Kreamont - Kreatives Lernen nach Maria Montessori

KREAMONT (hosting organization) Kreamont is a private school with public rights, attended by children between the ages of 6 and 14. Our pedagogical principles are based on Maria Montessori method as well as other non-traditional educational approaches. They involve independent work just as learning in groups. Teaching subjects are offered in a natural way, incorporating both indoor and outdoor surroundings, so they can be presented as close as possible to the children’s reality. In a well-prepared environment, children can choose according to their interests, needs and capabilities among different activities and didactic materials. This gives them freedom to explore and enables them to develop to their fullest potential in accordance with their current development phase. Teacher’s task is active observation and support of the children in their work by putting the gained experience into different contexts. Teachers accompany children by recognition of their needs and inspire them to follow their curiosity and desire for discovery. Moreover, they support children in development of an attentive and respectful attitude to oneself, the others and the environment. The described way of learning has a positive effect on the personality development of the children, especially their independence, self-confidence as well as social, personal and factual competence. Regular school day starts at 8:15 am, the teachers meet at 7:50 am for a short introductory meeting. The teacher’s school day ends at 12:40 pm with another meeting, where the pedagogical staff including the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) volunteers are present. The school also offers lessons and free time activities in the afternoon with a lunch for children, teachers and ESC volunteers included. The ESC volunteers can take part also in the afternoon activities. Once a week there is a two-hour team meeting, which reflects the events of the school week. This has become a valuable part of our work, both for the teacher’s team as well as for ESC volunteers. Regular school day 07:45 – 08:15 Arrival of the children and start of the lessons 08:15 – 09:45 Free study time or work on different projects 09:45 – 10:15 Break 10:15 – 12:00 Free study time or work on different projects 12:00 – 12:40 Meeting of the regular groups (8 – 10 children with one teacher) 12:40 – 13:30 Teacher’s meeting 13:30 – 14.00 Lunch, Participation in the free-time activities of children staying longer in the school The ESC volunteers get an opportunity to prepare their own presentations and projects, support the teachers in their daily teaching routine or work with groups of students. These projects and presentations shall provide an insight into the volunteer's background. They can cover a wide variety of topics such as language, culture, life style, sports and others. JUGEND:INFO NÖ (coordinating organisation) Jugend:info NÖ is a Lower Austrian youth information centre, specialised on the preparation and mediation of non-commercial information suitable for young people. Youth information services support young people in their development and provide free, up-to-date, relevant, and understandable information. With these actions, our services and activities promote the empowerment of young people. Information provided is available on an anonymous basis, free of charge, accessible in an easy-to-understand format for our target groups. In addition, Jugend:info NÖ represents the regional office for the EU Youth Programmes Erasmus+ Youth in Action and ESC. In this function, they promote the EU Youth Programs via different channels, offer consultancy, build and maintain networks, support young Lower Austrians to go abroad, and much more. Their target groups include young people (age 13-30) as well as people who work with adolescents and in the field of youth work (such as parents, teachers, youth workers, politicians, multipliers, etc.). Inclusion as described in the program guide shall be a focus of our future ES