Digital ECEC project training in Marijampole

On 6-8 June, the Erasmus+ project training course took place in Marijampole kindergarten „Ruta”, attended by partners from Italy, Greece, Spain and Lithuania.

The participants were greeted in the courtyard by the kindergarten’s children, who invited to join them for morning exercise. Later, the participants got acquainted, the foreign guests and the kindergarten community were greeted by the advisor to the Mayor of the municipality, Agne Pavelcikiene, who wished them a rich and meaningful time. She was pleased that Erasmus projects are not only in schools and gymnasiums, but also in kindergartens – the everyday environment of the little ones in Marijampole – and expressed her hope that the sharing of knowledge and competences will give everyone useful insights and help them to develop in their future activities.

Virginija Gusciuviene, the director of the kindergarten „Ruta”, introduced the participants to the institution she manages, talked about the development and implementation of digital content, and promised that they would have the opportunity to get acquainted with the tools already in use and to see how digitalisation encourages the teacher to take an innovative and creative approach to the educational process.

Audrone Putauskiene, deputy director of the kindergarten „Ruta”, introduced the participants to the agenda of the training, presented the educational spaces inside the kindergarten as well as outside.

Participants revealed their engineering skills using LEGO bricks in the activity „I Construct, Play and Learn”, guessed the sounds of nature with the help of the „Toniesbox”, wandered in the labyrinths of the „Smart” board, and discovered the secrets of the art of „Ebru”, explored the possibilities of the Magicbox interactive floor, took the first steps towards narrative animation to stimulate a child’s creativity using tablets, and explored the use of Bee Boot robots in education.

The time passed very quickly for the project partners, who learnt from each other a lot of new ideas for children’s education. The time spent together brought unforgettable impressions and many good emotions.

The guests were introduced to the history of the city of Marijampole, its founding and the most visited places. They also visited the spaces located in Marijampole College, such as: standardised Mechatronics/IT laboratory, FabLab (digital manufacturing technology space), standardised Natural Science laboratory, Creativity and Media specialised laboratory.

Project partners and participants of the training left impressed by the kindergarten, its green environment, the facilities and the space available. The hospitality of the community of the kindergarten „Ruta” left a great impression for them all.