"Teaching about the environment at all kindergartens, working on smaller school projects (School in Nature, Green Flag, School near to Nature) were done before this project as well. Children are interested in the topic, teachers like working in this field. Because of this we wanted to start transnational cooperation, to follow the good results, compare tasks between kindergartens and then produce a methodical guard with outlines about the environment. 2 kindergartens have never worked on a transnational project before.Target group is made up by cca 250 children (30 with difficulties) and 40 teachers from 3 kindergartens, cca 250 other participants. Aims: to have/improve knowledge about the environment and its protection; to have/improve knowledge about partner countries; to improve English; to improve ICT skills of teachers. All the aims were fulfilled. We expected improvement of the local environment where children live. We were successful at least on a small scale.Project was focused on 4 environmental topics - separation and recycling (A6, A9, A13), planting (A10), protection of the environment (A7), energy saving (A8, A11). We did 16 activities altogether during the project, some of them were repeated. We wanted the children to take notice about the environment and understand that it is not a matter of course to have clean air, water, soil, that we must not destroy the nature because like this we destroy our future. Motto of the project: Plant a tree, plant your future. - we must do something for the nature and like this for ourselves as well. We tried to form the consciousness of children, then they can influence their families, friends, the all community. Also guests of other educational institutions and local authorities participated in activities which could change their opinions about the nature. We planned 3 transnational meetings - in each kindergarten 1. The most important was job-shadowing and outlines which are presented in the guard. We had Erasmus+ Day during each meeting which was visited by public, local authorities and other educational institutions by means of dissemination. Aims of transnational meetings: financial control, timetable control, planning of new activities, job-shadowing, the change of good practice, evaluation of former activities, solutions of possible problems, meeting new teachers, getting to know new cultures. There was a work team in each kindergarten (manager, disseminator, administrative worker, manager assistant) to work effectively. We worked ""step by step"" according to Gantt chart.We made up questionnaires about the countries and environment for children and employees which were filled in the beginning and end of the project. The results were compared and we found out that the aims of the project were accomplished (improvement of knowledge about other countries and the environment, to improve English and ICT skills for teachers, importance of transnational projects). Other activities were evaluated by form of emojis ""like/dislike"" which participants threw anonymously to a box. We and the others could judge the activities posted on FB group Plant a tree, plant your future by emojis.Outputs:- plants, trees, flowers which we need to keep in future and / or plant more- a souvenir DVD - all ppt presentations, photos, videos from all the project- a methodical guard Methodological Booklet - in each kindergarten in printed form, on web sites of kindergartens in digital form, on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform with free accession. Each kindergarten passed their tried materials, activities, methods and forms of work to partner kindergartens. All 3 kindergartens obtained a valuable book which enriched and will enrich the education of children in the institutions. - a glossary in English, Slovak, Polish and Czech with everyday words and phrases and vocabulary about the environment in each kindergarten in printed form, on web sites of kindergartens in digital form, on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform with free accession We are planning to continue in some activities (paper collecting, planting, etc.) with expenses covered by each kindergarten.Dissemination of the project was executed on regional (local media, Erasmus+ corner), national (kindergartens' web pages) and transnational level (FB group, outputs on the Erasmus+ Project Results Platform)."

Many newly qualified or inexperienced teachers tend to base their lesson planning on the traditional PPP approach (Presentation, Practice, Production), because they tend to find it a reliable and valid framework around which to perform a series of classroom activities. The problem is that PPP serves the teacher’s needs, but it is debatable whether or not it fulfils the needs of the learner. For this reason, more and more teachers in ECEC turn to more learner-centred approaches where the needs of the children are central to the lesson content. Two such approaches are TBL (Task-Based Learning) and PBL (Project-Based Learning).Recent research shows that PBL and TBL are extremely appropriate methods to be applied in ECEC. The focus being entirely on implementing a given task/project is really suitable for young learners, whose lexical and verbal skills are still to be developed and whose teachers’ task is to equip them with the right life skills, which would serve as the basis for acquiring basic and transversal skills later on.The Learning by Doing - Attainment of Basic Competences in ECEC project will combine the efforts of 8 relevant organisations from 3 European countries (the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia). The key objectives of this project are to improve the quality of ECEC education through introducing innovative approaches and practices and to ensure comprehensive development of children's competences at ECEC level. This will be achieved by supporting kindergarten teachers to gain knowledge on how to efficiently apply project