Diving into the wonders of Italian preschool methods

The world of childhood and preschool education is in constant development and for preschool teachers it is crucial to keep up with the new trends and stay on top of what's current. This training course for preschool teachers will be a springboard for exploring the main principles, features and benefits of the best preschool approaches. 
The new edition of the course “The best for preschool teachers​” took place in Bologna from 24/10/2022 to 29/10/2022. The participants came from all across Europe, with Kristina Lahe, Grete Kingsepp, Piret Kuuse from Tabasalu Teelahkme Lasteaed in Estonia, Maria del Mar Contreras Solana, Marina Vicente Sanchez from Los Olivos in Spain, Isabel Nácher Palones, Amparo Benet Martínez from San Miguel school in Spain, Ilva Zahareviča, Ginta Jansone, Evija Budiča-Krūmiņa, Agnese Salmišķe from Kriksitis in Latvia, Fleur Lagast, Els Cappelle, Emma Lien Van Vynckt from Freinet kindcentrum De Tandem in Belgium, and Karin Redi from Tartu Katoliku Hariduskeskus in Estonia

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The session started off with a few hands-on exercises to ease everyone in, share expectations and contributions, and talk about the best practices in preschool education. In order to gain a deeper understanding of preschool education in Europe, the instructors also had the opportunity to give presentations about their schools to the other participants.

Then we discovered the principles and theories of non formal education and, to better understand the method, some activities and games were implemented. 
The group delved into the Montessori method, a philosophy and pedagogy developed by Maria Montessori in the early 19th century. A presentation of pictures of an authentic Montessori environment and materials was the starting point for discovering the method in a practical and experiential way.

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It was then time for another visit, this time to explore the wonder of Outdoor Education. We visited the spaces, we saw kids playing in the mud and witnessed the wonder of learning in their eyes. Thanks to the passionate teachers who accompanied us, this experience was an eye opener on the deep need of nowadays society to bring our kids back to the authentic and real world, and the benefits this might entail for learning to respect the environment.
Later it was time for making dreams come true. The teachers and the course trainer headed to Reggio Emilia to visit the Loris Malaguzzi Centre where an expert guided us throughout the wonderful exhibitions of the Centre. Teachers had a chance to learn more about the history, the materials, the projects and the experiences, which make the Reggio Emilia approach unique in the world. 

The week came to an end and it was time for the teachers to come back home with a luggage full of memories and experiences.
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Discover more about this course here

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