Firma NKG, LLC Sponsored the First Balafest Family Forum-Festival
The first family Forum-Festival called “Balafest” was held in Ust-Kamenogorsk. During the workshops of the forum, national experts explained to parents how a child can adjust to kindergarten, how to prepare a child to school, and other.
Active and creative moms and dads of Ust-Kamenogorsk gathered in the square in front of the Central House of Culture Sunday morning, to take part in the Balafest Family Festival with their children. This celebration was a present to children and parents from active business-women along with the numerous partners and sponsors of the project, including Imperator Shopping Mall.
In Order for Parents to “Grow”
According to the mastermind behind this project, one of the organizers, the Head of the “Ainalayin” Montessori Center in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Zhanara Mukhametkaliyeva, they plan to have the Festival annually, because in order to be good parents you have to learn a lot. And Balafest was created specifically for that purpose: To allow parents, and mainly mothers, to become better and learn more about child-raising and child’s development. Other organizers share this idea, too.
“We all know that a child is a priceless treasure that life gave us, parents,” says Zhanar Seylkhanovna, the Coordinator of the Balafest Project. “Each parent wishes happy childhood for her child. Naturally, we think: “What can we do for our children?” The Festival helps answering this question. The motto is the phrase by Mahatma Gandhi: “Tomorrow’s happy childhood of our children begins today, with us.” I hope the Festival will become a good tradition of our city
To Children about Peace
Moms who are the members of the Milk Support club organized a small performance called “White Wrap” during the concert to support peace. Women held hands and danced with white wraps to the sounds of waltz and moving poems of Tatyana Bolshakova on how important peace is and how essential it is to give your child an understanding of what it means.
“I am the member of the Mothers Council. Just recently we were discussing that it is the mother who has to instill the understanding of the importance of peace; it is the mother who shows and explains to a child what is good and what is wrong. We believe it is our duty to show our children that we need to maintain peace and we really can do that – this is within our power,” pointed out Yekaterina Semibratova, the Breastfeeding Consultant of the Milk Support organization.
During the Festival, there was a concert and various workshops for children. Participants had an opportunity to try their luck in a number of giveaways and receive presents and prizes from the sponsors. Practically nobody left without a nice little bonus.
Quality of Interaction
In the afternoon, a number of trainings and workshops for the parents were held where important issues of child-raising and their health were covered. The speakers were renowned teachers, psychologists, and healthcare system professionals: Leyla Mukasheva - mother of three, pediatrician, Montessori-teacher of Kazakhstan, the Head of the Montessori Center in Astana; Yevgeniya Aradzhi -analytical psychologist and Montessori-teacher from Almaty. She shared her secrets on how to compensate the lack of attention by a parent when a mother is in the office the entire day.
“Interaction with a mother can be brief but high-quality,” says Yevgeniya Aradzhi. “The quality of the contact is very important. There are cases when a mother stays at home the whole day but she does not give enough attention to a child. The mom washes dishes and the child sees her back. She can be using her gadget and surf social networking websites. Turns on the cartoon on the TV, but her interaction with the child is also not in focus. The contact has to be emotional, bodily, and intellectual. It is different for each child. If a child is one year old, it is essential for her to look mom in the eyes, to have mom hug her, hold her close, and play with her.
Basically, it is very simple. You need to spend as much time as possible with your children in the evening. According to Yevgeniya Aradzhi, it should become a ritual of some sort and be the part of the daily routine of a child. However, a mother should not neglect herself and devote herself to a child completely.
It should not be like that: You did not wash your face or eat, but the child has already taken your hand and forced you to go play with toys. Then you are angry and the child is hungry. She needs to know the order of the activities during the evening contact. Mom fixed herself up and cooked dinner. The whole family sat at the dinner table, ate, and discussed the events of the day. Active games follow along with the preparation for bed. It should also be in order. The routine is important for a child and it should be maintained.
Personal Development
Participants of the Festival not only discussed the routine of the day and the importance of interacting with a child. They also covered pre-schooling and individual approach to each child.
“Pre-schooling paradigm is changing. It will be more personality-based,” explains Leyla Mukasheva. “In fact, Montessori system is aimed at the development of a personality and fits this new direction perfectly.”
To put it briefly, those parents that came to the Festival and visited workshops received a lot of interesting, essential, and important information. Each parent had a chance to talk to the experts, ask questions, and get qualified answers. Moms and dads made good use of this time for the benefit of themselves and the future of their children, and that is no doubt the most important to parents.