Monthly Archives: September 2021

California child care centers closing is bad for everyone

In summary

The coronavirus pandemic has decimated child care centers in California, with many closing permanently. The consequences will adversely affect children, parents, center operators and the state economy.

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Across California 8,500 licensed child care sites have shut down since the pandemic began, taking with them tens of thousands of child care slots for kids who need care while their parents work or attend school.

The decimation of the child care industry has dire implications for the state going forward: 

• Children unable to get into licensed child care could suffer educationally and miss the stability of a safe, familiar provider.
• Unemployed or underemployed parents now have even fewer affordable options for child care, potentially delaying their re-entry into the workforce as California struggles to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.  
• Thousands of women of color, who represent the majority of the child care workforce, are now out of work. 

Both the permanent and temporary closures hit an already precariously positioned child care industry suffering from chronic low pay, a lack of providers and high costs. 

“The pandemic shed this bright light on so many systems in our country that are clearly broken or poorly built before the pandemic — and child care is just one of them,” said Keisha Nzewi, director of public policy for the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network, a nonprofit that helps connect families with child care providers. “In child care the problem is that although it is a public good, it’s not treated as such.

“Child care providers are paid poorly and at the same time parents cannot afford to pay more.”

Experts and advocates hope a new and record-breaking infusion of federal money will buoy the industry for now. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan President Joe Biden signed into law last week includes $39 billion to bolster the child care industry. California is set to receive $3.8 billion of that money, half of which is for stabilizing the child care system and to provide more assistance to families, according to the Center for Law and Social Policy. Congress wants the states to receive the money by September but experts believe it will land sooner, possibly in the summer. States have until September of 2022 to commit the funds and an additional year to use it all. 

“The pandemic shed this bright light on so many systems in our country that are clearly broken or poorly built before the pandemic — and child care is just one of them.”

Keisha Nzewi, director of public policy for the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network

Money is expected to start flowing to providers and families before the end of this year, said Christine Johnson-Straub, senior policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy.

The state’s portion of the money will go to the California Department of Education, which will work with the Department of Social Services, which oversees child care licenses, to distribute the funds, Johnson-Straub said.

California has two types of child care facilities: large centers and family care homes. Centers tend to be larger and more expensive while in-home care providers, who can serve up to 8 or 14 children depending on size, accept the majority of low-income children who receive state child care subsidies.

Among in-home family child care sites, 14% shuttered — a loss of some 3,635 sites — between January 2020 and January 2021, according to newly released data from the Child Care Resource and Referral Network. Among larger centers, 33% closed, accounting for 4,873 centers. These are both permanent and temporary closures.

“There is always a need to invest more in the child care system in California,” said Kristin Schumacher, senior policy analyst at the California Budget & Policy Center. “We know it’s critical for working parents and our economy. We cannot recover from this pandemic in a recession until we have a stable child care system that parents can rely on so they can return to work. ”

In March 2020, when the state’s shelter-in-place order began, some parents kept their kids at home if they could, while others lost jobs and surrendered their children’s slots in child care sites. Many sites closed. When they were allowed to reopen several months later, they did so under new restrictions that limited how many children they could care for while also requiring strict disinfecting regiments and social distancing. 

“I never imagined it was going to be a year and I would lose all my staff, clients, children.”

Cynthia Bassett, child care provider in San Bernardino

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In San Bernardino, child care provider Cynthia Bassett took Gov. Gavin Newsom’s advice at the outset of the pandemic and closed her in-home family child care for the first time in 21 years. Bassett is 68 and has asthma, two factors that put her in a high-risk group for COVID-19. When she hugged her little ones goodbye and shut down last March, she thought it would only be a couple of months before things returned to normal.

Now, one year later and after finally getting the vaccine, she is trying to reopen. It’s like starting out all over again, she said. None of her little charges are coming back, and only one of the four part-time staff members she had to lay off is able to return.

“I never imagined it was going to be a year and I would lose all my staff, clients, children,” said Bassett. “Now, with reopening, my concern is still finances and the disinfecting and the cleaning and the (protective gear) and even the staff. We are still dealing with the pandemic. It’s not over.”

Bad for children

Child care is part of the foundation for youth learning, according to Dorian Traube, associate professor at the University of Southern California School of Social Work.

Traube studies early childhood education and said if toddlers and preschoolers are missing out on learning opportunities, it could leave some unprepared for school in the future.

“This is fueled by the American idea that child care and early education are two separate topics when in fact, child care is early education,” said Traube. “We know it’s one of the most important developmental periods.”

If toddlers and preschoolers are missing out on learning opportunities, it could leave some unprepared for school in the future.

Nzewi disagrees with the notion that families that are keeping their kids at home or cobbling together care with trusted loved ones are causing their kids to miss out on learning. But she does argue that having routine and stability is important for kids. And having stable child care provides that, especially because circumstances with family, friends and neighbors may change if they get a job or have to move or rearrange their own schedules.

“So many of us were cared for by our nanas, our titis, our nonas, our mom’s best friend, the people that our parents or families trusted the most. There is no harm there — learning happens everywhere,” she said. “Children don’t necessarily lose anything in development, but kids of many ages like to know what to expect. Stability is only a good thing for children.”

Bad for the parents (and the state economy)

Unemployed or underemployed parents now have to scramble even more to secure child care slots for their kids. That makes it harder for families, especially women, to go to or get back to work, and could impact economic growth coming out of the pandemic.

“As more and more people become vaccinated and schools start to reopen and the economy starts to move forward, it’s going to be critically important that parents have safe space for their children while they are at work,” Schumacher said. “It’s already really difficult to find affordable care, sometimes impossible if you earn low wages.

“If part of our child care supply has evaporated it may be just impossible.”

Bad for child care providers, who were already in a tough spot

Child care in California has been in a perilous position for decades. Providers operate on razor-thin margins and get paid less than living wages, while parents can hardly afford the fees. Government subsidies have not kept up with inflation, and only help a fraction of kids who qualify because the lack of providers leaves low-income families in the lurch.

“Fundamentally this is an under-resourced system that has not been invested in for decades. And what we had going into the pandemic was something that was stitched together through the hard work of a female-dominated industry (of workers who were)sacrificing their own wages to provide enough care for number of kids they could,” said Rasheed Malik, senior policy analyst for early childhood policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.

Malik’s research has found that 6 in 10 Americans lived in a child care ‘desert’ — pre-pandemic. It wasn’t an issue only in low-income communities, but was also ubiquitous in middle-class, median-income neighborhoods. The pandemic only made that worse.

A Play set in Cynthia Bassett’s backyard in San Bernardino on March 16, 2021. Cynthia is waiting for people to enroll their children into her day care. Until then toys and play sets are unused. Photo by Shae Hammond for CalMatters

Nzewi points to child care’s slavery era roots when white children were cared for by enslaved Black women. After the Civil War, mostly Black domestic workers continued to care for children and often were paid in hand-me-downs or food instead of in dollars.  Eventually, the ranks of domestic workers grew to include Asian women and Latinas but the structure remained the same: little pay or recognition.

“Primary providers of care, whether it’s for children or elderly, (are)Latina, Black, Asian and immigrant women, and it is okay in our country to pay them far less for their work,” Nzewi said. “Their work is not monetarily valued in a significant way and what that means for us is, those are the women who are caring for our children and those are the women we woefully underpay and continue to do so quite easily. ”

The median hourly child care wage was $13.43 in 2019 in California, according to The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley. The result:  17% of California child care workers live in poverty, the Center at UC Berkeley’s Early Childhood Workforce Index found. Now roughly one in four child-care jobs in California have been lost, said Schumacher, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

For Bassett, who is waiting for children to enroll in her program, help can’t come soon enough.

She eventually qualified for unemployment,  but it didn’t cover all of her expenses.

“I was very depressed at times because I was isolated,” she said. “I was used to having 14 little ones running around, and all of a sudden ‘Poof!’ it’s just me by myself.”

children and covid-19

More than 12,000 coronavirus cases have been reported at California child care centers

Experts aren’t sure if the numbers are good or bad because of the number of variables involved and lack of similar data. Child care providers hope new relief from the state will help.

by Elizabeth AguileraMarch 4, 2021March 4, 2021

Burgeoning child care union secures COVID-19 relief funding approval

The state Senate budget committee approved disbursement of $144 million in federal funds to give child care providers some financial relief in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. If approved by the Legislature, it will be a major win for Child Care Providers United, which is still negotiating a master contract with California.

by Elizabeth AguileraFebruary 22, 2021February 22, 2021

Playgrounds stay open: State backtracks on outdoor play area ban

Amid pushback from parents and lawmakers, the state modified its strict new stay-at-home order that had closed outdoor playgrounds to slow coronavirus spread.

by Elizabeth AguileraDecember 9, 2020December 9, 2020

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An Iowa Daycare’s Closure Highlights U.S. Childcare Crisis

Tipton Adaptive Daycare is still filled with colorful plastic chairs, butterfly-adorned cubbies and star mobiles dangling above cribs. But most classrooms were empty of children this week, as the owner of the rural Tipton, Iowa, childcare center prepared to close her business permanently after more than seven years. “I gave up,” says Deborah VanderGaast, the director and founder.

At the heart of VanderGaast’s struggle is a problem of basic economics. Even before the pandemic, Tipton Adaptive was only just breaking even. Before she closed, she was charging $175 per week for full-time infant and toddler care—a rate that was barely affordable for many families she serves. But it was also barely enough to pay her employees, for whom the starting wage was $9 to $11 per hour.

In an interview with TIME in October 2019, VanderGaast described high staff turnover and employees having to work second jobs. “It’s a broken system. And the more broken it got, the more it couldn’t be ignored,” says VanderGaast. The awareness of that broken system is a major part of why she is now running for an Iowa state senate seat as a Democrat—and why she has made improving childcare access one of her top issues.

Deborah VanderGaast, director of Tipton Adaptive Daycare, greets Wilkinson on Aug. 17, 2022, while preparing to close the daycare permanently.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

The daycare became a casualty of the broken economics of childcare. Care is too expensive for many parents to afford, while pay for childcare workers remains far too low.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

Deborah VanderGaast, who opened the daycare in 2014, decided to close the business because she couldn’t find enough workers.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

The closure illustrates the ways in which the country’s intractable childcare crisis has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by spiraling costs and worker shortages. The national median wage for childcare workers is just over $13 an hour, making it one of the lowest-paid professions in the country. Childcare employment remains 8.4% below pre-pandemic levels, down nearly 90,000 jobs compared to February 2020, according to federal labor data. In Iowa alone, 28% of childcare businesses closed from 2016 to 2021.

But unlike some other industries, childcare is one in which a declining supply doesn’t correspond to lagging demand—precisely because of the precarious economics by which it operates. In fact, America’s families are desperate for daycare, and the economic and social consequences of closures can be huge. In Iowa, for example, the state has an estimated 350,000 more kids under 12 than childcare spots, according to state data. On a national scale, approximately 3.4 million children in 35 states lack access to formal childcare, according to a 2021 report by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

VanderGaast, like many national experts, argues that more government subsidies are needed to make childcare accessible. The current system is unaffordable for more than 60% of working families, according to a U.S. Treasury Department analysis, prohibiting childcare providers from raising rates. But significant fixed costs and necessary safety regulations—for example, maximums on how many children each employee can care for at a time—also prevent childcare directors from cutting costs further. In fact, VanderGaast says she actually lost money on every child in her care under age 3, due to extra requirements that protect the youngest children.

“Fundamentally, there is not enough public money in the system,” says Elliot Haspel, a family policy expert and author of Crawling Behind: America’s Childcare Crisis and How to Fix It. “We cannot innovate our way out of this. We cannot entrepreneur our way out of this.”

This year, Washington, D.C., city-council members and Utah state leaders both gave childcare workers one-time bonuses in an effort to keep them in their jobs. But the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Aug. 16 without draft provisions that would have improved childcare access, expanded the child tax credit, and lowered the cost of childcare for low-income families.

Tipton Adaptive’s closure on Aug. 19 leaves just one state-licensed daycare center for children younger than preschool in Tipton, a city of about 3,200 people in eastern Iowa. “We needed both of our childcares in this town,” says Shanon Hillyer, director of Cedar County Coordinated Child Care, Inc., the remaining daycare. Hillyer’s nonprofit currently enrolls 29 children aged six weeks to 4 years old, and has a waitlist of 24 families for that age group. She would like to take on more kids, and she knows there’s overwhelming demand in the community—but she has also struggled to hire more workers who are both qualified and willing to take on the job. (Her starting wage is $11.)

The daycare is still filled with colorful toys and star mobiles dangling above cribs, but most classrooms are now empty of children.

Kathryn Gamble for tIME

The closure illustrates the ways in which the country’s intractable childcare crisis has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by spiraling costs and worker shortages.

Kathryn Gamble for tIME

Some lucky families from Tipton Adaptive have found a space in one of Hillyer’s programs. Others have sent their kids to in-home daycares, some of which are not licensed by the state. The families that relied on VanderGaast included nurses, construction workers, and farmers. She says many are still trying to cobble together a solution. At least one family moved out of the county to be closer to family members who can help look after their kids. Iowa estimates that the childcare shortage costs the state $935 million annually in lost tax revenue, absences, and employee turnover. And women are more likely than men to leave the workforce, and miss out on earning potential, due to lack of childcare.

Corrine VanderGaast, Deborah’s daughter and an assistant teacher at the daycare, helps Dircks Grau, age 9.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

Hunter Rutkowski, age 10, and Alice Nefzger, age 8, are among the school-aged children who attended the daycare during the summer.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

Deborah VanderGaast plays checkers with Brody Wendt, age 8.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

VanderGaast hopes to take the issue to the Iowa legislature in Des Moines. After handily winning her primary in June, she faces an uphill fight against Republican Kerry Gruenhagen, a farmer, in the race for the District 41 state Senate seat. If elected in November, she wants to expand childcare subsidies, fight for better pay for childcare workers, support a payroll tax on employers to fund childcare programs, and resolve safety-regulation discrepancies between in-home care and daycare centers. “I’ve been fighting so hard to fight the childcare crisis, screaming, I feel like, at the top of my lungs, and nobody can hear me,” she says.

Childcare employment remains 8.4% below pre-pandemic levels, down nearly 90,000 jobs compared to February 2020.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

Corrine VanderGaast is one of the few employees still working at the center, where 15 employees once looked after 76 children.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

Tipton Adaptive’s closure leaves just one state-licensed daycare center for children younger than preschool in Tipton. Across Iowa, 28% of childcare businesses closed from 2016 to 2021.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

In between campaigning, she’s planning to get a job with the local school district as a substitute nurse and bus driver.

As for Tipton Adaptive Daycare, VanderGaast is holding out hope that she can sell or lease its building to another childcare provider. That’s why she has held off on taking down decorations and moving out furniture. “Are all these classrooms going to be ripped up for a warehouse or a sales floor?” she says. “Is my beautiful playground going to be bulldozed for a parking lot?”

Hunter Rutkowski, age 10, and Alice Nefzger, age 8, play outside. While they will return to school soon, some parents with younger children are still trying to cobble together a new childcare arrangement.

Kathryn Gamble for TIME

Write to Katie Reilly at [email protected].

Delaware Child Development | Closing

Updated statement: The Foundation is updating our message to note that our agreements have been with the Delaware Tribe of Indians. The Delaware Tribe of Indians’ child care is funded through and reported by the Cherokee Nation’s Tribal Child Care and Development Fund program. It is also important to note that the services provided were from July 2020 through June 1, 2021 — the Foundation has been attempting get reimbursed for allowable CCDF expenditures for nearly two years. 

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*  *  *  *  *

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It is with a very heavy heart that the Washington County Child Care Foundation operating Ivy Academies in Bartlesville (Downtown and West) and Owasso-Sperry will be closing our doors on March 31, 2022. Our leadership and our team have been honored to serve the Bartlesville area and many surrounding communities for 25 years. Providing nationally renowned child care and early learning services to your children and families has been the pinnacle of my 35-year career in education.

 

As many of you know, I have worked with the Delaware Tribe of Indians since 1997, growing their child care and early learning program from $600,000 to over $10 million dollars annually. The Washington County Child Care Foundation took over as the service provider for the program when the Delaware Tribe lost its Federal recognition in 2005. Since this happened, the Foundation hired me, the Delaware Tribe’s CCDF Program Director, as the Executive Director to continue running the child care services and the services were provided on behalf of the Delaware Tribe of Indians and funded through the Cherokee Nation’s Tribal Child Care Development program.

 

Both prior to the establishment of the Foundation and through 2018, I wrote, was awarded, and managed the construction of all the infrastructure that makes up the Lenape Addition in Bartlesville. I do not share this by way of bragging, but to show how I invested in the Tribe’s growth and success, and not only in child care.

 

But, in 2019, the Tribe began taking massive action to dismantle the program that we had so successfully grown. This began by being locked out of and forcibly removed from our administrative offices, not even able to retrieve our personal belongings for many months. After two years of negotiations and ongoing conversations with Federal agencies, the Cherokee Nation, and the Delaware Tribe, in June 2021, the Delaware Tribe formally severed relations with the Foundation. However, between July 2020 and June 1, 2021, we were not paid for child care services provided for the Federal Tribal child care program – approximately $4.3 million. 

