Teacher traning

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Teacher training. Sessions, lectures, seminars and other events

Our training sessions and seminars are both serious and fun. Teachers and students play games and express themselves in acting. They remember what it's like to be a child. At the same time they learn new pedagogical concepts approaches and put them to practice. Training helps teachers to better their skills and to share their own practice with each other. Interactive training of teachers and students helps them to become more responsive to children.

The main aim of teacher training is to encourage them to make use of their creativity.

Seminars and other events are led by Prof. Natalia A. Ryzhova with the assistance of other teachers of the Center.

Themes for seminars and training sessions

Contact us for more details: nature@esd-children.org, our.home.nature@gmail.com

Education for sustainable development (ESD) in early childhood: results, problems, development
Program "Nature is Our Home": how to implement ESD ideas in educational institutions and families
Learning environment for ESD
Child researchers: how to enhance children's natural drive for research
Family ESD: children together with parents and grandparents
Nature as learning environment
International ESD projects: think globally, act locally (case studies)
How to support children's initiative and self-support
How to write and use environmental fairy-tales
Rational use of resources: what children and families can do
Environmental games for children and adults
Ecological trail in kindergarten or primary school: how to create and use it
Sustainable kindergarten (school) what we can do for our environment

"Invisible threads of nature" This game helps everyone to realize that everything is connected in nature.
Team quiz "What do we know about water?" Teamwork and competition.
Can you guess what it is? Teams present natural phenomena as pantomime.
A living ecosystem It isn't easy to show an ecosystem with gestures. However this team succeeds.
Acting out children's poems Participants remember songs and poems from their childhood and express them in gestures.
A volcano from plasticine Each participant contributes a part to the whole model.
Another ecosystem Every team comes up with their own vision of how to express the notion of an ecosystem in a pantomime.
"Trees and their leaves" A matching game seen through children's eyes.
Water cycle in nature Raindrops and clouds.
Making toys from waste material Students learn to use their creativity: they imagine being children who make toys from waste.
Forest has many stories
From the life of plants In spring flowers start to bloom.

Learning like children

One of the tasks of ESD is to change educational style and relationships between teachers and children. Often teachers underestimate children's creative power. To understand children's potential one should go back to one's childhood: play and learn like children again.

Many natural phenomena become closer when they become part of a game. Teachers and students not only play, but also present and evaluate their own projects.

Open lessons by N.Ryzhova Natalia also works directly with children improving her educational program
Teachers learn from their colleagues How to help children become scientists.
How to make a water filter Teachers learn to organize experiments in a kindergarten lab
How to feel like a spider A spider web model on the kindergarten's ecological trail.
How to express autumn colors It's important for teachers to learn to use different applied art techniques in their work.
How to make a volcano erupt Teachers learn about different kind of models easily made from waste material.
In contact with children We draw inspiration from our visits to kindergartens during the seminars
How insects move Teachers and children show how a butte flies, how a grasshopper hops, how a butterfly goes from flower to flower.
How to walk the ecological trail Teachers learn to organize activities on the kindergarten's ecological trail.
How to see invisible air Teachers learn how to organize experiments with air in their kindergarten.
ESD is closely tied to studying cultural traditions
Building communication In order to fully understand a child one has to see the world through his eyes

Together with children

Teachers are always eager to see how theory is put into practice. Many seminars were organized in kindergartens that follow the program "Our Home Is Nature". Experienced teachers demonstrated how ESD can be expressed through various children's activities: experimens, art, games, etc.

When it isn't possible to have a session in a kindergarten, teachers watch videos about real cases.

