Inquiry-based activr learing of preschool children using wood and metals.

In the thesis, we want to present active learning and also an example of a project activity where children are actively involved in the crafts and technology activities that we have performed in the kindergarten. The purpose of the thesis is to present active learning in the preschool period as we have noticed that in the kindergartens, children rarely actively participate in activities and come to the final solutions and information on their own. We also wanted to determine which materials preschool teachers most commonly use in their work with children. This is why we focused on the most and the least commonly used material by preschool teachers. The results were obtained through a survey questionnaire which was distributed in the Miškolin kindergarten and via an online survey questionnaire. The results showed that preschool teachers most often use natural materials like wood and least often metal. This is why we focused on wood and metal material in the thesis. In the first part of the theoretical part, we present learning in the preschool period and focus on active learning where we present its importance, forms, principles and the role of preschool teachers in active learning. In the second part of the theoretical part, we focus on crafts and technology in the preschool period, curricular objectives for crafts and technology and the characteristics and properties of wood and metal. We also present the tools, devices and procedures that children have encountered during the practical part of the thesis by shaping wood and metal. In the kindergarten, we also performed a month-long project with children, in which children were actively involved and got to know wood and metal. Children actively participated in guided and free activities and actively acquired knowledge by exploring materials and finally made a final product (gift/toy) out of the material being discussed. During the activities, children learned about the properties of each material (they compared them and were able to find them in their immediate surroundings) and some of the basic techniques of wood and metal processing (grinding wood, tucking nails in wood with a hand hammer, pinching wire, running wire around the nails, manual wire design, bonding of wood and wood coating). As already stated, the results that we gathered from an online survey questionnaire show that preschool teachers most often use materials like wood and least often metal. At the same time, we established that 95% of respondents encourage active learning in kindergarten. Children typically learn about properties of materials at activities that are planned for 30-45 minutes, individually or in smaller groups along with practical work and various play improvisations. Kindergarten teachers most often evaluate the process of their activities by comparing products before and after planned activity with children, that way children find the activity more meaningful. With this thesis, we want to encourage preschool teachers to include different materials in their work with children in kindergarten