The idea of the project is to popularize the implementation of active learning methods based on educational projects with young children. The children become "active learners", acquiring broader skills and competencies that are important for being successful in life. The period of kindergarten and primary school age is unique in the growth of man. During this period, an intensive mental and physical development takes place, which layers the foundations of the personality of the child.Early childhood is the stage at which education can most effectively influence the children’s development. The European Union therefore wants all young children to be able to access and benefit from high quality education and care. Reliable information on ECEC systems in Europe is essential in order to understand what challenges are facing European countries, what we can learn from each other, and what new solutions might be developed to meet the needs of the youngest members of society. The project will develop curriculum based cooperation of preschool teachers, by challenging them to use the skills of multicultural team working to fulfill the outlined local and international project activities. We will focus on the teaching of mathematics and science at an early age. Aims:1.To improve the attainment of young people with low basic skills in numeracy, literacy and science 2. To develop high quality and accessible Early Childhood Education 3. To revise and strength the professional profile of the teaching professions.4. To exchange experiences and good practice, carry out peer learning activities and workshops 5. To increase parent and child interaction time on basic mathematical and scientific based activities 6.To improve the schools’ approaches and teaching methods towards attaining and developing skills in science and math.7. To develop better learning strategies based on good-practices in all participating schools.8. To emphasize the quality of education in preschools and find solutions to increase the cooperation with parents.9.To share cultural diversities in preschool education; 10. To encourage teachers to introduce innovations; 11. To strengthen the professional skills of the preschool teachers.Good Start, Grow Smart” is a partnership between six pre-schools from six European countires. Our partnerships addresses the common challenges for European schools in search of the best teaching methods and tools within science and Mathemathic. It focuses on exchanging good ideas and on sharing best practices.The partnership will develope different Mathematic and Sciencitific teaching methods activities, will observe the practice of these activities by teacher mobilities, practice them at schools and see the results of the efforts. The results and activities will be shared in the web page and social media. The carried out activities and experiences will bring thye partnership to a combined book ‘Maths in Kindergarten’ and “ Science in Kindergarten” which will be a matter to sustain the Project goals. The teachers will learn new methods, develope their skills and get experience. The children will love Mathematics and Science. The partnership will have an important impact in our schools and allow us to develop further projects for our pupils. "Good Start, Grow Smart" will provide pre-school teachers with the necessary skills and innovative methodologies so that they can meet the development of the key-competences in children;The project will give pupils, teachers and heads of staff valuable intercultural knowledge. These issues will be addressed both through the project meetings and the local activities. The pupils will gain positive insights about Europe at early ages and learn about the concepts like culture, interculturalism, cooperation, communication.The teachers will develop their pedagogical and methodological skills of teaching preschool subjects,improve their methodological skills of integrating preschool with intercultural learning,improve their competences and skills of partner languages,reduce their xenophobia or rooted prejudices about other countries in Europe.Final products will be important for teaching material that can be used after the project, in the project schools and other schools interested. - Good practice guide "Math in kindergarten " and " Science in Kindergarten" translated into partner languages will allow free access to the public via the Internet and will be applicable to long-term partner in the national curriculum of schools.Preschool and kindergarten are the most important grades. Early childhood is crucial to later success in school and in life.ALL CHILDREN DESERVE A GOOD START AND GOOD GROW.
The "Good Start, Grow Smart" project wanted and made possible the popularization of the implementation of active learning methods based on projects at an early age.Thus his objectives have resulted in: - formation and development of mathematical skills in the kindergarten; - quality education, based on accessibility, in early childhood; - revising and improving the professional profile of teachers; - exchange of experience and best practices through workshops, learning activities; - fostering the interaction between teacher and child, child and child, parent and child in scientific activities; - extending the approaches to scientific activities by acquiring better teaching-learning strategies, focusing on the quality of education; - encouraging innovation, sharing in diversity, solidity in professional skills; - ensuring a long-lasting impact of the European dimension of education; The transnationality of the project has contributed to the modernization of the educational systems, it has brought European added value, it encouraged the exchange of good practice and developed new methodological approaches, it allowed description, understanding, comparison and exploration beyond the borders. We can say that the project has passed beyond the conventional approach of scientific activities, it has put us in the situation, not to solve many problems, but to face many challenges. Supplementary methods providing innovation and the way they have been shared , are, have been and will be the inspiration for curricular and extracurricular approaches. Expected results have become reality and can be listed as follows: - lesson plans for mathematical / scientific activities; - methodical guides (good practices guides) - "Mathematics in the kindergarten" and "Science in the kindergarten" ; - the "Good Start, Grow Smart" website; - improving IT skills; - improving language skills; - new activities embedded in the kindergarten’s curriculum; - increasing the level of understanding and concrete application of scientific knowledge (age-adjusted) for preschool children; During 24 months of implementation, a series of specific activities, mathematical and scientific, IT and foreign language (English), were carried out, as well as activities of sharing good practices, monitoring, evaluation , sequenced in a tracked calendar, and carried out step by step by all participants in the project. The project highlighted the role of the child as an active and curious participant, allowing pre-school children to learn through action. They explored scientific and mathematical concepts through interesting experiments age-ajusted, developed positive attitudes towards math and science in pre-school years, and new opportunities to use mathematics and logical thinking to solve problems. This project has helped children to develop provisions such as curiosity, imagination, flexibility, inventiveness and perseverance. Likewise, preschoolers have gained positive insights about Europe and have learned about concepts such as culture, cooperation, communication. The focus of the project also fell on enhancing knowledge and intercultural understanding and among participants, preschool, parents, teachers and executives and, in addition, to gain a deeper understanding of the different European school systems, their interdependence, diversity and the real change. The teachers involved in the project had the opportunity to compare different educational programs, to identify common and different points. Throughout this partnership, teachers learned new teaching / learning / evaluation methodologies, exchanged experience, ideas, lesson plans, and found new educational opportunities. In "Good Start, Grow Smart", teachers have gained professional experience by learning good practices for child development in kindergarten and they are using this knowledge to design new learning experiences. Collaboration between different kindergartens, different cultures, different countries and languages has helped pre-school children, teachers and the whole community to go beyond the barrier to racial and cultural differences. Those listed above have become part of the practice and the normal planning of the school. The educational community, aware of the evolution and progress of the project through a variety of means, such as pedagogical circles, meetings with parents, conferences, symposiums, realized how important is the benefit of early access to quality education, early childhood being the crucial stage for evolution in school and in life.