mercoledì 11 aprile 2012

Teachers and pedagogical coordinators involved in the European project L2L have met at the headquarters of Progettinfanzia to work together in drafting the L2L publication.
This was also an opportunity for educators to organize next study week in Girona, from 6 to 12 May 2012.


The participants to the study week at Pericot preschool in Girona will be:

- Manuela Giglioli, teacher
- Lorena Musiari, teacher
- Erika Rodella, teacher
- Catia Benassi, teacher
- Simona Cavalmoretti, teacher
- Ines Miriam Gialdi, teacher
- Alessandra Ferrari, pedagogical coordinator
- Vania Tagliavini, pedagogical coordinator
- Giliola Belli, pedagogical coordinator

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martedì 28 febbraio 2012

GERMANY


After two visits to Italy and a study meeting in İstanbul, our fourth study visit was in Kinderhaus, in Maintal, Germany.


Having our focus points in mind, we started observing the six different groups that the children can attend in the Kinderhaus.

DRAMA GROUP

ART GROUP

RESEARCH GROUP

MUSIC GROUP


ROLE-PLAY GROUP

FOREST GROUP


EXTREME AUTONOMIES


The environment provided in the Kinderhaus, allows self explorations of materials for the children and stimulates different developmental domains like cognitive, social, emotional, language and mostly physical.


FREEDOM


The children have more freedom than many other children in other countries. We discourage our children to explore freely but we observed that children in Kinderhaus are highly encouraged. They are self-motivated because they are doing what they really want to do.
Only they are responsible for themselves. If they want to eat their breakfast, they eat it but if not, they don`t. If they feel like hot, they take off their jackets even when it’s freezing. The teachers don`t interfere. We loved it because in our country, based on our cultural background and the way we were raised, we are highly protective of our children. Unfortunately, we stop our children from being independent.

CRITICAL THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS


The children have opportunities to play with ideas in different situations and with a variety of resources, and they discover connections and come to new and better understandings and ways of doing things. They improve their critical thinking and problem solving skills .

A TOUR IN AN EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING COMPANY


WORKING ON OUR PRESENTATION



POTATOES, POTATOES AND MORE POTATOES:)

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venerdì 3 febbraio 2012

Our German experience


ITALY:  from 2 to 7 of October 2011 we visited the Kinderhaus in Maintal


Here is our team:
Teachers:
-Imelde Losi
-Giulia Montanari
-Gessica Di Giacinto
-Lucia Zani
-Simona Menozzi
Pedagogical Coordinators:
-Patrizia Benedetti
-Alessandra Ferrari
Cristian Fabbi, Director
Giammaria Manghi, Mayor of Poviglio






The Kinderhaus is a public school and consists of 5 sections that are aimed at children aged 3 to 11 years.
The children attending primary school have access to preschool from 7 to 8 a.m. and back from 13 to 17 .
The sections are differentiated depending on their specific nature of the following: art, music, pretend play, drama, research and forest  group.

Each section has about 20 children of which 5/6 of primary school and two teachers with specialized studies in characterizing their own section.

 


    Music section:
    presence of multiple musical instruments






Art section: presence of a painting studio and various papers chromatically different

                                      



Drama section: puppets, marionettes and many disguises

 




Research section: light table, overhead and      material for experiments with water






Pretend play section: section equipped with a real kitchen in which the group can cook


Forest Group:   the forest as a space section






Working in a small group



Conclusion about focus of observation



 What are the key ideas and choices on 
the basis of our environmental planning?

a)      Internal and external area
b)      Organization of different spaces   (corners)
c)      Atelier
d)      Material





In which way does the environment support children to experiment polisensoriality?
a)      How can the environment stimulate the development of communication languages?
b)      How can the organization of the environment influence the development of social skills?





In which way does the environment support children autonomies?
a)      Self-confidence, wellness and a positive self-image
b)      Relation between autonomies and cultural issues (rules, laws, parents-teachers ideas)
c)      An adult that is in the proximal area of development (non-directive intervention)
d)      Cognitive development (learning to learn)
e)      Development of critical thinking (problem-solving in  a social dimension)





The visit to Kinderhaus and in particular section forest group has generated in our team a deep reflection on our outside living space and  and the autonomy that schools can and should support.


