The making of a lake-dweller model with children from five to six years of age

In our kindergarten we come to learn about the life of people from the past and compare it to life as we know it today. Preschool children come to learn about Slovenian culture heritage and develop a national consciousness. Therefore I wish, in the practical part of this thesis to find out, how familiar children from five to six years of age, are with our history. Alongside this learning process, the children create things with differing artistic techniques. In the creative workshops they will get to know all about wood, the shaping of it, as well as the tools for working with it. I will pay particular attention also to how children, through their own efforts, come to discover solutions. We will take care of the materials and create an encouraging environment, where we will with the children, change and combine materials. I will plan the activities in such a way, that via design, children acquire additional knowledge. From this work I will find out whether children know how to independently use different hand tools and devices for woodworking in the making of a model. We will acquire the use of differing sources and activities for discovering the past. As children are inquisitive and like to discover new things I offered them the material, which enabled them to broaden their knowledge. Wood is a natural material, which is warm and at the same time very useful. Our kindergarten is located near a forest, where the material is readily available. All material required for the making of the model was found in this nearby forest. I placed a lot of importance on the creativeness of the children. The technical field was conquered with the use of carpenters’ tools for children for woodworking purposes. A lot of time was devoted to the individual making of the plan for the model and monitoring their work to the completion of it. The children were very curious, diligent, resourceful and creative. Upon learning of the lives of people from the past and the making of lake-dweller model, the children created a relationship for themselves to the organization of work and exactness while developing the capabilities for cooperation via the discovery and resolving of problematic situations. Through this activity, they obtained a lot of knowledge. Upon completion of the project the children discovered the difference in the lives of people from the past and today as well as the heritage in the past and contemporariness. For reliving the past we spent the educational day as lake-dwellers