 

For the past three years, our Foundation, and I, personally, have been beleaguered by unfounded accusations, denial of payments for services provided (including the salaries of our teachers), and public shaming. I assure you that in our 25-year history we have never improperly used any funding – Federal, state, or otherwise. Our core mission continues to be and has always been to serve at the highest level, or not at all.

 

It is in this spirit that we are closing our doors. We have worked diligently for more than two years to overcome this loss, but we are not willing to provide subpar services to accommodate the loss. And, this loss has been too great to overcome.

 

Time and time again, the Delaware Tribe has denied reimbursement and has told us they are not responsible for paying for our services despite having requested and committed to paying for them. We had hoped some resolution would arrive from communications this past week, but we were met again with delay tactics and refusal of information. We have diligently reached out to Federal leadership at the White House, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Child Care, the Office of Early Childhood Development, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and numerous legislative offices. Those communications, too, have been met mostly with silence.

 

I and my leadership team have worked tirelessly over the past two and a half years to mitigate this issue. Our staff, every single one of them, have served each of our communities with integrity and dignity, especially under these circumstances with the Tribe and during a global pandemic.

 

Together, with each of you, we have proudly cared for thousands of children in our community, serving not only Delaware Tribal families, but also families from each of the 13 Tribes in our service area, new Americans, and all other families in our community from all creeds, backgrounds, and histories.

 

I am honored to have created this program and am deeply saddened that it has been dismantled in this way. While I am saddened to be closing our doors, I am walking away from this part of my life’s work with gratitude for the opportunity to serve you and our community and appreciation for the strides we made in the field of child care and early learning.

 

I know that this short notice leaves many of you with limited options, and, for that, I am incredibly apologetic. I have always held hope that our work and partnership with the Tribes would be held in higher regard and respect. I know many of you may have questions about what happened, we have linked additional information and context below.

 

While we work through the requirements for closing out, we will have limited ability to respond to each of you who may have questions. We have opened up an email address for you to send your questions and comments to in the link below.

 

If you would like to express your sentiments with the Delaware Tribe, we recommend reaching out to its Tribal Council here. We encourage you to reach out to our Congressional leaders to share what has happened to your family because of this situation. You can find their information by putting in your address here.

 

We have provided links below for you to contact us and download the History of Our Work and How We Came To Closing. 

© 2022 by Washington County Child Care Foundation

Ivy Learning and Ivy Academies | Formerly Delaware Child Development

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Here’s how many Philadelphia child care providers closed in the pandemic

A little boy reads to a baby at a Kinder Academy site in Philadelphia. The baby was the first to return to child care during the pandemic and teachers encouraged the older children to be especially gentle.

Courtesy of Kinder Academy

Fewer Philadelphia child care providers closed permanently during the pandemic than some early childhood groups predicted last year. But when considered alongside the unusually small number of new openings, the city’s net loss in providers is much larger than in previous years. 

The numbers paint a preliminary picture of what’s happened to Philadelphia’s child care ecosystem since the pandemic hit, illustrating bright spots and pain points within a fragile sector. Advocates say an influx of federal stimulus money likely staved off more catastrophic closure rates among Philadelphia child care providers, but that it will be important to track the trend long term.

In total, 183 licensed child care providers — about 11% of the city’s pre-COVID total — closed permanently between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. There were about 200 permanent closures during the same 12-month period each of the previous two years.  

But the coronavirus crisis also meant fewer new providers opened, with Philadelphia going from a net loss of 17 providers in both years prior to the pandemic to a net loss of 57 during the pandemic year. In short, that jump means dozens more defunct businesses and hundreds of lost child care slots. 

Things could have been far worse. 

Last summer, national early childhood groups sounded the alarm about the potential for widespread permanent child care closures all over the country as providers grappled with sudden enrollment declines and increased payroll and cleaning costs. In many states, stay-at-home orders meant child care businesses closed too, unless they were serving essential workers. But even when providers began to open back up in the summer, many families stayed away, fearful about their kids catching COVID-19 or unable to cover tuition costs because of lost jobs.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children reported that up to 40% of providers responding to the organization’s nationwide survey in June said they would close permanently without further government assistance. Child Care Aware of America pegged the number at 46%.

Closure estimates were somewhat lower in a Penn State University study released in August. It said about 4% of providers statewide would close permanently without immediate financial help, with another 14% at risk of closing. 

But more government help did arrive — with the first two federal stimulus packages sending a half billion dollars to Pennsylvania’s early childhood sector. In addition, some providers received forgivable federal loans that allowed them to continue paying their staff and state officials temporarily relaxed reimbursement policies for providers participating in the child care subsidy program. 

“I think this is a really good example of how government can really try to help programs during a time of great need,” said Mai Miksic, early childhood policy director for the advocacy group Public Citizens for Children and Youth.  

“There were a lot of resources that were poured into the child care sector in the past year and without those resources it would have been much worse,” Miksic said. Still, she said, “I don’t want this news to undersell how difficult this past year has been on child care providers.” 

The Penn State University study found that during the first few months of the pandemic, 83% of providers statewide reported losing more than a quarter of their revenue, with one-third reporting losing half. For many providers, tuition makes up much of their revenue, and when the kids don’t come, the money doesn’t either. 

Around the time that study was conducted, the state began sending grants to child care providers from the first federal stimulus package, called the CARES Act. 

Tyrone Scott II, director of governmental and external affairs at First Up, an early childhood advocacy group in Philadelphia, said, “There are definitely providers who are living on that CARES money and said, ‘If I didn’t get this check, I would have shut down’” 

Even if Philadelphia avoided the worst-case scenario, Scott said there are still reasons for concern. Those include the loss of highly rated providers, which are hard to replace because it takes time for new providers to move up the state ratings ladder. He also worries about the loss of nearly 90 home-based providers — a group that often provides hard-to-find care for babies and toddlers, and sometimes accommodates non-traditional work hours. 

Such providers “tend to be the most flexible and responsive to family needs,” he said. Plus, amid COVID, many parents likely feel safer sending their kids to a setting with only a handful of other children. 

Scott said as child care slots disappear, “We’re going to see kids going into less safe environments.” 

He also worries the pandemic has chased veteran early childhood teachers out of the field, exacerbating the pre-pandemic staffing crisis.  

“We probably lost a good amount of experienced teachers to Costco, Walmart, and Chick-fil-A,” all of which offer similar or better pay than child care, he said.

Of course, some providers would have closed their doors in 2020 with or without the pandemic.  

Cynthia MB Robinson, a highly rated home-based provider, closed permanently in March 2020 after 24 years in the business. She’d planned to retire in late summer anyway, but decided to shutter early so the six children in her care wouldn’t face the disruption of returning after a temporary pandemic closure only to leave again soon after. 

Plus, she worried about how the daily comings and goings of the children would affect her husband, a cancer survivor.

“I didn’t want to put him in jeopardy,” she said.  

Leslie Spina, the executive director of five Kinder Academy child care centers in Philadelphia, opened one center and closed another over the past year. Just before the pandemic hit, she signed loan paperwork for a new location on Rising Sun Road. It was February and she’d heard about the coronavirus outbreak in China but it felt like a far-away problem, not something she needed to worry about.

“Had I known, we wouldn’t have been signing on that day,” she said.   

She went forward with building renovations, albeit more slowly than she’d planned, and the new center opened this March. It wasn’t her sixth center as she’d planned though. Instead, it replaced one in the Mayfair neighborhood, which closed in November because the Presbyterian church that housed it shuttered after a long financial struggle. 

Spina said several factors, including having multiple sites, receiving federal stimulus money, and drawing on the organization’s rainy day fund, helped Kinder Academy survive the pandemic mostly intact. 

“But we know we’re one banana peel away from bad things happening,” she said. “Life is still precarious.” 

Like many providers that managed to stay afloat during the pandemic, enrollment is lower than usual at Kinder Academy’s highly rated centers. One of the five is still temporarily closed because too few families opted to come back. 

“People were afraid and because they could make other arrangements, they did,” Spina said.   

She expects enrollment to rebound enough at that site that she can reopen in the fall. 

Advocates hope the third federal stimulus package — the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan the president signed into law in March — will help providers continue to recover and strengthen the industry as a whole. 

Pennsylvania is set to get $1.2 billion for early childhood efforts — about double what it received from the first two federal stimulus packages combined. State officials are still deciding how to allocate the new funds. 

“Now is a really prime time to not only account for the effects of the pandemic, but also build the sector back better,” said Miksic, of Public Citizens for Children and Youth.

Wisconsin child care providers, already battered by the pandemic, see more closures, cases in current surge

COVID-19 is spreading around the state while many children in day care are too young for vaccines

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought hit after hit to the Growing Tree, a child care provider in New Glarus.

They’ve had to operate at about 50 percent capacity because of staffing shortages and COVID-19 concerns, meaning the day care, which was already operating on a thin margin, can’t cover all of its expenses.

Brooke Skidmore, who runs the day care, said the Growing Tree lost $110,000 over the first year of the pandemic, but was able to cover those losses with a combination of federal relief funds the state distributed to providers and federal Paycheck Protection Program funds. She said they’re on track to lose a similar amount this year, but because the Growing Tree was denied a recent round of provider funding, she isn’t sure they can make up the difference.

“If we don’t get the funding like we were able to procure last year, we won’t be able to sustain financially,” she said. “If we can’t do that, then we really can’t stay open.”

Some providers, like Corrine Hendrickson’s Little Explorers Family Childcare, have had to shut down temporarily because teachers caught COVID-19.

Hendrickson, who’s the sole teacher for nine kids in her home-based care, also in New Glarus, has been participating in a regular testing program. She has been able to catch several cases early enough that it hasn’t spread to other children, but just before Christmas, she got a breakthrough case of COVID-19 herself.

“It’s always been this cloud over me that like, ‘It’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen,'” she said. “Well, it finally happened.”

She is planning to reopen Monday and is able to cover the gap in income from her closure using funds from a state “We’re All In” small business grant, but once those funds are gone, she said she’s concerned about how to cover future closures and more cases are likely, especially with many of the children in day cares too young to get vaccinated. People age 5 and up are eligible for the vaccine, with a possible vaccine for children under age 5 available the first half of this year.

“I’m probably going to reopen, but I’m scared we’re going to close back up in a week,” she said. “My families are all really good and really careful, but it’s everywhere.”

Other providers have closed permanently. Wisconsin lost about 20,000 licensed child care slots from 2011 to 2020, and COVID-19 prompted even more closures.

Family child care programs like Hendrickson’s, which typically consist of one provider taking care of children in a home, have been particularly vulnerable to closing permanently, said Kelly Borchardt, executive director of the central Wisconsin child care referral agency, Childcaring.

“Maybe the provider is a little bit older, or was on the fence about retirement already,” she said. “We’ve seen a lot of early retirements, or people just saying, ‘I can’t do this anymore.'”

Borchardt said she has been hearing from family after family that they can’t find a place to send their children.

“They’re even having trouble with the child care providers not being able to call them back, or not answering their phones or emails,” Borchardt said. “That’s really telling us that directors, teachers are completely overwhelmed just keeping their doors open and serving current children and families that they have, let alone thinking about enrolling any new children.”

Borchardt said she has been hearing about more classroom closures than full-facility closures at this point as children or staff are testing positive or quarantining.

Skidmore, in New Glarus, said she has been able to keep closures limited to classrooms so far during this surge, but that she is worried she’ll have to close the Growing Tree if COVID reaches too many staff members or children.

“There’s a lot of things working against us right now,” she said.

Child care shortages have rippled out into other industries, as parents have had to take time off, or quit jobs entirely, to care for their kids. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. awarded three of its Workforce Innovation Grants, funded through federal relief dollars, for child care specifically. Local communities identified child care as a key barrier keeping people out of the workforce.

“We know that child care was a struggle in many communities and for many companies, but when the pandemic hit … it really brought to light the challenges that we have when we don’t have access to safe, quality, affordable child care,” Missy Hughes, WEDC’s CEO, said.

Hughes said she has seen some companies start offering onsite child care, both as a solution to shortages and as a way to attract workers in a tight labor market — and one that has fallen particularly heavily on women.

“Getting the businesses involved is really critical, because that makes sure that we keep women in the workplace, and it assures that the child care providers have a more sustainable income if they can count on the businesses to purchase slots and have those available, then they have a sustainable, predictable income,” she said.

Rules for Parents

RULES FOR OUR PARENTS

Dear parents!

In our kindergarten, we care about your children, their safety and development.

Therefore, we ask you to follow some rules that will help make attending kindergarten a pleasant experience for your child.

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS

*** Do not forget that in the pre-school there is a monthly payment for the maintenance of a child in kindergarten. We ask you to pay the receipt on time, , by the 20th day of of each month, according to the contract.

Read about payment here

*** In our preschool institution, it is customary to treat each other politely , therefore, regardless of their age, it is necessary to address the teachers of the group with you, by name and patronymic, and teach this to your children.

Their “aunts” do not work in our kindergarten!

*** Reception of children is carried out from 7. 30 to 8.45 daily, except weekends and holidays.

Timely arrival in kindergarten is a necessary condition for the correct organization of the educational process.

*** If you bring your child after the start of any regimen or activity, please undress him and wait with him in the locker room until the next break.

*** In the morning, parents must hand over the child personally to the teacher , and in the evening, be sure to go to the teacher and say that you are picking up the child from the kindergarten.

*** If you need to bring or pick up a child outside school hours , please notify the teacher in advance. If your child is taken from the kindergarten by relatives or acquaintances, then you must write an application and sign it with the head.

*** If the child is unable to come to the kindergarten due to illness or other good reason, please inform the teacher by 9 am by contact phone, and in case of coming to the kindergarten after illness or vacation – the day before by 12 pm .

*** A child not attending kindergarten for more than 3 days must have a doctor’s note.

Parents, remember! You must bring a healthy child!

An untreated child will not only get sick himself, but will also infect healthy children!

And if “snot” and coughing do not frighten you as a mother, then another mother may have her own opinion, different from yours.

*** Before you take your child to kindergarten, check whether he is dressed correctly , whether his suit corresponds to the season and air temperature. In properly selected clothes, the child moves freely, gets tired less. Make sure that the child’s clothing is not too large and at the same time does not hinder the child’s movements. Pay special attention to shoes . It should be light, warm and fit exactly to the size of the foot. Check buckles and laces. They must be such that the child can use them independently. In the group room it is not allowed to wear shoes without backs (flip-flops).

Dear parents! Slippers leave for the house. Children, of course, feel at home here, but let shoes be “not slippers” .

Requirements for the appearance of children

• Neat appearance, fully buttoned clothing and shoes;
• Washed face;
• Clean nose, hands, trimmed nails;
• Hair trimmed and carefully combed; for girls, the hairstyle is fixed with elastic bands, bows, etc.
• Clean underwear;
• Availability of sufficient handkerchiefs. The handkerchief is necessary for the child both indoors and on a walk. Make convenient pockets on your clothes for storing it.

To create comfortable conditions for a child to stay in kindergarten, you need:

• In closet there should be T-shirts, panties, spare tights, socks, a change of clothes in case of an “accident” while eating. Children … are an independent people. Be sure to check the neatness of things, do not forget to take your pajamas and sportswear to the laundry, well, we don’t even mention the daily change of clothes. Clothing for staying in a group. It is not allowed to wear the same pair of jeans, trousers both for a walk and in the premises of the kindergarten.
• Two bags for storing clean and used linen.
• Comb (regardless of hair length).
• Sportswear and shoes with rubber soles for physical education.
• Linen, clothes and other things can be marked.

• It is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to bring sharp, piercing, cutting objects to the preschool (scissors, knives, knitting needles, pins, nails, wire, mirror, glass bottles, bubbles, metal toys, swords, sabers, lighters, etc. ) .

The presence of such items is dangerous not only for your child, but also for other children attending the group. Therefore, be sure to check your child’s pockets before leaving for kindergarten.

It is strongly recommended not to put on a child gold and silver jewelry.

We also ask not to give chewing gum, sweets, cookies and any food, vitamins, pills and other medicines, cosmetics and computer games and any valuable toy that you feel sorry for.

If you consider it necessary to give your child some treats with you, then please limit yourself to a few caramels in candy wrappers and warn the teacher about this.

• In a group, children are not allowed to beat and offend each other; take things from the teacher’s table without permission, even your own, take personal things without permission, including toys of other children brought from home; spoil and break the results of the work of other children. Children are not allowed to “strike back”, as well as to attack each other. This requirement is dictated by the safety of the child.
• Do not forget to pay attention to the child’s man-made work (drawings, crafts), praise the child.

Parents can attend classes at any time , informing the teacher conducting it a day in advance. Replacement shoes are not required, but remember about shoe covers!

General issues are discussed at parent meetings, not because there is nothing to say about everyone, but only because of ethical considerations.

• Disputes and conflict situations must be resolved in the absence of children. If you could not resolve any issue with the teacher of the group, contact the head.

In the presence of a child one should not discuss preschool teachers with relatives or acquaintances.

Dear parents!

