We wanted to gain experience with the new trends and effective approaches in early childhood education. Besides, we wanted to learn about the key principles of the Montessori Method and Loris Malaguzzi’s Reggio Emilia Approach to combine them with outdoor learning. - Discover the benefits of embedding nature and biodiversity in early childhood activities; - Experience and practice inspirational outdoor education activities. - Learn how to design, prepare and deliver interactive Non-Formal Education learning activities and games; - Get to know and experiment learning games and activities to stimulate early years children creativity and social development. - Exchange best practices and share experiences about early childhood education with teachers coming throughout Europe with etwinning projects. - Visit Turkish preschools and kindergartens and network with individuals and institutions working in preschool education.
We applied to enrich our personal development and promote different mindsets from the banking model to the student-centred approach by seeing Reggio Emilia and Montessori approach as with Reggio Emilia approach. The Montessori approach is a specific child-centred method of education that involves child-led activities (referred to as “work”), classrooms with children of varying ages and teachers encourage independence among their pupils. The outdoor learning approach is still in its early stages. We want to see innovative approaches that can be adapted to our Maltese setting. Embedding nature, biodiversity and inspirational outdoor activities into the curriculum caught our eye as we have a large front yard primarily unused by the children. We would love to see how we can make better use of these areas and tap into the children’s imagination, creativity and natural inquisitiveness, as well as help them to connect with nature. Nature is an essential aspect of the Montessori method. An early childhood setting that nurtures the spiritual dimension in children will ensure that children have access to the natural environment. Montessori saw spirituality as innate in young children and the primary force driving their development.