Randi and Hans Jacob Sundby are the founders and owners of Læringsverkstedet. They are both educationalists with comprehensive knowledge about children and kindergarten operation. The kindergartens were established based on a desire to strengthen the feeling of self-worth in children.

When asked how many kindergartens they intend to operate, Randi and Hans Jacob always reply: How many children need to be told they are valuable?

1983 | Hans Jacob at Summer Camp
This story starts with five friends creating a summer camp for children, who never get to go on holiday. Hans Jacob meets a little girl, who says: “You know, Hans Jacob, there is no swearing and drinking here”. He now knows what to do with his life.

1986 | Randi’s Career Choice
Randi finds her dream, and it is not becoming an optician like the rest of her family, but rather to develop an environment where children flourish and feel that they are worth something.

1998 | The Same Dream
They meet at Jessheim during their studies at the college of education. They both have a dream that all children should feel valuable. They get married, and start their common project and life work.

2003 | The First Kindergarten
The idea is to start a great kindergarten with great contents, where the self-worth of the children is put first. They hear talk about a kindergarten about to be closed in Randi’s childhood town, Kristiansand. Let’s buy it! The kindergarten has 15 adults and 150 children. Finally, their dream comes true!

2009 | Then Followed a Few Kindergartens More ...
They recruit more skilled people and expand to 225 adults and 1020 children.

2015 ...and a few more...
More and more kindergartens want to join Læringsverkstedet – 2400 adults and 7000 children.

2022 ...and even more...
We have more that 240 kindergartens in Norway. We will probably grow even bigger – as many children as possible should be told that they are valuable.