Special Features
We have chosen the ethnic cultural approach to education. The activities of the nursery/kindergarten are organised according to the rhythm of the Lithuanian folk calendar.
Ethnic culture is an integrating axis of the educational process. The District of Šilutė is part of historical Lithuania Minor, the distinctive features of the national culture of which were ignored during the post-war years. Our aim is to learn and preserve the cultural traditions of Lithuania Minor. The subjects of ethnic culture are integrated into artistic (fine art, music, choreography), cognitive (folklore, nature, customs), work (handicraft, creating the interior and exterior environment), folk games (logical, movement) activities. Excursions introduce to architectural, natural, cultural and historical heritage monuments of Šilutė Town, the Curonian Lagoon area and Lithuania Minor.
The District of Šilutė is distinguished for its geographical position with the unique landscape, peculiar ethnic culture, natural resources of the Curonian Lagoon area, the cultural historical heritage that emerged from the interface of Lithuania Minor and Lithuania Major territories. Such prominent personalities as Martynas Mažvydas, Vydūnas, Martynas Jankus and others give pride to the area.
The ‘Žuvininkai’ folklore company of children and teachers, having purchased national costumes of the historical Klaipėda region and having prepared a cultural programme of the region, is invited to represent Šilutė Town in numerous events.
The following elements of Waldorf education and anthroposophical ideas are applied in our work: pre-school education is a value in itself, children have natural inner motivation for it, it enables children to gain the knowledge of the world in the most appropriate for their age way through sensing, touching, investigating and imitating, in other words through activity and experience. Only with the emergence of new abilities around the age of seven, the child becomes physically, emotionally and intellectually ready for purposeful school education (The Waldorf Kindergarten Programme, prepared by the Waldorf Education Centre of Lithuania, 2005).
A long-term priority of the institution is child health strengthening and healthy living education. Halls for sports and choreography have been arranged. A rhythmical massage specialist works with children having irregular posture, flat feet, behavioural and emotional problems. The outside territory includes a mini-basketball court, a mini-football pitch, a complex of wooden installations for climbing and a cycle path. There are enough devices for stimulating physical activity in the rooms for children.
The nursery/kindergarten has a canteen providing breakfast, lunch and supper for 3-year-olds and senior children. The winter garden installed near the canteen attracts with the abundance of plants, a large aquarium, parrots, a rabbit and tortoise.
Those children who do not sleep after lunch spend their time in the Room for Those Not Sleeping.
In 2008, we joined the Lithuanian Association for Pre-School Institutions (called „Sveikatos želmenėliai“).
One of our priorities is to establish democratic and humane relationships in the community, with teachers learning to guide children’s behaviour by positive and non-insulting methods, and by educating parents.
We are learning to promote the community life based on the principles of social ecology: to acknowledge the children’s culture as a value and children as active and inventive creators of their environment.
We strive to provide conditions for the development of child self-expression and behaviour, to move from decision taking on behalf of the child to decision taking with the child, i.e. taking into account the child’s opinion. Childhood is a unique stage in the development of a human being that can be neither hastened nor slowed down.
Philosophical and pedagogical ideas of Shalva Amonashvili serve as a guide for our philosophy of education:
“People are born for each other. The task of a teacher is to help children to learn to pursue their mission, that might be building a house, drawing, defending a weak one, or healing … Therefore there are neither little people, nor small missions. The nature endows a child with various gifts, such as pure thoughts, feelings, the freedom of choice, will, love, drive, wish to know, faith and trust. The nature expresses itself through a child. The child is capable of everything, and education must not hinder the process”.