Spiritual moods of kindergartner
“Any upbringing – is upbringing of yourself, and we, the grown-ups, at the bottom, are only an environments for a child, who brings himself up, but we should become a proper environment to help him to bring himself up in the way he needs, to bring himself up with his inner environment”.
Art of upbringing must base on universal Knowledge of a Child. Child’s soul looks like a snow field, and anyone who steps on it and leaves traces, whether he wanted or not. That is why the understanding of the thing that children imitate not only outer actions, but also inner determination, it must make every grown-up look at himself and ask:
“ How do I reflect in my child?”
The CHILDHOOD EMBASSY is a place where children cognate background of human being. Such science a man can only learn from a man. Beauty of mutual relationship of a child and a grown-up directly depends on degree of development and genius of tutor. Love to children and love to child-minders is a factor of healthy development. We consider, that only happy person, living in a peace with himself, caring respectful relationship to all that surrounds him, can become an example for a child. There must be seen kindness, love, wisdom and awareness in all what he does and how he does it. A grown-up person lives within his inner world. And a child, whether we want it or not, forms himself, absorbing exactly inner condition of nearby people. Spiritual moods of kindergartner are very important. What are his moods, what ideas are there in a grown-up?
It’s very good, when a kindergartner goes on asking questions to himself and his life, when he is interested in the world, its laws and mysteries, and then children with all his being feels that there is a vivid person in front of them, because he is in movement, in mid-course. A significant grown-up person gives a child a character of a Person and influences deep inside personality formation. Eat, sleep, lay on sofa and watch TV can even animals. The thing, that the single person teaches painting, molding and playing musical instruments, telling and acting fairytales, holding holidays and handicrafts has a great meaning in formation of fullness and entirety of PERSON’s character, which in the end a child must sum up. Yes, it imposes a certain responsibility for degree of education and scope of knowledge of a pedagogue. But only this model is really honest and effective within pedagogical point of view. We all want to see our children educated all-round. But unfortunately more often we don’t have opportunity to show a positive example of this. There are extremely few all-round developed persons in our children’s environment. But one should pay attention this personal factor exactly right now, when principle of results labor is widely spread, and eventually all preschool institutions becomes an image of institute, where different “specialists” come to teach music, English, math and etc. They know only narrow focused discipline. Such scatter of a child among different teachers, who concentrate on discipline instead of a child, is very harmful for little kid. Entirety disappears.
The CHILDHOOD EMBASSY is a unique place, where every grown-up is developed all-round and highly educated person, who considers his work with children as Serving. Serving to people. Serving to good. Serving to the world. And we put our heart and love into these words.
Kindergartner is the most important profession on the Earth.
Our Philosophy.
I do understand and feel my responsibility degree to children for their first experience of communication to me as a TEACHER. I don’t subordinate them, don’t submit or punish. I spin “thinner” fiber of agreement, which I call TRUST.
I accept them as such: both good and bad, both obedient and naughty, suitable and unhandy, I don’t try to arrange them up to me. I am not an ideal, that means not an absolute role model always and in everything. That’s why I don’t make child look like me. I acknowledge his right for individuality, right to be another.
He has a right to be himself.
I try to orient program and method of teaching up to a certain child or a certain group of children in order to expound their potentials and lean on peculiar to them mind-set.
I never forget that there stands not just a child, but a certain boy or girl with peculiar perception, mentality and emotions. One should bring them up and teach in different way.
I always try to follow a principle, that whether a pedagogue scolds a child for ignorance or inefficiency, for he doesn’t want to do or repeat something, he acts like a doctor who scolds a patient for being ill. Little children are never lazy. “Laziness” of a child – is a signal of problems in my pedagogical work, in chosen methods of work with them.
I always remember, that children’s motives differ grown-up’s ones: a child is not able to set cognitive aims.
If I have problems in communicating with a child, if we don’t understand each other, I don’t rush to blame him. Maybe we belong to different functional organization of brain, that means, we think, percept, feel in different ways, in other words the reason is not only in him, but in me either. HE IS NOT BAD, HE IS ANOTHER.
I remember, my esteem of behavior or some results of child’s activity is always a subjective one. And always there would appear another man, who could see those good qualities, that I didn’t notice or couldn’t feel.
One shouldn’t attribute his incompetence to a kid. It’s me the pedagogue, but not him.
Unfortunately, we are closer to those, whom we could teach. In other words we like the results of our work in a child. But if there are no results, a child is not guilty for it, we are guilty for failing to teach him.
It’s quite normal thing for a child not to know or not to be able to do something. It’s his nature. A kid shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes: to say something wrong or not to say something.
It’s impossible to learn something without making mistakes. We must do our best not to provoke a child to fear. Sense of apprehension – is a bad advisor. It suppresses initiative, freedom. It destroys a desire to study and even slays joy of life, joy of knowledge. That is why I am not nervous myself and doesn’t make nervous a child during the first failures. I try to find reasons of difficulties and to feel optimistic about the future.
