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AB COMENIUS PROJECT

´´THE UNFORGOTTEN STREET GAMES OF CHİLDREN´´

TURKEY

Turkey is a transcontinental Eurasİan country. Asian Turkey (made up largely of Anatolia), which includes 97% of the country, is separated from European Turkey by the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles (which together form a water link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean). European Turkey (eastern Thrace or Rumelia in the Balkan peninsula) comprises 3% of the country.

The territory of Turkey is more than 1,600 kilometres long and 800 km wide, with a roughly rectangular shape.

TRABZON- OUR HOMETOWN

Trabzon, that is our hometown- just 29 km far from the city centre,, is located in the north-coast of Turkey, in the Black Sea Region. Trabzon,  the city of sport,besides, hosted EYOF (European Youth Olympic Festival) in 2011. A great number of  people make their living by fishing in this city.  The neighbourhood of our school is situated in the south of Trabzon. It´s situated on the outskirts of Boztepe where people often have picnics. Our neighbourhood has a long history with different historical sights.

The environment of the school is less developed and through the urban transportation.  In our neighbourhood, local people of Trabzon and people from various districts live. Also, there are migrants from neig hbouring cities. There is a continuous population circulation.

Our school was established in 1996. It has 24 classrooms, 2 computer-labs, a lab, a library and two kindergartens and 350 pupils. Later, The number of classrooms increased to 40 to reply the needs of the environment. This academic year, we have 1145 pupils and in the kindergarten, There are 95 children in 5 classes. Also, There are four pupils in special training class. The %95 of the graduates attend to Secondary schools. The pupils  have achievements in sportic and social activities.  Most of our students live in villages so they are economically and socially disadvantaged. They don't have a chance to take part in such projects and to learn more about other cultures. We aim to provide our students and their families with European conscious and encourage them to learn foreign language.

MAİN SİGHTS OF TRABZON

Trabzon has a number of tourist attractions, some of them dating back to the times of the ancient empires that once existed in the region. In the city itself, one can find a hub of shops, stalls and restaurants surrounding the Meydan, a square in the center of the city, which includes a tea garden.

• The Hagia Sophia (Turkish: Ayasofya Müzesi), a stunning Byzantine church, is probably the town´s most important tourist attraction.
• Trabzon Castle ruins are visible in the town but cannot be visited as they fall in a military zone. The outside wall of the castle now serves as the back wall of a military building.
• The "Atatürk Köşkü" is a villa built in 1890 by a local Greek merchant. In 1924 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stayed in the villa during his visit to Trabzon. He stayed there again in 1937. It houses period rooms and serves as a monument to the memory of the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey.

• Boztepe Park is a small park and tea garden on the hills above Trabzon that has a panoramic view of nearly the entire city. The terrain in Trabzon is ascending in such a way that although the view is far above that of the buildings below, it is still close enough to be able to observe the flow of traffic and the people moving about in the city.
• Uzun Sokak is one of the most crowded streets of Trabzon.
• Trabzon Museum is located in the town centre and offers interesting exhibits on the history of the region, including an impressive collection of Byzantine artifacts.
• Trabzon´s Bazaar District offers interesting shopping opportunities on ancient narrow streets, continuing from Kunduracılar Street from the Meydan (town square).
• Kostaki Mansion is located to the north of Zeytinlik near Uzun Sokak.

CULTURE

The people of the eastern Black Sea region are also known for their wit and sense of humour; in fact many jokes in Turkey are told about the natives of the Black Sea region Karadeniz fıkraları (Black Sea jokes). The character Temel, a universal buffon figure found in many cultures, forms an important part of the Turkish oral tradition.

CUİSİNE

Trabzon´s regional cuisine is traditionally reliant on fish, especially hamsi (fresh European Anchovy similar to the British Sprat or American Smelt). Trabzon meets 20% of the total fish production in Turkey.

