In the thesis the designing of a water wheel in Kindergarten Agata is described. The theoretical part of the thesis is focused on developmental psychology, child development and developmental characteristics of children, according to Piaget.
All the activities were performed in the form of a project. Hence, my attention is dedicated to project work. Considering the ways of making some facts about the technique, safety and wood are described.
In the empirical part the procedure and activities of making a water wheel model in kindergarten are described as well as the ways of motivating four to six years old children.
Through all the phases the active participation of children are shown – from experimenting with little mills to encountering a real mill's water wheel, from drawing an outline to getting information in literature, from bringing raw material and processing it to final testing of models.
Separate working phases were accurately planned but later some additional were included due to children's reactions. Namely, through the activities I found out that the children of this age were very active and handy in all the working phases – from preparation to processing wood and final testing.
My final conclusion is that children are able to work out different things. Some tasks may seem too complex at the beginning but we need only a little effort and creativity to build positive atmosphere and good motivational surroundings. Children's own products give them a lot of pleasure and satisfaction.
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