The administration is responsible for the life of the child from 7.30 to 17.30, and after…

If you came at 17.20, and you want to take a walk and talk with the teacher, that way until 18.00, try to restrain your desires, since the educators have a working day until 17.30 .

REMEMBER : as soon as you come for the child, the caregiver relieves himself of responsibility for him!

Journalist Yevgeny Spirin spoke about the exhumation of bodies in Bucha and the atrocities of the invaders

The “Russian world” is war, death, destruction, pain, blood, torture, broken destinies, “victory-madness”, “spiritual bonds”, sheer propaganda lies, and the list goes on. Unfortunately, almost every day we receive shocking evidence that Russia is a terrorist state that committed the genocide of Ukrainians, and that the Kremlin Fuhrer and his henchmen are international criminals.

But it’s one thing to read the news about these horrors, it’s another thing to see with your own eyes what the “asvabadists” have done on our land. The editor-in-chief of the Babel website Evgeny Spirin saw it. As a volunteer, he participated in the exhumation and identification of the remains of the inhabitants of Bucha. It is impossible to even imagine this hard and unpleasant, to put it mildly, but very important work.

– Evgeny, you recently wrote on Facebook that, among other things, you are engaged in a large project – the basis for the memorial of those killed and tortured in Bucha: “Bucha has become a matter of life for me.” Whose idea is this project, who develops and finances it, who will implement it?

– We decided that we would make a big website about these terrible events. We will complete this work in the near future.

“Thousands of tortured, tortured in basements, graves in the middle of the forest, killed on the streets, raped, injured, deported to Siberia, children without parents, destroyed houses, fields, mined forests,” commented this photo on his Facebook page Evgeny Spirin

– Who are we?

– This is Babel and the Buchansk City Council. We work together. I understand that journalists should not cooperate with the city authorities. But here we can’t do without them, and they can’t do without us, because they have all the bases and lists of the dead, and we can help investigate something.

The Timothy Snyder Foundation donated money for this. We took a grant from them.

– To be honest, I thought that we were talking about the development of a monument from granite and marble.

– Everyone thinks so. No, our memorial is not a monument, it is three media projects.

The first is a large map of the mass grave near the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called, where 119 people are buried. On this map, you can see the entire chronology: how the bodies lay, how the first trench was dug, how they were buried, who did it and when, how many bodies were in another trench, who were buried separately. We installed everything right drop by drop and we’ll show you everything.

The second is the names of people, their photos, information about who they are, where they were killed, etc. Now, if I’m not mistaken, there are 19 unidentified people, about whom we could not understand who they were.

Third – information on the streets.

As for monuments made of granite, this will be decided by the Buchansk City Council.

“Bucha has become a matter of life for me,” says Evgeny Spirin

See also: “A car with a mined body of a woman is standing at the entrance to Bucha”

— How was the exhumation process in general? They liberated the city, everyone learned about this horror. What happened next?

– Let’s start first. You must understand that when the occupation began, the police and other organizations fled. There were no experts in the morgue until April 11. That is, no one registered anything, there was complete chaos.

The second problem is that the invaders did not allow the bodies to be removed. They said that it was March, so “let them lie, because it’s cold, nothing will happen to them.” Even if someone close to you died, there was nothing you could do, because the streets were under fire.

But there were four people who, risking their lives, tried to somehow collect and bury the bodies. This is an employee of the local ritual service Sergey Matyuk and its head Sergey Kaplichny, artist Vlad Minchenko, he painted pictures and tattooed before the invasion, and Artem (I don’t remember his last name). If not for them…

At first, Vlad collected corpses on his own and transported them in wheelchairs of the Novus supermarket. On March 7, when there were a lot of bodies on the streets, he and Sergey Kaplichny put on gowns, as if they were doctors, and went to the Russians (they occupied two houses on one of the streets and set up a hospital there): “We are doctors, you are doctors, let’s – let’s agree. It is necessary to bury the bodies in a human way. Because dogs are already eating them.” Some people abandoned animals when they ran away.

On that day they were refused, and two days later, it seems, they were allowed. There was some sane Russian officer there (I don’t know how sane they can be, but nonetheless), he said: “Okay, but you only collect in my square and bury near the church. I can’t vouch for you if you take the corpses out of this square. Because it’s not my responsibility. They will shoot you there.” There was no connection between the Russian units, therefore they acted only on the corresponding area.

They went to the temple to Father Andrei and asked him to allocate land to bury people. He agreed. But then he told me that he did not participate in negotiations with the Russians and in the funeral. I don’t know how it was, because they are now confused. This is understandable, because they were then in such a fog.

The first trench was dug by a tractor on March 10 and 46 people were buried there. They tried to put their hands on their chests as it should be, laid them next to each other. But when we returned to the morgue, it turned out that there were 17 more bodies in the refrigerator. People weren’t just killed. Someone died from covid, someone from a heart attack. They were simply forgotten about, because everyone was dumped.

They buried them too. On March 12, two of the four boarded an ambulance and left with the convoy when there was the only evacuation from Bucha. Vlad Minchenko and Sergey Matyuk remained. They decided that their mission was to collect corpses and bury them. They dug the second trench themselves. It is clear that no one registered anything, no one had any documents.

Read also: “I was sitting in the basement and stupidly waiting for death. I understood that we would not get out of there, ”Nadezhda Sukhorukova spoke about hell in the blocked Mariupol

Later, when the Ukrainian army liberated Bucha, when the experts and the police returned, it turned out that there were a lot of unburied people. Since there was no room in the Buchansk morgue (a morgue, for example, can accommodate 20 dead, and there are hundreds of them), the bodies were taken throughout the region – to the morgues of Belaya Tserkov, Vorzel, Gostomel. There they were received and written: “Unknown person, about so many years.” And it’s still messed up. Therefore, we have been fighting over this for four months.

Another batch of bodies arrived for exhumation

– Why did you join this work?

– I don’t know. I have experience, so I decided that I could go and help.

– If you take the big picture, how many were killed and tortured?

– Somewhere around 80-85 percent. Even if the body is rotten, the body is damaged, you can still see the inlet to the head and the outlet from the chin. This means that he was shot. There were a lot of people with their hands tied. This is real genocide.

There were several torture centers in Bucha. That is, they did not set up a concentration camp, as in Yelenovka, where hundreds of prisoners are now being held. One of the torture chambers was on Steklozavodskaya Street (this is the area of ​​the glass container factory). Atoshnikov and volunteers, who were handed over by neighbors, were taken to the Promenistius camp. It has been confirmed that five people were tortured and shot dead in the basement. In one garage, seven people, including one child, were doused with gasoline and set on fire. In general, it has already been established that 12 small Buchans were killed.

The Russians acted in some sort of brigades. For example, on Steklozavodskaya they went from house to house and took all the men out. And then they tortured me. There is a video where a man in a tracksuit is burned.

Conditionally, the victims can be divided into three categories. The first is the men who were suspected of being able to resist, or have weapons, or are involved in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, or adjust the fire. They were preemptively rounded up and killed.

The second category is those who, for example, went out for water (because there was no water). They went out, and the whole street was shot through. They were killed in the back or something. That is, the person just ended up in the wrong place.

The third category is those who died during shelling. There were artillery battles. Fragments and shells flew. Someone got into the house and killed. This category is the smallest. And the first one is the biggest one.

Read also: “During the occupation, I received several SMS from Russia: “Irpen is on fire? Advice?” — Deputy of the Irpin City Council

— It must have happened that an entire family was killed?

– Yes. A resident of Bucha, 33-year-old Margarita Chikmareva, and her sons Matvey and Klim got into a car and tried to drive away. They fired at them from an infantry fighting vehicle or from a tank, I don’t know. They burned alive in the cabin.

The church had two trenches with bodies. Separate grave – three soldiers. For Matyuk said that he cannot bury soldiers in a common grave, that they deserve respect. And a separate grave near the willow is Margarita and her two children. This family is my personal pain. I wake up every day at four in the morning because of her.

Vlad buried them. He said that for two weeks he was afraid to approach the burned-out car with the remains, because the street was also under fire there. But one day he felt so ashamed that they were lying there, and he went, took them and buried them. Only coals remained of them.

“Rest in peace, innocently killed and tortured. The first 15 unidentified buchans,” Evgeny Spirin captioned this photo on his Facebook page

— Were there bodies of Russians in those trenches?

– Now we know about one thing. This is an accurately confirmed certain combat Buryat.

A curious story happened to him. On February 25, the Russians entered the outskirts of the city and dispersed. And two days later, when our troops smashed a large convoy of Russian equipment, the Ukrainian flag was raised over the Buchansk City Council. There is a video about it. This is an absolute p … c. Because at the moment when this was happening and the crowd was shouting: “Hurrah, Bucha was released,” Russian tanks were coming in from the side of the glass container factory. Some people, having seen this video (there was still a connection then), took to the streets. And they began to kill them. That is, this video played a very bad role.

On that day, some responsible Buchan citizens caught this Russian and conducted “explanatory work” with him. Then one of the locals dragged him to the hospital on a sheet or something else and put him on the steps. He died in intensive care. His body ended up right in the refrigerator where the covid and others lay. He was buried in the first trench along with everyone else.

When we dismantled and identified the bodies, we saw that he had a Russian military ID. They also found a note where it was written that his wife, when she received a phone call, answered: “I don’t fucking need him.” This is a direct quote. The package with him is worth it. Nobody is looking for him. And the Motherland, which sent him to fight for us, does not care at all.

There is a G9 team in the Kharkiv region, they identify the bodies of the Russian military. And then corpses go there in railway cars…

See also: “Corpses on trees and on the ground, pieces of human flesh, mass graves,” an intern doctor about hell in Mariupol

— Did you read that the French experts were very helpful in identifying the bodies?

– It turned out that there is no mobile DNA laboratory in Ukraine. You cannot come, open the trunk of the car and take tests. People need to go, for example, to Kyiv. How? It was April, there was no gasoline, people had money. Who will do all this?

The French agreed to help. They brought this mobile laboratory, it’s two trucks. They didn’t have that experience either. Who could have known that in 2022 there could be so many tortured, for example?

First, we numbered the packages with the bodies, took tests. Made first base. Then they called people looking for their relatives. They gave them numbers. The sampling procedure is very simple. A biomaterial is taken from a person with a stick (such as for cleaning the ears) from the oral cavity. We had psychologists, doctors, volunteer girls with us, who treated people to coffee, cookies, so that they somehow feel normal, several volunteers took people to that truck.

Then we compared these two bases. We did everything for the first time. Nobody could do anything, nobody knew. Why do we want to go to Izyum now, where there is also a terrible number of dead civilians? To say, “Please listen to us. We spent four months. They did something wrong. But we already know how to do it. Let’s tell and show everything.” Our methodology for dismantling mass graves will help you deal with this faster. But there is such a bureaucracy. I’m not an official. Who will listen to me?

People who took on the holy mission of identifying bodies

– You said that the worst thing is not the dismantling of bodies, but communication with those who were looking for their relatives.

– I understand that this sounds harsh, but the people in the packages will not tell you anything. And the living ones… Here comes a woman: “I can’t find my daughter. She is my one and only, there is no one else. The parents have passed away. And so my daughter was killed.” And you stand like that and think: what can I say? Nothing. Just hug her.

One woman lost her second cousin, who had no children, her parents died. No one at all, except for that woman. But tests are done for relatives of the first stage of kinship, father – son, mother – daughter. If, for example, an uncle is a nephew, it is not a fact that there will be a DNA match. I explained to her: “You understand that it makes no sense that you will pass the test, because you are very distant relatives.” And she fell to her knees: “I’m not going anywhere. Take it, I’ll stay here lying. Let 0.5 percent match, all the same, I will have hope that I will bury her. Well, they did. Of course, nothing matched.

The toughest story was with one boy who was brought by his mother. He is about six years old. His father was killed. My friend Vova and I took him for tests. The boy says: “Here, my father will return from the war and buy me a bicycle.” But I understand that my father’s body is somewhere nearby in a bag. Then he told the psychologist: “Talk to the mother of the child. She needs to tell her son that his father is dead, that he is no more. Otherwise, he will wait until the age of seventeen for this bike.”

Relatives who have not yet found their own have a delusion that a person can be alive. That he was suddenly taken to Belarus, then to Russia, where they are being held. A person then lives with this all his life. These 19 unidentified are someone’s relatives. Maybe they are still thought to be alive. And they are dead. Psychologically, this is, of course, fierce trash.

There are a lot of such stories. You seem to work with it calmly, but then you come home – and that’s it, it catches up at night, when you realize that all these severed limbs and heads were men, women and children who are no more. Then people ask: “Why do you look so bad, why do you have red eyes?” And what should I look like?

See also: “Rashist fired an automatic burst at Karina and then shot him in the head”: a terrible story of a family that lost their daughter

– You wrote: “And then you dream about them. In dreams, corpses and packages with remains. You wake up and don’t sleep anymore. And they are with you all the time: a guy killed in the eye, a tortured woman, a child smeared with a shell, a grandfather who was shot. Every minute”. It is known that you were also tortured in 2014 in Lugansk.

– Yes, it was a kindergarten compared to what is happening now. I was only hit twice in the face and on the fingers.

You see, then the people who found themselves “in the basements” of Donetsk and Luhansk had the hope that after torture and bullying they would be exchanged. And what we saw… They put a man in the basement, tied his hands, tortured him and shot him in the head. I mean, it’s on a completely different level. This does not fit into the head. I understand that this cannot fit at all. What normal person would torture another?

Now we are dealing with a violation of all conventions. These killings of civilian prisoners should be the basis for international courts. I really hope so. Each case should be investigated as a Russian crime against Ukraine.

“I have experience, so I decided that I could go and help those involved in the identification of the bodies of the inhabitants of Bucha,” Evgeny Spirin explained his introduction to the

team
— Why is a person capable of such atrocity? Russians are so proud of their religiosity, great culture, mysterious Russian soul, their special way. And then it turns out that they are monsters.

– And why were the Germans capable of this? Why did they poison Jews in gas chambers? The Germans are good people.

Because there is dehumanization. Here is a man working in a slaughterhouse and killing cows. Will you kill a cow? Me not. Because I look at her – she is soft, fluffy, warm and kind. Why kill her?

Russians do not perceive us as people. If you are not human, you can kill. Why not? For them, this is normal. On the other hand, let’s be honest. After all, now we also do not perceive them as people.

– I – no.

– There you go. Almost everything is like that.

It is clear that in 2014 there were completely different events. Here we were then walking through a minefield with a photographer to make a report. Now no one will poke his head into a minefield, because an air projectile or a rocket from Iskander will fly on your head.

– You have a very interesting biography. You have done a lot in your 34 years. Tell us about yourself.

– In 2004 he graduated from high school in Lugansk. My father decided that I should be a policeman to be engaged in operational-search activities. He entered the Lugansk Academy of Internal Affairs named after Didorenko. For two years he lived in the barracks with 120 of the same 17-year-old fools. Then I decided that I didn’t want to be an opera. Entered the budget at the Faculty of Philosophy of the East Ukrainian University named after Dahl.

Dad was very offended that I did not want to become a cop, and told me to leave home. And the scholarship is small, there is no work. I went to work in the morgue as a nurse. I had a bunch of leftists, I didn’t even take my salary from the card. You come to a call and tell people: “We need a towel, soap, two hundred hryvnias for gasoline.” This is a normal story for those times.

I worked and studied. With a friend, Sergei Pivovarov, they rented an apartment in the center of Lugansk. We had a lot of fun. Usually somewhere around fifty people hung out there. Sometimes Sergey spent the night in my morgue when I was on duty. I had an office there – a sofa, a mace and a flag of Ukraine.

In 2012 he received a diploma, entered graduate school and began teaching. Passed the candidate’s minimum, wrote three chapters of the dissertation.

– What is the topic?

– Very funny – “Temporal Aesthetics of Postmodernism”. Nothing is clear, but great.

I had a class supervisor Aleksey Eremenko. He was the only one from our entire faculty who left Lugansk in the summer of 2014. We had a very awesome faculty. It was founded by Professor Victoria Sukhantseva. She gathered such a team of teachers that applicants for scientific degrees from the capital came to us to defend themselves.

When the Lugansk SBU and other administrative buildings were seized in April, he left the city. They told me: “You have 24 hours.” Why stay? To sit in the basement? I don’t like being hurt.

And colleagues remained to develop the “philosophy of Novorossiya”. One of our teachers Andrey Lustenko is now the “Minister of Education of the LNR”. It’s a pity, because he is a gifted person, he knew the whole “Hellas” by heart.

– What about the dissertation?

– Alexey Yuryevich called in 2015: “So, will we defend ourselves?” And I think: temporal aesthetics? postmodernism? defend? I have journalism, news, editorial and everything else. What for?

– You write wonderful poems.

– This is so as not to go crazy. Here you are sitting at four in the morning, clap – and a rhyme appeared. As a person with a philosophical education, who has taken a bunch of all sorts of courses in world literature, I don’t think that these are poems. But I like. I don’t control this process, that’s all.

— What can be the punishment for fanatics?

– We discussed this for a long time even before the events in Bucha, and even more so now. I think it’s very humane to kill them. Life imprisonment is much worse. You have been sitting alone in a cell all your life. Waking up at six in the morning, hanging up at ten in the evening. During the day, you can’t even lower your bunk.

