Duration: 02. 02. 2025 – 01. 08. 2026
Reference: 2024-2-PL01-KA210-SCH-
Early childhood education is vital for instilling environmental sustainability and fostering a zero-waste mindset in the next generation. GreenComp, developed under the European Green Deal, promotes environmental learning across the EU by defining sustainability competencies for all learners. These competencies are necessary for the advancement to a greener economy and society and can be best imparted through well-trained educators, who can seamlessly integrate sustainability into their teaching, inspiring young learners to become future stewards of the environment.
The Toy-Free Month project aligns with this vision as it focuses on training educators to create toys from sustainable materials with their young learners, during a dedicated month without conventional toys in the classroom. This innovative collaboration among 4 partner organizations empowers educators to promote sustainable mindsets and lifestyles in future generations, contributing to the long-term sustainability of our planet.
Objectives:
-Equip kindergarten teachers/early childhood educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to integrate sustainability values and sustainable toys into their teaching practices.
-Develop multilingual materials that guide educators in creating their own toys from sustainable materials.
-Foster collaboration and the exchange of practices in education for sustainability among kindergarten educators across the EU.
-Facilitate peer learning opportunities to enhance educators’ competencies in sustainability.
-Empower partners to provide further training to kindergarten educators on sustainable toys in education.
Results:
1.Toy-Free Month training activity to equip kindergarten teachers and teacher trainers with knowledge about the benefits of sustainability practices and the use of sustainable toys.
2.Ready-to-use teaching materials that provide guidelines on integrating sustainability into the kindergarten curriculum, emphasizing sustainable toys, recycling, and creativity.
3.Two international online conferences facilitated by project partners and associated kindergarten teachers to share the results, good practices and experiences gained with EU colleagues.
4.Piloting of the Toy-Free Month practice in the associated/interested kindergartens.
5.Four national workshops aimed at raising awareness of the project’s activities and train kindergarten teachers to implement the Toy-Free Month practice.
We are partnering in the project with Erasmus+ courses by Primera and our venture Primera – Zentrum für pädagogische Fortbildung Wien.