Thanks for giving us this opportunity


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lunedì 30 gennaio 2012

Italian group: our impressions ....



"Quello che proponiamo ai bambini nei nostri nidi e nelle nostre scuole è “fare esperienze” complesse, varie, significative e stimolanti attraverso cui possano trovare strade nuove, esprimere la propria soggettività aumentando l’autostima in relazione con gli altri.
Tutto questo è stato per me il viaggio a Maintal in Germania.
Ho “fatto esperienza”, un’esperienza che ti mette in gioco, in una relazione con le altre colleghe, che con me sono partite e che (tranne una) non conoscevo prima, con colleghe di altri paesi, altre culture, ma che ho scoperto condividere valori e motivazioni professionali molto vicine a noi.
Mi sono sentita in una dimensione “universale” in cui le difficoltà linguistiche sono state facilmente superate da un desiderio forte di comunicazione. E’ stato un vero confronto perché il nostro progetto educativo è stato accolto e messo in relazione con una nuova e coraggiosa realtà educativa.
L’esempio della scuola nel bosco ci ha suggerito, non tanto un’esperienza così originale e avventurosa da poter sembrare per noi forse un po’ utopistica, quanto un nuovo modo di considerare il bambino: consapevole, capace di autocontrollo e protagonista del suo apprendimento.
Tutto questo ci è sembrato possibile in un contesto naturale, ma anche ben definito nelle regole e negli obiettivi condivisi con i bambini stessi.
L’adulto che abbiamo conosciuto è sempre in ascolto del bambino ed educa all’ascolto, trasmettendo tranquillità, fiducia e rispettandone i tempi. È un adulto che comunica fermezza, ma vive in stretta relazione con la fantasia e la creatività che il bambino esprime stando nella natura.
Poter osservare questa realtà da vicino mi ha spinto inevitabilmente a riflettere sul mio modo di stare con i bambini, ha suscitato interrogativi, dubbi,idee che ho comunicato e confrontato al mio ritorno con le colleghe.
Tornare da questo viaggio è stato portare a casa “TANTO” e la carica di entusiasmo mi serve ancora per rimotivare il vivere quotidiano nella nostra realtà e con i nostri bambini."
                                                                                                            Graziana Soragna




"Il viaggio a Maintal è stato un'occasione innanzitutto di conoscenze multiple: da un lato la convivenza con  nuove colleghe ha portato al confronto sulle nostre strategie educative e, più in generale, sulla nostra cultura (oltre a tanto divertimento!), dall'altro la conoscenza con colleghi di altri Paesi e di altre “realtà” ma pur sempre con un obiettivo comune.
Credo che sia stata un'esperienza formativa molto arricchente ma anche, trasformativa nel senso che  mi ha fatto riflettere e rimettere in discussione alcune pratiche e modi di fare scuola, servendomi come stimolo per pensare a come portare alcuni cambiamenti dentro la mia sezione riguardo sicuramente al come vivere maggiormente lo spazio esterno ma anche rispetto alla forte autonomia emotiva che ho notato.
La forte sensazione che ho provato in quei giorni, che traspariva da questo modo di fare scuola (da  insegnanti e bambini) è stata la forte sensazione di libertà ma anche quella di possibilità, del “si può fare”.
Questa esperienza mi ha dato la possibilità di cogliere il meglio dalle due realtà (la nostra e quella di Maintal)."
                                                                                                  Giulia Montanari

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Visit in Germany - Kinderhaus Ludwig-Uhland-Straße, Maintal. 3-7 October 2011


(German comment) _ After the interesting and impressive visits to Italy and Turkey we were proud to welcome our partners on the project "L2L" to our "Kinderhaus Uhland-StraBe" in Maintal at the beginning of October 2011. Our guests were 20 highly motivated teachers from Italy, Catalonia and Turkey, curiois to get information about German way of working with children. The Kinderhaus aroused their curiosity because of its unique conception and their way of working. The classes are heterogenic in ages (from the age of three to eleven). The children work mostly in projects with self-generated content. The teachers support the children developing their skills through letting them find out (discovering) their own interests and their appropriate ways of learning. the classrooms have individual functions durind the time of "free playing". For example "research", "theatre" or "music" etc.
The first impression of Kinderhaus may have been very confusing for our guests.



