Embarking on literary adventures: A transformative extension experience with children in early childhood education

Abstract

This experience report presents and discusses a case of an extension project carried out in a Municipal Center for Early Childhood Education (CMEI). The theoretical basis is primarily Paulo Freire's book “Extension or Communication?”. However, in addition to this theoretical foundation, we incorporated ethnographic cases and practices to guide the extension process and our immersion in the school environment. Thus, our main guideline was to recognize children as autonomous protagonists of the teaching-learning process and value their knowledge and multiple forms of expression. The achieved results are diverse. Through the project's implementation, we nurtured children's interest in reading while also learning new ways of reading and understanding the world alongside them. The project emphasized the importance of creating a welcoming environment where children can explore their autonomy and actively engage in the learning process. By incorporating ethnographic perspectives, we gained deeper insights into children's experiences and developed a more inclusive and culturally responsive approach to education. This project serves as a testament to the power of combining theoretical foundations with practical applications to promote meaningful learning experiences for both children and educators.