Recently, Sergei made a strong text about the fate of Nazi criminals. Some were found and punished, but not all. It will probably be the same with these. So far, there are some bastards who have been convicted and put in Ukrainian prisons. And we need to involve those who gave orders, who lead this “special operation”. Perhaps this will happen when the war is over. But no one knows when that will be.

See also: “The invaders entered the house where 90-year-old grandmother, and they shot her in the head”: undertaker Igor Sereda about Russian atrocities in Bucha

– Now a little about the people who took on this holy mission of identifying bodies. Who is on your team?

– Yes, ordinary people.

This is the deputy mayor of Buchansk, Mikhailina Skorik-Shkarevskaya. Here journalists come to her: “Hello, I’m from such and such a publication, I need a comment.” She says: “On your base, sit and sort it out.” So, a journalist from Lvov Sofia Kochmar-Tymoshenko came to us and stayed with us. She is very cool. He has been working with us for two and a half months. He says about himself: “Everyone took the children out of here, and I myself moved from Lviv and sent another child to the Irpin school. ”

This is local deputy Taras Vyazovchenko. This is his district, he knew many people. Very cool dude. I feel sorry for him, because I see how hard it is for him, I see his eyes when he communicates with people. I understand how he feels.

This is Washington Post journalist Kamila Grabchuk. I dragged her there. I joke about it: “The guy takes the woman to the restaurant and the man to the morgue.” She started helping with the bases. Because one person cannot figure it out there. It’s very hard.

Evgeny Spirin with The Washington Post journalist Kamila Grabchuk

This is Google expert Galina Mashchenko, she works there. She helps us remotely with bringing everything together in Excel, because there are many databases, but we need one. We can’t, but she can. We throw everything at her, and she brings it down.

When DNA was taken, my friend Vova Miroshnichenko volunteered, he helped to communicate with people and explain some things to them.

In the first weeks, the doctor Nadezhda Davidenko was with us. This is also my friend. I just brought her: “Let’s help.” She said, “Come on.”

A bunch of people write in a personal message: “How can I help? We also want to go and do something.” But the problem is that now we are working with data. That is, we no longer dig or bury anyone. We need everyone to be identified. And this is very hard work.

The main team is Mikhailina, Taras, Sofia, me and Kamila. We coordinate the process. Once every two weeks we gather for some meetings. It’s a little difficult for me, because while I get there from Kyiv, while I’m back, there is still an editorial office, some other things.

We sit for four or five hours. We have a large table with printouts, photographs, tables, lists on it. Everything is littered and we are fumbling around in it. And then we coordinate in the chat who does what. The problem is that we are not investigators from the Prosecutor General’s Office or the CIA. Everything has to be invented. None of us knew how to do this, so it’s very difficult.

For example, in one database there is an entry: a man about 50 years old, blue shorts. That’s it, no more data. They dug him out of a mass grave and described something. Then this corpse went to Belaya Tserkov, because there was no room in the local morgue. It was also described there. A similar entry appeared in another database. And then he returned to Bucha. And we understand that, most likely, this is the same corpse. There are many such cases.

Probably many do not understand what we are doing. They think that we are sitting and digging through some papers and there is no use from us. But we know that we are useful and that everything will be ok.

“We have a big desk with printouts, photographs, spreadsheets, lists. Everything is littered with it and we are fussing about it. The only problem is that we are not investigators from the Prosecutor General’s Office, not the CIA. We have to invent everything. None of us could do this to do, therefore it is very difficult,” said Evgeny Spirin

See also: “I lost my mother during the evacuation from Bucha”: a doctor who left Lugansk in 2014 is now saving wounded Ukrainians for free

– When did you first come to Bucha?

– April 2, a day after the release.

Our editorial team has been working in the Pink Freud restaurant since the beginning of the war. The employees of the institution and I organized a volunteer point there – we prepared food for the military.

We had a lot of cereals, something else. And when Bucha was released, people say: “Why are we sitting? Let’s load the beads and take them.” The bartender and Sasha Tangelov and I brought water, stew, push-button phones, because people’s mobile phones were taken away and their relatives did not know if they were alive, and SIM cards.

We are driving, there are a lot of burnt equipment everywhere, a head is lying there, a hand is there, something else is there. The civilians had already been taken away then, and the Russians were lying around for some time, for a week no one touched them. Everything was mined there.

At five in the evening we returned to Kyiv. I remember how I could not type text on the phone – my hands were shaking so much. I had to record a voice message for the first time in my life.

– On August 9, you wrote: “Today we buried people in Bucha. I tell it like it is – I sit, drink and cry. I didn’t sleep for several days, I didn’t eat for the same number of days. How can this be sustained?

– Yes, it’s fine. People can’t stand that. Especially those who live there.

When we arrived in Bucha, from the basement of which house a couple came out. Both are so black. We heard that someone was handing something out. They needed somewhere to go for water. They turned to us: “Can you give me a ride?” I say: “Yes, we have no seats, only the body, it will shake there.” And she told me: “We were already shocked here.”

But it is not in vain that they say that Ukrainians are different from everyone else. The first thing we saw in Bucha was how some kind of communal worker on a small tractor was cleaning the road from dust. He rode among the debris, shells, corpses. You think: damn, the houses are on fire, only the rashists were kicked out, and the dude is cleaning the asphalt.

See also: “A shell hit the wall of our bedroom”: Vadim Karpyak is restoring his house in Bucha

Now everything seems to be working there. Novus, pharmacies, ATB have been opened, people are standing in line at the TsNAP, they are filling out something. The only scary thing is that winter is coming, and many have no windows, roofs are damaged in houses. Taras is now butting heads with residents of one emergency high-rise building. People stupidly do not want to leave there. He tells them: “Everything must be demolished. Let’s move you, there is where, then we’ll figure it out.” And they: “No, this is our house.” And there are simply no two spans, it can fall apart at any moment.

Only four months ago everything here was on fire and in smoke. And now you go and look – the children are playing in the park, the school has opened, people are walking. Life goes on…

See also: “It seems that they shot people for fun”: a video with the faces of infidels who committed terrible crimes was found in Bucha

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how to talk to a teenager correctly, rules for communicating with difficult children

It seems that quite recently a child was ready to spend hours discussing his favorite programs and toys with you. Now he comes home from school, mumbles a few words and closes himself in his room. You want to know what is happening in his life, but how to approach? Let’s discuss how to communicate with a teenager so that you can hear each other and even agree on something.

Behavioral changes in a child during adolescence

Adolescence is officially defined as between the ages of 12 and 17, at which point your child’s behavior changes dramatically. You can notice the first bells already in pre-adolescence, from 9 to 11 years old. The child goes through very strong physiological changes, and this, of course, affects the mental state and behavior. A teenager can start being rude to parents and take any of their words with hostility, without any measure “stick” in gadgets, study poorly, become secretive and start lying, become very untidy. In other words, for parents, the child sometimes becomes simply unbearable.

Communication with a teenager when he has entered a transitional age is not an occupation for the weak in spirit. The mood of the child is changing at a fantastic speed, your authority is crumbling before our eyes. But right now he is entering a big life, communicating more and more with other people outside the home. So I want to share with him knowledge about “adult” difficulties, to warn, to save him from trouble. The old ways of parenting and communication don’t work. Powerlessness and rage in response to the antics of a teenager are so great that parents break into a cry, try to increase control, and consider punishments. The teenager in response closes and snaps even more.

How to break this vicious circle? Remember that changes in behavior in a teenager are the norm. One of the main tasks of adolescence is to move away from their parents and start searching for their own “I”. On the part of parents, the main task is to learn how to communicate with their growing child in a new way. Then you can, on the one hand, give the child the necessary amount of personal space and respect, on the other hand, maintain a connection between you that will help protect the teenager from truly dangerous acts.

What should parents talk about with their teenager?

Our babies are always ready to talk to us about all the events and experiences in their lives. But then the day comes when all communication with a grown child comes down to monosyllabic answers on his part. You want to know what fills his days, what is in his soul. But it is not so easy to talk about a teenage girl and a teenage boy.

The main rule: try to talk about what is interesting to discuss for the teenager himself. Often parents try to impose a topic for conversation, they want to broadcast to a teenager what, in their opinion, it is useful for him to know and should be interesting. And they are very offended when the child is not included in the conversation. Know that de-idealizing and even devaluing parents, criticizing them and what they love, what they are interested in is a necessary step on the path to adulthood. If the child continues to be guided in everything by the interests of the parents, then he will not separate psychologically from them. It is necessary to correctly regard this behavior: not as a lack of respect, but as a necessary stage in your relationship. A teenager needs this to make up his own system of values ​​and interests.

If you start pestering a teenager with a bunch of questions at once, he will just shut up. How to talk to him? One way is to tell something about yourself, about your past or present. In the right situation, you can even ask for advice. It is also very important to catch the moment when he wants to communicate and use the technique of active listening. If a teenager began to tell you something himself, do not rush to conclusions, interpretations, advice, comments. Turn off the “tutor and teacher” mode and just listen. Active listening is when we echo what we have been told. At the same time, when appropriate, we name the feelings of the other person: “I can imagine how happy you were…”, “it was nice for you”, “you were surprised”, “you were offended” . We do not add anything from ourselves, we only reflect what the interlocutor said. This approach helps the teenager share more.

Teenagers are most often in their room at home. And parents try to use the moment when the son or daughter came out to bring down their instructions and comments on them. As a result, the child regrets that he showed up, and begins to go out even less frequently, moving around the house in short dashes to the toilet and the kitchen. Therefore, it is very important when a teenager crawls out of his lair to make him feel good. I see it clearly in my family. When I’m just glad that my teenage son sat down next to me, calmly talking to him, joking, he can spend quite a lot of time with me. As soon as I start some moralizing, he says: “I’m going back to my room now if you don’t stop. Why did I just leave!” .

How to communicate with a difficult teenager?

When dealing with adolescents who are called difficult, it is important to remember that in front of you is not who he claims to be. This group includes those who commit various antisocial actions: they show excessive aggression, steal, be rude, run away from home, do not consider other people. My work experience shows that most often the reason lies in the fact that a teenager has a deep inner trouble, some kind of suffering, trauma. And the teenager covers this pain with whole layers of defiant, antisocial behavior. Sometimes “difficult behavior” is also due to organic causes (physiological diseases or developmental delays), but this is a very small percentage of cases.

It is very important to look deeper and understand that any “difficult” teenager is a person who feels unhappy. He has problems and needs help and support. Perhaps the child suffers from a huge sense of self-doubt, does not accept himself, he is overcome by complexes, he has a huge resentment for the world around him. Often the reason is difficult relationships with parents when they do not give enough acceptance, support, respect and understanding. It happens that the matter is in conflicts between parents, which the child has been witnessing for quite a long time. The teenager himself cannot find an explanation for adult difficulties, and this becomes an internal trauma for him.

When you decide to have a conversation with such a difficult teenager, try to address the person who is hidden under layers of barbed protection. Appeal to his strengths, to his skills and abilities, to what he can draw strength from, a resource. The approach when you see in such a child an intruder who needs to be punished will not work. This is a person who, deep down, is severely traumatized or suffering, but he himself does not realize this and has put on a mask of indifference or cynicism. You need to communicate with respect for his personality, try to understand and accept him, show him empathy. In addition, you need to specifically inform him about the consequences of certain actions. Without intimidation, from a position of good intentions, warn him so that he does not have more serious problems.

How to talk to a teenager…

A common case: you try to communicate peacefully with your growing child, but the conversation develops into endless bickering, moralizing, quarrels and scandals. How to avoid this and make contact?

… that he listens

It is important to communicate with a teenager using “I-messages”. Instead of “you must…”, “you are to blame…”, “you again…” use wordings like “it is important for me that…”, “I would like…”, “I worry when…”. If we start to “poke” a person, he has a desire to protect himself. As a result, our child either turns on “deafness” to what they are told, or even begins to attack in order to defend his position.

Try not to send orders from above, but invite the teenager to a dialogue: “let’s discuss, I’m interested in your opinion…” . In order for a teenager not to close and listen to you, it is important in any discussion to show respect for his position, even if you do not agree with it. Show him that his opinion has a right to exist, he can be an active participant in the dialogue.

…for him to study

It is normal for teenagers to lose interest in learning. The desire to communicate with peers comes to the fore, because this is how the child solves important age-related tasks. There are no “magic” correct phrases, after which your teenager will suddenly become good at studying.

What you can do here is to ask what are the difficulties in studying, what help is needed. And decide together how to overcome these difficulties. I’ll tell you again, using the example of my own son, how this can work. At the beginning of the school year, my son had not very good grades in mathematics. At first I asked what exactly the difficulty was, offered to find a tutor, but he refused. I agreed to see how things go for a while. Grades have not improved. I started talking about it again and suggested: come on, if there is another bad grade, you will start studying with a tutor. The son says: no, if there are two more. I agreed, because the difference is not fundamental, and the child was able to express his position. And he got two bad grades. I did not immediately dictate: tomorrow you start additional classes. She said that I was going to contact the tutor, and together we discussed how many times a week my son would study. In the end, he agreed to classes twice a week. If I started issuing ultimatums, we would definitely not agree. Teenagers need to feel that they are being considered.

… about his behavior

Start talking about unwanted behavior by describing your feelings: “You know, I get really upset when…” . Then ask the child how they feel about what happened. And tune in to understand his arguments. You should not make an evil expression on your face, put your hands on your hips and give the impression that you will now judge and pass a sentence. Explain in a calm tone why the action is considered bad: unhealthy, dangerous, offending or hurting the feelings of other people. Talk about the consequences, including what action you will have to take if the behavior continues. Offer to look for a way out together, promise help. Remind them that although the child is old enough, you are responsible for them until they reach the age of majority. Explain that you have the right to make decisions that the teenager does not like if you think it is necessary to care for him.

A heart-to-heart conversation

For a heart-to-heart conversation, it is very important not to impose your topics and ideas on a teenager, you need to be able to listen and hear. Try to internally switch the toggle switch, communicate not in the “parent-child” mode, but in the “you share – I listen” format. You, too, can share something with the child in such a conversation if he wants to listen. If he doesn’t want to, that’s okay too.

What should I do if my teenage child does not want to communicate with his mother?

In adolescence, the desire to spend time not with your mother, but alone with yourself or with your peers is the norm. Psychologists are more likely to be alarmed by the reverse situation, when a teenager of 14-16 years old spends a lot of time with his parents, constantly communicates and shares everything. I received complaints from parents when a 15-year-old boy does not want to go out with his parents and go on vacation. So this is absolutely normal! Communication with mom may well be short-term, superficial, dosed. Another thing is if the son or daughter completely refuses to communicate with his mother. Most likely, the way his mother communicates with him or has previously communicated with him is unacceptable for him. There is no need to somehow influence the teenager. This parents need to reconsider their relationship with him.

Psychologist’s advice: how to properly communicate with a teenager

Talking to a teenager can seem like a difficult task for parents. What needs to be taken into account in order for communication to take place constructively? My advice to parents is:

• If possible, study aspects of psychology related to communication with children. Consider the characteristics of adolescence. Perhaps what scares or upsets you is actually a variant of the norm.

• Try to communicate more often with your older boy or girl from a position of “mentor” rather than “commander”.

• Use active listening to help you learn more about your child.

• Talk about your feelings rather than demands, use “I-messages”, for example: “I am happy when…” or “I am sad when…” .

• Understand what the teen is interested in and keep the conversation going instead of pushing your own topics of conversation.

• Respect his personal boundaries: knock on the room before entering, do not touch personal items without permission, etc. This will show your respect and help to avoid many quarrels.

Questions and Answers

How to talk to a teenager so that he hears?

Talk to your grown son or daughter the same way you talk to adults you respect. A teenager is much more likely to hear you if, instead of lecturing, you show that you are ready for dialogue.

How to start a conversation with a teenager?

Ask if he has time to talk now, if he can pay attention to you. Tell him that you want to discuss something with him. “There is a question on which I want to hear your opinion…”, “Can I discuss something with you now?” are quite suitable intros.

Parents, take care of yourself too

Adolescence is most often an emotional roller coaster for the whole family. It is difficult for a growing boy or girl: the body is changing, hormones are raging, the big world frightens and captivates at the same time. It is also difficult for their loved ones. Patience, respect and knowledge will help to make this “trip” as safe as possible. At the same time, dear parents, please do not forget about yourself. It is very important that you have some interesting activities in your life, things that bring you joy and pleasure, an interesting pastime. This will help you not to fixate so much on the teenager and it will be easier to survive his formative years.

You may feel that you have lost contact with your teenager, but would like to remain on good terms with him. Check:

• Do you understand what happens to a child during adolescence?
• Do you understand the challenges you face as a parent?
• Can you communicate with understanding, support and respect?

P.S. If you liked the article, please share with your friends by clicking on the social media buttons. And, as always, I welcome your comments and questions below.

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How I moved to Poland and returned back: several reasons not to emigrate abroad

Hello! I would like to share with you some interesting findings about my move to Poland at the end of July 2014. Now I have returned back to Ukraine and am in Lviv – I decided to move to this city after Warsaw.

