Kotka Lasteaed
Kotka Lasteaed is a modern preschool located in Alliku village, Saue municipality, Estonia, which opened its doors on September 5, 2022. Designed to accommodate eight groups, our kindergarten hosts 132 children, including those in specialized groups for children with developmental disorders.
Our Educational Philosophy
We believe in a child-centered approach where learning happens through daily activities and student-led projects. Our core principle is to empower children by encouraging them to do everything they are capable of themselves. We work closely with families and the local community to support every child’s unique development.
Innovation and Sustainability
As an active member of the ECO-School program since 2024, we place a strong emphasis on environmental awareness, nature conservation, and sustainability. We enrich our curriculum by:
- Integrating STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) and creative technology into our lessons.
- Utilizing the “Bullying-free Kindergarten” methodology to foster a supportive and inclusive environment.
- Leveraging both our modern kindergarten facilities and the surrounding natural environment as a primary classroom for discovery.
Through international partnerships like the Erasmus+ “Kindergarten Woodland Adventures” project, our dedicated team of teachers and specialists continuously brings innovative, nature-based teaching methods to our children.
About Priekuļu pirmsskolas izglītības iestāde “Mežmaliņa”
https://www.facebook.com/PIIMezmalina
Welcome to Mežmaliņa:
Where Nature and Learning Meet Located in the serene Priekuļi parish on the outskirts of Cēsis, Mežmaliņa Eco-school offers a unique educational environment nestled between a lush park and a quiet residential neighborhood. We take pride in being a truly inclusive community, supporting 142 children aged 1.5 to 7. Our diverse programs include specialized support for children with language and developmental needs, ensuring every child is fully integrated and empowered to grow alongside their peers.
Our philosophy is rooted in the “natural laboratory” of our surroundings. As a dedicated Eco-school since 2007, we utilize our neighboring park for recreation and hands-on environmental education. This commitment to the planet led us to establish our own Environmental Education Center, where we host seminars with international experts. From our award-winning eTwinning projects to our specialized Outdoor Group, we provide a modern, nature-first education that prepares children for a sustainable future.
In a small village in Messinia, in southern Greece, where nature is always close and life flows at a gentle pace, you will find our kindergarten — a small school with a big heart.
Our kindergarten is home to 20 young learners, small in number but full of curiosity, energy, and a love for discovery. Each day begins with children’s smiles, laughter, and little adventures waiting to unfold.
Our playground, the trees, the flowers, and the paths around the village become spaces for learning, play, and imagination. Here, learning does not stay inside the classroom; it extends into nature and becomes a living experience.
In our kindergarten, we believe that every child is unique. Through play, cooperation, and exploration, children learn to express themselves, create, and connect with others. Every day, we build an environment of safety, acceptance, and joy.
Our participation in the Erasmus+ project “Kindergarten Woodland Adventures” came as a natural extension of this philosophy. Together, we travel — through imagination and collaboration — to forests, countries, and cultures. We explore nature, care for it, and learn from it.
Through this journey, our children become little explorers of the world: they observe, ask questions, collaborate, and dream. And we, alongside them, continue this beautiful learning adventure, every single day.
Bergama Independent Kindergarten, https://bergamabagimsizanaokulu.meb.k12.tr/, located in the Bergama district of Izmir, is a special learning space that adopts a nature-based education approach with 200 students.
This kindergarten is surrounded by nature, where children explore freely and are happy as they learn; With its large, tree-covered garden, it offers children a peaceful living space away from the city. Our chickens in the coop in our garden and sheep in our small farm enable children to learn about the love of animals by experiencing them. Children who come into contact with nature every day discover through experience taking responsibility and respect for living things.
In our planting areas, children touch the soil, plant seeds, and observe the growth process of plants. Thus, they learn patience, labor and the value of production at an early age. Understanding the cycle of nature supports both their mental and emotional development.
In our art, music and drama workshops, children express themselves freely. They dream with colors, have fun with rhythms, and develop their empathy skills with drama studies. Every child has the opportunity to discover his own talent here.
Thanks to our large playgrounds and natural playgrounds, children can release their energy, strengthen their friendships and learn to share in a safe environment. These areas, far from artificiality, support their creativity and freedom of movement.
Our teachers, who are experienced in their fields and aim for continuous development, guide children’s learning processes by adopting a nature-based education approach. Our teachers; It keeps children’s sense of curiosity alive by planning activities focused on learning, exploring and experiencing outdoors.
By using nature as a classroom environment, they support children’s problem solving, observation and creative thinking skills. They also create a loving, safe and stimulating learning environment by respecting each child’s individual pace of development.
Our kindergarten is not just an educational institution; It is a living space where children bond with nature, are happy while learning, and grow up with love. Here, every child develops in his own rhythm and enjoys the excitement of discovering life.
In addition, our school aims to take the understanding of nature-based education to an international dimension by participating in the “Forest Adventures Kindergarten” project carried out within the scope of the Erasmus + Program. The main reason why we participated in this project; Our aim is to enable our children to establish stronger ties with nature, to raise awareness of sustainable living and to improve our education quality by observing good practices in Europe. At the same time, supporting the professional development of our teachers, ensuring that they learn new approaches in the field of nature-based education, and creating a more qualified educational environment by transferring their experiences to our school are among the important achievements of this process.
About project you can read here https://www.instagram.com/bergama.bagimsiz.anaokulu?igsh=ZXE0M3RreHUxMHE1&utm_source=qr