One objective was to learn about life and work experiences in our partner countries. To stay in another country for 3 weeks, to live and do an internship. At least in 2 countries to face the language challenge and overcome possible hurdles and fears. To live and work in a team of classmates or fellow students. To integrate into an unknown kindergarten team and to master all challenges yourself. Thinking outside the box in order to gather as many new impressions as possible. To come back motivated and committed and to be able to use the experience they have brought with them for their professional future. To share their experiences with classmates through presentations and narratives.
With the title: "Learning to thrive with changes- Promoting resilience in kindergarten" we tried to sensitize students of our school to this topic. It was for us to focus on this after the corona pandemic. More than in previous years, we have noticed how important this topic is for all ages in challenging times. We started with our students in class. The introduction took place through self-reflection and information on the topic. In didactics and practical lessons as well as in pedagogy, we then tried to find out what is already possible to implement in everyday kindergarten life as interns and which family environment is necessary or conducive in order to be able to cope well with challenging life circumstances as a teenager and later as an adult. We have thought about what skills we and children need to achieve this and how this can be strengthened at a young age. Our interest was then also to be able to make the European comparison and to get a lot of new input for our work in Austria.