I am from Donetsk. Like many of my friends, I grew up in a poor family. When I started to grow up and already remember something, one of the first things I heard: “Sasha, you need to grow up and go abroad. There is nothing to do here, in this damned country” .

As a child, I played football, showed good results and thought about a career as a football player, but then I realized that this is not what I would like to do in life. Then I got interested in web design, but in the end I became a frontend developer – typesetting and somehow dynamically changing web pages turned out to be much more interesting than creating and drawing something. After graduating from STEP in Donetsk and having received my first work experience, I moved to Dnepropetrovsk and there I was already getting career growth.

Moving to Warsaw

After about 2 years, I realized that it was time to fulfill my dream, that is, to leave for another country. I started looking for a job “out there”, but in the end it so happened that she found me herself (perhaps the “Secret” worked). The company where I worked then announced that due to the unstable situation in the country and the likelihood of completely losing the entire business, it would transfer part of the staff to Warsaw. My wife and I were delighted and applied that we would like to go.

The move was a success, I was furiously pleased that I had fulfilled my dream of “leaving the fucking country” for an amazing land of “social security and a better standard of living.” We really liked the city itself. As one of my friends said, I ended up in Ukraine 200 years in the future. We traveled a lot, saw other countries, cities.

But six months later, I began to suspect something… It all started with the fact that I simply calculated how much we earn. It turned out that “you will receive the same salary, but converted to the local stable currency” – this is much less than in Ukraine with our wonderful link to the NBU rate. The local currency may be stable, but the dollar turned out to be more stable – we sort of suspected this in advance, but could not do anything.

European taxes

In Poland, as in other European countries, there is a different concept of “taxes” from ours. They effectively trace this essence and help keep temples, squares, roads and everything else in excellent condition. The amount of taxes is huge, especially for non-residents of the country.

The locals themselves say that they really don’t like the system by which they pay taxes – they give too much as entrepreneurs (19% + ZUS). Many complain that hospitals pay for social services. employees and other disadvantaged (ZUS). That is, taxes are not something they are proud of. They also try in every way to reduce them. To do this, they use both legal methods, statements about forced expenses (you can register an apartment there as a workplace, and a car as a transport for work), and semi-legal methods (opening an enterprise, for example, in England and, according to its laws, paying only 10% of the profit if you earn less than £70,000 a year).

But that’s all for local residents who have a Polish passport or a Stałego Pobytu card. Newcomers, as a rule, receive a temporary Tymczasowego Pobytu card and can only work for “Umowa o prace”, which is under an employment contract. In this case, taxes are calculated as follows:
– If the tax calculation basis is PLN 85,528 or less (that is, a person earned up to PLN 85,528 per year), then the tax is 18% of this basis minus PLN 556 2 grosz.
– If the tax calculation basis exceeds PLN 85,528, then the tax is PLN 14,839PLN + 32% of the surplus over PLN 85,528.

It turns out that 18% is not 18%, but about 25%. In turn, 32% is not 32%, but about 39%.

In all European countries, taxes are very high, and the salaries of programmers are always written dirty. For example, if you see a salary of 70,000 euros per year for a programmer in Germany, then do not forget to subtract about 50% from there. You see a salary in the Netherlands of 55,000 euros – great, here’s a sign for you. Please note that everything is very cleverly done there. Upon arrival, you as an immigrant receive a 30% tax discount, but this is only for the first 8 years. And after 8 years of great life in this country, when you already have a house on credit, bicycles for the whole family, children and a wife, you suddenly start earning less.

With our 4%, you will receive as much more money in the next month as you were told when you increase. And, for example, in Germany, with initial rates of up to 2k euros per month, there is such a period when an increase of 500 euros will force you to enter a different line of taxpayers, and accordingly you will earn less than before the increase.

Laws for locals and visitors

You can object that “I’ll see what I’m paying for”, “The standard of living is better there”, “There are social guarantees there”, or “The police work there, and they don’t steal like we do”. In fact, it all looks like this meme.

Yes, you can go to the hospital and get treated for free for the taxes you pay, but you will be spoken to in the local language. Let’s say it’s not a problem. Then meet magnificent queues in Europe for 3-5 months.

Yes, you can call the cops if your bike was stolen under the office in the center (experience from our office), but if you do not take an employee who speaks Polish and English at the same time, then they can take you with you , to sit in a box, since you do not take your passport to the office. Our story ended with a colleague being told this: “Look, we will consider this case for a couple of months, and then we will close it. It is unlikely that we will find him.” Doesn’t it remind you of anything?

Yes, you can feel protected at home, but it depends on which area and whether it is a holiday. Otherwise, everything closes there on ordinary days at 6 pm, and nothing works at all on holidays (well, it’s really hard to explain what nothing means, it’s like “There is no bread. Not at all!” on the doors).

Maybe it’s all the little things. What does it mean “social guarantees and living standards only for locals”, you begin to understand when your requests are more complicated. Let’s say you can’t legally open a sole proprietorship like we do. You will also pay everything that you have accumulated over a long time if you get any kind of fracture or you just start having problems with your teeth.

Of course, there are many good moments. For example, round-the-clock transport, the ability to travel on a temporary residence permit. But I want to convey the idea that 90% of social guarantees work for people who have their own apartment in this country, and they are its citizens. Almost any topic, any item will not affect you. Or, at best, you will need to spend time on some additional documents and movements for this.

The concept of “standard of living” falls not on you anymore, but on those locals who grew up there and have been living there for a long time. For example, you can buy an apartment on credit and even add it to expenses in order to pay less taxes, but this can not be done in all countries and it will take a very long time to repay the loan (about 30 years). If you got into an accident and you are not a local, but there is a controversial situation, then you will be guilty, your rights may be taken away for a long time, and they will also issue a huge fine.

Warsaw. Highway near the airport

Do you need it?

So, most living standard preferences work and apply only to local residents. Therefore, you need to consider whether this country is worth your investment in 5 years (most often you just need to pay taxes, but not everywhere is so easy) to become its citizen. At the same time, you will need to part with your Ukrainian citizenship, which will entail the problem of returning and coming here.

Let’s imagine that you, a simple middle-level programmer, and your young wife decide to move to a European country. First of all, you must understand for yourself what exactly you want to see there, what kind of social guarantees and standard of living you want to receive.

If you think, like our parents, that “It’s just better to live there, because everything is at a good level there,” then you may be disappointed that, let’s say, you don’t get your 10% salary just because you provide refugees from Syria. Or you don’t get the same 10% just because there are excellent schools and universities, or highways between cities.

You ask yourself questions:
– Do I need a school?
– Do I need a university?
– Do I need roads (do I often drive a car somewhere far away)?
– Do I want to earn much less (maybe the salary will be the same in figures, but the expenses are much higher)?
– Do I need buses that run great and are in good condition?
– Do I want to pay a pension fund to locals?
– Do I want properly working state. services (after all, if you rent an apartment in a good area, you won’t hear about problems)?
– Do I want other services (but do not forget that the probability of English drops significantly there)?

Do not forget to add a foreign language and culture everywhere, because you did not study in their schools, you did not read their books, you did not watch their national films.

So, most likely, most of the social guarantees are not about you and your family. If you are a middle developer and you have a young wife, then why do you need a school or a university? Also, why would you pay any funds that provide for visitors and retirees in this country? Of course, if you are going there forever, then this may have a different meaning for you, but I am inclined to think that we should think about our old age ourselves, and not rely on the state. If you have a car and the road is important to you, then why do you need a good bus and all its services?

The point is that you will not use even half of these services, but you will pay for them like everyone else. Another 3-5 years, and you want to start your own business, but the lack of a local passport will stop you very much. Of course, in many cases, a passport can be obtained in many cases simply after staying in this country for five years, but given the current situation with migrants, the 5-year period itself raises a big question in this.

Think with your head

Returning to the fact that the move was inspired by my parents, I began to wonder – who were we raised by? People born in the USSR. How was it there? All people should be equal, sausage for everyone and 5 kopecks, and travel 2-3 kopecks. A sanatorium for hard workers on the territory of the USSR and stability in a vast country, but for some reason many wanted to leave this stable country and brought us up that way.

That is, you must have your own head. Before you decide to go somewhere, you must understand that it will be more difficult there and in many ways no better than where you are now. The parents felt bad because their countries were falling apart and they no longer knew who they were. Their currency often changed, you can forget about savings “on a book”. The state has always stolen something from them, there have always been bad hospitals and schools (although in their 20-30 years it was at a good level). After such difficulties, the idea that it is better where we are not, becomes much closer.

When it comes to moving, ask yourself what you would like to get from moving, what are your priorities. If you want to earn money, then our 4% is just a fairy tale for you. If you want to go to a great university, no one is stopping you from studying where you want and with the teachers you want to listen to, because you can afford it. If you want to send your child to a good school – what prevents you from sending him to a private school and taking extra classes home from good professionals? If you want good roads in your city, let’s make our deputies do it.

Listen to your parents in everyday matters, but constructive solutions to local problems based on their experience should still be considered with your own head, because the realities of the country where they lived have changed significantly over the years.

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return to Ukraine, Poland, relocation

Baby’s fontanel: answers to parents’ questions | Motherhood

Young parents ask the doctor a lot of questions about their babies. Especially often there are questions about why children need fontanelles on their heads, what size they should be and when they should close. Motherhood asked pediatrician Alena Paretskaya to answer the most common questions about fontanelles.

What are fontanelles?

Fontanelles are special connective tissue membranes in the region of the head, which are formed at the points of articulation of the bones of the skull. Unlike the head of an adult, which is a single bone in the brain part of the skull, in newborns the bones are separated from each other, they are interconnected by movable sutures, at the junctions of which fontanelles form.

In the area of ​​these fontanelles, the child’s brain is covered only by the membranes of the brain, as well as membranes from the connective tissue and from above by the skin. Usually, by the time of birth, a child has two fontanelles – an anterior or large fontanel in the region of the crown, shaped like a rhombus, as well as a posterior or small fontanel, triangular in shape, on the back of the head, which closes in the first month, and sometimes even in the womb.

In premature babies, these fontanelles may be large at birth, and there may also be lateral fontanelles in the temple area. They, along with a small fontanel, should close quickly after birth, but a large fontanel will close much later, at certain age periods. The region of the anterior fontanel is formed by the junctions of the parietal and frontal bones, the region of the posterior fontanel is formed by the bones of the crown and the occipital bone.

What are the functions of fontanelles in children?

Primary and main function of fontanelles is their help in the process of baby birth. When the child is ready for birth and the beginning of childbirth, in the process of opening the cervix, the head is configured – the child passes through the birth canal of the mother head first. At the same time, the bones of the skull overlap each other slightly due to the sutures and fontanelles, which gives the head a slightly smaller size and volume, allowing it to pass smoothly and without injury through the birth canal. At the birth of a child, his head may not be quite even in shape, slightly elongated forward and upward, egg-shaped. If there were no fontanelles and sutures, then there would be a higher likelihood of injuries, both to the fetal head and the mother’s birth canal.

After the birth of a child, the area of ​​the fontanelles allows the baby’s head to grow in volume, while the sutures gradually grow together. The fontanel also acts as a natural shock absorber, because children can sometimes hit their heads, and due to the fontanel, the blows are softened, and the fluid inside the head can move more freely. In addition, due to the active work of the brain and increased metabolism in it, the brain can heat up quite a lot. And since thermoregulation in infants is imperfect, the fontanel acts as a kind of “window” for the outflow of excess heat.

Due to the fontanel, modern physicians have the opportunity to examine the child’s brain using ultrasound through it, since ultrasonic rays do not penetrate through the bone tissue, but through the connective tissue membrane they penetrate quite easily. Such a study of the brain through the fontanel is called neurosonography (NSG or ultrasound of the brain).

What determines the size of the fontanel at birth?

First of all, the size of the fontanel depends on the level of calcium and phosphorus metabolism in the baby’s body. And this level is largely determined by how the pregnant woman ate while carrying the baby. If she took multivitamins in large quantities, while her diet contained a lot of dairy products and calcium-containing substances, the fontanelles of the child by birth will be small, the bones will be quite dense, the sutures and fontanelles will quickly close. Therefore, you should strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations when taking multivitamin and mineral complexes, do not abuse products with calcium, as this affects both the fetus and the aging of the placenta. Immediately after birth, it is difficult to judge the size of the fontanel, since the bones of the skull have not yet taken their correct places, but after a couple of weeks everything will be more clear.

With an excess of calcium and early ossification of the bones of the skull before childbirth, the bones and sutures become unyielding, and then it will be more difficult for the head to pass through the birth canal. This can lead to the formation of cephalohematomas (hemorrhages under the periosteum), intracerebral hemorrhages and injuries.

Naturally, the size of the fontanel also depends on the term of delivery. If the child is full-term, the size of his fontanel will be smaller than that of premature and immature children. In case of prematurity, the bones of the skull are not yet fully ossified, and there may be large gaps between them in the area of ​​​​the sutures, and, accordingly, the size of the fontanels will also be larger. The dynamics of fontanel closure in such children will be different.

How big should the fontanel be? If it is more or less than normal, what does it mean and what to do?

The size of the fontanelle in children depends on the age and characteristics of metabolism, the presence or absence of any neurological or metabolic diseases (rickets, hydrocephalus, malnutrition, etc.). If we talk about healthy and normally developing infants, their size of the fontanel has a certain dynamics of closure over age periods.

On average, at birth, the length of the fontanel is approximately 250-320 mm, and due to the alignment of the head after childbirth, it may increase slightly in the first weeks of life. In healthy full-term children, in this period, the size of the fontanelles can increase and then gradually decrease, so it is important to determine their absolute size – the length of the fontanel should not exceed 3.2 cm.

Fontanelles may be larger than normal in prematurity, or as a result of problems with the ossification of the skull, or as a result of congenital or acquired hydrocephalus.

If at birth there is a complete closure of the lateral and posterior fontanels, while the large fontanelle is very small in size, microcephaly is suspected. Such conditions require a thorough examination by a neurologist and additional research.

With a rapid and progressive increase in the size of the fontanelles with a divergence of the sutures of the skull, you should immediately contact a neurologist, this is a sign of increased intracranial pressure and accumulation of fluid in the head. With lesions of the nervous system, fontanelles and sutures can close pathologically quickly – this also requires a doctor’s consultation.

In children with organic brain lesions, the size of the fontanel decreases against the background of a very small increase in head circumference (or its absence), which does not give room for brain growth. With hydrocephalus, the picture will be reversed.

At what age should a large fontanelle normally close?

In a period of one to three months, the lateral and small fontanelles should close, and the size of the large fontanel should not exceed 240-220 mm.

In the period of three to six months, the size of the large fontanel decreases to 210-180 mm, while it is important to look at the growth in head circumference as well.

In the period from six to nine months, the fontanel also decreases in size to 160-140 mm, and by the age of 9 to 12 months reaches a size of 100-120 mm.

Normally the large fontanel closes completely by 12 to 18 months of age, for some babies (premature, with rickets or developmental problems) closing by 20 to 22 months is acceptable. This largely depends on the individual pace of development.

If the fontanel closes too early, is that bad?

In rare cases, there are options for closing the large fontanel by the age of six months, then consultations with a pediatric neurologist are recommended to rule out craniostenosis and microcephaly. These pathologies interfere with the normal growth rate of the brain and its development, which will affect mental abilities.

Sometimes the fontanel closes within 7-10 months, with normal development of children this is not a pathology. If monthly increases in head circumference do not suffer, then nothing interferes with the development and growth of the brain, and the child develops according to age.

What to do if the child is one and a half years old, and the fontanel does not grow in any way?

If the fontanel closes poorly after a year, it is worth taking the child to the pediatrician and excluding rickets, a disease associated with vitamin D deficiency and impaired ossification of the skeleton. Usually, with proper treatment, everything quickly passes.

What determines the timing of fontanel closure?

You can often hear that the early closure of the fontanel can negatively affect the child’s condition and development, but this is only partly true. If these are individual characteristics, and the size of the head at the same time increases according to age, then everything is fine. But if the rapid closure of the fontanelle is accompanied by a slowdown in the growth of head circumference, then the closure of the fontanel will have an effect on brain growth by limiting the amount of free space inside the skull.

If the fontanel closes late, does this indicate a calcium deficiency?

This is also only partly true. Late closure of the fontanelles may be an individual feature, or it may be a sign of a deficiency in the body of vitamin D, which helps the absorption of calcium by bone tissue. Vitamin D deficiency leads to the development of rickets, and then, in addition to the fontanelles, there will be a violation of the formation of all bone tissue with violations in the structure of the ribs, bones, teeth, as well as child anxiety, sweating, nape baldness and poor sleep.

Rickets is typical for children born in conditions of insufficient sun activity (children of northern latitudes, children born in autumn and winter), and to prevent this disease, babies are prescribed vitamin D drops. In the future, prevention is carried out with the introduction of complementary foods enriched with vitamin D. Frequent exposure to the sun, massages and, in some cases, also calcium preparations are useful.

If the fontanel is larger than normal, this may be a sign of impaired outflow of cerebral fluid from the region of the lateral ventricles of the brain (as a result of infections, hemorrhages, and other problems). In addition, the large size of the fontanel may be the result of metabolic disorders, hypothyroidism or Down’s disease, with prematurity.

