Visiting an interacive exhibition “Elektro Baroque”

As part of the 9th Varazdin museum ceremony and celebration of International Museum Day, the Herzer Palace in Varazdin showed an exhibition Electro Baroque. At the initiative of a parent we agreed to visit the exhibition with the children. The main reason for visiting the exhibition was to meet the expectations of children, parents and preschool professionals who wanted the children to see a variety of objects created by innovative, creative and new way of using used modern electronic waste to create different works of art, at the exhibition. During the child activities with the exhibits they kept asking about the way these devices operate, what they are made of, whether the same could be done at home or in the kindergarten. We agreed with the parents that we should continue working with the children on the topic. We plan to collect available electronic waste and we will try to get the desired composition of electronic elements and we will try to find new use for them. At the same time the children will express their ideas by drawing, verbally as well as actively participating in developing prototypes of new devices.

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Math as a game

The kindergarten Djecji svijet held an evening of mathematics, a manifestation that is organized by the Croatian Mathematical Society. Parents prepared the workshop together with the preschool educators, and the children took part in it. Math was brought closer to children as a game, a form of fun, through the prepared materials and activities.

It is especially important for preschoolers to learn through exploration, games and fun. By providing a variety of materials that supports children's natural curiosity, a kindergarten as an educational community develops a variety of learning strategies and competences to "learning how to learn". By providing a variety of learning methods, together with adults and other children, we encourage divergent thinking, providing a variety of possibilities for understanding the various solutions, nurturing and encouraging various forms of creation.

Parents and teachers prepared a series of materials designed for children to play with. The materials are selected in such a way to allow the identification of mathematical relationships, the separation of geometric figures in the images that are present every day in kindergarten and the observation of natural materials (stone - agate) in order to notice the rhythm of repeating the same lines that form the elliptical form that naturally occurred during the formation of stones. Additionally provided is mastering the proper use of the compass, where parents were models and helped children in mastering the skill of handling a compass. Curve rulers are intended for drawing curved lines of which may become usual or unusual and unexpected shapes. We used our construct center that is equipped with materials of various shapes to develop potential mathematical skills in a place of natural games that the children are used to.

At the appointed time all interested parents and educators gathered, who were free to choose materials involved in a variety of math activities. In doing so, a number of activities have enabled the understanding of quantitative or spatial relationships, identifying and naming geometric shapes and bodies. A variety of stones has prompted parents and children to express creativity by painting. Painting different types of lines formed right visual works of art, the joint work of children and their parents. Some parents and children were interested in solving the mathematical problems using a variety of educational toys.

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First common action

• Common activity (Spain and Croatia) carried out in public spaces for the “International Museum Day” May 18 2015 (Promoted by Spain)

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Relations with the environment

•  Meeting and launch of the SELF project. The 2nd of July

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Video

Umbra-L . Interactive installation by artist Arturo Moya

Umbra-L” is an interactive and audiovisual installation that involves leisure, participative and communal reflection about identity, understood as a negotiation each other. The spectators are invited to use their shadows to build up a communal and alternative portrait about a secret society; unknown bodies which are free from the slavery of their own images and also project a strong otherness inside the shadow; micro-tales that generate a desire of being the other one at the environment.

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• Drifting Poetry – A collaborative literary/poetic project shared between families, nearby institutions and Zaleo

This Project is developed in different phases: 

First phase: 

We provide information to families about the project in which we tend to rescue the first murmurs that our parents or grandparents whispered to us and having the opportunity to share them with the other families and neighbors. 

The coordinator at Zaleo suggests building up a “poetic container” to keep all lullabies as glass bottles. “Authenticated” this process of rescuing the lullaby by taking pictures or recording the audio in which you can sing or whisper the murmur. 

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Online vault
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The chess whorkshop

All the activities developed must have this sequence, taking into account either the boy or girl individually or the team: 

1. Legends about the backgrounds of chess 

2. What is chess, what we need, how many players are, which the purpose is.

3. The board. How many squares do I have, which ones are white, which ones are black, the proper collocation of the board paying attention to the printed letters. 

4. The pieces. What are their names, which are their colors, what is their collocation. 

5. Pawns. How do they move, which is their collocation, how do they eat. Pawns race. 

6. We insert the rest pieces on board by the same way. How do they move, how do they eat, what is their collocation: rook, bishop, qeen, kingand knight. 

7. We will focus on the knight due to it is harder to move. We do some exercises on the floor, on the floor tiles, on the board… 

8. We begin by choosing first only two pieces, then three, etc until we have played with all the pieces. 

9. Once we know how to play we will concentrate in the strategy (controlling the middle of the board). 

We also turn to other computer chess games that are so useful in case of playing in the rooms at any time.

The whole activities developed will be constantly supported by pupils´ parents who will play with their children

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Second mountain trip - Medvenica

Our second mountain trip happened on 25th of April 2015. 38 climbers (children, parents and staff of kindergarten „Djecji svijet“) successfully reached the top of Medvenica. The trip was organized as part of the special section "Cevo", branch of kindergarten "Children's World, led by guide Milan Turkalj.

Aim of the activity: Climbing to Medvednica (1033m). During the hike children will overcome various forms of natural movement, especially movement up and down the hill, and learn about surrounding wildlife. At the same time they will adapt to and deal with a variety of unforeseen and unexpected situations. During the trip, all participants will use the time to rest and relax, socialize, to know each other and provide mutual support and help, if needed. 

The content of activity: Departure from kindergarten at 9:00 am. After a short rest during the journey, we reached the mountain hut Puntijarka, where we started the climb on easy walking trail through the woods to the top. On the hiking trail, the children's parents explained hiking trails labels. Children were using the magnifying glass to investigate curiosities and secrets of nature, and lingered by unusual natural phenomena (the visible roots of inverted trees). They enjoyed the walk through the last traces of snow in the woods, they mastered in different ways avoiding natural obstacles like destroyed trees, enjoyed the beauties of nature, and rejoiced when they obtained identity cards for membership in the hiking section. The return was at 19:00.

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Visit to Entomological museum

At the initiative of one of our parents, we arranged a visit to the Entomological museum. One of our current small projects in kindergarten is on the subject of swamps so mention parent suggested that children should visit the museum where he works with his expert guidance so he can show the insects that live in wetlands and in our area.Aim: To provide children with quality source of information about the subject more closely investigated by a person who is an expert in the selected area. Give children an insight into the world of insects that live in wetlands in a quality manner and placed in the context in which they are found in nature. Provide an expert who knows the names of insects and their details.

The content of activity: visit to the museum began with an overview of the overall structure of the museum, from nocturnal insects, insect of the deciduous forests, bees and insects to wetlands. The emphasis was on insects that live in wetlands because of the current interests of children. The children also used museums audio technology and asked questions about their points of interest. On the way out we bought a multimedia interactive DVD which children will use in the kindergarten. Children also made lots of drawings of insects where they explain all the specific features of certain insects.

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