Students and accompanying teachers from all the schools met at Valencia between the 25th and 30th of October 2022, hosted by CEIP Maria Molinar. This was the first time that participating students would be hosted by local families, after the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Activities in Valencia were designed in such a way that they could be implemented on-site outdoors, bringing the classroom outside of the school to places of interest:

  • Orchard-Erasmus+: Through recycling bins, different plants were planted with seeds from all participating countries. Before this activity, a study of the weather conditions of Valencia was done to bring adequate seeds and schedule the necessary care for the plants.
  • Afternoon on the river: (gymkhana) We spent an afternoon in the green area of the town playing games such as gymkhanas, escape rooms, etc., that we designed in a way to explore the local environment.
  • Albufera :(study birds and climate change consequences) We visited Valencia lagoon, observing the flora and fauna and how the climate crisis has changed them over the last years.
  • Paint the ideal world: Art expression workshop in which students in groups sketched their ideal world. The final sketches were then painted on the walls of the schoolyard.
  • ICT activities: Group presentations were made using various apps. In this activity, each group made a simple online presentation where ideal and wonderful worlds are contrasted with scenes whipped and battered by contamination.
  • Cultural visits to the city of Valencia. The visits were organized in a way that participants were informed about the problems of the city and the initiatives it has taken towards sustainability in the last years.

The local school tried to get the entire community to participate, from infants 6 years old to 12 years old in sixth grade. A total of approximately 500 students and 40 teachers were celebrating the arrival of the 20 Erasmus students from other countries, plus their 13 teachers who accompanied them.

Local students also participated in traditional songs and dances, welcoming them. In all the activities, 70-80 local students between the ages of 11 and 12 and 10 school teachers, together with the ten host families, participated. 

The main joint staff meeting took place at the school, where various aspects of the project and cooperation were discussed among the partners. Every partner presented the activities they had done so far, how many teachers and students were involved in them, the challenges they faced, and which activities they did not manage to complete. We discussed the forthcoming activities, rescheduling, and reordering where appropriate.

Results

Participants in this activity benefited from the opportunity to work cooperatively with children from other European schools. Not only they had the opportunity to enhance their communication skills, but they also participated in intercultural dialogue, prioritizing values such as tolerance, inclusion, or non-discrimination between nations.

All this strengthened the European dimension in the participating schools. On the other hand, the experiences obtained by teachers from different countries can be used in their future daily practice.

The participants also benefited from the visits and routes made throughout the stay, with which there was an increase in their cultural baggage, thereby allowing children from different areas, such as rural, suburban schools, etc, to have a broader, more formal, and immersive vision. Teachers, through observation, cooperation, exchange of opinions, etc., carried out the teaching-learning of activities, thus improving professional development. Teachers also discussed innovative outdoor methodologies that can be used in similar activities.

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Categories: Mobilities

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