If you have any doubts about the size of the fontanel, you should undergo a full examination by a pediatrician and take blood tests, as well as urine for calcium and phosphorus levels. If more serious pathologies are suspected, consultations of a neurologist, orthopedist and other specialists are necessary. It is important to monitor the rate of increase in head circumference and the level of psychomotor development; if changes are detected, treatment will be prescribed.

In normally developing children, the head circumference is larger than the chest up to four months, then they are compared, and by six months the chest circumference prevails over the circumference of the head.

What does a swollen (protruding) or sunken fontanel mean?

Normally, the fontanel should correspond to the level of the skull bones. With the vertical position of the baby, he can slightly bend inward, and when screaming and crying, slightly bulge. When touching the fontanel, a slight pulsation can be felt, not visible to the eye, due to the passage of the cerebral artery next to it.

But if the fontanel protrudes or sinks, this may indicate possible pathologies.

If the fontanel protrudes excessively, you need to be alert. If this happens at rest, while there is no visible pulsation in the fontanel area, it is unchanged when crying, constantly tense, you need to contact a neurologist. This may be a sign of hydrocephalus or increased intracranial pressure.

Retraction of the fontanel usually occurs as a result of severe dehydration of the child due to diarrhea and vomiting. With such violations, an immediate visit to a doctor is necessary, and before he arrives, it is necessary to solder the child in order to restore the water balance. If it is impossible to solder, a drip infusion of liquid will be necessary. Without treatment, this condition is dangerous for the nervous system.

Is it dangerous to inadvertently touch the fontanel?

The fontanel, despite its tenderness and apparent fragility, is a fairly strong formation, and when touched, no brain structures will be damaged. Therefore, you can safely touch the fontanel, touch it and wash your child’s head, comb your hair without fear of consequences.

Is it possible to cut a child’s hair when the fontanel is not completely closed?

The fontanelle and the haircut are not interconnected in any way, it cannot be damaged in any way during the haircut, so you can carry out any procedures with the baby’s hair. The fontanel itself does not require any special care.

Photo – photo bank Lori

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What Do Kids Learn in a Typical Kindergarten Curriculum?

Your child is starting kindergarten! This is an exciting milestone in any kid’s life.

Even if they’ve been in pre-k classes, kindergarten is often considered the first official school year for children.

Your kid can’t wait to ride that big yellow bus, and you’re excited for them to learn all kinds of new things. But you probably have questions, like:

• Will my child learn to read this year?
• What numbers should they know?
• How can I help them learn at home?

Kindergarten is an exciting time, but it’s totally normal to feel a bit worried. We understand that you want your child to thrive, both academically and socially.

In this article, we’ll review the curriculum basics your child will cover this year — including language, math, science and those crucial social emotional skills.

It’s time to tackle kindergarten together. Let’s go!

Common Core skills

Although it varies from state to state, most schools closely follow the Common Core standards for kindergarten. These standards help set the foundation for your child’s future learning. 

Along with academic standards, educators focus on teaching children the ins and outs of the classroom. Learning the rules and expectations while figuring out their daily routine will take up much of the first few weeks of class. Then the kindergarten year will dive into more academic pursuits. 

Here’s an overview of what your child will learn this year.   

1. Kindergarten language arts

The alphabet

Learning to identify the alphabet’s letters is the first step towards reading and writing. So get ready to practice those ABCs and hear that classic alphabet song on repeat! 

Beyond identifying letters, there will also be a major focus on phonics. Your child will learn each letter’s sound. By the end of the year, they’ll be able to distinguish consonants from vowels and begin to understand the role each plays in a word.

Reading short words and storybooks 

Learning to read may be the most exciting part of kindergarten. Once a child starts reading, the potential to learn is endless! 

The kindergarten curriculum will focus on high-frequency sight words and short words that are easy to sound out. Educators are looking to encourage reading confidence. 

Tip: if your child is a more advanced reader, ask their teacher to recommend books to match their reading level so they stay interested and challenged.

Writing letters, short words and their name

Writing is an important part of the kindergarten curriculum. Your child will learn to:

1. Print both upper and lower-case letters
2. Write their own name
3. Create tiny stories using short words

If your child struggles with writing, don’t stress. Many kids are still developing their fine motor skills at ages 5 and 6. With a bit of practice, your child’s scribbles will soon form legible words!

Tip: Encourage your child to practice writing their name in different ways or with different writing tools, like in this activity sheet from TeachWithMe.

Words, sounds and conversation

Your child’s language skills have changed dramatically since the toddler years. But there’s still much to learn.

While in kindergarten, your child will continue to grow their conversation skills. New friends and social situations — and more reading — will expand their vocabulary. 

Tip: Even though they’re getting older, don’t stop reading out loud with your child. Together you can tackle more complex stories and ideas, leading to an even better understanding of the world!

2. Kindergarten math

Numbers and counting

By the end of kindergarten, your child should have a solid understanding of numbers one through 20. And this means much more than just rote counting.

Kindergarten classrooms often feature great math manipulatives to help kids grasp abstract math concepts. The number “2” doesn’t mean much until you pair the word with the image of two blocks. This idea will stick even more if your child is given the chance to build and create numbers with objects they can touch and hold.

Your child will also likely learn basic skip counting. They’ll soon be able to count by 2s, 5s and 10s. This is an important first step into multiplication and division, though they won’t fully tackle those topics for a couple of years.

Identify shapes 

The basics of geometry start now. Your child will have plenty of time to explore both two-dimensional and basic three-dimensional shapes. The math manipulatives available in classrooms can also make a huge difference in your child’s understanding here.

They’ll be able to observe a shape from all sides, and will begin to understand why a square is a square. This basic knowledge of sides and angles will set them up for future math success!  

Simple addition and subtraction

Now that your child has a secure understanding of the first twenty or so numbers, they can really dive into addition and subtraction.

For your kindergartener, these concepts will come together as they add objects to a set, or take some away. This will also help cement their understanding that larger numbers “contain” smaller numbers (i.e. 7 is made up of 4 and 3).

3. Kindergarten science

Plants and animals

Kids are naturally curious, and nature is their first laboratory. There is so much to learn about the natural world! Plants and animals often have a lot of appeal because children encounter them every day.

In kindergarten, your child will focus on basic life cycles, like that of a frog or butterfly. And they will learn the different parts of a flower or of insects. Identifying and labeling is a major component of early science instruction. 

The senses and the body

Heads, shoulders, knees and toes will be a popular song this year! What the senses are and how they work is an important part of the kindergarten curriculum, as well as identifying and labeling their own body parts.

The weather

The weather is a great science topic for kindergarteners because it’s something they encounter every day. It affects their clothing choices and whether or not they can play outside. Learning the basics of the water cycle or why it snows is fascinating information for a five or six year old. 

Time

Time is abstract and still tricky at this age, but your child can understand more now than before. The set schedule of school is a great way to make time more tangible. They wake up at 7am, leave at 8am, eat lunch at 11am and so on. 

Visual schedules, like this one from Teaching Mama can help students understand this concept more quickly.

Tip: talk about time as often as possible. Your child is likely to still struggle with quarter and half hours (ex. 30 minutes after being “half-past” is hard to understand at this age), but the more exposure, the better. 

Other skills in the kindergarten curriculum

Kindergarten is about so much more than academic skills. Here’s a quick look at the other things your child will learn this year.

1. Cognitive and thinking skills

Problem solving and critical thinking skills

Your child will encounter many challenges this year. It’s part of learning and growing!

Now that they’re older with better impulse control, it’s the perfect time for them to learn how to work through obstacles and frustrations.

Focusing on tasks

Under the age of six, children still have a short attention span of about 15 to 20 minutes. But this is something that can improve with practice. 

With their teacher’s help and understanding, your child will learn how to better stay focused. This important skill will help them throughout their school years.

Paying attention 

Sitting and listening is no child’s strongest attribute, but it’s essential to school success. In kindergarten, they’ll learn how to respectfully pay attention, and be given the time to master it.

2. Behavioral and social skills

Making friends and resolving disagreements

School is a social event. Making new friends is exciting, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Friends fight, and teaching children to work through these disagreements is a normal part of a kindergarten educator’s day.

Self-regulation and how to follow rules

Better self-control is possible at this age, but it takes practice. School rules provide the perfect backdrop for learning to stay within expected limits and for kids to practice self-regulation.

3. Motor skills

Bone and muscle development

If you’ve recently bought your child a new school wardrobe, it can be painfully obvious that your child is still growing — and fast. More kindergarten classrooms are incorporating movement and activity into the day to help their bodies grow and strengthen.

Finger and hand control 

Learning to write is an important skill, but full mastery may take another couple of years. The primary focus in a kindergarten classroom is learning the basics of holding a pencil or crayon, so your child can improve finger and hand control.

Tip: if your child needs more practice, look at adding fun activities like molding clay to your weekend activities. This can be a great way to strengthen young hands.

Sound out simple skills and read aloud 

This best tool in your homeschooling kit? Books! 

Read, read, read, then read some more. Reading aloud will encourage your child’s interest in reading independently. Take the time to sound out simple words as you read together, and help them recognize letter sounds throughout the day. 

Once they’re interested, reading skills will develop. If they aren’t there yet, don’t worry. Many kids may not learn to read until age seven or up. Keep reading together and soon their interest will come. 

Encourage them to keep a journal 

Keeping a journal is a great way to practice writing, with a focus on healthy social emotional practices.

2. Teaching kindergarten math at home

Incorporate numbers everywhere

Numbers are all around. Look and point out numbers in your everyday activities. Let your child help you count how many apples you’re buying at the store, or talk about how many crackers are left at snack time.

Create word problems with household objects

Baking together is an excellent way to incorporate math into your day. Even something as simple as turning down the volume on the TV can turn into a math lesson. And toy collections are a great place to start talking about addition and subtraction. 

Don’t overcomplicate math. Use what you already have and create engaging math lessons easily.

Draw comparisons with everyday objects

• Which stuffed animal is bigger? 
• Who’s taller, mommy or daddy? 
• Do you think more cereal can fit in this bowl? 

These are all great questions to get your child thinking and learning about math concepts.

Combine learning and fun with online games

When you’re using a homeschool curriculum, you have access to so many resources! Screen time can be used wisely to help your child learn while having fun.  

Game-based learning tools like Prodigy Math Game are a great way for your child to learn and practice age-appropriate math curriculum that meets your child at their skill level.

If math practice is stressing you out, share a fun online game and watch the learning happen naturally!

Get a free Prodigy account now

3. Teaching cognitive, behavioral, motor and social skills at home

Practice listening skills with fun games like red light/green light and 20 questions 

If you’re tired of yelling to get your child’s attention, test their listening and comprehension skills with a fun game (turns out they really do hear you when they want to 😂).

Join community groups so your child can socialize and form friendships outside of the family 

Everyone worries about socialization, but homeschoolers have that covered with learning co-ops and gatherings. And there are more meetings now than ever before. A quick online search is a great way to find a group that fits your schedule and needs.

Try sports programs to develop both motor skills and social skills

Most sports programs for younger kids are offered by local communities, so don’t worry about your homeschooled child missing out. Sign them up for a sports club to work on both their social and gross motor skills.

Help your kindergartener thrive throughout the school year

Kindergarten is an exciting time, but it doesn’t come without challenges. Now that you know what’s expected of your child this year, you can help them meet their academic and social goals. Read with your child, ask them about their day, and celebrate their wins. It’s a big year for everyone!

If you’re worried about your child meeting their math goals, explore Prodigy Math Game. Prodigy can help keep the frustration out of math practice. Instead of simple worksheets, your child can learn standards-aligned math while playing an exciting video game! 

Plus, with a parent account, you can play an active role in your child’s math learning. Track and support their progress while motivating them to answer more math questions. 👍

Sign up now for free

A Complete Guide for Home & School

Jun 01 2021

Positive Action Staff

•

Curriculum Articles & Resources

Teaching can be overwhelming when you have so many kindergarten curriculum choices to choose from. You’re not sure which is the best for your child, especially at kindergarten, where your child is still at the start of his or her educational journey.

Several curriculums today aim to achieve similar goals, which makes choosing between them a bit challenging. So which kindergarten curriculums are the best? Read on for more information on the ten best kindergarten curriculum for home and school.

Top 10 Kindergarten Curriculum & Resources

An ideal kindergarten homeschool curriculum should have lesson plans with the perfect blend of education materials and learning activities, in addition to clear instructions, so you don’t need to spend a load of time on prep work.

Below are some of the best kindergarten curriculums and resources available today.

1. Positive Action Kindergarten Kit

One of the best ways to teach kindergartners is by giving them a memorable experience. This is the path that Positive Action took with Kindergarten Kit, as their curriculum creates an engaging story for kids through two main puppet characters: Picks-It, a wise raccoon, and Nix-It, a young panda bear looking to learn.

These characters are brilliant for the kids. Your child will relate to Nix-It as he learns more from each of the seven units and looks at Picks-It as an instructor.

The Kindergarten Kit isn’t merely about textbooks; it uses a combination of pre-recorded lessons, activities, stories, posters, and games to give your children a stimulating experience.

There are 140 scripted lessons (10-15 minutes each), 38 activity sheets, 13 full-color posters, five games, three-story CDs, and two puppets of the main characters. There’s also an instructor’s manual in the kit, so you can decide how active you want your role to be.

The Kindergarten Kit can accommodate up to 30 students, so it’s an excellent package for both home and school!

2. Timberdoodle 2021 Kindergarten Curriculum Kit

Timberdoodle’s Kindergarten Curriculum Kit is a handy one for parents who want to be directly involved in homeschooling their children but don’t have much time.

It comes with a thorough guidebook and an online scheduler with a checklist to help you go through the lessons at your and your kid’s own pace.

Timberdoodle focuses on STEM, and they use dozens of games to help kids learn about STEM-related subjects. For instance, ThinkPlay Gears Extreme explains physics concepts of movement, friction, and rotation by having the children build their tiny machines.

They also have a collection of 35 science experiments to wow your children and enrich their thirst for science.

3.

Sonlight Kindergarten Curriculum All-Subjects Package

If Bible studies in your kids’ curriculum are essential to you, then you should check out Sonlight, a company providing Christian homeschool curriculums for all grade levels.

Their kindergarten package is huge, and you can even customize it to pick the subjects you’d like and the materials you want for your child.

You get eight subjects in the curriculum to mix and match: Bible studies, language arts, handwriting, reading and literature, math, science, geography, and history.

Each subject has a comprehensive list of books, but the catch is that they’re real books, not textbooks that focus on memorization skills.

The All-Subjects Package also includes everything a teacher may need, from three instructor manuals to read-aloud novels to chalk and a chalkboard.

There are also accessories for the kids to help with their journey, such as a markable world map, a history timeline book, an integer block kit, and more!

4.

Abeka

Abeka is another curriculum with a focus on Christian values in education. Abeka has been one of the pioneers of homeschool since the 70s, and they have curriculums from preschool to grade 12 that are among the most popular on the market.

Abeka is also one of the largest homeschool curriculum and Christian education programs in the country. They offer various kits for different curriculum options, but the main ones are the complementary parent kit and child kit, focusing on the child’s reading, writing, and counting skills.

They also come with a variety of games to help develop the child’s hand-eye coordination, perceptive skills, critical thinking skills, and more.

There are other kits like the student kit, teacher kit, a kit for each subject, and so on.

5. Calvert Kindergarten Complete Set with Starter Kit

It’s essential for children to start their education with foundational skills in language arts and math, and that’s what Calvert focuses on with their Kindergarten Complete Set.

Calvert’s curriculum mixes online lessons and traditional books, which is unique in homeschooling, especially for a kindergarten program.

Each subject contains 160 lessons that are fun, easy to follow, and include diverse activities to keep the excitement in your child while sharpening his or her skills!

The lessons cover nine major topics in each subject, such as phonics, uppercase, and lowercase letters, sounds, colors, numbers, addition, and subtraction.

6. Alpha Omega Publications LIFEPAC Kindergarten 2-Subject Set

Yet another Christian organization that provides many Christian and non-religious kindergarten level curriculums is Alpha Omega Publications.

For example, they have their Monarch subscription program, a rich platform for Christian homeschooling, and Switch-On Schooling, a computer-based program for grades 3-8. However, the focus here is on their LIFEPAC Kindergarten Homeschool Curriculum.

LIFEPAC is available both in online and print formats. The 2-Subject Set is a relatively affordable kindergarten homeschool curriculum that doesn’t compromise quality, as it offers 160 workbook-based lessons in both language arts and math so that your child can acquire the basic skills necessary for their elementary school.

The lessons come with corresponding teachers’ guides, so you can set your and your kid’s pace as you like. Each subject covers nine major topics with a review section in the end.

If you’d like, AOP also offers an online Christian school for any grade level called Alpha Omega Academy.

7. The Critical Thinking Co. Kindergarten Curriculum

Critical Thinking Co. is unique on this list. It doesn’t offer a kindergarten homeschool curriculum but rather award-winning books that focus on one major topic or branch of a subject and leave the parents or instructors to figure out how they’d like to set up the curriculum.

