‘ARANYHAJSZÁL’ (THE GOLDEN HAIR) STORY PROGRAM - IN A LAND FAR-FAR AWAY, ACROSS THE BORDER This program focuses on story telling in kindergarten groups. Our activities synthesize the variety of art education methodologies applied in the partner kindergartens as well as the diversity of Hungarian ethnographic features. Each kindergarten in the program contributes with one specific method of story analysis for the other partners, that they have tested and verified. As a result, each partner kindergarten will have four well-tested and tried story discussion activities as Best Practices. In Fiľakovo, the Hungarian folk tales are analysed using puppets. In Odorheiu Secuiesc the story and the characters of the Hungarian folk tale are used for health education. In Sălard the characters of the folk tale follow modern dance steps. In Nádudvar folk tales are represented by the elements and the language of arts. Kindergartens use their own tools of expression to deal with the folk tales of their region. These are the Best Practices. The partner kindergartens will view a presentation of the Best Practice, and then adapt it to their own local conditions. Each kindergarten will discuss the Best Practices rendered by the Best Practice host kindergarten, and will shape them to their own needs. One kindergarten’s Best Practice will be dealt with in four different ways during the two years. For example, the Ficánka day care centre will make puppets, and children in Fiľakovo will also learn modern dance steps. The partner kindergarten implements the Best Practice host’s outlined material in its own world of folk tales, with its own methods and in its own environment. We are looking for a diversity of practices, as the four kindergartens are located in three countries and in four Hungarian ethnographic areas. One cannot expect two identical story-telling sessions, as the colleagues only need to apply an outline. The folk tale has to come from the kindergarten’s ethnographic area, but the folklore motifs of the puppets will be different and the children’s games may also differ from one area to the next. There is a diversity in methodology and ethnography as well. Folk tales, folk songs and folk games from the Palóc area in Upper Hungary, the ‘puszta’ in Alföld, from Bihor County and from the Transylvanian Székely area will be dealt with at the same time in this project. The Story Teaching methodologies build on ethnographic material. Each Best Practice focuses on Hungarian folk tales. The puppets are designed with elements of the Hungarian ethnography, which is also the source of the motifs, etc. Each partner kindergarten contributes with their own local ethnographic material. This diversity will strengthen our partnership. The story teaching sessions contribute to the development of several skills for the children involved. Adapting the Best Practices help developing musical, manual, artistic and indirectly mathematical and grammatical skills. In addition to the development of a wide spectrum of skills we have selected one area, where the professional history of Tempo-Legato Kft. provides the methodology, and that is social competence development. We find that children are exposed to a wide range of impacts fostering their social competence, in the course of Story Teaching Best Practice activities. Their confidence grows, unfolding a better self- and peer-awareness, they open up to their peers, become more efficient in social situations, and the list goes on. We wish to develop the methodological tools of the kindergarten teachers in the program. The two-year program contains trainings and workshops, where experts are involved to deliver new information on social competence development. Kindergarten teachers working in the Hungarian-speaking areas are the primary target group of this story teaching program, i.e. the four partner kindergartens and the teachers working in Hungarian in their catchment areas. We will approach them with an introductory session, which befits the multiplication plans of our program. Our primary goal is therefore to increase the development competencies of the partner kindergarten teachers in the program on the one hand, and to present and disseminate the four story-teaching Best Practices in the other local institutions. Thus we can enhance teachers’ professional skills.
This program focused on folktale adaptation in kindergarten groups. Our activities synthesized the variety of art education methodologies applied in the partner kindergartens as well as the diversity of Hungarian ethnographic features. Each kindergarten in the program contributed with one specific method of folktale adaptation for the other partners, which had been testing and verifying for years. As a result, each partner kindergarten had four well-tested and tried folktale adaptation methods as Best Practices. In Fiľakovo, the Hungarian folk tales were analysed using puppets. In Odorheiu Secuiesc the story and the characters of the Hungarian contemporary folk tales were used for health education. In the Szalárd kindergarten, the characters of the Hungarian folk tales performed modern dance steps. In Nádudvar, Hungarian folk tales were brought to life through language and elements of art. Kindergartens used their own tools of expression to deal with the folk tales of their region. The kindergarten teachers in Odorheiu Secuiesc have adapted contemporary fairy tales. These were the Best Practices. The partner kindergartens watched the Best Practice presentation and adapted it at home, taking into account their own local specificities. Each of the kindergartens has adapted the Best Practice provided by the Best Practice Host Kindergarten to their own image. The programme, which was originally designed to last 24 months, included four different versions of a Best Practice developed by a partner kindergarten. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the planned schedule had to be changed to 36 months. The Ficánka day care centre, for example, made puppets, and the children in Fiľakovo learned modern dance steps. The partner kindergarten implements the Best Practice host’s outlined material in its own world of folk tales, with its own methods and in its own environment. We were looking for a diversity of practices, as the four kindergartens were located in three countries and in four Hungarian ethnographic areas. There was a diversity in methodology and ethnography as well. The Hungarian ethnographic treasure was represented by the folk tales of the Palóc area in Upper Hungary, the Puszta, from Bihor County and - through the kindergarten in Odorheiu Secuiesc - also by the folk tales of contemporary authors, all of which were covered in this project. The folktale adaptation sessions contributed to the development of different skills of the children involved. Adapting the Best Practices helped develop musical, manual, artistic and indirectly mathematical and grammatical skills. In addition to the development of a wide range of skills, we chose one area where the professional background of Tempo-Legato Kft. provides the methodology, and that is the development of social competence. Their self-confidence was strengthened, unfolding a better self- and peer-awareness, they became more open towards their peers, they behaved more effectively in social situations and so on. The methodological tools of the teachers in the partner kindergartens have improved. During the 36 months, workshops were held by experts on social skills development to enhance the teachers’ knowledge. The Good Practices have been consolidated into a single framework and compiled into an electronic and a printed limited edition publication. The main target group of this folktale adaptation programme were the kindergarten teachers working in the Hungarian-speaking areas, the four partner kindergartens and the teachers working in Hungarian in their catchment areas. We have reached them through the multiplier meetings integrated into our programme. In the two semesters of our original two-year programme, we held partner meetings during which the partner kindergartens organised open days to present our best practice collection compiled as a result of the project. The project partners agreed that the results of the project should not be disseminated via online partner meetings.