Theory is foundation for practice Teachers learn about the author's concepts and technologies to use them later during the session.
Why we need common terms Before we start, special exercise help everyone to realize that our notions may differ. That's why we all need to use words in the same way.
Research of the teachers' opinions It is important to move from anthropocentric to ecocentric thinking.
Making landscape models Igor Ryzhov shares his technology: making landscape models from waste material
Learning to use the model Landscape models made of waste material imitate natural phenomena: river flow, volcano eruptions and so onThe models help to kids and teachers to understand different natural phenomena
Learning to work as a team At teacher training sessions many tasks teach not only to express oneself, but also to listen to the other's point of view.
It isn't easy to find common ground Everyone hears the same instructions, but the outcome is somehow different. What can we do to understand each other better?
Training outdoors Teachers learn how to explain laws of nature to their children. Teaching resources are found right on the kindergarten territory.
Feedback is always positive The seminars help teachers to express their creative power. That makes the training process not only useful, but also a lot of fun.
Passing on the experience Former participants of the seminars organize teacher training in their own kindergartens.

Theory and methods

At the sessions and seminars teachers and students learn about modern ESD concepts and about the author's program and methods.

More important, they learn how to put their new theoretical knowledge into practice.

Participants compare ESD practice in different countries to get new insights for their own work.

They take part in discussions, sharing their experience.

An important part of the sessions and seminars is outdoor activities.

Teacher training. Sessions, lectures, seminars and other events

Themes for seminars and training sessions

Contact us for more details: nature@esd-children.org, our.home.nature@gmail.com

"Invisible threads of nature"

This game helps everyone to realize that everything is connected in nature.

Team quiz

"What do we know about water?" Teamwork and competition.

Can you guess what it is?

Teams present natural phenomena as pantomime.

A living ecosystem

It isn't easy to show an ecosystem with gestures. However this team succeeds.

Acting out children's poems

Participants remember songs and poems from their childhood and express them in gestures.

A volcano from plasticine

Each participant contributes a part to the whole model.

Another ecosystem

Every team comes up with their own vision of how to express the notion of an ecosystem in a pantomime.

"Trees and their leaves"

A matching game seen through children's eyes.

Water cycle in nature

Raindrops and clouds.

Making toys from waste material

Students learn to use their creativity: they imagine being children who make toys from waste.

Forest has many stories

From the life of plants

In spring flowers start to bloom.

Learning like children

Open lessons by N.Ryzhova

Natalia also works directly with children improving her educational program

Teachers learn from their colleagues

How to help children become scientists.

How to make a water filter

Teachers learn to organize experiments in a kindergarten lab

How to feel like a spider

A spider web model on the kindergarten's ecological trail.

How to express autumn colors

It's important for teachers to learn to use different applied art techniques in their work.

How to make a volcano erupt

Teachers learn about different kind of models easily made from waste material.

In contact with children

We draw inspiration from our visits to kindergartens during the seminars

How insects move

Teachers and children show how a butte flies, how a grasshopper hops, how a butterfly goes from flower to flower.

How to walk the ecological trail

Teachers learn to organize activities on the kindergarten's ecological trail.

How to see invisible air

Teachers learn how to organize experiments with air in their kindergarten.

ESD is closely tied to studying cultural traditions

Building communication

In order to fully understand a child one has to see the world through his eyes

Together with children

Theory is foundation for practice

Teachers learn about the author's concepts and technologies to use them later during the session.

Why we need common terms

Before we start, special exercise help everyone to realize that our notions may differ. That's why we all need to use words in the same way.

Research of the teachers' opinions

It is important to move from anthropocentric to ecocentric thinking.

Making landscape models

Igor Ryzhov shares his technology: making landscape models from waste material

Learning to use the model

Landscape models made of waste material imitate natural phenomena: river flow, volcano eruptions and so onThe models help to kids and teachers to understand different natural phenomena

Learning to work as a team

At teacher training sessions many tasks teach not only to express oneself, but also to listen to the other's point of view.

It isn't easy to find common ground

Everyone hears the same instructions, but the outcome is somehow different. What can we do to understand each other better?

Training outdoors

Teachers learn how to explain laws of nature to their children. Teaching resources are found right on the kindergarten territory.

Feedback is always positive

The seminars help teachers to express their creative power. That makes the training process not only useful, but also a lot of fun.

Passing on the experience

Former participants of the seminars organize teacher training in their own kindergartens.

Theory and methods