The Critical Thinking Co. has three subjects for the kindergarten program: reasoning and problem-solving, math, and language arts.

The reasoning and problem-solving books use manipulation and language integration techniques to develop and sharpen the child’s skills, improve their vocabulary, and give them a deeper foundational understanding of math concepts to prepare them for later years in education.

The math workbook has many lessons as well, and it’s not just counting, addition, and subtraction this time, but also matching, comparing, ordering, basic geometry, measurement, and more!

The drawback here is that the teacher’s guide and manipulatives are sold separately, but you still have to give the company credit for such a robust curriculum.

8. BJU Press Homeschool K5 Complete Kit

BJU Press is another company focusing on Christian values in education, but it has both online and offline options for their kindergarten homeschool curriculum, kind of like Calvert.

However, BJU Press doesn’t combine the two. Instead, you can pick one of them for your child throughout the year.

Their online program, Distance Learning Online, lets you customize the curriculum as much as you need, and you can either buy the DVDs and textbooks for your child to follow the lessons along or have it all online.

If online learning isn’t your child’s thing, the K5 Complete Kit is here for the rescue. It offers all you need to homeschool your child to give them a foundation in language arts and math.

Before buying, be aware that Christian values heavily influence their course. Therefore, they teach using a religious motif, unlike other religious curriculums.

9. Oak Meadow

Oak Meadow also offers an online learning school and an independent-use curriculum for homeschooling parents, which offer a lot of flexibility and curriculum options.

In their online school, you as a parent are still the primary teacher, but an Oak Meadow teacher is there to help you as much as you need and communicate with you about your child’s progress throughout the semester and year.

The Oak Meadow teacher supports the parent by grading the child’s work and providing feedback, assessments, and narrated evaluations at the end of the semester and year. Oak Meadow’s office itself maintains records of this to give out a certificate of completion.

On the other hand, the independent-use curriculum is for parents who want to homeschool their children independently. It offers some neat homeschooling resources such as weekly lesson plans in language arts, math, social studies, science, art, and health.

There are some nice perks to the independent-use program, such as a planner, an assessment sheet to help you in the process, and consultation from Oak Meadow if needed.

10. Time4Learning Online Kindergarten Curriculum

The last curriculum on this list is Time4Learning Online Kindergarten, an online, interactive curriculum that involves the parent in their child’s learning process.

Time4Learning doesn’t pressure the students, as it lets them move at their own pace due to its ease of use and automated grading system.

Time4Learning focuses mainly on language arts skills and math skills at first, but as your child progresses, they get additional subjects such as science, social studies, and even a foreign language course if you’d like. It also includes activities to give your child a remarkable experience on their journey.

Parents have control over their child’s curriculum and receive thorough feedback on his or her progress. Time4Learning also offers accommodation for children with special needs.

What Is Taught in Kindergarten – A Complete Guide

A kindergarten curriculum should be easy to digest for your kid and include subjects that aren’t too abstract for a kindergartner. Essential subjects in a kindergarten curriculum are language arts and math.

You can also teach your child some additional subjects like science, social studies, and fine arts. Below are the most popular subjects in preschool and why they’re helpful to kindergartners.

Language Arts

Of course, language arts are the first thing everyone learns at the beginning. All kids start passively learning it in their infancy! But of course, children still need to spend time learning their ABCs, how to spell, read, write, correct grammar, and so forth.

Language arts include many kindergarten branches like phonics, reading, (hand)writing, and spelling.

It’s important to teach your child language arts in a way simple enough for him or her to digest. Lots of picture books, novels for you to read aloud, and coloring books are necessary at this stage to keep them attentive to the material. Cartoons also do wonders to develop a child’s language and grammar skills.

Math

In kindergarten, a math curriculum is usually all about developing a sense for math in your child. However, math concepts can be challenging for many people, not just children, so it’s understandable if your child struggles even with kindergarten math at first.

Kindergarten math usually focuses on counting, simple arithmetic (addition and subtraction), identifying objects and finding patterns, basic geometric shapes, matching, and ordering. There are more, of course, but these are some of the basic ones.

For most kids, the best way to speed up the process is by giving them challenging yet fun activities, with rewards at the end. Some of the best and most fun games to develop a child’s math skills are number bingo, button sorting, flashcard addition, cup stacking, and even dominoes. Some of these are lots of fun, even for adults!

Science

A science curriculum is one of those things that seem a little too advanced on the surface. Still, some scientific concepts are basic enough for children to digest and will help them in the future, such as some fundamental physics concepts, like movement and rotation, and the basic biology and anatomy of different animals.

You don’t absolutely have to include science in your child’s kindergarten curriculum if they’re not ready for it yet. Still, for kids who love science, many homeschool kits come with a science curriculum and tiny fun experiments to spice up the learning experience!

Social Studies

It’s important, and some would argue compulsory, for your kid to learn about some fundamentals of social studies such as history, geography, civics, and fundamental economics (basically how money works). But how do you explain these concepts to a 5- or 6-year-old?

The best way to teach social studies at that age is through narrating each concept as a story. Figurines, videos, and puppets can certainly help, too. And if you’re teaching geography, get a globe and Google Earth to show your child exactly what they’re learning.

Physical Education

Although physical education is rare in kindergarten curriculums, it’s essential to include it as it helps children start their fitness journey. After all, fitness is a building block of general health and well-being, and getting children used to sports and physical education is crucial and gives them a great habit that they’ll carry over.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, of course. Some simple stretches and running are great in the very beginning; then, your child can move on to swimming, gymnastics, or picking up a particular sport they like. All in all, make sure that fitness is a habit of theirs and they’ll be thankful for a lifetime.

Final Words

Hopefully, you now have a good idea of what homeschool curriculum to pick for your child. But to recap, the Positive Action Kindergarten Kit is your best bet. Our approach of turning kindergarten education into a narratable story with characters is very impressive and promising for the kids.

Kindergarten Science Curriculum | Time4Learning

View Our Lesson Demos!

The Time4Learning kindergarten science curriculum allows students to learn about the natural world around them and discover the connection that all living and nonliving things have with each other. This year, children will learn about various topics that will give them a better understanding of things like plants, animals, matter, and energy, just to name a few.

This page provides information on the Time4Learning kindergarten science curriculum, science objectives for kindergarten, and more.

• What do You Teach in Kindergarten Science?
• Science Objectives for Kindergarten
• Why Choose Time4Learning Kindergarten Science Homeschool Curriculum?
• Additional Kindergarten Homeschool Resources

What do You Teach in Kindergarten Science?

Science lessons for kindergarten will teach students the basics in order to give them a foundation from which to build. Kindergarteners will learn the basics of physical science, Earth/space science, and also life science. In addition, students will learn scientific skills such as observing, how to communicate effectively, as well as the scientific principles of investigation and experimentation.

Below are some of the concepts and topics your child will learn in kindergarten science.

• Qualitative and quantitative observations
• Sources of energy
• Differences between living and nonliving things
• Different types of animals and their characteristics
• Earth’s materials and how living things use them

Science Objectives for Kindergarten

This year, there will be several science objectives for kindergarten that students should achieve. Meeting their objectives will ensure they have a solid understanding of important science concepts and help them advance their studies in the years to come. Below are some of those objectives.

• Describe matter correctly and accurately
• Identify sources of energy used every day
• Describe the location of an object accurately using correct terminology

Learn more about Time4Learning’s kindergarten science curriculum by checking out the kindergarten science scope and sequence and kindergarten science lesson plans page.

Why Choose Time4Learning Kindergarten Science Homeschool Curriculum?

Time4Learning helps encourage your kindergartener to develop their curiosity and prompts them to make observations of the world around them. Our kindergarten science curriculum provides a comprehensive education that will help your young student reach all their science objectives for kindergarten. They will learn important science concepts through fun and interactive activities led by animated characters.

The award-winning kindergarten science program is based on the 5E instructional model of Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. In addition to teaching important science topics, the science lessons for kindergarten are also embedded with reading, math, and vocabulary to help students build important literacy skills.

Whether you use Time4Learning as your kindergarten science curriculum for homeschool or as a supplement, below are some of the features and benefits you can expect.

As a Full Curriculum More than 80 activities help students learn about Earth, living things, matter, energy, and more Printables available with ideas for offline activities to help students explore science concepts even further Parents have access to science supply lists for hands-on activities Combination of online lessons, offline activities, quizzes, and tests provide plenty of practice for students and help parents gauge understanding Engaging science activities help students explore new concepts in a fun way that motivates them and promotes a love of learning

As a Supplement Students can follow suggested sequence of lessons or work on science concepts they need help with and skip those they have mastered 24/7 access means students can log in after school or even on weekends Convenient online format eliminates the need to drive to the library or a learning center, or hire a pricey tutor Students can repeat the science lessons for kindergarten and even retake tests and quizzes Lesson plans provide detailed information for parents and help them locate specific science topics within the curriculum

Additional Kindergarten Homeschool Resources

• Kindergarten Curriculum Overview
• Math Curriculum for Kindergarten
• Language Arts Curriculum for Kindergarten
• How to Homeschool Kindergarten
• Kindergarten Spelling Words
• Kindergarten Scope & Sequence
• Kindergarten Lesson Plans

Kindergarten Online Math Curriculum | Time4Learning

View Our Lesson Demos!

The Time4Learning kindergarten math curriculum puts a fun spin on learning important foundational skills for the youngest of students. In addition to engaging, interactive activities that teach the lessons, each of the chapters features an overarching theme such as safari, playtime, and cooking.

This page provides information on what kindergarten math a student should know, math objectives for the year, and why Time4Learning is the best choice to help your child reach all of the kindergarten math goals and objectives.

• What Math Should a Kindergarten Student Know
• Math Objectives for Kindergarten
• Why Choose Time4Learning Kindergarten Math Homeschool Curriculum
• Additional Kindergarten Homeschool Resources

What Math Should a Kindergarten Student Know

Kindergarten math is all about becoming familiar with the basics and setting a solid foundation. Students will learn to count and recognize numbers, identify shapes and their attributes, add and subtract numbers, and complete patterns.

Below are some of the other skills that a student should know in kindergarten math.

• Create, describe and compare 2-D and 3-D shapes
• Compare groups using the terms greater, less, fewer, more
• Use tally charts and picture graphs to represent numbers
• Recognize that larger numbers are made up of smaller numbers
• Order events in a sequence

Learn more about Time4Learning’s kindergarten math curriculum by checking out the kindergarten math scope and sequence and kindergarten math lesson plans page.

Math Objectives for Kindergarten

For most students, kindergarten is their first official year of schooling. Gaining a solid understanding of basic concepts now, will help them feel confident and prepared as they learn new math skills in the years to come. That’s why it’s so important that students use a comprehensive curriculum, like Time4Learning, to help them master these concepts and reach all their kindergarten math goals and objectives.

Below are some of the math objectives a kindergarten math curriculum should help your child achieve.

• Count objects up to 20
• Use an analog and digital clock to identify time to the nearest hour
• Identify pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters and know their value
• Compare the length and weight of objects
• Explore properties of addition and subtraction

Why Choose Time4Learning Kindergarten Math Homeschool Curriculum

Setting up students for success in math or any other subject starts as early as kindergarten. Helping them master counting, shapes, basic addition and subtraction will have a big impact on their performance in later years.

Time4Learning’s kindergarten math curriculum uses bright, colorful and engaging activities to make math fun and enjoyable for the little ones. Students are able to log in on their time and progress at their own pace. The curriculum is simple to follow and material is presented in a suggested sequence that builds on itself.

Parents have access to lesson plans, student planners, and other helpful resources. In addition, our automated grading and recordkeeping system keeps track of all of your child’s work and makes it simple to print reports and create homeschool portfolios.

Whether you plan on using Time4Learning as your core kindergarten math curriculum or as a supplement, below are some of the features and benefits you can expect.

As a Full Curriculum Math curriculum correlates to all state standards and includes over 200 activities Self-paced approach means students can learn important math concepts at a speed that is best for them Lessons cover topics like shapes, comparing numbers, sorting and counting objects, and more Access to activity planners helps parents create schedules and stay organized Detailed lesson plans provide information on each kindergarten math lesson and allow parents to preview activities Multimedia-based curriculum is ideal for all types of learning styles as well as students with special needs

As a Supplement Kindergarten math curriculum helps reinforce what students are learning in school using a fun, interactive approach 24/7 access means students can log in after school or even on weekends Access to first grade math allows students to challenge themselves or get a head start Flexibility to redo lessons and retake tests and quizzes Students can follow suggested sequence or skip lessons and only work on those they need help with Online format eliminates the need to hire a math tutor or drive to a learning center No contracts mean families can use the program as long as they need and cancel anytime

Additional Kindergarten Homeschool Resources

• Kindergarten Curriculum Overview
• Language Arts Curriculum for Kindergarten
• Science Curriculum for Kindergarten
• How to Homeschool Kindergarten
• Kindergarten Spelling Words
• Kindergarten Scope & Sequence
• Kindergarten Lesson Plans

Kindergarten Language Arts Curriculum | Time4Learning

View Our Lesson Demos!

Phonics, reading and writing should all be components of a kindergarten language arts curriculum. These areas are crucial in helping a child build important literacy and communication skills. It all begins with gaining a thorough understanding of each letter of the alphabet. From there, students will be able to put letters together in order to begin reading and writing.

This page provides information on the language arts concepts a kindergarten student should know, objectives in reading and writing, as well as an overview of the Time4Learning kindergarten language arts curriculum and how it can help your child build a strong language arts foundation.

• What Language Arts Concepts Should a Kindergartener Know?
• Reading Goals/Objectives for Kindergarten
• Writing Goals/Objectives for Kindergarten
• Why Choose Time4Learning Kindergarten Language Arts Curriculum?
• Additional Kindergarten Homeschool Resources

What Language Arts Concepts Should a Kindergartener Know?

There are a number of kindergarten language arts concepts that a student should know. Being familiar with the alphabet and the sounds of each letter will help students gain an understanding of basic phonics skills, which will set the stage for learning to read and write.

Having phonological awareness will help students distinguish one letter sound from another. From there, phonemic awareness comes into play. This helps students recognize and differentiate initial sounds, and also create new words by replacing one letter with another.

Students in kindergarten should also have good listening skills. This will help them begin to build their vocabulary and comprehension skills even before they start reading. Check out Time4Learning’s kindergarten language arts scope and sequence as well as our kindergarten language arts lesson plans to find out how we can help your student master these crucial concepts, what’s included, and what you can expect your child to learn with our award-winning curriculum.

Reading Goals/Objectives for Kindergarten

This year, students will begin to learn to read. The reading goals of the Time4Learning language arts activities for kindergarten aim to give students a thorough understanding of the sounds each letter makes and understand the subtle difference in word meanings. Students will discover new vocabulary words, develop fluency, and reading comprehension skills. They will engage in reading activities, and are expected to answer basic questions about stories, nursery rhymes, and more.

Below are some of the reading goals/objectives for kindergarten.

• Demonstrate understanding of all letters of the alphabet and their sounds
• Demonstrate comprehension by recalling details
• Demonstrate comprehension by matching pictures with sentences
• Recognize and read sight words
• Show familiarity with rhyming and beginning sounds

Learn more about the Time4Learning homeschool reading curriculum and discover the steps students should take in order to learn to read.

Writing Goals/Objectives for Kindergarten

This year, students will take part in prewriting and writing activities that will give them the necessary skills to begin writing words, sentences, and stories. In addition to receiving instruction, students will also take part in supported practice activities. Students will learn the basics of writing an opinion, writing to give information, and more.

Below are some of the writing goals/objectives for kindergarten.

• Write an opinion through a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing
• Recall information from an experience and write about it using details
• Write a story with sentences to explain an event

In addition to Time4Learning, an online writing curriculum can help students begin to learn the fundamentals of capitalization, punctuation, parts of speech, and more.

Why Choose Time4Learning Kindergarten Language Arts Curriculum?

The Time4Learning kindergarten language arts curriculum is a comprehensive program that correlates to all state standards. The online, interactive format engages and motivates students to learn new skills and do their best. Animated characters make learning phonics and comprehension fun.

Parents have access to an automated grading and reporting system that saves time and makes it simple to print reports for homeschool portfolios. Even if you plan on using the kindergarten language arts curriculum as a supplement, there are tons of features and benefits to gain. Below are just a few.

As a Full Curriculum Comprehensive curriculum includes 24 chapters with over 350 activities Spelling word lists are included to help parents build sight word knowledge and vocabulary Printable resources and answer keys are available for many language arts activities for kindergarten Kindergarten language arts material is presented in a suggested sequence that builds on itself Scored and nonscored activities as well as quizzes and reviews provide a variety of instruction and help parents gauge progress Access to detailed lesson plans allow parents to plan for the year as well as preview lessons

As a Supplement 24/7 access to kindergarten language arts means students can log in and practice after school or on weekends Flexible format allows students to repeat lessons and even retake tests and quizzes Access to first grade language arts allows student to get a head start on next year’s material Students have access to a year’s worth of kindergarten language arts material but are free to work only on the lessons they need help with and skip those they have mastered Low monthly fee is more affordable than expensive tutors and convenient online format eliminates the need to drive to a learning center

Additional Kindergarten Homeschool Resources

• Kindergarten Curriculum Overview
• Math Curriculum for Kindergarten
• Science Curriculum for Kindergarten
• How to Homeschool Kindergarten
• Kindergarten Spelling Words
• Kindergarten Scope & Sequence
• Kindergarten Lesson Plans

5 Things to Taught to Kids in Kindergarten

Your children are growing up so fast! It feels like they were learning to crawl only yesterday, and now they’re ready for kindergarten. But what exactly will they be learning at school? What is taught to kids in kindergarten?

