O verán barbanzán
anda a roubarlle días ao outono, e ao regalo dun día solleiro e caluroso,
sumouse unha invitación especial da mestra Alicia Souto a visitar a Escola de
Educación Infantil de Vilariño (Pobra do Caramiñal), un dos centros que
participa no noso proxecto de escritura creativa.
Alicia foi alumna
da Escola Oficial de Idiomas durante un par de anos, e xa nos fascinara con
algunha presentación que fixera na clase para falar da filosofía pedagóxica que
implementa nas súas aulas, de María Montessori, de motivar as grandes capacidades de aprendizaxe dos nenos fomentando a súa liberdade e independencia e a ilusión pola aprendizaxe.
Pero se as
presentacións nos embelesaron, a visita terminou por deixarme namorada da súa
maneira de tratar os nenos, de ensinar, de organizar o espazo, de xestionar
emocións. Volvo encantada, tanto, que quero escribirvos esta entrada mentres
teño estas emocións fresquiñas.
Allow me to
introduce:
EEI DE VILARIÑO
As I went in,
children were at their own workstations, some of them painting, others at the
kitchen area, others working on an album matching the names of their classmates
to their photographs. Alicia, the teacher, told them to put things away neatly
since it was time for a snack.
They all cleaned
and collected their things and they went to sit down on the carpeted area,
where Alicia had them clean their hands while she played “some music to think”,
which was the song “No dejes de soñar”. Alicia is very interested in teaching
children to think critically, following the line of Angélica Sátiro and her Proyecto Noria, which point to reflection and
creative thinking as key competences. Fran, one of the children, said he knew what this song meant: “Hay que soñar
más y estar menos despierto” (we should dream more and spend less time awake).
Then, they all
went to get their rucksacks, placed their mats on the tables and had their
snacks. They kept talking about the chicks (“pitiños”), which kept me wondering
until Alicia told me at this school, 5-year-olds are the ducks (“patos”),
4-year-olds are the hens (“galiñas”) and 3-year-olds are chicks (“pitiños”).
The ducks help the chicks in a lot of their responsibilities, for example,
helping them put materials back in place.
Every child is in
charge of some special task, for example, Laura is the school reporter, and
must take the photographs; Brais must turn the computers on and off; and Sara
must set the clock during snack time to make sure only 10 minutes are spent
doing this.
The management of
emotions and resolution of conflicts would deserve an entry of its own. When a child
complained during break time about another classmate, Alicia kindly told him to go tell his friend how he felt and within 5 minutes there they were playing
together again.
Any event is an
opportunity to learn at this school. When they opened the trunk where they keep
their toys in the playground, one of the children found a spider and he ran to
get a magnifying glass. Alicia was telling me later that they use these
discoveries as an excuse for project work, and she showed me some of the books
they have created about grasshoppers (anatomy, eating habits and habitat).
Alicia and her
team of “pitiños, galiñas e patos” are fantastic. I will definitely pay them a
visit again (if they’ll have me) and I am sure you cannot wait to learn more
about them through the traveling notebooks and cards.
 |
| The teachers: Silvia, ALICIA and Rosa |
Thank you very
much, Alicia. Visiting your school has been a real gift and a privilege!
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