 Regional dishes include the Akçaabat köfte (spicy lamb meatball from the Akçaabat district), Karadeniz pidesi (canoe shaped pita bread, often filled with ground beef, cheese and eggs), kuymak (a Turkish fondue made with cornmeal, fresh butter and cheese), Vakfıkebir ekmeği (large country-style bread), Vakfıkebir tereyağı (Vakfıkebir butter), tava mısır ekmeği (deep-dish corn bread) and kara lahana çorbası (bean and cabbage soup). Trabzon is also famous for its hazelnuts.

The Black Sea region of Turkey is the world´s largest producer of hazelnut; and a large production area of tea; all of which play an important role in the local cuisine.

SPORT

Football is by far the most popular sport in Trabzon, as Trabzonspor was until 2010 the only Turkish club in Anatolia to win the Turkish Super League (6 times), as the "Big Three" of Istanbul (Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş) had previously dominated and continue to do so. Due to Trabzonspor´s success, the decades-old term "Big Three" which defined the largest clubs of Turkey had to be modified into the "Big Four".

RATİONALE OF THE PROJECT

In recent years, it can be clearly seen that internet addiction of teenagers has increased significantly and they would rather have friendships on the virtual World of internet (Facebook, MSN, Twitter ve Myspace ) rather than have a face-to-face communication. However, the experts have reported that the number of children, teenagers and adolescents who alienate themselves from the real social environment, who have difficulty in coping with the disappointments they experience due to lack of adequate emotional sharing, and who get into social and phobic depression, has increased dramatically.We can list the motives of the project below:

They don´t have self-awareness and children are self-centred and can´t obey the community rules. They can´t do in group-work. The pupils grow up without knowing the virtues that the games teach (e.g. helping, love, sharing..) and don´t have opportunities to be creative which the games offer. Also, the mechanical- toys force the pupils in a limited- environment because the number of playgrounds is decreasing. Another reason of the project is that the pupils alienate from their friends because of these toys and If they don´t plan their free time well, they are observed to tend to unpleasant behaviours. However, playing games is a good choice for spending their free time. Today´s children don´t have enough time to play games like older generations. Unfortunately, they are happy in front of the computer because they have created their own world and have their own power. As a result, they become a introvert people. The pupils cannot communicate well with their immediate environment because they have lack of confidence among his friends. Children have limited vocabulary and can only do limited research. They can do search to fulfill only their daily needs not to devep themselves academically, socially. When compared to their peers, these kinds of pupils have lack insufficient social, physical, linguistic  development. In case of an emergency, the pupils can´t do decision-making at once and they are indifferent to the people in need of help

PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

The main objective of the project is to give opportunities to feel european citizens and know other school-contexts, because we are so different in the world, but also so similar. This is the starting point to be open-minded and skip the barriers, to continue to improve our fluency in foreign languages and our use of ICT, to form friendships by having fun. Games are the bridges to transfer the cultural values to the new generations.

GAMES

• Teach the children to become aware of themselves.(Children become aware of their power by the help of games)
• Help children choose, evaluate and develop the ability of decision-making.
• Organize the relationships of children´ with the community and their immediate environment.
• Help children recognize the areas of interests and leaderships.
• Support childrens´ physical development.
• Build social skills as they learn to share, take turns, be patient, play by rules, assert themselves and begin to empathise  with others.
• Develop movement patterns utilizing concepts of body awareness, spatial awareness, effort and relationships.
• Play also provides the opportunity for children to work out their feelings. When children play, it creates a positive in them
• and this helps develop their emotional skills.
• Pupils through games and fun will;
• Develop their five senses , talents and increase their abilities
• Develop their creativity. They learn how to synthesize  their own world adding their experiences.
• Share their ideas with each other and they learn how to organize themselves.
• Reach the result by cooperating
• Adapt to the cultures that they experience.
• Promote group work and gain self confidence
• Improve their communicative and social skills
• Have friends all over Europe ,understand and appreciate other cultures, with their differences and similarities
• Learn to set the rules and obey and learn to win and lose
• Get away from the undesirable behaviours. They contact to their immediate environment easily
• Finally, improve their capacity in running a project