Our visitors also gave special attention to the "forest group", because the idea of the forest group conception is very interesting and uncommon, especially in the countries our guests came from.
After four days of observation, reflexion and intensive discussion, we had a final official presentation where the guests gave a summary of their impressions. First they were "shocked" about the conception of the Kinderhaus. They asked themselves how children could learn while not being directly taught in topics. they were surprised that children wanted to learn and develop their own topics and plans of learning. Our guests were surprised about the even temper of the children and their interest in learning. They admired the provision of space and materials that create ideal learning situations, in order to develop the children's skills.
They noticed the great experience and empathy of the German teachers in working with children. Their final comment was to say "you are magic!" We German teachers were touched and also very proud.






We are working on the generative questions:


What are the key ideas and choices on the basis of our environmental planning?


In which way does the environment support children to experiment polisensoriality?


In which way does the environment support children autonomies?


We had also much fun together. Excursions and festivities were organised.We had tours exploring the cities of Frankfurt, Gelnhausen and Maintal-Hochstadt.We visited a centre of pedagogical education in Gelnhausen and the primary school "Villa Kunterbunt" in Maintal. We had a great party, full of fun and high spirits, with hessian specialities like Handkas (cheese, not loved by everyone) and Saurekraut and entertainment with the music group "Wingerts".The final party was organised in cooperation with the parents of the Kinderhaus. They created a great buffet with various international specialities.





It was a very intensive but impressive week. The relationship between the team of the Kinderhaus and the guests has become very close and sincere.
Many thanks to all of you.
We will be happy and curious to meet each other again next spring in Girona, Catalonia.






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giovedì 14 luglio 2011

ISTANBUL 1-7 MAY - CATALUNYA





Which spaces and materials have we observed in the school?



Wide classrooms, each with its toilet and its storage room; the space can therefore meet the needs of the pupils, allowing flexibility.
Each classroom is divided in two: the meeting and playing area, the chair and table area.
Lobbies with big-sized toys. In those areas, used for little breaks, pupils can run and ride toy vehicles, like they would do in a schoolyard.

Classrooms organized in thematic zones (art, English, library, investigation, etc), with plenty of materials available for the pupils.
Specific classrooms for plastic arts and for music, with copiousness material, suited on the pupils’ age and on the planned tasks.





In which way do these spaces and materials support autonomy, communication and social skills?

The kids play with the school material in full autonomy and this enhances their interaction. They freely choose their playing or working area; those relaxed sessions are combined with the teacher-guided ones.

The school material is stowed at “kid size”, so that the pupils do not require the help of an adult when picking something up.
Some sessions include chess playing, acting and ballet.




What are the key ideas and preferences for the basis of the environmental planning and the choice of materials?

Two main areas in each classrooms: the chair and table area, the meeting and playing area. Every teacher uses either one of those, based on the subject they are teaching.
The pupils move freely around the class; this includes the possibility of going to the toilet anytime they need to.
The wide range of teaching material goes from items aimed to promote the pupils’ creative skills to those used for a more structured learning process.
The table layout is adapted to the activity or the preference of each teacher. This makes the tables another teaching tool, since they can every time be arranged in a semi-circular, full circular, or rectangular shaped layout.

In which way does the environment support children to experiment polisensoriality?

The pupils are provided with a wide range of material to stimulate their 5 senses, even though the senses of smell and taste are the least focused on. On the other hand, the other three senses of sight, hearing and touch are very much stimulated.



In which way does the environment support children autonomy, communication and social skills?

The breaks between each class are not only moments to relax, but as well opportunities to promote the pupils autonomy. In fact, this is when the kids develop their social skills, resolving any arising conflict, which would not be typical of a classroom environment, without the intervention of an adult.


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