'It was really difficult at the beginning, but we have managed to do a lot. We can enjoy good reputation and popularity, as we are have no free places. This shows that the Polish kindergarten in Mickūnai is needed for sure,' said the director of the Polish nursery-kindergarten in Mickūnai, Božena Stelmakova.

Won the trust of parents
Polish nursery-kindergarten in Mickūnai was founded in 2011. Its construction was funded by the Vilnius district municipality and the Association 'Polish Community'. As Stelmakova said, there were no Polish groups in Mickūnai before.

80 children are attending the Polish kindergarten. There are two nursery groups, one kindergarten group, and an early-school group for children of 5-6 years old. 'We have won the trust of parents. There are more and more applications for admissions of children, but unfortunately we are full now. Parents have to wait for new places, in some cases even until 2017,' said the director.

Singing kindergarten
The Polish kindergarten takes care of the comprehensive development of every child. There are dancing and singing classes organized. Moreover, children take part in various singing competitions, like 'Singing kindergarten' organized by the Centre of Polish Culture in Lithuania under the name of S. Moniuszko. The kindergarten also employs a speech therapist.

Western experience
The kindergarten staff is full of various ideas and enthusiasm. They attend various trainings and take part in project. The staff already were in Romania, Turkey, France, Poland, Norway, Italy and Latvia, where they presented their kindergarten. The pedagogues of the establishment also had the possibility to see how kindergartens in other countries operate.

Thanks to such projects, the kindergarten in Mickūnai was able to establish contacts with many European kindergartens. Together they organize a lot of projects, share their experiences and ideas. 'We cooperate more closely with Poland and Latvia,' said Stelmakova.

Difficulties and problems
The director of the kindergarten is very happy because of the participation and involvement of educators, who already plan to take part in another international projects next spring.
'Participation in projects is not an easy thing. This includes not only activities with children, but also a lot of paperwork, preparing presentations, trips to conferences and meetings where works carried out are presented. But such initiatives is a big plus for the kindergarten. We try to be active and share our experience and achievements with colleagues from other kindergartens in the Vilnius district,' said the director.

The director stressed, that it is difficult to find a proper educator. '4-5 years ago it was easier, people contacted our kindergarten themselves,' said Stelmakova. According to the director, it is a responsible job, but not very well paid. This might be the reason why young people are not so keen to work in kindergartens.

Lack of methodological support in the Polish language for teachers in early-school groups is another problem. 'We need to somehow teach our children in Polish according to the Lithuanian programme. Of course, we use a lot of books brought from Poland, but the programme there is different, thus we have to translate a lot, modify texts and songs,' stated Stelmakova.

Family holidays
The children from the kindergarten will most probably continue their education in the gymnasium in Mickūnai. 'Teachers of primary grades of the gymnasium are in contact with us. They organize meeting with parents, introduce themselves,' said the director.

Božena Stelmakova is pleased with the cooperation with parents. They attend meetings and events, are interested in what happens in the kindergarten and are always happy to help. There are also joint trips, excursions and trips to the theaters organized.

Traditions as the base
According to the director of the kindergarten, the pre-school education in children's native language is very important. 'It is the base of everything. We should remain close to our roots and teach our children about our traditions, language, and culture. A child should know where he or she comes from and should foster the ancestors' traditions,' said the director of the kindergarten in Mickūnai.

Ivona Klimaševska

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"This project is co-financed from the funds granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland."