A Bridge to Kindness: Inspiring lessons from a Bulgarian kindergarten

Teaching kindness and environmental awareness: Insights from Emilia Alexova at Brezitsa preschool

published on 6/1/24 8:35 AM

Photo: Breznitsa kindergarten

The town of Breznik, birthplace of the king of irony, Stoyan Milenkov, troubadour and satirist, is located in western Bulgaria and is the third largest town in the Pernik municipality.

There were 3,762 people living there in March 2024, according to the latest data. Among them is Emilia Aleksova, the principal of the all-day kindergarten "Brezitsa". She has been building a "Bridge to Kindness" there for 14 years.

It all started by chance. In 2010, one of the kindergarten teachers gave an open lesson on kindness. The whole staff liked the idea so much that Emilia Aleksova turned it into the "Bridge to Kindness" long-term initiative.

"Through the children's full participation in various initiatives, the main goal is to strengthen the educational role of the kindergarten in the formation of values and virtues in them. Love should be present in every moment of our life and love should be formed in children. Thanks to this initiative, our kindergarten is like a little paradise where we all love, respect and embrace each other. It is wonderful! I am in Germany at the moment and I have the opportunity to observe their educational system and it seems that we have managed to come closer to this model of accepting children as our partners".

A positive classroom environment, smiling children and relaxed parents - this is the atmosphere in the Breznitsa kindergarten, achieved with consistency and a lot of work. The headmistress is confident that every educational institution in Bulgaria is working in this direction. But for her, in her small town, goodness has its place in the daily life of all 173 children in the six groups of the kindergarten.

"To make things more accessible and understandable for the children, we have created theme days: Monday is Smile Day, Tuesday is Hug Day, Wednesday is Kiss Day, Thursday is Good Deeds Day, Friday is Friendship Day, and Saturday and Sunday are Family Days. Each of these theme days has its own rules. For example, on Hug Day we should hug at least three people and on Smile Day we should smile at five people. On Kindness Day we should do at least one good deed, and on Family Days, Saturday and Sunday, we should play with mum and dad.

Each morning when the children arrive, the teacher has a chat with them about how the previous day went and whether the children followed these rules in any way. We, the adults, see this as rules, for them it is a game. We do this every day together with our colleagues, and in this way not only are values and virtues formed, but somehow the aggression and bullying in the nursery school is reduced to an absolute minimum. Our main task is to make the children happy. And this initiative works in that direction."

"Bridge to Kindness goes beyond human relationships. Last year the children were introduced to the concepts of eco-consciousness and eco-tolerance. Again, through active play.

Each group received its own mascot, such as a cuddly toy in the form of a hat, lion, or bear. Following a draw of lots, the toy visited a child's family for the weekend. The toy was expected to participate in all the family's activities during its stay. Last year these activities focused on eco-tolerance and eco-consciousness, and this year our theme is kindness. If I have to put it in figures - between 70 and 80% of parents take part in our activities, which are related to hiking in the mountains, cleaning, playing games, "- says Aleksova.

Of course, lasting educational initiatives also depend on institutional support.

"Because along with kindness, we must learn to respect not only the person in front of us, the adult, but also every child, because children are our equal partners too," says the director.

And every year on Children's Day, the first of June, the kindergarten puts on a show on a big stage with all the children taking part.

"Because in addition to building a core set of values, we also have the task of building self-esteem in children. And what could be better than giving a child the opportunity to express himself in the most creative and positive way," asks Emilia Aleksova rhetorically.

"There are no grumpy teachers or assistants here. Everyone is smiling and friendly. I think that is my greatest achievement. As the old people in Bulgaria say, "what goes around comes around".

And so, with a smile, we end today's story about an exemplary small town kindergarten in the Bulgarian town of Breznik.