68 early years educators from across Austria attended the event in Schladming. Martina Wolf kicked off the event with her keynote speech, in which she spoke in a practical and humorous manner about the importance and feasibility of child protection under the title ‘Communicating non-violently with children’. This was followed by a series of workshops, during which the participants, working in small groups, gained varied insights and new ideas for organising everyday life in nursery schools.

Petra Seebacher introduced the KliWaWa and Ba(u)mbini loan boxes, which the participants were also able to try out for themselves; in ‘Small Seeds – Big Impact’, Birgit Pudelski demonstrated how complex natural phenomena can be conveyed in a child-friendly and playful way; and Hans Eck had the educators explore the absorbency of paper using, for example, dye made from red cabbage, shaving foam and kitchen roll. Participants in the ‘Tools Instead of Toys’ workshop led by Johanna Schweinberger and Barbara Benoist-Kosler sawed, hammered and carved, learning in the process how these activities can be safely integrated into everyday nursery life. Martina Wolf also ran a workshop: in line with her keynote speech on child protection, she addressed the topic of how to deal with challenging behaviour in children.

Following the joint lunch break, during which exhibition stands provided an informative diversion, another round of workshops took place, with the groups being reorganised. The conference concluded with Iris Wölfingseder’s keynote address on the topic of ‘Awaking a spirit of curiosity’, in which she spoke about how children’s natural disposition can be nurtured and supported in everyday educational practice.
The symposium is part of the ‘Wissenschaftswerkstatt’ project, which brings inquiry-based learning to nurseries and schools.