop their practical life skills.

Through a warm and genuine approach, parents will notice their child’s strengths and potential - instead of limitation - and observe the great work that is possible.

Scandinavian Early Childhood Education

Denmark's and Sweden's global reputation for gender equality, work-life balance, sustainably at its greenest, democracy and less hierarchical structure in businesses is also found in their early childhood education settings.

In both countries, where 98% of children attend long day care, the early years learning framework, and lesson plans in particular, focus on social competencies and the building of emotional strength in children, with special attention to the expressive and communicative language, be it orally, in script, sign language, body language or artistic language. Focused academic learning is generally left until primary school.

Children spend more waking hours in long day care than in their home, and it is therefore vital that they experience a sense of belonging to their long day care community of adults and children. Children are shown how to manage - accept or step away from - a variety of social situations that arise. Friendships are facilitated through play by nurturing adults, and the children often have many friendships, and see themselves as an important member of their day care room and centre.

Much time is set aside for acknowledging children's emotions and feelings, showing them how they can express themselves, try to understand behaviour, facial expression and views.

It is seen as vital that the children also form attachments to the adults who work with them. Research has shown that this makes for stronger attachments in later life in regard to lasting and meaningful adult relationships. Consistency and continuity of caring, respectful staff is therefore a priority.

Children are taught listening and questioning skills, how to interact in small and large groups, how to enter into a participating game, activities and projects, seeking agreed solutions and compromise.

Throughout the year, children spend a good part of their day outside, practicing gross motor skills, learning through their senses, observing and being exposed to the rhythm of the year. From very young, children are taken on excursions in prams or push carts to nearby playgrounds, parks, forests, beaches, libraries, museums etc. Older children walk. Nature is regarded as an outstanding playground for both physical and mental health and development. Throughout the year children from 0-2 sleep outside for their daytime sleeps (except if the temperature falls below minus 10 degrees Celsius).

Sweden's early childhood education is similar to the Danish approach, but with a greater emphasis on early academic learning and learning about nature. They also instil an all inclusive social responsibility between the children. This is a warm, patient, genuinely empathetic and respectful attitude which is consistently embedded in the Swedish fabric of life.

The Swedish preschool curriculum states: 

"Swedish society's international approach places high demands on people's ability to live with and understand the values of cultural diversity. Preschool is a social and cultural hub which can strengthen these abilities and better prepare children for a life in an increasingly international community. A better understanding of one's own cultural heritage, as well as the cultural heritage, circumstances and values of other people will contribute towards acceptance and understanding. Preschool can be conducive to helping those children who belong to minority groups, as well as children of ethnic background, so that they may experience a belonging to two cultures."

A natural work/life balance also strongly prevails in Denmark and Sweden, almost so balanced it is barely mentioned between the Scandinavians anymore, with children experiencing high priority and a very high standard of living.