The final meeting of the project partners took place on March 20-24 in Kohtla-Järve kindergarten Tareke (Estonia). Project partners from Lithuania and North Macedonia arrived to Estonia and participated in activities directly. Partners from Turkiye, due to the strong earthquakes that occurred in their region, could not come. They attended activities online. The topic of this meeting was „STEM of Water“.
Day 1
On the first day, the guests were greeted by the director of the institution, Ene Kruzman. The students and teachers greeted the guests with thematic dances and songs. Education system was presented. After that project partners were invited to explore the indoor and outdoor spaces of the kindergarten. The group environment created by children and educators perfectly revealed the theme of our meeting – water. Robotics teacher presented her activities. We ended the day with a guide tour around Kohtla-Jarve city, visited the spectacular Valaste Waterfall and seaside.
Day 2
On the second day of the project meeting, we had a unique opportunity to visit the Hellenurme water mill, built in 1880, that is the last one still running in Estonia, built in 1880. We observed the ancient process of grain grinding, by using the force of water. We tasted fragrant bread made from flour ground in this mill and listened to the stories of the mill owner about its history and uniqueness. We continued the day with a tour to one of the largest cities in Estonia – Tartu and visited the Mother River and the biggest lake in Estonia – Peipsi lake.
Day 3
On the third day we celebrated World Water Day in the kindergarten. We were invited to observe an activity on the topic “Water circulation”, after which students, teachers and project partners participated in sports games. After activities project partners shared practices on the topic of water carried out in their institutions. We spent afternoon in the city of Narva where we had a guided tour to the defensive Narva castle-museum located on the banks of the Narva River, got acquainted with the history of Narva city and the fortress.
Day 4
The fourth day was for workshops. During them, we created pictures “Sea animals” using various techniques. We learned how to make handmade soap and a “jellyfish” in a water bottle. We were introduced to the “Lapbooks” – educational books created by children and teachers, they are often used in the kindergarten. Working together we created a rainwater collector, which will be used by the children of the kindergarten in the outdoor activities. The teacher of robotics introduced the programming app used in the classes and presented the possibilities of using programming robots in the educational process. The activities of the day ended with the certificate awards.
Day 5
On the last day of the meeting we had a trip to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. We explored the Old Town, visited the Tower of Fat Margaret with its Maritime museum. It is on UNESCO World Heritage List. We continued our acquaintance with the marine world in another unique Sea museum. It surprised us not only with its size, but also with exhibits. These two places of interest are excellent educational spaces not only for adults, but also for children.
We enjoyed this active week in Estonia full of new experiences. We are proud of everyone’s involvement in the activities, sincere communication and cooperation in the implementation of the project goals and believe that the experiences will successfully be adapted in the educational process.
Thank you for your visiting. It was very wonderful time. 🌷
Interesting activities, many new experiences in the field of robotics and interactive activities.