Espai Obert La Serra

Espai Obert La Serra follows the Educación Viva methodology, which translates into the day-to-day in the following elements for Primary children

1. Core classes
All children participate in workshops where they work on specific fundamental contents (mathematics and communication) in which the teaching team uses hands-on materials from different pedagogies (Montessori, Waldorf and others) to achieve understanding in learning. This learning is also accompanied in a cross-cutting manner at all times in the school.

2. Workshops and commitments tailored to individual interests
Based on an interview between each child and the teacher at the beginning of the school year, the interests of each child are collected. The interests are grouped according to themes and maturity and are organised into workshops to be carried out throughout the school year, which are included in their personal and individual timetable. Individual or small group commitments can also be made, which the child agrees with the adult what they want to do, either because they are personally interested or because they need to practice. Each child has his or her own personalised timetable, adapted to his or her interests and needs.
By way of example, some of these workshops are: Nature, Carpentry, Model Making, Macramé, Sewing, Creative Writing, Comics, Civilisations, Minerals, Cabins, Laboratory, Board Games, Theatre/Body Expression, Movement, Yoga, Circus, Music (percussion, choral, instrument, musical ensemble), History and Geography, Cooking, Clay. Some commitments could be research on coins, cars, different languages, reading or writing in a specific language, mathematical challenges, outdoor or indoor games to foster relationships, drawing, lettering, constructions, ....
Learning is achieved through emotion and curiosity, intrinsic motivation is preserved, awareness of the learning process itself is raised, and progress towards self-knowledge is contributed to.

3. Proposals to inspire new interests
During the first weeks and also throughout the school year, specific proposals are offered to discover new interests, to deepen certain topics or to connect with unusual content. These proposals can arise from the pedagogical team, from the children's interests, or from the skills or knowledge of the school's parents. For example: sign language workshop, Braille, introduction to Morse code, jewellery, advanced mathematics, unfamiliar sports, flower pressing, creation of recycled paper, dry stone workshop, basket making, microscope observation, origami, movement games, legal aspects ....

4. Free movement
One of the distinguishing features of this school is free movement around the school, as the team firmly believe that it stimulates curiosity, creativity and relationships with others. Free movement reinforces a sense of responsibility, autonomy and freedom to learn. Obviously this freedom is conditioned by the general timetables, the rules of coexistence and the availability of the spaces and materials that are shared and must be taken care of.

5. Spaces and materials designed for exploration and learning
The school's spaces and materials are designed and prepared to accommodate children during free movement. This occurs during the times when there is no workshop in the personal timetable. It is then that they can choose how to occupy their time, with whom to interact and discover, investigate and learn from the materials, spaces and provocations (materials designed to call for action) that surround them.

The common spaces are prepared with materials that can be used autonomously (such as the creative space, the board games space, the construction space, the symbolic play space, the sewing-jewellery space or the outdoor spaces).