7th PROJECT 2013/2014
On a clear November day, the children went for a walk around the neighborhood. When crossing the bridge over the Gradaščica river, they noticed something very unusual for the streets of Ljubljana. It was a piglet named Srečka (Happy). This was not a typical piglet with a muddy snout searching for acorns on the ground. This piggled stood on two legs and had endearing blue eyes with long laches. Her hair was silky blond and she was wearing a blue polka-dotted dress and nice pink shoes. A lovely bracelet and a ring on her finger adorned her hand. The quite atypical piglet seemed a bit confused and lost. She was holding a map that was of no help to her. She was looking for a music school where her friend Rilko had a singing performance. She didn’t know how to read the map, so she was very happy to meet the children, who showed her the way to the music school and invited her to visit their kindergarten. Indeed, she soon paid a visit to them, and they became friends. She confessed to them that she had a problem. She needed to prepare a special music show with her students at the music school for the end of the year, but a strange rumbling sound kept disturbing them. They didn’t know what to do anymore. They could not sing or dance while this disturbing noise constantly interrupted their concentration. Maybe the children would know what this could be.
Together with the piglet, they searched for a solution to the problem. After exploring, researching and creating, the children, their educators and parents produced a real musical – a dance show.
Research areas: Art – music, dance – in relation to other curricular fields – science, society, movement, language, mathematics and social curriculum
This annual story about the piglet Srečka (Happy) led the children, educators and parents on a journey to explore the field of art, allowing all of us to deeply engage with our creative potential. Through art (interwoven with other curricular areas), we invented and created, expressed and communicated, dedicated ourselves to aesthetic aspects, and experimented with the language of art. Using an art-educational approach, we meaningfully and justifiably connected and integrated the didactics of the project work, enabling the children to gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject through experiential, hands-on exploration and creation.
They engaged in fundamental human activities and explored a wide range of our actions, investigations, thoughts, emotions and social interactions. The aim of these activities was to nurture curiosity and sustained interest in the world around us, as well as to develop the abilities, needed for autonomous problem solving and the growth of meta-cognitive skills. Throughout this project, we considered the ideas, wishes, and creative solutions of all participants, designing and forming Srečka’s garden.
This artistic, fairy-tale like garden was created, changed, and adapted to resemble the colourful gardens typical of Srečka’s countryside. The type and style of Srečka’s garden reflected the beauty and practicality of rural gardens and ecological thinking. For a long time, the garden served as a place that we associated with a healthy life-style, work, relaxation, socializing, and well-being. There were flowers and herbs that emitted a rich mixture of scents and colours, intertwining in harmony to create a learning and fairy-tale environment. At the end of the school year, Srečka’s story was presented to the parents and local community in Trnovo through an artistic performance titled “Trnovo Musical”.