based learning (PBL) and task based learning (TBL) at ECEC level. We are also seeking to encourage teachers to transform from ”leaders” to “facilitators” of the learning process by equipping them with bespoke methodology on how to enhance their teaching practice thus supporting their professional development. This includes fostering learner-centred approaches to develop children’s creativity, autonomy, independence, motivation for learning, awareness of own rights and responsibilities, problem solving, self-observance and evaluation of own knowledge and needs. The tangible outputs to be produced are:ABC Manual for Teachers (O1) –methodological guidance for ECEC teachers on how to integrate PBL and TBL in pre-school education with practical activities and comprehensive overview of lesson plans, assessment techniques and various additional resources;ABC Train the Trainer Course (O2) – training programme for ECEC teacher training providers on how to train students in pedagogy and teachers willing to enhance their professional development with focus on learner-centred methods such as on PBL and TBL;*ABC Piloting Sessions - to test our innovative outputs in practice within the project lifetime and to obtain feedback on intellectual outputs’ usability, applicability and potential for further exploitation.*ABC Dissemination Conference – to promote project’s success, but mainly to foster transnational cooperation on the topic and allow for wider impact.The ABC project will be delivered across 27 months and foresees project activities to involve more than 2324 pre-primary teachers, children in ECEC, training providers, education stakeholders, academics and professionals. Extensive evaluation will be performed to validate the produced outputs and increase potential for sustainability.Impact is envisaged at various levels as follows:1. AT TARGET GROUP LEVEL:*ECEC TEACHERS:- improved knowledge base on how to apply TBL and PBL at kindergarten level;- improved skill base to integrate innovative teaching methods and techniques in order to ensure high quality of the education provision at ECEC level;- enhanced competence to motivate children develop creativity, autonomy, independence, motivation for learning, awareness of own rights and responsibilities, problem solving, self-observance and evaluation of own knowledge and needs, pre-literacy and pre-numeracy skills;- improved professional development.*CHILDREN:- enhanced creativity, autonomy, independence, motivation for learning, awareness of own rights and responsibilities, problem solving, self-observance and evaluation of own knowledge and needs;- improved basic skills – reading & writing and numerical;- increased attainment levels in primary education to follow.*TEACHER TRAINING PROVIDERS:- enriched training curriculum to increase the quality and efficiency of the training provided at ECEC level;- up-to-date materials and methods on offer to fill the gap for specific knowledge among kindergarten teachers; 2. AT PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS LEVEL:- increased capacity to cooperate at transnational level;- enhanced ability to participate actively in system-changing processes;- increased cooperation with other stakeholders active in the field of pre-school education;- bespoke symbiosis between academics, kindergartens, training providers and publishers.

The project´s main idea was to get teachers, pupils and parents interested in creative activities. The project aimed to acquaint kindergarten children with customs and traditions in different seasons in Wallachia in the Czech Republic and in Kysuce in Slovak Republic through the puppet show performed by the self- made puppets. The project contributed to the expansion of mainstream education in nurseries on both the Czech and Slovak side. There were two key deliverables: 1. Fairytale puppet show “Life in Wallachia and Kysuce” with backdrops created by children, teachers and parents on both sides of the border. The fairytale puppet show included performed scenes with musical accompaniment. 2. Booklet. This booklet introduced the life, customs and traditions of Wallachia and Kysuce in various seasons. Another purpose of the booklet was to expand the preschool education.The impact of the propagation of this unique show on participating partner kindergarten and then on other kindergartens in Valašské Meziříčí and Cadca is very significant in view of the fact that the project applicant is the largest kindergarten in Valašské Meziříčí with more than 200 children. The regional contribution is secured with respect to the possibility of presentation of outputs within the cultural performances at events in surrounding regional towns (e.g. Children´s Day, fairs etc.). International level dissemination of the project was provide through the cooperation of the two nurseries from Valašské Meziříčí and Cadca. These kindergartens are in partnership with foreign partners such as Poland, Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Netherlands. The aim of the project was to promote cooperation between nurseries and extend the international cooperation between towns. Creative activities in the field of culture with an emphasis in education represent an ideal form of cooperation between pre-school children, teaching stuff and parents. After the end of the project the results was put into practice in kindergartens. The purpose of this activity was to employ new pedagogical methods in pursuance of conventional education in kindergartens and in organizations in both participating countries (The Leisure Time Center Domeček Valašské Meziříčí and Cultural and information centre Cadca).Unequivocal long term benefit was the creation of unique and original outputs which give preschool children an idea of the place where they live including the traditional values of this place. Another benefit is the expansion of educational activities with active support of teachers and parent involvement.

