Discover the variety of the innovative Italian Preschool approaches for the most effective children's learning

​The world of preschool and childhood education is evolving and for preschool teachers, it is about following the new trends and staying up to date. This training intended for preschool teachers will analyze the main principles, characteristics and advantages of preschool methods.

​The new edition of the course “The best for preschool teachers​” took place in Palermo from 03/03/2024 to 09/03/2024. The participants came from all across Europe, with Mari, Diana and Laura from Ülenurme Nurmepesa lasteaed in Estonia, Mónika, Éva and Gabriella from Lilla Téri Általános Iskola in Hungary, Ute, Yvonne, Anja, Aleli and Lara from Diakonie Michaelshoven Kindertagesstätten gGmbH in Germany, Lucie, Mélody, Marine and Nolwenn from Ecole Maternelle la Contrie in France.

​The class started with some practical icebreaker activities, expectations and contributions and discussing the best ones related to preschool education. Teachers also had the opportunity to show their schools to others: this was an excellent way to achieve a broader understanding of preschool education in Europe. Of course, we also presented the Italian preschool model through various approaches.

​One of the most famous Italian preschool approaches is the Montessori one: participants analysed the main characteristics of this method in class, but they also had the chance to better examine it by visiting a local kindergarten based on this approach, which is indeed Istituto Internazionale M. Montessori.

​During the week the participants visited another local outdoor kindergarten, the Istituto Minutoli, where they could see well-planned examples of outdoor education in particular by seeing children interacting with nature to develop their five senses through different and interesting activities, including music and dance. Thanks to the passionate teachers who attended us, this experience was an eye-opener on the deep need of current society to bring our kids back to a more authentic world, and the benefits this might entail for learning to respect the environment. 

​Among the different Italian preschool approaches, the participants analyzed Non-formal education and, to better understand the method, we set some activities and games: we explored the different phases of structuring formal education and we practiced the management of debriefing through questions aimed at encouraging student reflection.

Finally, we discovered the principles and theories the educational method of Reggio Emilia: they have the opportunity to learn more about the history, materials, and experiences that bring the Reggio Emilia approach to the world. Indeed, the ReggioEmilia method is very appreciated for its child-centered learning strategy , based on cooperative investigation.

​At the end of the week, teachers go home with a baggage full of beautiful memories of experiences that improved their teaching approaches.

Discover more about this course here.