I study together with children, cooperate with them against objective difficulties, become an alley, but not a opponent or a casual observer.
Children should feel, that I‘m stronger, more experienced and that any moment I’m ready to help, but never do their task instead of them.
The main thing is ability to use knowledge, but not knowledge itself. That’s why education, as we see it, it’s not just sharing knowledge with children, but joint assimilation of different disciplines at first hand. Everywhere possible I try not to present verity to children, but to find it, I stimulate in different ways, support, foster independent search of a child. I think process is more important than result. And I create conditions for development of cognitive interest of children.
For successful teaching we must turn our claims into child’s wants. It’s impossible to teach anything. It’s only possible to study by yourself.
I never forget, that we still know poorly how a gosling turns into a grown-up. There are a lot of secrets in development of brain and mentality, which are inaccessible for our understanding. That’s why I made my main commandment: DO NO HARM!
I’m not a know-it-all. That’s why I’m not going to become the one.
I want to be loved. That’s why I’ll be open to loving children.
I know so little about difficult labyrinths of childhood. That’s why I let children teach me.
I make mistakes, they testify that I’m a flesh and blood and can make mistakes. That’s why I’ll be patient to human nature of a child.
It’s pleasant to feel yourself boss, considering that you know answers to all the questions. That’s why I need to work hard to be able to defend children in certain situations from me.
I’ve learnt almost everything I know at the first hand. That’s why I let children accept their own experience.
I can’t make all fears, pain, disappointments and stress of a child just disappear. That’s why I try to soften a jolt.
I feel fear, when I’m defenseless. That’s why I will treat inner world of defenseless child with kindness, tenderness and caress.
At the proper time we got keys from teacher’s happiness, which gave us wonderful pedagogue Shalva Amonashvili. We found a trace to many secrets of making-up of a little person with their help. And now we are gladden to share them with you, parents, the main teachers for your children.
Keys to teacher’s happiness.
You are a teacher, a carrier of light, kindness, highest love, painter of life. You serve as co-creator, co-worker of God. Remember, that joy is brought up by joy, honor – by honor, love – by love, personality – by personality.
A child is a phenomenon in your life. He was born because he must be born. A child is a carrier of the truth, sense of life. You are sense of life either, a phenomenon too. People around you are also a phenomenon. Everyone cares his own mission. Thing you were born with is God’s gift. Thing you die with is your gift to God.
A child is a real power of nature. He is fasten to development and growing-up. A child is a phenomenon, mission, energy.
Laws of your pedagogical life: to love a child faithfully, devotedly, without looking back as you find him. Understand and accept child’s personality as you find it. You are a shelter and hope, you are a cover for defenseless soul. Fill in with optimism and faith towards any child. Your optimism is the greatest power.
Kindness and generosity of teacher’s soul, sincerity – is the most efficient thing in upbringing of a child. Be simple and sincere.
Principles of a teacher: to humanize environment round a child. I work as a wizard. To confirm personality in a child. Unique, inimitable. To fill in yourself with creating patience. Teacher bears everything, he creates and builds up.
Wisdoms of a teacher: confirming one is rich, denying one is poor. Love is the highest truth. Joy is a special wisdom. One shouldn’t teach knowledge itself, but happiness of knowledge, confluence with superior. Not beauty itself, but happiness of beauty. Not love itself, but happiness of love. The best knowledge is in your heart.
Teacher is a student of his own students. He is a half of every of them. He knows them as they know endlessness. He raises them as an apple grows seed. Where is this pedagogy from? Teacher scoops it from a starry sky. Where is this sky? It is in himself…
Oath of childhood keepers
We all know there exists doctors’ oath, who due to their profession touches human bodies, in the CHILDHOOD EMBASSY there is such oath for grown-ups, whose hands and hearts touch not only bodies, but human souls either.
I, have chosen for me the trace of childhood keeper and have found myself in it, I deeply understand my belonging to keeping and prosperity of life on Earth, with full confidence I accept care of a Child’s destiny, of children’s destiny, I swear: to love children, to love every child from the bottom of the heart, to be faithful and devoted to them, to follow the aim of discovering, developing, upbringing, confirming personality is a Child, to be optimistic according to any child in any case.
I swear to make no harm to children, make no harm to a Child.
I am undertaking to care hard and constantly:
Of inclusion of children to the most appreciated values of panhuman culture and morality, of development and upbringing of kindness, care of people, of Nature in them, of survival of humankind, of humanization of knowledge and humanization of environment around every child, of acquirement of art of humane communication with children.
In the CHILDHOOD EMBASSY knowledge, abilities and skills are not out front, but soul movements, morality level and degree of interest to cognitive process are foremost.
In previous articles we speak a lot how it is important for a parent to know not only level of acquirement of a discipline by a pedagogue, but foremost to understand basis of his ideology. We hope, you succeeded to feel our views on upbringing and educating of children. And if they are kindred to you, we will gladly to be useful to you.