IKEA Now Has Swedish Language Lessons for Kids Stuck at Home

For years, IKEA has made home living easier with their inexpensive, reliable products. Now, they’re making schooling easier with a new program that’ll keep kids engaged during the pandemic.

Made by IKEA UK and Ireland, the program involves a series of Swedish language lessons, each only lasting about two minutes and made simple for beginners, covering topics such as family, nature, and geography. 

Of course, students will also learn the origins and meanings of the names of IKEA’s products. For instance, bed sheets, comforters, and pillowcases are named after plants and flowers, while bookcases are named after occupations or boys’ names (fun fact: the bestselling BILLY bookcase was dedicated to the company’s advertising manager Billy Likjedhal, who said he wanted “a proper bookcase just for books” to be made).

A few IKEA products also make cameos. GNARP, a three-piece kitchen utensil set, is revealed to be named after a Swedish town, while the AINA cushion cover shares the same name as many women in Scandinavia. You’ll also get the chance to count IKEA’s beloved meatballs in Swedish.

According to IKEA, the program was made to help parents encourage their kids to continue learning while they wait for face-to-face classes to resume. 

“Juggling work and homeschooling is no easy task, with parents around the country doing an incredible job in a really tough situation,” said Thomas Parker, children’s business leader at IKEA UK and Ireland, in a statement. “We’ve created these fun, educational lessons to keep children entertained for a short while and give parents some much-needed time back in their day, whether that’s in-between lessons or when homeschooling has finished.”