Abstrakt
Our topic is cultivating microgreens in nursery schools. Microgreens are young plants of various species of vegetables, which are grown in soil and are harvested after approximately ten days.
Besides rewarding the children with nutritious food, it brings children the opportunity to develop key competences and preliteracies. Gardening in kindergartens has plenty of benefits for children, such as positive impact on health, increasing social group cohesion, development of empathy and sense of responsibility, development of literacy, environmental feeling, increasing scientific skills and much more.
Another positive of microgreens is, that it can also be cultivated in winter. The aim of our research was to evaluate the possibility of growing microgreens in nursery schools with preschool children.
Research focuses on the design and implementation of a set of activities in which children in kindergarten grow microgreens. In addition to cultivation, other activities are also included, in which children use the topic of microgreens in individual stages of growth (songs, drawing...).
The set of activities aims primarily on reaching environmental education goals and is created using a logical model. Our action research was focused on preparing and evaluating the set of activities, which is implemented in the kindergarten where one of the researchers work, and in 53 other classes (groups) with 1051 children and 55 teachers. 19 groups finished the set of activities, 9 of them implemented all activities, including other activities related to the topic (not only cultivating).
The research survey was trying to find out the attitudes of Czech teachers towards the set of activities and to analyze their own realization - if group of children reached the predetermined goals. Teachers' attitudes to the created set of activities and its results were collected using a questionnaire.
The research shows that microgreens can be grown in kindergartens. Using predetermined criteria, the respondents have rated the set of activities very positively (3,58 from 4 and higher rates).
It was found that the percentage of higher outputs is being achieved by kindergartens, that implemented all activities (on average 18% higher). These groups achieved the predetermined goals.
At groups, which just cultivated, there was 50% success rate. According to the data analysis, some changes in the set of activities were suggested.
In the future, the set of activities could serve as a methodological material for nursery schools even outside the Czech Republic. The research showed, that additional activities increase the success rate.
The research showed, that with more activities, the success rate increases.