Our project was focused on regional folk crafts which we wanted to get closer to children. Children are in pre-school age very sensitive, they can enthuse about various activities, they are open to new impulses and ideas. We wanted to support preservation of grandfathers and grandmothers‘ folk crafts by teaching children about crafts and by gaining skills when creating final products. In both kindergartens we taught crafts before the project. Children are interested in the topic, teachers like working in this field. Because of this we wanted to cooperate with foreign countries, link up good practices, compare functioning of each task and their results between kindergartens by changing of good practices. The institutions then obtained a valuable material which enriches their teaching. So the children will profit from the project when high quality, innovating, experience making and interesting lessons are executed. The material is well-tried in other institution so it is valuable. It was really important to execute a transnational project because both countries, and many others, have folk crafts which are continuously disappearing. Children must realise that folk crafts are our cultural heritage, their preservation is crucial. TARGET GROUPS were 200 children, 20 teachers, 5 non-pedagogical employees, about 200 other participants. Our survey on children before the project started included FOCUS GROUPS analysis by which we found out that children need to gain more information about crafts, to see creating alive, to visit craft rooms in the region they live in. Participating on a transnational project enriched their knowledge about partner countries.AIMS: - to have / improve knowledge about folk crafts which are a part of our culture and cultural heritage - to have / improve knowledge about the participating countries - to improve ICT skills and competences of teachers - to improve English of teachers - to support teachers in receiving new innovating approaches - to support teachers in working with different children groups in the class - tolerance of other cultures, acceptance of diversity - common work of target groups - to improve creativity RESULTS: - improving of the attitudes to the crafts - knowledge about the participating countries - various competences of children and teachers in different fields - prestige of the kindergartens and teachers gained by working on a transnational project OUTPUTS: products, methodical guard in English, DVD, picture glossary in Slovak, Hungarian and English MAIN ACTIVITIES chronologically (repeated 2x, once with natural materials, once with artificial materials): 1 teaching, 2 excursion in a craft room, 3 workshop, 4 exhibition We planned 8 one-day transnational meetings altogether, 4x in Slovakia, 4x in Hungary. We could manage 4 transnational meetings and 4 virtual ones because of Covid 19 restrictions.Kindergartens had different tasks and responsibilities. The coordinator was responsible for good cooperation between partners, check ups according to the timeline, building up the methodical guard and DVD. The partner was responsible for a social group on a social network and creating the glossary. Communicatio flowed in English in written form (emails), some Slovak teachers practiced their Hungarian during transnational meetings. A work team in both kindergartens was responsible for the management (manager, disseminator, administrative worker and assistant). One of the most important mean of evaluation of the project aims is the questionnaire about folk crafts, participating countries, expectations of children and teachers with identical questions at the very beginning and the very end of the project. The results were much better at the end of the project. 2 Erasmus+ Days at the end of school years showed us the success of the project. The evaluation was anonymous by putting emojis „like / dislike“ to a box. Working on this project helped kindergartens to develop in the long term (outputs used in future). Final products from workshops will stay in kindergartens after finishing the project and they will beautify the places. Participating kindergartens plan to stay in touch after finishing the project. We plan to exploit acquired / improved competences of teachers in English in future, e.g. in other transnational projects. Some activities will last out after finishing the project (workshops), they will be paid from the budgets of the kindergartens.

Early childhood education and pre-school education have a positive influence on children’s development. Young children are ready to learn, but their early experiences are crucial in facilitating their learning. Preschool education can produce substantial gains in children's learning and development. The researches show us that the more time children spend in pre-school, the better their performance in primary school. Recent evidence based on PISA survey shows that in 58 of 65 countries, 15 year old students who had attended at least a year of pre-primary school outperformed students who had not. Behind the success of the first 10 countries of PISA results is in the importance of pre-school education, and creative thinking skills lie behind particularly in the areas of mathematics and science at a young age.The aim of this project is to create a basement about pre-school education in terms of learning outputs of students, common guidance and councelling system, common content of parents' education in Europe. To take the attentions to the need of unity in Europe about pre-school education and to create common e-tools for pre-school education this project was carried out transnationally. The project partners are Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Turkey with their associated partners in local. In the scope of this project an educational online platform was created which provides access to the pre-school teachers, headmasters and inspectors in order to follow the learning outcomes of pre-school students and self check-list for pre-school teachers. E-tool development activities was designed and carried out by coordinator and partners with relevant expertise in the area. Pre-school outputs was uploaded on this platform. Coordinators of each country created director accounts and schools, the directors created teachers' accounts and the classrooms, the teachers created the students and parents' accounts to follow developments of pre-school children.The other problem that we addressed with our project is inspection in pre-school. The inspection is generally done by the headmasters of the kindergarden. Another type of inspection is done by the inspectors of the ministry or by the local or regional authority depending on the country. On many occasions the staff making this inspection is not a pre-school teacher, so they cannot be efficient in the inspecting; that's why we found ideal ways of efficient inspection systems and share the experiences how efficient inspection model should be.When we consider the awareness of pre-school, we can find out that many parents aren’t still aware that pre-school is the most important phase of the educational life of their children. Therefore, we have to inform the public about the importance of pre-school. However, there are not enough campaigns to introduce pre-school to the public. There is not a unity in Europe about the content of parents education about pre-school.Guidance for students and parents are also one of the important issues to be addressed in pre-school. There are not much information about guidance for students and parents, so we developed models about this topic. With this project we compared the applications of guidance in pre-school and introduce good models.The outputs of the projects are e-tool, booklet, seminars, e-twinning space, workshop and reports, 'Raising Awareness Demonstration' of students for the public, exhibition, dissemination meetings. This project is believed to have had a positive and long-lasting effects on the participating organisations, and this project resulted in the development, transfer and implementation of innovative practices at organisational, local, regional, national and European levels. This project produced an innovative approach to addressing target groups, by providing ICT-based methodology for the participating organisations and other organizations all over Europe. The partners of the project have improved their capacity of implementing an EU project and increased the quality in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and follow-up of EU projects. The organizations increased their capacity and professionalism to work at EU/international level and improved their management competences and internationalisation strategies. The basis was constructed to provide a unity of common pre-school education around Europe. The cooperation capacity increased between European organizations. Seminars for teachers and parents were organized, the awareness of the public about early childhood education and care was increased. The teachers and the inspectors of the regions improved their knowledge.