Abstract:

During the last decades, there has been a transformation in Portugal of the environments where children develop and live in. The educational institutions have seen a change as well, as the importance given to spaces considered safe contributed to the significant loss of contact that children have with the outside and, in particular, with nature.

A similar trend has been identified in other countries. Children's rights and opportunities for free play, learning based on opportunities of exploration and problem-solving, tend to be constrained in modern societies. These constraints seem to be a consequence of environmental stress factors associated with the contemporary life, the development of a society with difficulties in dealing with risk, the distance from nature, and the pressures of educational systems. In this context, the Project “Invisible Limits” appears with the following objectives:
• To promote educational experiences with children between 3 and 10 years old, in natural outdoor spaces, contributing to the development of learning skills towards the academic success;
• To promote the adoption of healthy and environmentally sustainable lifestyles;
• To develop pedagogies adapted to the age and abilities of children, taking them as active learners;
• To construct the knowledge and articulating the experiences of children in nature with the use of information and communication technologies, as a tool for successful learning;
• To promote the interest in science and technology and the emergence of scientific literacy through the use of creative, experimental and exploratory approaches.

In the design and implementation of these programs, a special attention will be given to the curricular plan: horizontally (sequencing and progression of children’s learning; link between their activity in the kindergarten and within the PCM program) and vertically (overall manage between PCM and the educational project in the origin group, namely the planning of topics and projects to be developed in PCM, considering the ones that are being developed in the kindergarten).

The preschool program is designed to run for 8 weeks. The participation of children in the program will be an option for families.
The program will run from Monday to Thursday at Casa da Mata. Friday is reserved for exchange of experiences and development of materials, using information and communication technologies.

Children will develop stories, games and animations, using programming platforms (Scratch and Scratch Junior), according to the experiences lived in an outdoor environment.

Scratch and ScratchJr are tools to the initiation of programming, with scientifically proven benefits for children. Developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Laboratory, these tools enable the development of materials, stimulating the creativity, cognitive development, social and interpersonal relationships of individuals.

The results will be presented, used and replicated in different kindergartens and schools of the Primary School, sensitizing other children and educators to practice an outdoor education.

Keywords:

Outdoor education, programming, Scratch.