Montessori space opened in Mangistau Humanities College

On February 7, 2018, as part of the EFCA project "Growing Together" in Aktau, the Montessori Study Office in the Mangistau Humanities College opened for work.

The official opening ceremony was attended by representatives of ERSAI Caspian Contractor LLC, Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, as well as the Education Department of the Mangistau region.

The office will become an innovative space for college students to practice the Montessori method. A full-fledged Montessori environment with five zones (Exercises of practical life, sensory, language zone, space education and mathematics) was created here. Such a space will allow the college to produce students with a notion of and practical skills in Montessori methodology, which is one of the most effective methodologies for the development of pre-school children.

"This office is fully equipped with all the necessary equipment and materials in all five areas of the Montessori methodology. Now we are getting acquainted with them and learning how to work. All of the knowledge we received earlier, we can now fully practice in our college," says Gulsaya Otegulova, a student at Mangistau Humanities College.

The space was opened as part of the fifth phase of the social program "Growing Together!", which involves the dissemination of knowledge on innovative methods in pre-school education in the Mangistau region, including for the teaching staff of vocational education institutions in the specialty of "preschool education."

The program "Growing Together!" is implemented by the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia with the support of ERSAI Caspian Contractor LLC from 2013 and is aimed at improving the quality of pre-school education in the village of Kuryk. The main objectives of the program are to improve the qualifications of educators to meet the developmental needs of children in a qualitative way, prepare children for life through training the necessary skills, use humanistic approaches and effective methods for the development of children, involve parents in the educational process, ensure continuity of kindergartens and primary schools, local experts in Mangistau oblast. The program covers seven kindergartens of the village, in which nine "Step by Step" groups and 5 Montessori offices are open.