Welcome to the website of OUTDOOR4MI!
This innovative Erasmus+ KA2 project promotes the Outdoor Education (OE) in kindergartens, with special regard for those children with mobility impairments
The age we live in is characterized by epochal challenges involving the entire Planet, due to the ecological crisis generated by the destructive relationship between humans and the environment.
In order to be able to face this enormous challenge, Europe has lined up at the forefront in an attempt to make a decisive change aimed at reducing the impact of human activities on the environment.
However, to reach radical changes, it is necessary to create a precise learning paths that can lead learners from an early age to “sustainability knowledge, skills and attitudes”.
For more information, send a message to the project’s coordinator: cascio@coeso.org
About the project
Nowadays, OE is still poorly applied by ECEC teachers in their daily work, especially in presence of pupils with MI; concerns are mostly
related to: health and safety issues, parental concerns and/or lack of understanding regarding the benefits of outdoor learning.
The OUTDOOR4MI project aims to address these issues in the partner countries and to provide teachers with innovative key competences useful for implementing OE activities, both inside and outside the classroom, including those essential competences for engaging pupils with mobility impairments, for whom a connection to nature can be more difficult due to physical accessibility.
Objectives
1.
Increasing the implementation of OE activities in order to foster sensitivity and awareness in terms of respect and connection with the natural environment in 3-5 years-old pupils.
2.
Developing inclusive OE strategies to enable all learners, especially those with MI, to enjoy benefits of OE by offering them “a safe, nurturing and caring environment and provide a social, cultural, physical space with a range of possibilities for kids to develop their potential” (COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on High-Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Systems).
3.
Increase the skills of ECEC teachers:
(A) in implementing the place-based educational approach that characterizes the OE, also bringing the external environment into the classroom;
(B) in using innovative digital tools in OE activities;
(C) In applying an interdisciplinary approach in OE activities,which also include STEAM subjects;
(D) in communicating to parents the value of the OE approach,also in an inclusive key.
Project Phases/Activities
OUTDOOR4MI project will elaborate
- GUIDELINES (WP2);
- TEACHERS TRAINING CURRICULUM (WP3);
- TEACHERS TOOLBOX (WP4): a collection of resources for ECEC teachers to implement inclusive OE activities and workshops for 180 kids aged 3-5 (24 have a MI) in kindergartens. Through local School Advisory Boards, a Transnational Training event and Local Training sessions (for 70 teachers), resources will be tested and then shared with stakeholders during 7 Multiplier events.
Outputs
- GUIDELINES: support ECEC teachers in designing effective and accessible OE settings with a focus on the accessibility of environments for children with mobility impairments. The Guidelines are accompanied by three Video Tutorials, which provide the information contained in the document in a visual and easily transferable way.
- TEACHERS TRAINING CURRICULUM: supplies to teachers’ skills to convey OE activities focusing on MI kid
- TOOLBOX: a set of practical OE activities for implementing inclusive OE WORKSHOPS based on DIGITAL tools and INTERDISCIPLINARY approach with a focus on kids with MI.
Partner
English 
Italian 
Portuguese 
Spanish 
Romanian 
Hungarian 
Greek