ERASMUS+
We applied for the Modra pikica & Erasmus+ 2020 project in order to resume the good practice of preparing European projects, which our organisation has been doing since 2017.
Our wish was to expand the network of partner organisations, transfer examples of good practices,
especially in the fields of Montessori pedagogy and forest pedagogy.
We prepared 2 learning and teaching activities and 6 workplace observations.
The aim of the project was to improve our work; share the results with the parents,
the general and expert public; and, above all, improve the quality of working with children.
The teaching activities took place in the "Šumska djeca" forest kindergarten in Pula. Two Montessori teachers taught in the forest kindergarten for a week.
They showed the children what working at a Montessori kindergarten looks like,
and also taught them new games, songs and fairy tales.
The educational visits were paid to forest kindergartens in Croatia and the Czech Republic.
We visited 3 Montessori kindergartens and 4 forest kindergartens.
Within our project, we carried out 8 mobilities in 3 countries: 4 educational visits and 2 teaching mobilities.
The mobilities took place in the Czech Republic, Croatia and Germany.
The teaching mobility for the two participants took place in Croatia.
– one of the few Croatian Montessori kindergartens that also progresses to a school programme
- many years of Montessori practice and innovative Montessori materials
– a robust international network
- the mobility included a visit to an NTC kindergarten that follows Dr Ranko Rajović's method
4. A visit to a vocational school for preschool teachers.
The organisation is very experienced, as it arranges student internships in various German and European organisations (mainly kindergartens).
As part of the Erasmus project, one of their students completed an 5-week-long internship at our kindergarten.
Experiences:
– A good network of kindergartens and related organisations – the participants received a very diverse programme
which included educator visits to kindergartens and schools
– An extensive European network
– Participation in many European projects, within one of which our principal was invited
to be a guest lecturer for their students
Experiences:
– a good network together with other Brno kindergartens;
they organised 3 additional visits to other forest and Montessori kindergartens
– an internationally renowned kindergarten – part of global and European networks of forest kindergartens
– a refined curriculum recognised at a national level – possibly transferable to a Slovenian setting
– very innovative premises – the kindergarten even has its own ecological sauna
3. Croatia, a visit to a Montessori kindergarten and school
The two participants observed: what working with the children in nature was like, the children's clothing,
the cooperation with the parents, the usage of Montessori methods, examples of good practices.
Experiences:
– one of the few Croatian Montessori kindergartens that also progresses to a school programme
- many years of Montessori practice and innovative Montessori materials
– a robust international network
- the mobility included a visit to an NTC kindergarten that follows Dr Ranko Rajović's method
4. A visit to a vocational school for preschool teachers.
The organisation is very experienced, as it arranges student internships in various German and European organisations (mainly kindergartens).
As part of the Erasmus project, one of their students completed an 5-week-long internship at our kindergarten.
Experiences:
– A good network of kindergartens and related organisations – the participants received a very diverse programme
which included educator visits to kindergartens and schools
– An extensive European network
– Participation in many European projects, within one of which our principal was invited
to be a guest lecturer for their students
By implementing the project, we wanted to achieve the following goals:
– to become acquainted with how Montessori pedagogy is applied within various European educational systems
- to become acquainted with how Montessori educators are being trained in Europe
– to transfer elements of some high-quality educational systems to ours
(mainly in the field of forest kindergarten and Montessori pedagogy)
- to increase the internationalisation of our kindergarten within the European area
- to encourage kindergarten professionals to participate in Erasmus+ projects
- to gain new professional connections with kindergartens across Europe
- to improve the linguistic competences of professionals
- to improve the methods and types of work within the different kindergarten groups.
– one of the few Croatian Montessori kindergartens that also progresses to a school programme
- many years of Montessori practice and innovative Montessori materials
– a robust international network
- the mobility included a visit to an NTC kindergarten that follows Dr Ranko Rajović's method
The main areas of development were Montessori pedagogy and forest pedagogy.
1. Croatia, "Gozdna djeca" kindergarten. Two participants carried out teaching activities and taught for 5 days.
One participant was also a workplace observer in a separate mobility.
Content: active inclusion in a group of children ages 3–6; preparation of Montessori activities in English and Croatian;
taking part in activities within and outside the kindergarten (accompanying children to exercise and outings);
presentations of our kindergarten and country; participation in kindergarten meetings;
reviewing Montessori materials; producing a booklet about the Montessori environment and materials.
The kindergarten contributed the following experiences:
– a very experienced forest kindergarten
– a good forest kindergarten curriculum
– a thorough focus on ecology and sustainable development
– good cooperation with parents and non-governmental organisations
– an emphasis on the importance of nutrition in kindergarten – healthy and organic food
2. Czech Republic, forest kindergarten, workplace observation, 5 days
The participant was involved in all activities of the kindergarten and observed:
what working with the children in nature was like, the children's clothing, the cooperation with the parents, the usage of methods of outdoors and forest pedagogy,
the safety measures, the temporary residences that they set up outdoors, examples of good practices in forest pedagogy, the involvement of the municipality in supporting the kindergarten,
the transport of children, the additional equipment of the kindergarten, the forest pedagogy curriculum and work materials.
