Communicating values to preschool children

Imparting values to preschool children is one of the most important activities of any education. Our online training is based on the “Values for Preschool Children” manual, both of which were carried out as part of the Erasmus+ project: Ethical Values for Preschool Children. The online training presents concrete examples of activities that can help develop values in children between the ages of one and six, such as responsibility, respect, understanding what is right and wrong, self-confidence, politeness, helping others, cooperation, friendship, imagination, honesty, love, gratitude, and more. The video presentation and the manual can assist educators and parents in introducing habits to children that will support them throughout their lives.

In this video training, we present examples of moral education carried out in Mala Akademija and Angelin Kindergarten, Ljubljana, Slovenia, as well as Gülten ve Ömer Ünlükahraman Anaokulu, Kilis, Turkey. Within each kindergarten, the activities are divided into four categories (the same as in the manual):

Relationship to Oneself:

Hygiene – handwashing and using a tissue

Building self-confidence through play – This is me

Introducing children to reading

Music and dance

Nursery rhymes

The silence game

The line (movement on the line and dance)

Sensory path

Pinocchio

Relationship with Others

Serving snacks

Setting the table

Serving lunch

Calming before lunch with a song

Cleaning up after lunch

Caring for and helping younger children with dressing

Helping younger children (covering the youngest with blankets)

Reading to children before naptime

Polite expressions

Applauding the right things

Let’s be respectful

I love you

Forming a queue

Relationship to Things

Window cleaning

Instilling values using contrast cards

Carrying chairs or tables

Relationship to the Environment

Arranging bouquets

Watering flowers

Caring for potted plants

Planting flowers

Sorting waste

Caring for animals – for a dog.

At the end, there is a video of a child’s entire day in the kindergarten, showing how ethics are integrated into daily life: morning greetings, preparing breakfast, good table manners, cleaning up the table, peaceful coexistence with other children, helping others, caring for the environment, animals, and more. These values and attitudes are passed on daily by educators or parents through their example, behavior, and relationship with the child, other people, and the environment.

Educators and parents can watch the entire training at once; however, it is more likely that each time they want to introduce a new activity to children, they will review one activity in detail and use the manual to assist in planning and implementation. This approach helps develop the following skills:

Recognizing various everyday opportunities for parents and educators to introduce moral education to children

Using the presented activities in daily work and life in kindergarten and at home

Communication and collaboration with children

Preparing necessary materials for introducing children to ethical activities

Integrating moral education into everyday life.

This video training is primarily intended for parents and educators, but preschool children will benefit the most. We also hope that preschool policymakers will review the project and include some findings in the kindergarten curriculum.

Moral education for children seems necessary on one hand, but also challenging on the other, which is why we decided not to offer a certification for this training. Some parents and educators will only introduce a few activities into their children’s education (but even this will greatly contribute to their children’s development). Others may already be implementing these activities and may even send us their contributions, which we will use to enhance both the manual and the online training. We hope that as many contributions as possible will be made to enrich our project.