10th PROJECT 2017/18
A dragon named Ču Ču came to Trnovo Kindergarten from Dragon City to ask the children, who had previously helped King Matthias, sailor Karlo, shepherd Cene, pixie Minu, and others, to help him bring joy and energy back to his town. Together with educators and the parents, the children embarked an exploratory journey to find solutions and brainstorm ideas to revitalize Dragon city. Combining their diverse knowledge and skills, they faced three main challenges: understanding symbols, keeping stories alive, and bringing life back to the city. Throughout the school year, the children explored, discovered, invented and tackled various challenges in their classrooms, outdoors or in moving laboratories, using their experiences to build knowledge and competences. Despite numerous obstacles, they managed to find a solution. At the end of the school year, they organised a unique sports event, Ču Ču’s Sports Games, which embodied the Olympic spirit and values, creating the social and collaborative atmosphere that Dragon City needed.
The children, along with their grandparents, were supported and encouraged while competing, creating and developing the idea of holistic development of body, spirit and will (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Combining sports with education and culture, they expressed Olympic values: striving for excellence, demonstrating respect, and celebrating friendship. The competition imposed rules that forbade cheating and respected the decisions of the judges, ensuring fair play. The games were demanding but fun, and every contestant deserved a big round of applause and congratulations for their excellent participation.
In the end, thanks to the children, educators, parents, grandparents and other kind people in Ljubljana, Ču Ču was finally able to bring life and energy back to Dragon City. The collaborative and social atmosphere present throughout the year was the key to bringing the inhabitants of Dragon City together, encouraging them to collaborate and have fun.
Research areas: movement in relation to the language and other curricular fields – society, science, art, mathematics ect.
Using methods of action-research, observation, and experimentation, the staff, children and their parents pursued goals focused on comprehension of language as the key to one’s identity and movement as the most important aspect of a child’s life, all while following and co-creating the story of the dragon Ču Ču.
Our main objective was to explore and develop language skills that contribute to the development of speech and comprehension, fostering opportunities for collaboration and communication with adults and children. Within this context, we explored written language, literature (book, drama, plays ect.) and gained basic physical concepts and element of various sports. These activities formed the foundation for later sports activities and influenced the children’s capabilities, characteristics, and abilities. The two areas were intertwined with other curricular areas throughout the entire year.
