Title project : pLAY , HAPPY CHILDREN, CREATIVE ADULTS

1. Titleproject: pLAY, HAPPY CHILDREN, CREATIVE ADULTS Authors of the project : Dagmara Szczecińska, POLAND NicoletaCaramida-Trocan, ROMANIA GemaCarolina Aguilar Maraver, SPAIN

2. pLAY, HAPPY CHILDREN, CREATIVE ADULTS Description of the project: Play is a universal phenomenon with a pervasive and enduring presence in human history. Ironically, play is persistently undervalued, and children’s opportunities for uninterrupted free play – both indoors and out – are under threat. Children now spend far more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new standards and linked to standardized tests. This is a tragedy, both for the children themselves and for our nation and world. No human being can achieve his full potential if his creativity is stunted in childhood. And no nation can thrive in the 21st century without a highly creative and innovative workforce. Nor will democracy survive without citizens who can form their own independent thoughts and act on them.

3. pLAY, HAPPy CHILDREN,CREATIVEADULTS Description of the projectcontinued: Young children work hard at play. They invent scenes and stories, solve problems, and negotiate their way through social roadblocks. They know what they want to do and work diligently to do it. Because their motivation comes from within, they learn the powerful lesson of pursuing their own ideas to a successful conclusion. In the current climate of concern over school readiness, we must preserve some opportunity for children to play for their own purposes. If we trust the evidence that children’s play is at the very heart of healthy growth and development of early learning, we must ensure that children have sufficient time and adequate resources and support to develop the ability to engage independently in extended free play. If play always and exclusively serves adult educational goals,it is no longer play from the child’s perspective. It becomes work, albeit playfully organized.

5. pLAY, HAPPy CHILDREN,CREATIVEADULTS language: English pre – school subject duration: 1 month 05.13-06.13 agegroup: 3-5 yearsold Details level: easy

6. pLAY, HAPPy CHILDREN,CREATIVEADULTS Project aims: Childrenwill planned, realize and summarize their activities and manage time by yourself have fun learn to use computer, scanner, printer, digital camera, video camera foster essential skills as critical thinking, observation, problem solving and communication became aware of different cultures and languages develop their creativity pedagogicalissues will be exchanges cooperate and play individually

7. ICT TOOLS computer multifunktionprinter digitalcamera video camera

8. wikispace kindergartenwebsite mobile phone Skype e-mail PUBLISHING COMMUNICATION microsoftoffice 2010 adobe, tagxedo, smilebox, vacaroo, Voki, slideshare twinspace projectdiary eTwinning PLATFORM OTHER

9. ROMANIA SPAIN POLAND Project head team

10. The co-ordination of plan of work and acceptance by all partners. START Integration of plans into curriculum of each kindergarten. Discussing of lesson plans. May 1-3 Amazing, cool, funnyactivities. Presentation of children’s activities will be emailed to each partner. May 6-7 Children’s activities and work will be published on website, Twinspace and projectdiary. May 8-10 May 13 – June 21 June 24-28 FINISH

12. Children productions: arts, social plays, constructions, physical play, games with rules; celebrate theirs Global Day, send games with instruction to partners, printer, scan theirs works, make a photo of theirs plays, get in touch with partners website of eachkindergarten etwinplay. wikispaces.com Twinspaces Project diary EVALUATION Teacher productions: register children plays, organize space and time; prepare as summarize presentation PowerPoint, Smilebox by category of play, register audio voice of plays by Vacaroo, exchange experiences of work with parners by video conferencing and show effect of children work to parents, other teachers, headmaster

13. BENEFITS Play nourishes every aspect of children’s development–physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and creative. Thelearning in play is integrated, powerful, and largely invisibleto the untrained eye. It is learning that is important tothe learner. Play develops the foundation of intellectual, social, physicaland emotional skills necessary for success in school and inlife. It “paves the way for learning”.Block building, sandand water play lay the foundation for logical mathematicalthinking, scientific reasoning, and cognitive problemsolving.Rough-and-tumble play develops social andemotional self-regulation. Playfosters creativity and flexibility in thinking. There is no rightor wrong way to do things; there are many possibilities inplay – a chair can be a car or a boat, a house or a bed.Pretend play fosters communication, developingconversational skills,turn taking, and perspective taking,and the skills of social problem solving – persuading,negotiating, compromising, and cooperating. It requirescomplex communication skills: children must be able tocommunicate and understand the message, “this is play.”As they develop skill in pretend play, children begin toconverse on many levels at once, becoming actors, directors,narrators, and audience, slipping in and out of multipleroles easily.There isconsiderable fascination among play researchersand theorists with the correlations between children’spretend play and cognitive development.The capacityfor pretense, developed so elaborately in socio-dramaticplay, is inextricably intertwined with the development ofthe capacity for abstract, representational thinking. Wemarvel at the developmental progression in thinking asthe child gives up the need for a realistic object in pretendplay – a banana, shoe, orsimple hand gesture replaces thetoy telephone.

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