Love for one's homeland is not merely a sentimental feeling, but concrete actions.

When I last visited Kindergarten No. 6, nobody was talking about the Year of the Small Motherland yet. But here, work was in full swing: children, together with their parents and under the guidance of educators, were "publishing" Belarusian fairy tale books and preparing for a book exhibition that was scheduled to take place in February.

When I last visited Kindergarten No. 6, nobody was talking about the Year of the Small Motherland yet. But here, work was in full swing: children, together with their parents and under the guidance of educators, were "publishing" Belarusian fairy tale books and preparing for a book exhibition that was scheduled to take place in February. I remember liking this unusual initiative so much at the time that I promised to follow it closely and tell you more about it. I'm keeping my word. And I will tell you in a separate note soon. But for now, about something else.

To love and know one's motherland is not only to love and know the language. To love one's motherland means to live and work in one's native context, to learn about it, to deepen one's knowledge, and to constantly care for it. It was precisely in this context that an event, seemingly ordinary, took place at the sixth kindergarten, but this year, when the Year of the Small Motherland was announced. And how organically it wove into the overall fabric of educational work at the institution! It was an educational quiz in the senior group aimed at expanding knowledge about their native Lepel region – its people, natural diversity, famous places, etc.

The children were divided into three teams: "Why-askers", "Know-alls", and "Storks". Interestingly, the last name means something completely different from what you might think; it is a diminutive, affectionate form of the word "storks" (буслікі). This is indeed an interesting lexical form – a linguistic find. So, the three teams competed, but in reality, they were learning. The children were learning to love their native corner – their small homeland. Here they recall the country where they live, demonstrating, incidentally, good knowledge of its state symbols – the coat of arms, the flag. It would seem, what is there to know, but try it. Before me, the deputy head, Irina Kalituha, scattered a whole pile of coloured cards on the table with images of plants, badges, symbols, etc. Here, for example, was flax, ears of corn in various weaves, stars of different configurations. And the task set for the children was, frankly speaking, not entirely a child's task – to accurately select the elements present in the state coat of arms. For instance, a variant of ears of corn of precisely the required shape, and so on. One must be extremely vigilant and knowledgeable to "assemble" the state coat of arms. I asked Irina Nikolaevna if they had familiarised the children with the historical coat of arms of Lepel. She replied that it had also been discussed, just a little earlier.

Thus, they moved from the large and general to the small and native. They talked about our city, about its enterprises. They recognised places in Lepel and the Lepel region from photographs. They recognised, again, with the help of cards, natural symbols – the European bison, pine, cornflower, stork, clover, and others – in the images of man-made objects. They sang Belarusian folk songs.

Interestingly, the parents were the audience at the event. However, not just passive observers. Eventually, they had to read poems about our Lepel region. And how much joy the children had in receiving an emblem – a stork with wings spread across all of Belarus and a small heart as a declaration of love!

Work in the native vein continues. Graduation ceremonies are ahead, for which they are learning a song in their native language. Environmental projects are also being prepared: "Clean City" in the older groups, and "The Earth is Our Common Home" in the middle groups. A "Nature's Complaint Book" has been started, in which they record what flowers, trees, and birds are asking us for. They will tell the children about separate waste collection. And at the same time, they will make crafts for an exhibition from various unnecessary things and household waste, which has been aptly named "Wonders from Unnecessary Things".

Love for the homeland is not just a sentimental feeling, but concrete actions. And this love must be learned from childhood.

Uladzimir MIKHNO.
In the photo: a captivating moment of an educational quiz.