Collecting visuals for the purpose of lectures in Slovenia and media publications.
Projekt Modra pikica in Erasmus plus, prijavljen v letu 2019, je projekt KA1, šolska partnerstva, v katerem smo omogočali strokovnim delavcem vrtca obisk v različnih partnerskih organizacijah. V projektu smo izvedli mobilnosti na Češko in Hrvaško, Tema projekta je bila povezana z montessori pedagogiko in gozdnimi vrtci.
Projekt Modra pikica in Erasmus plus, prijavljen v letu 2020, je projekt KA1, šolska partnerstva, v katerem omogočamo strokovnim delavcem vrtca obisk v različnih partnerskih organizacijah. V projektu načrtujemo mobilnosti na Češko, Norveško, Hrvaško. Tematika projekta je montessori pedagogika, dve strokovni delavki bosta poučevali v sorodnem vrtcu na Češkem, ostali strokovni delavci pa bodo opazovali v partnerskih organizacijah. Nadgrajujemo projekt iz prejšnjega leta in poglabljamo svoje znanje iz gozdne pedagogike ter trajnostnega razvoja. Tako bo 6 strokovnih delavcev opazovalo te dejavnosti v treh različnih državah.
Project Modra pikica in Erasmus plus, applied in 2019, is a KA1 project, school partnerships, in which we enabled kindergarten teachers to visit partners from Czech Republic and Croatia.The theme of the project was related to Montessori pedagogy and forest kindergartens.
Modra pikica and Erasmus plus 2020 project, applied in 2020, is a KA1 project, a school partnership in which we enable kindergarten professionals to visit various partner organizations. The project plans mobilities to the Czech Republic, Norway and Croatia. The theme of the project is Montessori pedagogy, two professionals will teach in a related kindergarten in the Czech Republic, and other professionals will do job shadowings in partner organizations. We are upgrading the project from the previous year and deepening our knowledge of forest pedagogy and sustainable development. Thus, 6 professionals will observe these activities in three different countries.
Children SAFETY in Outdoor Kindergartens for the better learning results
V projektu Erasmus plus, KA2 sta sodelovala dva gozdna vrtca ter naš montessori vrtec. Ustvarjanje varnega okolja za otroke je prioriteta v vseh treh vrtcih terje bila tudi tema tega projekta. Cilj projekta je bil izboljšati kakovost predšolske vzgoje z izmenjavo dobrih praks in odgovoriti na vprašaje, kako zagotoviti čim večjo varnost v času, ko so otroci na prostem.
Cilji projekta so bili:
- povečati usposobljenost zaposlenih (učiteljskega in administrativnega osebja) o varnosti otrok
- delitev znanja in najboljših praks med partnerskimi vrtci
- pripraviti varnostne smernice za otroke na podlagi pedagogike na prostem in najboljših primerov partnerskih držav.
Partnerji:
- VSI Lauko darzelis (Litva);
- Modra pikica (Slovenija);
- Waldkindergarten Flensburg e.V. (Nemčija)
Pripravili smo 3 virtualne aktivnosti učenja, poučevanja in usposabljanja in 3 fizične aktivnosti, vsaka partnerska organizacija je dvakrat gostila učiteljski tim.
Children SAFETY in Outdoor Kindergartens for the better learning results
Two forest kindergartens and our Montessori kindergarten were involved in the project Erasmus plus, KA2. The topic was creating a safe environment for children. The aim of the project was to improve the quality of pre-school education by sharing good practices and answering questions about how to maximize safety while children are outdoors.
Project goals were:
- to increase the competence of employees (teaching and administrative staff) on child safety
- sharing knowledge and best practices among partner kindergartens
- Develop safety guidelines for children based on outdoor pedagogy and best practices from partner countries.
Partners:
- ALL Lauko darzelis (Lithuania);
- Modra pikica (Slovenia);
- Waldkindergarten Flensburg e.V. (Germany)
We prepared 3 virtual learning, teaching and training activities and three physical mobilities, each partner organisation hosted a teaching team twice. All visits were related to the topic of safety.
LIFESTEPS
Projekt LIfeSteps je projekt Erasmus plus, KA2, ki je povezoval partnerski vrtec iz Romunije, kot koordinator, partnerski vrtec iz Italje, Španije ter naš vrtec Modra pikica.
