Project "Experiments - the best learning science” is based on the Cooperation and Innovation for Good Practices takeover. The project comprises 6 preschool educational institutions from different countries (Latvia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Romania) with a total of 1115 children (including 77 children with special needs) aged 3-7 and 112 teachers with a different experience, knowledge, beliefs, but common objectives: 1. To improve teachers’ knowledge and skills teaching children science based on practical pilot and research activities. 2. To develop methodological materials on teaching science in preschool based on various national competencies. 3. To improve the science curriculum in preschool using innovative teaching methods. 4. To improve the quality of education in the participating organizations and European countries. 5. To improve teachers' foreign language skills, information communications technology skills. 6. To create a better awareness of the education system in Europe, strengthen the role of preschool profession. Today, we can see different technologies rapidly entering educational institutions - interactive blackboards, computers, televisions, which have already replaced learning practically doing experimenting, researching. We believe that the teacher is able to organize high quality, modern, attractive teaching process, teachers have to learn by theirselves, search for the opportunities to learn from other European countries. Need to summary own and other country’s experience and develop methodological materials that work well with children in preschool. By doing things practically at different times, in different places, and with different materials, experimenting and studying children learn simple and complex things in an interesting way, because it involves concern about the environment and culture, develops their thinking and imagination. We have chosen this subject, and believe that because of the project teachers will have the opportunity to improve their understanding of the processes of education in Europe, take the best experiences and share them, improve their knowledge of geography and nature of their and partners’ countries, improve the understanding of education regarding sustainable development and global citizenship, improve their professional skills, learn from others, communicate with teachers in other countries. Our aim is to achieve the objectives of the project by cooperating and working actively together with institutional management, teachers, parents and children. The teachers will attend 6 learning/training seminars, one in each partner country, during which they will do practical work, experiments and will share their experience about the sub-themes: 1. „Experiments in learning fundamentals of Chemistry"- Latvia 2. „Experiments in the kitchen” - Bulgaria 3. „Experiments with naturally occurring color” - Poland 4. „Space – sky above us”-Italy 5. „Experiments in learning fundamentals of Physics”- Romania 6. „Experiments with natural materials”-Turkey New methodological material for learning nature science to children will be innovative, because it will encourage the use of experiments, as the best way of learning nature science: The methodological material will comprise a material Guide in teaching science in preschool „EXPERIMENTS IN PRESCHOOL ", a calendar „ERASMUS EXPERIMENT 2016”, a city map „MY LITTLE HIKE” giving teachers an opportunity to work in an interesting way, to improve the quality of education in the long term. The material will be widely disseminated via Internet sites, so that they are available to the general public across Europe. Main activities: Survey for the teachers and parents. Communication and conversation blog created on the E - twinning website. The set-up of the project website and its regular improvement. Drawing a naturally-occurring natural - color calendar „ERASMUS EXPERIMENT 2016 " and its publication. City map "MY LITTLE HIKE" showing the places where you can conduct experiments. Family event "MY LITTLE HIKE", where families conduct experiments using a map of the city and methodological materials. The exhibition "ROCKS" taking place in each country, summarizing each country's most interesting rocks. Transfer of expertise within the organization at every international meeting. Active and continuous experimental work, approbation of material "EXPERIMENTS IN PRESCHOOL” topics in order to understand the ongoing processes and regularities. Parents' Day "Parents teach children to experiment". Filming, photography, supplementing information uploaded on the Web page. Teacher skill improvement in the ICT. Teacher language skill improvement. Evaluation events of project’s results. The project will provide an opportunity to strengthen the teacher’s profession, motivate teachers to learn and teach in an innovative way, to understand the priorities of early education.
Project "Experiments - the Best Learning Science” was based on the Cooperation and Innovation for Good Practices takeover. Six preschool educational institutions from different countries (Latvia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland, Romania) took part in the project with the total of 1115 children (including 77 children with special needs) aged 3-7 and 112 teachers with different experience, knowledge, beliefs, common objectives were: 1. To improve teachers’ knowledge and skills while teaching children science based on practical pilot and research activities. 2. To develop methodological materials on teaching science in preschools on the basis of various national competencies. 3. To improve the science curriculum in preschools using innovative teaching methods. 4. To improve the quality of education in the participating organizations and European countries. 5. To improve foreign language skills for teachers and ICT skills. 6. To create a better awareness of the education system in Europe, strengthen the role of preschool profession. Today, when different technologies rapidly enter educational institutions the most popular are interactive boards, computers, televisions, which have already replaced learning through practical involvement into the learning process. We believe that the teachers are able to organize high quality, modern, attractive teaching learning process, but teachers have to learn by themselves, look for the opportunities to learn from other European countries. The teachers involved in the project had to summarize their own experience, as well as the one they acquired from other countries and they had to develop methodological materials that worked well with children in preschools. By doing things practically at different times, in different places, and with different materials, experimenting and studying children learnt simple and complex things in an interesting and gripping way, because the learning process was developed so that it would involve concern about the environment and culture, develop their thinking and imagination. We chose this subject and believed that because of the project teachers would have the opportunity to improve their understanding of the processes of education in Europe, take the best experiences and share them, improve their knowledge of geography and nature of their and partners’ countries, improve the understanding of education regarding sustainable development and global citizenship, improve their professional skills, learn from others, communicate with teachers in other countries. Our aim was to achieve the objectives of the project by cooperating and working actively together with institutional management, teachers, parents and children. The teachers attended 4 learning seminars, during which they took part in practical work, experiments and shared their experience about the sub-themes: 1. „Experiments in learning fundamentals of Chemistry"- Latvia 2. „Experiments in the kitchen” - Bulgaria 3. „Space –the sky above us”-Italy 4. „Experiments with natural materials”-Turkey . During the transnational meetings in Romania and Poland participants shared experience about the sub-themes “ „Experiments in learning fundamentals of Physics” and “Experiments with naturally occurring colours”. A new methodological material for teaching natural science to children was an innovation, because it encouraged the use of experiments. The methodological material comprises a material Guide in teaching science in a preschool ”EXPERIMENTS IN PRESCHOOL ", a calendar „ERASMUS EXPERIMENT 2016”, a city map „MY LITTLE HIKE” which give teachers an opportunity to work in an interesting way, to improve the quality of educational process in the long term. The material has been widely disseminated via Internet sites, so that it would be available to the general public across Europe. Main activities done: At the beginning and the end of the project the survey for the teachers and parents was carried out. Communication and conversation blog created on the E - twinning website. A website for project was set up and it is still regularly updated. Calendar “ERASMUS EXPERIMENT 2016 " was developed and issued. Together six city maps called "MY LITTLE HIKE" were made, one for each partner country, they depicted the places where you can perform experiments. Family event, where families carried out experiments using a map of the city and methodological materials was held in each country. The exhibition "ROCKS" took place in each country, giving possibility to explore the most interesting rocks of each country. At every international meeting organizations shared their expertise. Parents' Day "Parents teach children to experiment" was organized. Filming, photography, supplementing information were uploaded on the Website. Teacher`s ICT skills were improved. Teacher language skills were improved. Evaluation events of project’s results were held. Web page www.experimentsforkids.org