Eco Farm Kindergartens Erasmus Project

Project Title

Eco Farm Kindergartens

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 : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

In this Project, we wanted to promote a new, alternative kindergarten approach. Eco Farm Kindergartens (EFK) is a unique, highly innovative project based on enhancing the skills of kindergarten teachers and children to carry out more effective eco farming activities.
Seven countries were involved in this project (Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Romania and Turkey) with a total of 925 children aged 2-7 and 125 teachers and teacher assistants with different experience, knowledge, beliefs, but common educational ideals.
The EFK partners took part in a variety of activities to enhance their own and children’s skills in more effective ecological farming activities which enabled kindergarten teachers, assistants, leaders, parents and other educators to engage in a holistic and sustainable Farming Education with the children they were working.
For this program, our main OBJECTIVES were as follows:
• TO OBTAIN PRACTICAL AND APPLICABLE SKILLS for our teachers and children on farming activities
• TO EQUIP OUR CHILDREN WITH AGRICULTURAL TASKS, to observe the cycle of life firsthand
• TO NURTURE OUR CHILDREN’S LOVE FOR ANIMALS especially FARM ANIMALS to build connection, empathy and stewardship
• TO RAISE OUR CHILDREN’S ECOLOGICAL AWARENESS through different tasks on 4 elements and pollination to help them to shape sustainable future.
• TO ENGAGE OUR CHILDREN IN ENGLISH CLASSES with the theme on ‘Farm Life’
• TO IMPROVE OUR EDUCATIONAL PRACTICES via collaboration with other colleagues from different Eco Farm Kindergartens.
In order to achieve these objectives, we have chosen 4 THEMES for which we developed four workshops (LTTs):
1. Four Elements (Earth, Sun, Water and Air) in the Nature
2. Flowers and Flower-visiting Insects
3. Our Happy Farm Animals
4. Learn, Grow, Harvest and Eat.
Throughout the project (about 24 months), the kindergarten teachers guided the children in various farming tasks such as:
-Making a simple greenhouse, Bee hotel, Competition kite
-Growing veggies and fruits in the garden
-Catering at least one farm animal in the garden
– Planting a tree/ flowers
-Producing a dairy product
-Cooking their own harvested crops
-Visits to various places
-Welcoming visitors from different occupations
-Celebrating important days related to farming, food, animal, ecology and animals
-Organizing events (Harvesting Day, Planting a Tree Day, Mother’s Day, etc.) at the kindergarten
During the implementation of the project, the following METHODOLOGICAL TOOLS were used:
-Pre and post surveys with children, questionnaires with teachers, evaluation forms with workshop participants.
The project had a significant impact on kindergarten children and teachers, families and local communities. Some of the expected impacts are as follows:
-The improvement of the skills and competences of kindergarten teachers and children on Farming activities.
-The development of agricultural skills of children through planting and harvesting their own crops.
-The increasing awareness of the importance of organic food and healthy eating at an Early
Childhood.
-The nurtured love and sympathy of children through catering animals.
-The enhancement of children’s cooking and food preparation skills using necessary gadgets
-The increasing knowledge of children, teachers and parents about different places (farm, dairy farm, botanical garden, agricultural center, green market, etc.) and different jobs (farmer, bee-keeper, vet, nutritionist, florist, etc.) and their duties.
-The increasing satisfaction of parents with the education of their children by taking active roles in some activities throughout the project.
-Having more teachers, children and parents feeling themselves as part of the European Community.
-Having more teachers, educators, parents, local people become familiar with some aspects of the European dimension and Farm Education.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 130860 Eur

Project Coordinator

Dosemealti Belediyesi Baskanligi & Country: TR

Project Partners

• GRADINITA CU PROGRAM PRELUNGIT NR. 8 BUZAU
• CELFF Centro de Estudos Línguas Formação Fogueteiro SA – Colégio Guadalupe
• Alytus kindergarten Volungele
• Võsukese Lasteaed
• Corte Verde Società Cooperativa Sociale Onlus
• Haugland gardsbarnehage