8.1 Definition of the area

There are 2 types of meeting places:

1. Outdoor, wide, extended places, barrier-free and limitless, able to host more children of different ages;
2. smaller spaces offering opportunities for exchanging ideas, collaboration, activities in smaller groups.

These typologies are Non-exclusive, i.e. there can be a mix of both.

Either big or small, meeting places offer good opportunities for collaboration, exchange of ideas, cross-contamination of play, comparisons, imitations, dialogues, reflection about several issues and phenomena referring to the world of things and the world of thoughts.

Meeting places not only suggest opportunities of moving, doing, acting of the children, but also tend to promote the education of being, staying and going, of the extraordinary but also the ordinary. In this context, the children assembly can be carried out, in a circle or half circle, in order to let everyone, see peers and listen to them with no difficulty. In this occasion, children's past experiences, stories and thoughts play a significant and main role, they are shared and become a democratic heritage of the group for new projects, investigations, and activities.

8.2 Learning Objectives

1. SOCIAL SKILLS:
   to spend time and socialize with kids, creating a proper and positive relationship based on communication and interaction with the others through verbal and non-verbal languages
2. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT LEARNING:
   To develop linguistic communication - listening, comprehension and produc-tion skills - to improve one's competences and the relationship with the oth-ers.
3. TEAMWORK:
   collaboration and cooperation during the activities, while working together.
4. LEARNING AND DEMOCRACY:
   to talk, listen and accept other points of view, respecting everybody's opinion

8.3 Curriculum References

Italy

• File: http://www.indicazioninazionali.it/2018/08/26/indicazioni-2012

• Reference: p.24, p.25

• Content: The child observes nature and the living being, in their birth, evolution and extinction. He observes the environment that surrounds him and captures the different relationships between people, listens to the narratives of adults, the expressions of their opinions…realizes that he is the same and different in the variety of situations, that he can be accepted or excluded. The identity of each boy and girl is gradually defined and articulated as awareness of one's body, one's personality, one's being with others and exploring the world.

Cyprus

• File: https://drive.google.com/open?id=14OtOhNRGRDXNMIHe6HBrdl2o9QyWmuMS

• Reference: p.28

  Area of development: Personal and Social Awareness

  Keystone 1: Social identity - Aims: - Children to try towards the smooth coexistence with other children within the context of pre-school (enjoy the interaction and communication that lead to happy moments); - Children to make friends.

  Area of development: Emotional Empowerment

  Keystone 2: Empathy - Aim: - Children to be able to understand the perspective of other children, to recognise and react in an appropriate manner to emotions of other children and care about them.

• Content:

  Keystone 1: p.44 p. 45

  The learning objectives described are the following:

  • The child to undertake responsibility of his/her actions within the group
  • The child to make friendships
  • The child to strive towards a smooth coexistence
  • The child to be aware of his/her relationships with other people in a group.

  Within the context of accomplishing the goals, the following can occur:

  • Participation in making group decisions to accomplish a goal
  • Actions based on what was decided
  • Undertake responsibilities
  • Empathy
  • Offer help to his/her friends when in need
  • Approach new people within the classroom
  • Aware of his/her rights and other children's rights.

  Activities recommended:

  • Role paly of a fairy tale
  • Discussion and activities, during which children experience different situations (e.g. How does a friend of ours feel for the loss of his/her pet?)

  Keystone 2: p.52

  Under the framework of empathy, children are expected to:

  • Explain when different emotions take place, understanding that sometimes we feel different things when experiencing certain events
  • Understand the perspective of other children and adults
  • Recognise and respond appropriately to feelings of other children
  • Show that they care about the feelings of other children
  • Resolve conflicts (e.g. concerning a toy)
  • Respect the property of other people.

  Towards achieving these goals, the following are suggested:

  • Implementation of the 'empathy' ladder (recognition, acceptance, understanding, reflection of emotions of other children)
  • Attempt to console and offer relief to adults and other children
  • Acceptance of the different emotions that somebody can experience.

Latvia

• File: http://likumi.lv/ta/id/303371-noteikumi-par-valsts-pirmsskolas-izglitibas-vadlinijam-un-pirmsskolas-izglitibas-programmu-paraugiem

• Reference:
  Keystone 3.2, p. 1 - Tasks of implementing pre-school education content
  Keystone 9.4, p.2
  Keystone 9.5 , p. 3 -In pre-school education, a child shall acquire the following transversal skills
  Keystone 10.1.1 , p. 3 - At the end of pre-school education, the child has acquired the following basics of skills, which include values and virtues, transversal skills and knowledge, understanding and basic skills

• Content: The child explains why people use language when communicating, listens to the text, names the people who act on it, leaves behind events, conceives the text, asks a question unclear and answers a specific question, talks comprehensively and sequentially about what they see, hear, experience, uses a variety of speech intonations in speech, distinguishes and names sounds, identifies sound with appropriate letter, reads words and understands read, writes spelled letters.

Sweden

• File: https://www.skolverket.se/publikationsserier/styrdokument/2019/curriculum-for-the-preschool-lpfo-18?id=4049

• Reference:p. 13 to p. 17

• Content:

  The preschool should provide each child with the conditions to develop:

  p.13

  • openness, respect, solidarity, and responsibility
  • the ability to take into account and empathise with the situation of other people, as well as a willingness to help others.
  • the ability to discover, reflect on and work out their position on different ethical dilemmas and fundamental questions of life in daily reality.
  • respect and understanding of the equal value of all people and human rights.
  • a growing responsibility for and interest in sustainable development and active participation in society.
  • their identity and feel security in it, and awareness of the right to physical and personal integrity.
  • independence and trust in their own ability.
  • curiosity, creativity and desire to play and learn,
  • an ability to function individually and in a group, cooperate, manage conflicts, and understand rights and obligations, and to assume responsibility for common rules
  • an ability to listen to and reflect on other people's perceptions, and to reflect and express their own beliefs.
  • imagination and imagination.

  p.15

  • a nuanced spoken language and vocabulary as well as the ability to play with words, relate things, express thoughts, ask questions, put forward arguments and communicate with others in different contexts and for different purposes
  • both the Swedish language and the national minority language, if the child belongs to a national minority.
  • both the Swedish language and its mother tongue, if the child has a different mother tongue than Swedish,
  • Swedish sign language, if the child has impaired hearing, is deaf or needs sign language for other reasons,

  p.17

  • an interest in and an ability to express thoughts and opinions so that they can influence their situation.
  • an ability to assume responsibility for her or his own actions and for the environment in preschool.
  • an understanding of democratic principles and the ability to cooperate and make decisions in accordance with them.