Our professional motivation has been shown in our international project activities (Kézen fogva –EMAIL-Help) carried out since 2010, which are definitely progressive: they are coherent, consciously planned, well-structured, derived from real needs; the step by step realization ensures to achieve our goal of our new „MESE” (TALE) programme, that is to ensure our children to become happy and mentally as well as bodily healthy personalities. Our experience collected from activities we have done so far, also the results indicate that more and more children struggle with anxiety and behavioural problems; there is a rise in aggression, some children are incapable of expressing their most essential emotions; they are under pressure, the feeling of failure has not evolved in them, neither has emotional safety. The change of family life (restless life style, unsettled family life, the little amount of time spent together, the lack of conversations etc.) affects children’s emotional state. The goal of the project is to contribute to our children’s emotional safety both in kindergarten and family environment aided by parental cooperation. In our programme together with five partner institutions we are devoted to compensate disadvantages, to support the talented on the principle of equal opportunities; to preserve mental and physical health in accordance with inclusive pedagogy, also to help parents, and not least the enrichment of the competencies, methodological techniques of our educators while maintaining their mental health. Together with our partners it has been decided to pay a special attention to our children’s emotions, the progress of their emotional development by using tales (tale psychology, EQ-developing tales, puppet and role play shows.) All this should be done in a complex way with the tools of different arts. Tales (puppet shows, dramatization, dance, creative activities) are indispensible in terms of our children’s healthy emotional, mental, intellectual and social development; they are the most essential parts of emotional development, which generates life-long experience in our children’s soul. The special atmosphere of story-telling gives emotional safety, it generates relaxation, also fosters introspection and imagination; in addition it provides opportunity to process strain, negative feelings and fears. Our partners include drama teachers, tale-therapist, and educators with good routine. Becoming acquainted with the prospective, methodology and programmes aiming the emotional development of kindergartens, our work will become more colourful, and richer in content, thus contributing to the development of institutions and the spread of good routine. Our every day work is supported by topic-work-ups, experienced ideas, which integrate into our daily routine. The knowledge of educators aids the realization of transfer from kindergarten to school and partnership. Joining cultural programmes, we utilise the opportunity of highlighting the importance of health, especially the exquisite importance of mental health; to emphasize that in order to achieve inner harmony, we all need the recognition of our and others’ emotions; we should also be able to handle conflicts, to cooperate, to ask for assistance, in one word to possess developed emotional intelligence. The collection of ideas, methods, experience, the knowledge on motilities, as well as the handbooks from the previous projects serve as the basis of the foundation of a new, innovative, emotional intelligence developing-related tale programme (“MESE”). The program will be assessable in both written and digital forms, with supplements of multiculturalism. Sharing the programme with other institutions, professional workshops, mutual programmes, participation in conferences help the introduction of the particular elements of the project, too. Sharing our publications, film footages on the mutually created web, keeping blogs ensure the surveillance of the 2-year-long project and will contribute to its maintenance in wider circle.
In the MESE (Fairy tale) project, we focused on improving the mental health of children. Involving the parents as collaborative partners, we used the personality-shaping, reassuring power of fairy tales to create the sense of emotional security for children in kindergarten and family environments. This need became especially important due to the institutional closures, the altered family conditions; the fear of illness, the mental strain as a result of the emergence and rapid spread of the COVID-19. During the pandemic period, we minimized institutional activities, and operated with a supplementary activity plan, using digital techniques. Instead of live encounters, we kept in touch with each other, involved communities, families and NGO-s via facebook, zoom and other platforms. The activities implemented – fairy tales, puppets, music, dance, drama – facilitated the complex development of the children's personality by relieving anxieties. Our Comenius/Erasmus+ projects, completed since 2010 formed the basis for the creation of a program, developing complex emotions, through international collaborations called the MESE PROGRAM. During the development of the program, we reconsidered the results of the previous project and used the tools of art to develop children’s emotions by applying new digital techniques and incorporating family content. This was carried out in collaboration with the educators of five partner institutions, and besides providing support for the parents (FAIRY-TALE NETWORK/ digitized content), we enriched the teachers' competencies and methodological culture (incorporating trainings), while protecting their mental health (online self-development group). In addition to a drama teacher, a storyteller, a puppet artist, a kindergarten psychologist, and teachers, the partners involved in the project also include EU volunteers and college students. The connection point of Hungarian language as a mother tongue facilitated better communication, understanding, as well as strengthening national identity; and contact between the partner children was established (video messages, connection to mobility activities/Run a Lap!). Preservation of traditions and customs and folk values were integrated into our daily lives. Equal opportunities were present in the project; priority was given to the acceptance of differences, disadvantage compensation and talent management involving socially disadvantaged, ethnic Romani and immigrant children (Integrated Playhouse, Paralympics, Art programs, storytelling day, drawing competitions). During the implementation, we cooperated with a fairy tale artist (the “yarning method” of telling fairy tales), NGO-s; and with the involvement of Europe Direct Office, we developed a series of playful workshops for children providing information on the EU. Teacher's competencies were developed by organizing in-service trainings both in practice and online (Relaxation practice, Motivation/inspiration, Inclusive education, Joy music, Conflict management, Sensitization). We joined the professional days of TKA, E + Institutions and we participated in conferences. Mobility activities brought about professional renewal, and the extra knowledge resulted in high-quality works (Puppetry book, story booklet, online fairy tale collection). Everyday educational and development work was facilitated by the ideas, topics, adaptations; the experience and possibilities of meeting minority culture. We took on a social role, helping the Romani groups of our partner kindergarten, while we also supported an animal shelter. By means of the program “Giving is Rewarding!”, we sensitized the children, putting special emphasis on the importance responsibility. We initiated collaborations involving local kindergartens in the implementation (Drawing Contests, Quizzes, Run a Lap!, Kindergarten Olympics), held cross-border professional days and conferences with the participation of local communities and kindergarten teachers (Soul pampering, Erasmus days, Jubilee Festival, Virtual meeting). In addition to expanding knowledge, these live and online events provided an opportunity to disseminate the program. We took advantage of the earlier Award of Excellence and the E+ teacher face titles to promote our result in the partner countries as invited lecturers (Borderless Effect, Erasmusdays/RO, Dissemination events/TKA), at media presentations (Kindergarten Education, TKA, foreign press). The MESE methodological material created will be available both in printed and digital form – it will include the themes and training material of the two years, as well as the practical implementation, online challenges, the good practices created and the results. The ECO organizations involved in turning the programs greener helped to make the implementation sustainable and environmentally friendly.