Grandfathers and grandmothers’ crafts Erasmus Project

Project Title

Grandfathers and grandmothers’ crafts

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Pedagogy and didactics

Project Summary

Our project was focused on regional folk crafts which we wanted to get closer to children. Children are in pre-school age very sensitive, they can enthuse about various activities, they are open to new impulses and ideas. We wanted to support preservation of grandfathers and grandmothers‘ folk crafts by teaching children about crafts and by gaining skills when creating final products. In both kindergartens we taught crafts before the project. Children are interested in the topic, teachers like working in this field. Because of this we wanted to cooperate with foreign countries, link up good practices, compare functioning of each task and their results between kindergartens by changing of good practices. The institutions then obtained a valuable material which enriches their teaching. So the children will profit from the project when high quality, innovating, experience making and interesting lessons are executed. The material is well-tried in other institution so it is valuable. It was really important to execute a transnational project because both countries, and many others, have folk crafts which are continuously disappearing. Children must realise that folk crafts are our cultural heritage, their preservation is crucial.
TARGET GROUPS were 200 children, 20 teachers, 5 non-pedagogical employees, about 200 other participants. Our survey on children before the project started included FOCUS GROUPS analysis by which we found out that children need to gain more information about crafts, to see creating alive, to visit craft rooms in the region they live in. Participating on a transnational project enriched their knowledge about partner countries.
AIMS:
– to have / improve knowledge about folk crafts which are a part of our culture and cultural heritage
– to have / improve knowledge about the participating countries
– to improve ICT skills and competences of teachers
– to improve English of teachers
– to support teachers in receiving new innovating approaches
– to support teachers in working with different children groups in the class
– tolerance of other cultures, acceptance of diversity
– common work of target groups
– to improve creativity
RESULTS:
– improving of the attitudes to the crafts
– knowledge about the participating countries
– various competences of children and teachers in different fields
– prestige of the kindergartens and teachers gained by working on a transnational project
OUTPUTS: products, methodical guard in English, DVD, picture glossary in Slovak, Hungarian and English
MAIN ACTIVITIES chronologically (repeated 2x, once with natural materials, once with artificial materials): 1 teaching, 2 excursion in a craft room, 3 workshop, 4 exhibition
We planned 8 one-day transnational meetings altogether, 4x in Slovakia, 4x in Hungary. We could manage 4 transnational meetings and 4 virtual ones because of Covid 19 restrictions.
Kindergartens had different tasks and responsibilities. The coordinator was responsible for good cooperation between partners, check ups according to the timeline, building up the methodical guard and DVD.
The partner was responsible for a social group on a social network and creating the glossary.
Communicatio flowed in English in written form (emails), some Slovak teachers practiced their Hungarian during transnational meetings. A work team in both kindergartens was responsible for the management (manager, disseminator, administrative worker and assistant).
One of the most important mean of evaluation of the project aims is the questionnaire about folk crafts, participating countries, expectations of children and teachers with identical questions at the very beginning and the very end of the project. The results were much better at the end of the project. 2 Erasmus+ Days at the end of school years showed us the success of the project. The evaluation was anonymous by putting emojis „like / dislike“ to a box.
Working on this project helped kindergartens to develop in the long term (outputs used in future). Final products from workshops will stay in kindergartens after finishing the project and they will beautify the places.
Participating kindergartens plan to stay in touch after finishing the project.
We plan to exploit acquired / improved competences of teachers in English in future, e.g. in other transnational projects.
Some activities will last out after finishing the project (workshops), they will be paid from the budgets of the kindergartens.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 18000 Eur

Project Coordinator

Materska skola – Óvoda & Country: SK

Project Partners

• Putnoki Soldos Emilia Óvoda – Bölcsöde