Upoznavanje vode kroz istraživačke aktivnosti u predškolskoj dobi

Tema ovog diplomskog rada je “Upoznavanje vode kroz istraživačke aktivnosti u predškolskoj dobi”. Djeca od najranije dobi istražuju svijet oko sebe, a u tome im uvelike pomaže vrtić kao ustanova u kojoj većina aktivnosti ima istraživački karakter. Cilj istraživanja je da kroz splet različitih aktivnosti i igara osvijestim djeci pojam važnosti vode za život te njezinog očuvanja, i poticanje kreativnog izražavanja kroz manipulaciju različitim materijalom. Kroz razne aktivnosti pokušat ću usmjeriti djecu na važnost čuvanja vode, koja nas okružuje, pojavljuje se u različitim oblicima i obogaćuje naše živote svojom ljekovitošću, korisnošću i snagom, ali i ljepotom. Kako bih osmislila što kvalitetnije aktivnosti, s djecom sam provela uvodni upitnik koji mi je bio smjernica za daljnji rad. Kroz aktivnosti istraživanja vode primijetila sam: suradnički rad među djecom, kreativnost, originalnost u izričaju, samostalnost, koncentriranost na rad. Voda je djeci privlačna i stoga što je ona neoblikovana, podatna, difuzna i istodobno umirujuća tvar s kojom je moguće djelovati na različite načine i s raznim drugim predmetima i materijalima. Kao nedostatak kod provođenja aktivnosti smatram ne odlazak u prirodu s djecom, jer kako literature navodi niti jedna učionica ni udžbenik ne mogu zamijeniti odlazak u prirodu. Aktivnosti su u djeci probudili prave male znanstvenike s pregršt pitanja, do čijih su odgovora sami dolazili. Igra vodom je višestruko korisna jer njom djeca potiču: socio – emocionalni razvoj, tjelesni razvoj, razvoj govora, razvoj kreativnosti. Ni smijemo zaboraviti ni ulogu odgojitelja kao kreativnu osobu osjetljivu na dječje potrebe, i spremnu na ulogu aktivnog sudionika u dječjim istraživanjima.Issue of this paper is “Introducing water through exploring activities in preschool setting”. Children, from their earliest age exploring their surroundings, and kindergartens are institutions that nourish this kind of the activity. The main goal of this paper is to present process of awakening children’s notion of importance of water for life and its’ safeguarding in generally, through different activities and creative expression with different materials. Through everyday activities children are guided in their exploration of water in our surrounding, its different appearances, and its healing capabilities as well as its usage, the power and the beauty. At the very begging children were given the introducing questionnaire which has been used for further design of the activities. During the explorative activities I have noticed following: children cooperate with each other, they are creative and original in presenting ideas, and they are autonomous and focused on the activity. It seems like the children like water because its’ structure is un-morphed, scattered, and at the same time water is a soothing matter allowing children to interact with different objects and materials. Exploratory activities with water were proven to be developmentally appropriate because they allowed children to be scientists themselves, constructing questions and finding answers autonomously. Although children were very engaged during explorative activities, the main limitation of this project was absence of outdoor activities, because, as literature states, not even one classroom can replace outdoor activities. Exploratory activities with water have several benefits: they facilitate children’s socio-emotional development, physical development, speech development as well as development of the creativity. We mustn’t forget the role of preschool teacher who is creative person, sensitive of children’s needs and always willing to actively participate in children’s exploratory activities