Early education

More than 150 children living in the Kyivska region of Ukraine can now attend kindergarten in safety, after their shelter was renovated thanks to a nationwide project by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union (EU). Five-year-old Solomiya, from the village of Tarasivka, already has dreams of becoming a doctor – but for…

At a kindergarten in Ukraine’s eastern Donetska region, five-year-old Andrii is trying to find the words to describe how he feels. It has been two years since the outbreak of the full-scale war closed all schools and kindergartens in the area. But recently, thanks to face-to-face sessions organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)…

For several years, headteacher Dariia Poltavska has worked to eliminate gender-negative stereotypes and discrimination at her school in Myrhorod, where children study from preschool to ninth grade. She says it is crucial to address issues of gender equality and diversity at an early age. "An upbringing free of gender stereotypes forms a society…

Surrounded by shelling and gunfire, the kindergarten in the frontline village of Mykolaivka, Ukraine had little choice but to close when war broke out in February 2022. This left many children without crucial opportunities to communicate, develop skills and make friends. For a while, teachers tried to work with the children online.  They sent…, Yehor and Vitaly are brothers, their mother takes them to this kindergarten, because every day they return home full of emotions and talk about the new skills they learned in kindergarten., UNICEF Дівчинка в окулярах дошкільного віку тримає колбу Image, Most of all, children like to conduct scientific experiments in kindergarten., UNICEF Дошкільне навчання у змішаному форматі передбачає і регулярні спортивні заняття. Image, Preschool education in a mixed format also includes regular sports activities., UNICEF У навчальних боксах від ЮНІСЕФ – набори конструкторів, цілі дослідницькі лабораторії, фломастери, іграшки, книжки. Image, UNICEF educational boxes contain construction kits, entire research labs, markers, toys and books., UNICEF Діти дошкільного віку танцююють у вишиванках в свлєму садочку Image, Kindergarten workers decorate the assembly hall for the holiday with their own hands, and parents dress their children in beautiful embroidered "vyshyvankas", UNICEF діти сидять за столом в укритті дитячого садочка. Всі вони вдягнені в зимовий одяг. Image, When the air raid alarm sounds, everyone descends into the former vegetable storage, now - a shelter of the kindergarten, UNICEF Дівчинка в зимовому одязі в укритті дитячого садочка Image, In the shelter of the kindergarten there is a long table with paints, pencils, paper and a lot of toys., UNICEF Єгор і Віталя – рідні брати, їхня мама возить їх саме у цей садочок, бо щодня вони приходять додому сповнені емоцій і розповідають про нові навички, які опанували у садочку. Дівчинка в окулярах дошкільного віку тримає колбу Дошкільне навчання у змішаному форматі передбачає і регулярні спортивні заняття. У навчальних боксах від ЮНІСЕФ –…

Five-year-old Mariia is playing with friends in the bomb shelter that belongs to her kindergarten. While the sound of air raid sirens echo through the streets outside, the shelter is a bright and spacious room full of children's laughter.  "I like the kindergarten because my friends are here and there are many cool toys" Mariia, 5 Maria (5) is…, Children continue their studies at the shelter, eat, or sleep. Six-year-old Solomiya likes to play Lego, eat and sleep in the kindergarten., UNICEF Лев - учень дитсадка - позує на камеру в помаранчевому светрі. Він усміхається. Image, Five-year-old Lev likes music classes and aikido the most., UNICEF Діти в дитячому садочку сидять з вихователькою у імпровізованому будиночку, побудованому з українського прапора Image, Given the general anxiety of society, kindergarten teachers take care to distract and entertain children, UNICEF Під час повітряної тривоги в укритті дитячого садочка дошкільнята продовжують розвиткові заняття з використанням матеріалів ЮНІСЕФ. Image, During the air raid in the shelter of the kindergarten, preschoolers continue their developmental activities using UNICEF materials, UNICEF Діти з групи дитсадочка сидять і лежать на ліжках Image, Children in the shelter feel safe during times of anxiety, they continue to play and communicate with each other, UNICEF Дві дівчинки з дитсадочка сміються, граючись за столом Image UNICEF Хлопчик і дівчинка сидять за столом під час заняття в дитсадку. У хлопчика ампутована кисть правої руки. Image, The preschool educational institution is fully operational, despite the air alarms, UNICEF 7 хлопців - учнів дитсадка - сидять на ліжку в сховищі та обіймаються. У них гарний настрій Image, During an air raid, children descend into the spacious shelter of the kindergarten, UNICEF Шестирічна Соломія лежить на ліжку в дитсадку. Її ноги звисають на підлогу. Лев - учень дитсадка - позує на камеру в помаранчевому светрі. Він усміхається. Діти в дитячому садочку сидять з вихователькою у імпровізованому будиночку, побудованому з українського прапора Під час повітряної тривоги в укритті дитячого садочка дошкільнята…

