In Romanian, Turkish and Portuguese kindergartens we observed that preschoolers are less attracted to science. That is why we conducted an eTwinning project called Small Scientists “discovering the sky” with partners from other countries. The eTwinning project had a significant impact with local communities and at national and international level and was very successful and awarded. After seeing that our eTwinning project was so successful some of the initial partners: the founders (Turkey), Romania (the 2 kindergartens) and Portugal, decided to apply for on Erasmus+ project. We consider that our approach would be more effective and have an ever greater success, impact and visibility if our project would develop into an Erasmus+ project and receive funding to benefit for mobilities, meetings and printing auxiliary materials created during the project. The activities and results of the project will be conducted more thoroughly and thus offer a more reliable and valuable source for the exchange of good practices and innovative methods and techniques. On the eTwinning forum we found other partners with different backgrounds, mentalities and experiences to help us create a genuinely practical approach which will prove to be more efficient than any theoretical learning. The new partners we co-opted in our journey (France, Lithuania and Estonia) agreed that they also observed the low interest in Sciences in kindergarten and together we decided to find a way to integrate activities into the curriculum. In this project we plan to expand our search with other themes (earth, air, water, fire) and also reach a higher number of children and conduct activities with a bigger impact. We plan to adapt science which is a highly abstract subject to the preschool curriculum through play and experiments, not only using definitions and theory and to apply this knowledge in finding ways to keep the environment clean and healthy. This project is designed only for preschool level and is particularly exciting for children this age because they are put in a position to explore, learn on their own, using new methods and concrete work; what makes them happy and eager to work. It is necessary for this project to be transnational in order to exchange experience, to see the workings of other children their age and because we have partners from 6 countries and 7 institutions we believe that we will succeed with that. By the end of the project, participants will be able to apply experiments, form abilities to use web 2.0 tools, develop social, civic and intercultural skills, develop research, critical and creative thinking approach and understanding of contemporary environmental problems, create auxiliary materials using web 2.0 tools and integrate Science area contents in other areas. They will be able to improve communication in a foreign language (English), develop positive attitudes to prevent and solve future problems and become acquainted with the heritage and culture of other European nations in order to understand similarities between different cultures strengthening European identity. In order to achieve our goals and objectives we would use methodology which requires the adoption of methods of active learning and energetic acquisition of knowledge and skills, which allow the children to shape a personal opinion regarding issues and matters of everyday life. For a better evolvement of our project, we plan to use online platforms and social media in order to communicate, promote, disseminate and be more visible in the virtual world. We plan to open more to the community through collaboration with related institutions, parents, museums, Planetarium, Aquarium, National Environmental Protection Agencies, NGOs, local and district welfare services, Universities etc. By presenting and disseminating the results of the project activities to local educational community in professional development meetings we will facilitate the replication of good practices. For local visibility stands will be prepared in the institutions and regular meetings with the community, the information of project activities will be available on institution and project websites for everyone. For our project we plan to have 3 transnational meetings for direct communication and cooperation between the project coordinators and 4 learning, teaching and training activities so teachers who travel abroad are able to work with colleagues from other European kindergartens in person. We will ensure the sustainability of the project through the continuity of the teaching and non-teaching staff involved in the project, by using the material and knowledge acquired, and continuing education about the activities and skills to be developed and implemented.
Small Scientists Across Europe is a project combining kindergarten education programmes, reflections on the implementation of these programmes and innovative methods for acquiring scientific knowledge in order to develop thinking in a structured way. This project brought together seven European schools of preschool level from six different countries, including a school specialising in the education of pupils with disabilities, linking more than 75 teachers, 1000 pupils and their families. It allowed students to broaden their scientific knowledge on four main themes: Earth, Air, Water and Fire and to be confronted with problem situations in order to acquire the skills necessary to understand phenomena through an investigative approach. By allowing children to appropriate a motivating starting question (simple but making sense so that children appropriate the problem and want to solve it), this approach allows them to experiment themselves with simple and available equipment, to confront others in action, to observe what they are looking for, to discuss with their peers, to bring out solutions and to share discoveries. This approach allows for in-depth and not superficial learning through the understanding of the real-world phenomena to which they have been exposed and the active construction of knowledge. This project also made it possible to develop language in all its dimensions and communication. Each theme to be studied was divided into several experiments taking into account the material, effects and possible transformations. The young child in each structure was confronted not only with experiments conducted in his or her environment, but also those carried out by the partners (twenty-one different experiments on each theme, three in each school and of three difficulty levels). The experience of the partner countries allows the confrontation of events, structures and thinking that are different from those of the country of origin. Experiences are documented in manuals for children to create personalized materials, including real and functional experiences. In addition to the production of four scientific books (one on each theme) for students, teachers and academic inspection (to ensure wider dissemination), students produced literary works (twenty eight stories on the four different themes) and played online activities based on their own drawings or productions. Thanks to the scientific context integrated into the children's daily environment and the selected activities that are an integral part of the national education programmes, our children's skills in research, critical thinking and creativity have been developed. They experimented with different materials, learned through play, cooperation and collaboration with other children, respecting rules and responsibilities, had the opportunity to explore, observe, analyse and solve problems, feel the joy of creativity. Our project has strengthened the digital and technical key competences of staff and children, as well as the key competences in cultural and intercultural awareness. Teachers in partner pre-schools are now more confident and more willing to adopt and use new technologies in their classrooms. A dedicated project website is a living and regularly updated source of information that will continue after the two years of the project (part of the budget has been set aside to maintain the site). Throughout the project's life cycle, the documents have been registered in Twinspace on the eTwinning platform, all teachers have registered and been able to discover the platform and get involved in projects. All planned project meetings were successfully implemented and took place in a fruitful and productive atmosphere. At these meetings, objectives, targets and activities were clearly defined. An agreed timetable clarified all objectives and set specific deadlines, and these meetings were an excellent opportunity to exchange good practices in science education. Communication between participating educational staff strengthened networks and provided feedback on ideas that could be used in the project. The evaluations put in place show a real interest on the part of children and teachers in this type of discovery, the practice of experiments in class and the desire to ensure that this teaching continues in future years. The parents of the students appreciated this different approach, the team's investment in this project, its success and the communication around it.