STEAM in early childhood – simple and fun! Erasmus Project

Project Title

STEAM in early childhood – simple and fun!

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: Pedagogy and didactics; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Natural sciences

Project Summary

Early childhood education is an educational field that is most relevant for child’s development. Nowadays, when we talk about teaching children skills that they will need in future occupations that are not even existing at the moment, we have to carefully take into consideration how we see our childhood and its aspects at the moment but also think ahead what we can do to prepare them for their future. This is the reason why six European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic and Spain) early childhood educators, when meeting in Erasmus+ contact seminar in Finland, Tampere in fall of 2018 decided to focus on enhancing children’s STEAM (science, technological, engineering, arts and math) skills by using outdoor learning environment. If we say that children are less and less playing outside than we as adults, teachers and parents must take the responsibility towards their future and think, explore and communicate to each other how to give them time to play and and at the same time create learning situations where children can explore their skills and knowledge to solve problems, develop critical thinking and real communication with each other. Therefore with this project, called “STEAM in early childhood – simple and fun”, we want to achieve following objectives and we see that the most relevant objectives of our project regarding teachers:
1. discovering the new forms of teaching/learning methods through STEAM and natural sciences when improving curricula;
2. they have improved their digital, technological and team working skills in organisational and international level;
3. they are using outdoor environment to enhance children’s STEAM skills;
4. improving language skills to communicate with colleagues across Europe.
The most relevant objectives of our project regarding children:
1. outdoor learning environment provides materials for exploration and active movement;
2. they have high interest and positive attitude towards STEAM subjects;
3. developing digital and technological basic skills;
4. developing critical thinking, problem solving and communication.

Our projects most relevant objectives finalize in real results that we can see over period of time when we have finished or continuing our project. At the end of our project we would like to see, that:
1. teachers are comfortable to use various methods (for example experiments, observation, numeration, free play etc) to enhance children’s STEAM skills;
2. teachers have improved their digital knowledge and skills by working together with their colleagues in organisational and international level;
3. teachers use outdoor learning method to support and develop children’s STEAM skills;
4. teachers have better foreign language skills (languages can be different, like English, Russian, German, Spanish etc);
5. children explore their STEAM skills and develop their critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills in outdoor environment;
6. children want to use, when playing and exploring, different materials and instruments;
7. children have improved their digital and technological skills.

This project involves 6 kindergartens from different European countries, with almost 70 teachers and nearly 600 children and their parents. Although in our kindergartens is possibility that there are children under 3 years old or

At the end of our project, participating teachers have gain a lot of experience. We talk about similarities and differences between each country. The objectives are achieved through planned activities such as:
1. each participating kindergarten has on their classrooms or in common rooms Erasmus+ corner to introduce all participant countries;
2. kindergarten project team meeting before every international experience exchange and training meeting;
3. practical learning workshops and activities during international meeting, conducted by host country’s organisation;
4. each meeting we introduce learning activities in one certain STEAM subject, after that we collect them together and at the end of the project we have put together an e-book for all teachers what to do with children when developing and supporting their STEAM, but also problem solving and critical thinking skills;
5. after each meeting each partner will disseminate and implement their international experience among other colleagues;
6. after transnational meeting and before new event, all participants will perform joint event for their children and parents to explore STEAM skills;
7. for each transnational meeting all participants will complete learning activities that are introducing one specific area of STEAM.
8. Creating e-book for teachers that contains shared experiences and lesson plans (both written in English and creating organisation mother tongue.
Our project has great impact to our teachers so that they are more confident when developing children’s STEAM skills and to children we offer exciting learning environment which supports their development.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 80500 Eur

Project Coordinator

Tallinna Virmalise Kindergarten & Country: EE

Project Partners

• Kindergarten and school canteen
• FRANCISCO GRANGEL MASCAROS
• CDG PINOKIO – RUSE
• Rezeknes pirmsskolas izglitibas iestade “Vinnijs Puks”