During the stage period the students will follow the everyday life of the schools. Through observations, day by day logging, interviews and conversations with the employees in the preschools, the participants will gain knowledge of how the infant-toddler centers and preschools are organized, how children and adults interact in the different moments of the day and how projects are being planned and constructed.

From Sunday 19 to Tuesday 21 of February a group of mayors, directors and staff from the public company of the Bassa Reggiana district will encounter the Swedish colleagues in Norra Hissingen, nearby Gothenburg .

It will be an occasion to continue the exchange and collaboration between the two territories, an opportunity to visit preschools and schools and to share thoughts and experiences about pedagogic approaches and organizazion of the schools and preschools.

Participants in the italiano delegatio:

Giammaria Manghi     Mayor of Poviglio
Andrea Costa             Mayor of Luzzara
Barbara Bernardelli    Mayor of Reggiolo
Massimo Gazza         Mayor of Boretto
Giorgio Benaglia         Mayor of Guastalla
Elena Gamberini         Director of the Union of municipalities Bassa Reggiana
Cristian Fabbi             Director of the Public Company Bassa Reggiana
Federica Rossi           Coordinator international relations

Silvia Ronchetti           Coordinator of executive staff

Anna Avanzi                Coordinator Bassa Reggiana Family Center

The 5 of December 2011, un encounter to share the experience from the second journey abroad by a group of teachers, pedagogic coordinators and local administrators, was held at the preschool “La Ginestra”, in the municipality of Poviglio.

The journey is part of a Comenius partnership by the name L2L, Learning to learn: the environment as third educator in supporting autonomy and experimentation of knowledge.

The Euopean project was funded during the two year period 2010-2012 and has as partners of the project:

• The municipal preschool “La Ginestra”, Poviglio Italy (coordinator)

• Ted Istanbul Koleji Vakfi Ozel Anaokulu, Istanbul, Turkey

• Kinderhaus Stadt Maintal, Maintal, Germany

• Escola Pericot, Girona, Spain

We believe that this moment of exchange and professional development experienced in Germany has a great pedagogic and cultural value coherent with the objectives of the project:

• Develop awareness of the value of the environment as third educator.

• Encourage the continuous learning of the teachers about the processes of the children in the preschool throughout the experimentation of different materials and methodologies;

• Encourage the intercultural dialogue on the topic of educational quality and  continuous learning.

In particular the interesting experience of the Forest school of Kinderhaus in Maintal, offered us many sprouts of reflection that we find fundamental to share with the colleague teachers and pedagogic coordinators of our territory. In order to make the restitution of the experience as clear and communicative as possible the teachers have created a video documentary of a typical day at the Forest school, with the children and the teachers of the German school. The direct contact with nature represents an enormous possibility of research and learning that sustains and encourages the development of autonomies and offers multiple opportunities of cognitive and sensorial encounters between children and nature.

Next appointments of the project:

May 2012:                           Visit in Spain – Girona

June 2012:                          Final conference in Italy

September 2012:                Concluding report of the project and publication

of the results of the experience.