The working day of the employees of the municipal library of the city of Karakol, Issyk-Kul region, seems to have just begun, and classes in fine arts, modeling and design have already begun in the reading room and lobby. All this happens under the expressive reading – a story about the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The father of one of the girls who came to class acted as a reader. The rest of the parents are assigned a modest role of consultants on important issues: what color should be the whisker of the cat or the tail of the rabbit.
– We bring our five-year-old daughter Tolgonai here, – said Ernis Tolonov from Karakol. -Usually her wife comes with her, but today I came. True, he didn’t expect to have to read aloud, and to be honest, he was a bit confused at first. But Mark Twain is a great choice. I grew up with the works of this writer.
As Papa Tolgonai read aloud, the room fell silent, broken only by the intent sniffing of the children, who worked diligently on crafts and drawings.
“This project solves two problems at once,” Natalya Sokolenko, a methodologist at the library, told the RG correspondent. – First of all, children develop by being creative. Secondly, parents, being close to them, pay more attention to them. At home, this can be difficult to do due to household chores. We have been preparing for a long time before launching the project. It is implemented with the support of UNICEF. Your staff conducted special seminars with us. Then we posted an announcement on social media that a creative hub was opening in the library and told our friends who have kids about it. They, in turn, told their loved ones about it.
In the centers of creativity and self-realization, special attention is paid to children who for some reason do not attend preschool institutions. Many of these children find it difficult to adjust to society and begin to communicate with their peers. Here they become more active and self-confident.
“Today, only 24 percent of preschool-age children attend kindergartens,” says Kyrgyz Republic Deputy Minister of Education and Science Toktobubu Ashimbayeva. – This is a very low figure. For this reason, the creation of 150 centers in the libraries made it possible for more than 5,000 children to receive preschool education.
According to Toktobubu Ashimbayeva, it is planned to open 50 such centers in libraries every year in the republic. Moreover, they are useful not only for children, but also for adults. Parents here gain knowledge and skills that will help their children develop.
By the way
When the material was being prepared for release, Natalya Sokolenko shared another piece of good news. Very soon a new children’s library will open in Karakol, which will also have a creative center.
A comment
Christine Jaulmes, UNICEF representative in the Kyrgyz Republic:
– The first years are the most important for the development of a child. Therefore, it is vitally important to invest in early childhood education and the development of young children. Economists claim that every som invested in the development of young children will generate about seven som of income for society in the future. But not only the financial investments of the State are necessary. Parents should pay attention and time to games with children, organize educational activities.