Naslavljal je problem, da otroci v predšolski dobi pogosto ne pridobijo spretnosti in uporabnih znanj, s pomočjo katerih bi lahko bili bolj samostojni. Odgovornost za razvoj samostojnosti pa je tako na starših kot na vrtcih, ki jih obiskujejo. Naš cilj je v treh letih projekta je bil raziskati primere dobre prakse v sodelujočih vrtcih ter pokazati, s pomočjo katerih metod in oblik dela najbolj optimalno razvijamo otrokovo samostojnost in s tem tudi samozavest. Vloga Modre pikice, ki je montessori vrtec je bil tas, da pokažemo na primere dobre prakse s področja montessori pedagogike.
V projektu smo načrtovali pet aktivnosti učenja, poučevanja in usposabljanja, dve od teh sta bili v Sloveniji.
Partnerji/vrtci:
- GRADINITA CU PROGRAM PRELUNGIT, COZIA Romania
- Modra pikica, Ljubljana, Slovenija
- Fundación Patronanto Avemariano de Granada C.E.P. AVE MARIA CASA MADRE Španija
- Istituto Comprensivo “Gabriele Rossetti ” Italija
LIFESTEPS
The LIfeSteps project is an Erasmus plus, KA2 project that connects partner kindergarten from Romania, coordinator, partner kindergarten from Italy, Spain and our kindergarten Modra pikica.
It addressed the problem that preschool children often do not acquire the skills and useful knowledge to help them become more independent. However, the responsibility for developing independence lies with the parents and kindergartens they attend. Our goal in the two years of the project was to investigate examples of good practice in participating kindergartens and to show which methods best optimize the development of a child’s independence and thus also self-confidence. The role of the Modra pikica, which is a montessori kindergarten, was to show examples of good practice in the field of montessori pedagogy.
The project planned five Learning, teaching and training activities, two of which was in Slovenia.
Partners:
- GRADINITA CU PROGRAM PRELUNGIT, COZIA Romania
- Modra pikica, Ljubljana, Slovenija
- Fundación Patronanto Avemariano de Granada C.E.P. AVE MARIA CASA MADRE Španija
- Istituto Comprensivo “Gabriele Rossetti ” Italija
The LIfeSteps project lasted for three years and within the project we prepared 4 modules: Learning with awareness, Learning for life, I do it myself, Living in communities. Within the framework of these 4 modules, which we prepared throughout the project and developed through our own learning and teaching activities, we also prepared the following results: celebration of various days (e.g. a day for gratitude, spring day, day of differences etc.), we photographed the celebrations and combined them into a 72-page booklet. We also produced aids for developing independence at kindergarten (how children dress themselves on their own, prepare snacks on their own, get ready themselves etc.), on the basis of which we created a 37-page independence programme. At the same time, we made improvements to the playgrounds in all the kindergartens: new playground equipment (e.g. a wooden kitchen, a corner for water activities, musical instruments, planted flowers, a herb and vegetable garden etc.). As part of the Modra pikica & Erasmus+ project we also built a labyrinth, which provided a nice connection between our KA1 and KA2 projects.
You can find the results below and take a look at the photos as well.
FUTURE CHILD, GREEN KINDERGARTENS
Projekt Future child, green kindergartens je projekt Erasmus plus, KA2. Projekt koordinira Modra pikica, partnerji pa so Vrtec Galjevica iz Ljubljane, Linerla barnehage in Skrarunga barehage iz Kristiansanda na Norveškem ter gozdni vrtec Jelinek iz Kunštata v Češki republiki. Aktivnosti učenja, poučevanja in usposabljanja bodo potekale na Češkem, na Norveškem, zaključna aktivnost učenja pa bo potekala v zadnjem tednu v maju 2020 v Ljubljani. Na tem srečanju bomo organizirali tudi zaključno konferenco, kjer bomo predstavili rezultate projekta, učna gradiva s področja trajnostnega razvoja, ki je tema našega projekta. Izdelali bomo tudi koledar, ki bo predstavljal trajnostni razvoj v najširšem smislu. To pomeni tematiko ekologije kot tudi miru in strpnosti.
Partnerji/vrtci:
- Modra pikica – coordinator
- Galjevica kindergarten
- Skarungen barnehage
- Linerla barnehage
- Jelinek, Kunštat
THE FUTURE CHILD, GREEN KINDERGARTENS
The Future child, green kindergartens project is the Erasmus plus project, KA2. The project is coordinated by the Modra pikica, and partners include the Galjevica Kindergarten in Ljubljana, Linerla barnehage and Skrarunga barehage in Kristiansand, Norway, and the Jelinek Forest Kindergarten in the Czech Republic. Learning, teaching and training activities will take place in the Czech Republic, Norway, and the final learning activity will take place in the last week in May 2020 in Ljubljana. At this meeting we will also organize a closing conference where we will present the results of the project, teaching materials in the field of sustainable development, which is the theme of our project. We will also create a calendar that represents sustainable development in the broadest sense. This means ecology as well as peace and tolerance.
Partners:
- Modra pikica – coordinator
- Galjevica kindergarten
- Skarungen barnehage
- Linerla barnehage
- Jelinek, Kunštat
English (UK) 
Slovenščina