THE SOFT TOYS AS A CONSOLATION PLAY-OBJECT IN SCHOOL AFTER THE COVID PERIOD. THE “TEDDY BEAR PROJECT” IN PRIMARY ART CLASSROOM

Katerina Kokkinaki

Abstract


Right after the post-COVID era, first-grade primary school children not only had to adapt to the school environment but also to make up for the social and emotional isolation they had experienced in the previous two years. Pupils experienced great difficulties in terms of their emotional response to the relational social networks that develop during their integration into primary school. This need, created the "Teddy bear project", a project that was shared with all first-grade classes in an experimental primary school in Greece. The project was carried out in three phases, during which, the students worked with their teddy bears in the art workshop. The transitional soft toys provided the children with feelings of comfort, companionship and intimacy. The children had the opportunity to observe themselves through their dolls and their classmates through their own dolls. Children developed empathy for others and made connections through their play-objects to themselves, their classmates and the school environment.

 

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Keywords


teddy bear, play object, emotional development, joy & art, holistic learning

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v10i4.4786

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