Toddlers’ introduction to the nursery and children’s meaning making A majority of the children in Swedish nurseries (the nursery is a part of the Swedish pre-school) are 1- 4 years old. In spite of this, studies that focus on toddlers in educational contexts are rare; mostly they involve older children. Sciences that define children and childhood are of importance to the construction of this phase of life. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the youngest children’s first encounter with an educational institution and their meaning making processes. The initial question of the study is: Which patterns and variations are distinguished by toddlers´ introduction to a nursery in a perspective of interaction and meaning making? This project concerning toddlers’ introduction to a nursery is accomplished as a case study at one nursery with 20 children aged 1-1 1/2 years old. The study is theoretically based on the sociology of childhood, theory of learning and meaning making. The methods used are observations, field notes and interviews with educators and parents. This is a study in progress and at present the analyses are not completed. However, the preliminary result of my observations is that the interaction between the educators and the children vary, have different functions in different situations and that expressions of emotions and the responses from the educators are of importance concerning children’s meaning making.