Nowadays, more and more children have got problems with their health, especially in case of obesity. Most of them are conditioned by their lifestyle and unhealthy diet. A combination of eating high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, and spending less time engaged in active physical play and more time in front of the computer or television has contributed to this alarming trend. Parents are usually so busy that they have no time to prepare the nutrient meal and spend time actively with their children. Kindergartens are the places they can eat healthy and do physical activities, but more than that, it’s the perfect place for them to learn about different styles of life and eating. According to scientists, it’s very important to develop children’s healthy attitudes during the educational process, and childhood is the best time for that.
For that porpuse, Gradinita „Floarea Soarelui” from Craiova has implemented a Strategic Partnership, funded under the Erasmus+ programme by the European Union. The project, intitled „Healthyland”, proposed the experience exchange between 6 European educational institutions {Przedszkole nr 81 – Polonia, project coordinator; Gradinita cu Program Prelungit „Floarea Soarelui” – Romania; Istituto Comprensivo Statale „Biagio Siciliano” – Italia; Izmir Gaziemir Sabiha Gokcen Ilkokulu – Turcia; Kalina Malina – Bulgaria; Oloimero Nipiagogio Avlonariu – Grecia), in order to raise awareness on the necessity of sports and healthy food starting from a young age. The general goal was to take our children to the world of health – physical and mental, through different games, plays, meetings with interesting people and especially sharing knowledge and experience.
The project was implemented during 2 years, from September 2016 to August 2018. The activities in the first year of the project focused on the healthy eating habits and in the second year on sports and physical activity.
An important objective was also to develop the cooperation with the parents because without their support, all the activities of the project will have a very brief impact.
Through all the activities carried on, our project promoted a healthier lifestyle, proposed diverse opportunities to practice sports in a fun way for the children, alternative ways of spending free time, offered practical solutions for parents to introduce a healthy diet in their kids’ eating habits.
By this Erasmus+ project and by the activities that we continue to implement after it was finalised, we strive:
- to promote a healthy lifestyle for children;
- to foster a sense of European citizenship;
- to help participants to develop a brighter and international perspective on education;
- to reframe a vision and a school policy plan in order to be a healthy person;
- to provide opportunities to the participants to gain experience, knowledge and improving approaches to teaching and school management practices;
- to enhance and increase school partnerships across the EU;
- to enhance the quality and European dimension of teacher training;
- to support innovative ICT-base.