Play is an important part of the learning process during early childhood years. The child needs to be seen as a free young person and we need to enable them to create an identity through active involvement in the learning process.
It is very important that educators provide children with rich and stimulating environment. Children have to be given the opportunity to practice using their imagination, think creatively, and explore.
I, therefore, wanted to find out how we can involve puppets in the educational process. My thesis is divided into a theoretical and empirical part. The theoretical part introduces the concept of participation. Participation and the involvement of children are best known in Reggio Emilia's pedagogic approach which is becoming more and more established in Slovenian kindergartens.
In the empirical part of my thesis, I would like to present a project that I carried out in the Ciciban kindergarten in Novo mesto, in the unit called Najdihojca. Children from 4 to 6 years old have participated in the project. They have been motivated by the puppet, and I have also introduced various puppet techniques. The puppet turned out to be a successful motivator for everyday activities and during their daily routine. By using a puppet I targeted all three areas of child development; psychomotor, social-emotional and mental. Relationships between us have become more open. The readiness for mutual assistance and cooperation has definitely increased and I have also noticed that the puppet created an even more relaxed atmosphere.
|