Every child has the right to education and to be able to attend kindergarten. However, during wartime, this can become a real challenge. Iryna Samoilenko, a teacher at a preschool in Chernihiv, has seen this for herself. Her students, who have been staying in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war, got used to sirens, but at the same…

Art class is underway at one of Vasylkiv's preschools. The young children paint clouds and raindrops with their brushes, before rinsing them in a glass of water. Afterwards, the children wash the paint from their hands at the tap. But getting water has not always been this easy. A few months ago, the water supply at the preschool was repeatedly…, Every day, children interact with water: in addition to hygienic procedures, children are shown how to water flowers, UNICEF Image Image UNICEF Під час занять із малювання кожна дитина має свій стакан із чистою водою. Image, During drawing classes, each child has his own glass of clean water, UNICEF Image Image, After the drawing lesson, children will be able to wash their hands, UNICEF Image Image UNICEF Image Image UNICEF Щодня діти взаємодіють з водою: окрім гігієнічних процедур, малюкам показують як поливати квіти. Image Під час занять із малювання кожна дитина має свій стакан із чистою водою. Image Image Image Inna, the mother of six-year-old pupil Myroslava, was worried about her daughter during these emergency water…

Until recently, power outages caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine meant that the northeastern town of Balakliya fell into darkness after sunset. The only bright place that remained was a white tent with a blue Spilno Child Spot logo on it. This light, warm and safe space, run by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), became a light of hope…, “We want them not to lose themselves”, Five-year-old Sofia and Lisa are twin sisters. Since the day they were born, the girls have done everything together. When, after fleeing the violence, their family returned to Balakliya this summer, the pair were excited to attend their first class at the Spilno Child Spot. Next year, the sisters will start school. "I want to go to school because…, "Missile can hit our tent", When Balakliya suffered intense shelling last winter, the girls and their family were forced to leave their home. To keep his three-year-old granddaughters calm, Mykhailo would tell them that the explosions were drumming. "They kept asking: ‘Grandpa, have the drums stopped beating at home? Can we go back?’” Now, although life in the city is…

Milena and Varia are three-year-old twin sisters. When the full-scale war in Ukraine began, Yuliia was in the process of adopting them. But, due to the constant shelling of Kherson, she and the girls were forced to flee home. “They saw me and my parents in stress and this passed through them,” says Yuliia, sadly. “Unfortunately, the girls still…, Yuliia, UNICEF Image Image UNICEF Image Yuliia Image It took Yuliia and the twins two weeks to reach Dnipro. In peacetime, it would have only taken them six hours. Now, both Milena and Varia attend a makeshift kindergarten set up by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Caritas Ukraine, with the support of the Education Cannot Wait foundation (…, Teacher of the project "Education cannot wait" Samira Neimatova, UNICEF Image Image UNICEF Image Image UNICEF Image Teacher of the project "Education cannot wait" Samira Neimatova Image Image But step by step, the girls began to trust in Samira Neimatova, a teacher from the Education Cannot Wait project, and child psychologist Hanna Chervona. And now Yuliia is working to make their adoption…

For more than a year, six-year-old Milana has been unable to attend her kindergarten. She misses the games she played with friends and art classes. But more than anything she misses the kindergarten itself, which was reduced to rubble by a shell. Today, at home in Kherson, a region frequently shelled, the only children Milana sees are her siblings…, Taking care of others, Milana's family knows exactly what to do in case of shelling – the older children are responsible for the younger ones, the adults gather the necessary things, and together they go down to the basement. On the first day of heavy shelling, Milana cried constantly and struggled to calm down. To help her daughter to cope, Yevheniya bought a puppy.…, A lost childhood, For over a year, since the full-scale war broke out, the children have not ventured beyond their yard. Yevheniya is afraid for her children's lives, amid constant shelling and the threat of mines. "Two days ago, a woman and her daughter were killed in our city due to the shelling,” says Yevheniya. “They just were on their way home from a store. We…, Nika, 3, UNICEF Vania, 10 Image, Vania, 10, UNICEF Image Image Nika, 3 Vania, 10 The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been working hard to repair shelters in kindergartens across Ukraine, with plans to reconstruct 80 shelters in kindergartens thanks to the European Union funding. To ensure comfortable shelters for preschoolers, UNICEF is also providing play sets, bedspreads, toys…

A new mobile application for preschoolers in Ukraine, offering interactive games aimed at developing skills such as logic and creativity, has been launched by UNICEF. The war in Ukraine had a devastating effect on access to education, especially preschool education. The application is part of a bigger project NUMO which idea is to help parents…

The study was carried out by UNICEF in support of the Government of Ukraine’s policy for ensuring the right of the child, including a child with special educational needs, to accessible and free preschool education. The study focused on the forms of preschool education capable of expanding children’s access to educational services, while…