Technical activities as part of forest pedagogy with children aged 3 to 6 years

Dandanes vse bolj zgubljamo stik z naravo. Pozabljamo na njen pomen in vse, kar nam ponuja: naravne nestrukturirane materiale, ki pri otrocih vedno znova vzbudijo zanimanje in željo po raziskovanju, posledično pa spodbujajo tudi aktivno učenje. Pri načrtovanju vzgojno-izobraževalnega dela pogosto pozabljamo tudi na področje tehnike in tehnologije, saj v Kurikulumu za vrtce ne zavzema samostojnega področja. Zaradi omenjenih problemov je bil namen diplomskega dela v vzgojno-izobraževalni proces umestiti tehnične dejavnosti v okviru gozdne pedagogike v skupino otrok starih 3–6 let in staršem omogočiti vpogled v celotno dogajanje. Diplomsko delo je sestavljeno iz teoretičnega in empiričnega dela. Teoretični del se nanaša na gozdno pedagogiko, aktivno učenje in razvojne značilnosti otrok pri starosti 3–6 let. V tem delu najdemo tudi primere aktivnosti za igro in učenje v gozdu. V empiričnem delu pa je predstavljena analiza anketnih vprašalnikov o mnenju in izkušnjah pedagoških delavcev vrtca s tehničnim kotičkom. Skoraj polovica anketirancev v igralnico umesti tehnični kotiček vsako leto. Najpogostejša dejavnost, ki jo izvajajo v njem, je zabijanje žičnikov. Anketi sledijo opisi izvedb in evalvacije tehničnih dejavnosti, ki smo jih izvajali. Predstavljene so dejavnosti, ki smo jih izvajali v tehničnem kotičku, dnevnik tehničnega kotička in novoletna dekoracija vrtca. Na koncu so predstavljeni še rezultati anketnih vprašalnikov o mnenju staršev o tehničnem kotičku, dnevniku tehničnega kotička in novoletni delavnici. Iz podanih odgovorov smo prišli do ugotovitve, da je bila staršem zamisel o tehničnem kotičku zelo všeč in so jo popolnoma podpirali. Dnevnik tehničnega kotička se jim je zdel pregleden in smiselno oblikovan, bil jim je v pomoč za spremljanje dejavnosti. Za novoletno delavnico pa so starši največkrat zapisali, da je bila dobro načrtovana in odlično izvedena. Diplomsko delo je namenjeno zlasti strokovnim delavcem vrtca, saj lahko v njem najdejo primere, kako področje tehnike in tehnologije vključiti v vzgojno-izobraževalni proces, in ideje, kako lahko z dejavnostmi na tem področju seznanjamo in vključujemo tudi starše.People today are losing touch with nature. We are forgetting about its meaning and what it does for us. Natural unstructured materials continuously arouse interest and desire for exploration in children, and consequently encourage active learning. The field of technics and technology tends to be forgotten in the process of planning educational work, since the kindergarten curriculum does not consider it an independent subject. Due to the above problem, the purpose of my paper is to implement technical activities within the framework of forest pedagogy for children aged 3 to 6 years and to provide parents with an insight into the whole process. The thesis is divided into theoretical and empirical parts. The theoretical part relates to forest pedagogy, active learning and developmental characteristics of children aged 3 to 6 years. This section also provides examples of activities for playing and learning in the forest. The empirical part consists of the analysis of the opinion survey and experience of kindergarten teachers with the technology corner. Almost half of the respondents create a technology corner in the playroom every year with its most common activity of hammering nails. The survey is followed by descriptions of the implementation and evaluation of the performed technical activities. We present the activities performed in the technology corner, the technology corner log and the New Year\u27s kindergarten decoration. In the final part we introduce the results of the questionnaires on the parents\u27 opinion of the technology corner, its log and the New Year\u27s workshop. From the given answers, we concluded that parents fully appreciated the idea of the technological corner. In their opinion the corner’s log was transparent and reasonably designed, and as such helped them observe activities. The New Year\u27s workshop was described by most parents as well planned and perfectly executed. iv The thesis is aimed especially towards the kindergarten professionals, as it provides them with examples of how to integrate the field of technics and technology into the educational process and ideas of how to inform and involve parents in the activities