Plant a tree, plant your future Erasmus Project

Project Title

Plant a tree, plant your future

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

Teaching about the environment at all kindergartens, working on smaller school projects (School in Nature, Green Flag, School near to Nature) were done before this project as well. Children are interested in the topic, teachers like working in this field. Because of this we wanted to start transnational cooperation, to follow the good results, compare tasks between kindergartens and then produce a methodical guard with outlines about the environment.
2 kindergartens have never worked on a transnational project before.
Target group is made up by cca 250 children (30 with difficulties) and 40 teachers from 3 kindergartens, cca 250 other participants. Aims: to have/improve knowledge about the environment and its protection; to have/improve knowledge about partner countries; to improve English; to improve ICT skills of teachers. All the aims were fulfilled. We expected improvement of the local environment where children live. We were successful at least on a small scale.
Project was focused on 4 environmental topics – separation and recycling (A6, A9, A13), planting (A10), protection of the environment (A7), energy saving (A8, A11). We did 16 activities altogether during the project, some of them were repeated. We wanted the children to take notice about the environment and understand that it is not a matter of course to have clean air, water, soil, that we must not destroy the nature because like this we destroy our future. Motto of the project: Plant a tree, plant your future. – we must do something for the nature and like this for ourselves as well. We tried to form the consciousness of children, then they can influence their families, friends, the all community. Also guests of other educational institutions and local authorities participated in activities which could change their opinions about the nature.
We planned 3 transnational meetings – in each kindergarten 1. The most important was job-shadowing and outlines which are presented in the guard. We had Erasmus+ Day during each meeting which was visited by public, local authorities and other educational institutions by means of dissemination. Aims of transnational meetings: financial control, timetable control, planning of new activities, job-shadowing, the change of good practice, evaluation of former activities, solutions of possible problems, meeting new teachers, getting to know new cultures.
There was a work team in each kindergarten (manager, disseminator, administrative worker, manager assistant) to work effectively.
We worked “step by step” according to Gantt chart.
We made up questionnaires about the countries and environment for children and employees which were filled in the beginning and end of the project. The results were compared and we found out that the aims of the project were accomplished (improvement of knowledge about other countries and the environment, to improve English and ICT skills for teachers, importance of transnational projects). Other activities were evaluated by form of emojis “like/dislike” which participants threw anonymously to a box. We and the others could judge the activities posted on FB group Plant a tree, plant your future by emojis.
Outputs:
– plants, trees, flowers which we need to keep in future and / or plant more
– a souvenir DVD – all ppt presentations, photos, videos from all the project
– a methodical guard Methodological Booklet – in each kindergarten in printed form, on web sites of kindergartens in digital form, on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform with free accession. Each kindergarten passed their tried materials, activities, methods and forms of work to partner kindergartens. All 3 kindergartens obtained a valuable book which enriched and will enrich the education of children in the institutions.
– a glossary in English, Slovak, Polish and Czech with everyday words and phrases and vocabulary about the environment in each kindergarten in printed form, on web sites of kindergartens in digital form, on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform with free accession
We are planning to continue in some activities (paper collecting, planting, etc.) with expenses covered by each kindergarten.
Dissemination of the project was executed on regional (local media, Erasmus+ corner), national (kindergartens’ web pages) and transnational level (FB group, outputs on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform).

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 36650 Eur

Project Coordinator

Materska skola – Óvoda & Country: SK

Project Partners

• Przedszkole nr 66
• Materska skola Kosticka