In the United States, kindergarten curriculums vary from state to state, but most include basic subjects such as math, reading, and writing. In addition, many kindergarten classrooms also incorporate science and social studies into their lesson plans. Extracurricular activities are also essential aspects of a well-rounded kindergarten curriculum.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the things typically taught in kindergarten!

What Is Taught to Kids in Kindergarten?

Most people think of kindergarten as a time when children learn to read and write, but much more goes into a good kindergarten curriculum. What children learn in kindergarten can set the tone for the rest of their schooling. So what should be taught in kindergarten?

1. Reading in Kindergarten

One of the most important things that children learn in kindergarten is how to read. This is a critical skill they will use for the rest of their lives. Many kindergartens use a phonics-based approach to teaching reading. This means that children learn to identify the individual sounds (or phonemes) that make up words. Once they know the sounds, they can start to put them together to form words.

Some essential topics that are typically covered in reading instruction include:

• Learning the names of the letters of the alphabet.
• A comprehensive introduction to the most common letter sounds.
• Blending individual sounds to form words.
• Recognizing common sight words.
• Reading simple sentences and stories.

Some teachers also include reading games and activities in their instruction. These can be a great way to help children practice and solidify their new reading skills. SpSplashLearn’seading Games for kindergarten are a great example of this.

2. Writing in Kindergarten

Writing is another fundamental skill that children learn in kindergarten. Like reading, what children learn in kindergarten will later lay the foundation for writing skills.

Most kindergarten classrooms use a developmental approach to teaching writing. Children are encouraged to write without worrying about spelling or grammar. Instead, they focus on conveying their thoughts and ideas on paper.

As children become more confident in their writing skills, they will start learning some of the basic spelling and grammar rules. However, the focus is still on communicating ideas rather than perfecting techniques.

Here are the most essential topics covered in kindergarten writing instruction:

• Learning how to hold a pencil correctly.
• Practicing writing the letters of the alphabet.
• Writing simple words and phrases.
• Telling stories and composing short sentences.

3. Math in Kindergarten

Kindergarten is also a great time for children to start learning about math. Many people think math is all about numbers, but it is much more than that! Children begin understanding mathematical concepts such as addition, subtraction, and shapes in kindergarten.

Kindergarten math instruction usually takes a hands-on approach. Children are encouraged to explore and discover mathematical concepts for themselves. They might use manipulative objects such as blocks or beads to help them understand what they’re learning.

Some topics that are typically covered in kindergarten math instruction include:

• Recognizing and counting numbers up to 20.
• Identifying basic shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles.
• Adding and subtracting numbers up to 10.
• Measuring length, weight, and capacity.

4. Science and Social Studies in Kindergarten

Kindergarten is the time when kids learn about the world around them. This includes both science and social studies. In science, they learn about the basic building blocks of the universe, including plants and animals. They also learn about the EaEarth’sesources and how to conserve them. In social studies, they learn about different cultures and how people live and work together.

Kindergarten science and social studies instruction are usually very hands-on. Children learn through exploration and discovery. They might plant a garden, build a fort, or make a simple machine.

Here are some famous topics covered in kindergarten’s science and social science:

• The five senses.
• Plants and animals.
• The four seasons.
• Weather and climate.
• The solar system.
• Different cultures and traditions.

5. Extracurricular Activities in Kindergarten

In addition to the core academic subjects, kindergarteners also participate in a variety of extracurricular activities. These activities help children develop essential social and emotional skills. They might play games, sing songs, or do art projects. Some kindergartens also have sports teams that children can join.

The extracurricular activities that are available to kindergarteners vary from school to school. However, some of the most common activities include:

• Art: Drawing, painting, and sculpting are just a few of the art projects that kindergarteners might do.
• Music: Kindergarteners might learn to play simple instruments such as the recorder or xylophone. They might also sing songs and learn about different musical genres.
• Drama: Acting out skits and plays is an excellent way for kindergarteners to develop their imagination and communication skills.
• Sports: Some kindergartens have sports teams that children can join. This is an excellent way for them to exercise and learn about teamwork.

Kindergarten is a time for children to explore their interests and develop new skills. By participating in various activities, they can learn about the world around them and start developing important academic and social skills.

Let’s Get The Kids Ready for First Grade!

So what does a kindergarten curriculum entail? In most cases, it is designed to prepare kids for their first school year. Parents should not worry if their child is not reading or writing fluently by the end of kindergarten. Kindergarten aims to provide a foundation for learning, not to teach children everything they need to know. With that said, children who attend kindergarten are more likely to succeed in first grade and beyond.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is kindergarten mandatory in the United States?

No, kindergarten is not mandatory in the United States. However, most children do attend kindergarten. In fact, about 95% of all 5-year-olds in the United States are enrolled in kindergarten.

How long does a typical kindergarten day last?

A typical kindergarten day lasts for about six hours. However, the exact length of the day depends on the school and district.

Will my child be able to read and write by the end of kindergarten?

The goal of kindergarten is to provide a foundation for learning, not to teach children everything they need to know. With that said, most children who attend kindergarten will be able to read and write by the end of the year.

What types of extracurricular activities are available to kindergarteners?

The extracurricular activities that are available to kindergarteners vary from school to school. However, some of the most common activities include art, music, drama, and sports.

What is the goal of kindergarten?

The goal of kindergarten is to provide a foundation for learning. This includes teaching children basic academic and social skills. By the end of kindergarten, children should be prepared for their first year of school.

Preschool education in the USA

Preschool education is the upbringing and education that preschool children receive in preschool educational institutions specially organized for this purpose and in the family, aimed at implementing the primary socialization of the child’s personality, ensuring moral, physical and mental health, comprehensive and timely development, the acquisition of life experience, the formation of the necessary skills in accordance with age and individual characteristics, as well as the preparation for subsequent schooling.

Structure of preschool education in the USA

The rich history of early childhood education in the USA has several distinctive features, one of which is that each parent independently decides whether his child will attend kindergarten or not. The main task of parents of preschool children is to educate children in such qualities as discipline, decency and the ability to perform duties. These qualities are the basis for future successful schooling.

Despite the fact that pre-school education is not compulsory, it is given close attention:

• the state;
• parents of preschool children;
• religious communities;
• national diasporas;
• public organizations.

The main forms of early childhood education in the United States are:

1. Public early childhood education system.
2. Private pre-school education system.

Note 1

It should be noted that the US is dominated by private preschools, with only a few states offering public preschools.

Preschools and types of educational programs

The first kindergarten in America was opened in 1855 by German immigrants. In this kindergarten, children were brought up according to the Froebel system, which provides for the development of each pupil of his natural abilities.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a whole system of public kindergartens already existed in the United States. By this time, American educators had already abandoned the Frebel education system everywhere and were actively engaged in the development of their own topical areas of education and training of preschool children.

Kindergartens in the USA, depending on the purpose, are usually divided into several types:

• nurseries;
• kindergarten;
• center for preschool programs;
• day care center for children.

Especially popular in the US are the Centers for Preschool Programs, which carry out activities to prepare children 3-5 years old for schooling. In addition to the fact that children are taught to read and write, count, write, they are taught to successfully socialize in society, and in particular to be able to integrate into a peer group. After graduating from such a Center, each of its graduates receives an appropriate certificate with the results, and parents are given recommendations on the further upbringing and education of the child. In some US states, such certificates are of great importance, as children enter elementary school on their basis.

Characteristics of the main stages of preschool education in the USA:

1. Nursery – organized for children from 3 years old. The main task of the nursery is to help the child in the knowledge of the world around him. Attending a nursery, children learn not only to interact with their peers, but to be tolerant towards people of other nationalities, and also master the skills of independence and self-care.
2. Kindergarten – aimed at preparing children for schooling. Children from 3 to 6 years of age can attend kindergarten. Children’s groups include no more than 15 children, the educational process is carried out throughout the school year. In addition to the educator, speech therapists and psychologists work with children, their activities are aimed at developing collective, communication and role-playing skills in children.

Note 2

All US preschools, regardless of type, are well equipped and staffed with highly qualified teaching staff.

Types of educational programs implemented in preschool institutions in the USA

Preschool educational organizations in the USA are aimed at:

1. Development of the natural abilities of preschool children, instilling labor skills.
2. Physical and mental development.
3. Harmonious psycho-emotional development.
4. Formation of social skills necessary for successful adaptation in the conditions of modern society.

Such an integrated approach contributes to the development of a sustainable interest in the systematic acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities.

Note 3

The main method of teaching and upbringing in preschool institutions in the United States is the game, which gradually harmoniously turns into learning activities aimed at acquiring new knowledge and skills, as well as facilitating adaptation to school education.

The main types of educational programs implemented in preschool educational institutions in the United States:

1. Educational programs aimed at reducing stress factors that have a negative impact on the development of a child of preschool age.

2. Programs aimed at the holistic and integrated development of preschool children. These programs include basic developmental activities and, to a lesser extent, classes on mastering various skills and abilities for children.

3. Comprehensive training programs, according to which educational work is carried out in the following areas:

   • listening to various works of art;
   • physical exercise;
   • singing, drawing and crafts classes;
   • group games.

4. Programs that focus on developing children’s writing and speaking skills.

Peculiarities of bringing up American children:

1. It is customary to treat children, regardless of age, as adults. Every child is seen as an individual and respected.
2. Under no circumstances is a commanding tone allowed, it must be explained and directed.
3. Orientation to the assimilation of family values, in the USA it is customary for a child to accompany his parents everywhere (to church, theater, restaurant, etc.).

US early childhood education programs

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PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS IN THE USA PLAN INTRODUCTION 4 CHAPTER 1. FEATURES OF THE US PRESCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM 6 1.2 US Early Childhood Education Programs 9 CHAPTER 2. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN SYSTEM OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION 18 2. 1 Russian programs of preschool education 18 2.2 Comparative and pedagogical analysis of trends in the development of preschool education in the USA and Russia 24 CONCLUSION 28 LITERATURE 30 INTRODUCTION Integration processes in the international educational space determine the strategic direction of development of preschool education in Russia, and also determine the study of advanced pedagogical experience of foreign countries, which is a necessity for the transition to a qualitatively new, competitive level of preschool education. State programs of preschool education determine the development of theoretical and methodological aspects of the education system, taking into account domestic and foreign experience, as one of the priority areas. This predetermines the need to study the latest modern educational concepts of teaching and educating preschool children, studying not only domestic experience in organizing preschool education, but also foreign, which helps to identify new approaches to organizing preschool as an integral component of the national education system. In this context, the basis is the experience of American colleagues in the organization of preschool education of children, the main priorities of which are aimed at the active participation of the child in the educational process, at a balanced combination of personal and activity approaches to organizing the educational process in preschool institutions. The subject of research is the development of the theory and practice of preschool education in the USA. The object of research is the system of preschool education in the USA. The purpose of the work is to study the features of the modern system of preschool education in the United States, which will allow us to analyze the positive experience of American teachers working with preschool children and allow us to adapt this experience to the domestic system of preschool education. According to the goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: – will highlight the main provisions of preschool education in the USA; – to review and analyze preschool educational programs in the United States; – analyze preschool educational programs in the Russian Federation and compare with programs in the USA Research methods. According to the set goal and objectives, a set of complementary methods was used. Theoretical: study, generalization, systematization of psychological and pedagogical literature of foreign and domestic sources on the topic of research to determine the state of the study of the problem, determine the basic approaches to posing the question, streamlining the material and ensuring the logic of its presentation; synthesis, abstraction, analogy to consider the development of theoretical issues of preschool education and substantiation of the category-conceptual apparatus, the formation of conclusions and proposals; historiographic and retrospective analysis to clarify the historical features of the development of the theory and practice of preschool education in the United States, familiarization with the legal and regulatory framework that ensures the effectiveness of its functioning; comparative analysis, which made it possible to compare and contrast the development trends of American and domestic preschool education, as well as approaches to the organization of the pedagogical process in preschool educational institutions in the USA and the Russian Federation. Catalog: file file -> Methodological recommendations “Organization of research activities of students” file -> Relevance of the study file -> Work program of the discipline file -> The course program is designed for students in grades 9-11 and is designed for 128 hours . Frequency of classes 1 time per week for 4 academic hours file -> Providing the widest possible field of opportunities for students focused on a high level of education and upbringing, taking into account their individual needs file -> Guidelines for the organization of research and project activities of younger students file -> Programs file -> Graduation theses Download 73.4 Kb. Share with your friends:

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Modern preschool
US education

in the USA is not
compulsory. Parents, at their own discretion, can send their children to various institutions:

Kindergarten

Nursery

Preschool Program Centers

Day care centers for children.

At preschool centers
programs from 3-5 to 6 years of age, children receive pre-school education.
Each US state has its own educational
standards, and each institution works according to its own program.
Depending on the State,
upon completion of preschool education, certificates are issued (which are not
mandatory in some States), which reflect attendance, behavior
and overall student achievement. A small number of States require a Certificate of
Completion of Preschool Education to enroll the child in primary school.
Verification must be done at the local Department of Education.

Law “None
Forgotten Child (No Child Left Behind) – 2001 prescribes
increased funding for literature programs such as: Read Ahead.
These programs aim to teach reading skills to children at an early age in order to
it was easier for them to study at school. Through such programs the federal
funding should help states and local school districts establish
high-quality, comprehensive instructions for teaching children to read in nursery
kindergartens and up to the 3rd grade of the school.

For the development of the American
system of preschool education was affected by the implementation of the largest
U.S. Government Head Start Early Childhood Education Program. This is a national pilot program for
low-income children from birth to five years. Its implementation began in 1965
city, and by 2003 more than 21 million children participated in it. The program is called
“the most important social and educational experiment of the second half of the twentieth
century.” The goal of the program was to test the effectiveness of various theories in the field of
pre-school education outside university experimental sites and
private kindergartens.

In 1986, the results of an assessment of children in
under the Head Start program. It was noted that by the age of 19, among these children there were
a much larger number of those who completed secondary school and continued their education and
fewer enrolled in special schools than in the control group. Also
participants in the experimental group showed a lower percentage of adolescent
crime and a higher percentage of employed people. Social status
program graduates by the age of 27 was more stable. It was concluded that
that the program saved and delivered significant benefits to society ($7 per
every dollar invested).

Currently, the program continues to develop and
focused on experimental testing of various theoretical models
upbringing and education of children before entering school – the principles of behaviorism, cognitive
interaction, Montessori Pedagogy.

Behavioral Kindergarten is a dynamic,
a positive environment, the purpose of which is to optimize the learning and development
children’s potential. The design of the kindergarten group should be considered as
learning tool, all elements of the development environment are functional, play an important
role and are designed to facilitate the learning process. The group room is divided
to activity centers. Each center corresponds to a certain color: bright
colors – play center and physical activity center – show that here
you can make noise. Subdued, pastel colors – math and book center –
suggest calm behaviour.

The main goal is to create conditions for
self-realization of the individual through the “creative repertoire” of the child, providing
its growth and development according to a planned and consistent pattern, as well as with
through spontaneous activities. Although the education of children is
spontaneously, unintentionally and unplanned, the behavioral teacher highlights
time to assess the child’s skills, plan some activities
and carefully prepare a developmental environment that provides optimal conditions
structured learning and development. This preparation of the environment guarantees
development of certain skills and abilities, the teacher does not wait for the right moment,
to teach, but purposefully prepares it, using the interests of children as
learning opportunities.

The cognitive interaction model was based on
constructivist ideas. At first glance, she resembles
an ordinary kindergarten, where attention is focused on gaming activities and
creation of a prepared environment corresponding to the age capabilities of the child.
But in addition to observing children and creating a rich play environment, educators
use technologies for creating problem situations, questions and building
curriculum in a way that engages the thinking of children, especially in
regarding special logical and mathematical concepts.

The constructivist approach received the most
distribution in the 60s. XX century and is currently being actively revived,
because approves the increasing importance of the game in intellectual development,
organization of the child’s own vigorous activity with objects and
interactions with peers.

The essence of the Montessori method – free
work (appropriate activity) of children with didactic materials in
developing object-spatial environment with the restriction of direct
teacher influence. The child is given the right to choose activities, places and
duration of work, as well as a work partner. The teacher is a partner and
assistant to the child, observing his activities and, if necessary,
exercising unobtrusive leadership of it. The teacher organizes a developmental
environment, demonstrates to the child a way of rational activity with those in
its materials and is responsible for the order in it. Work with children
conducted predominantly individually or in small groups, while
the rest of the kids go about their business. Less commonly used methods
the whole group (such as “circle talks” – a joint discussion under
the guidance of the educator of various topics proposed by the children themselves or
planned by the teacher). Classical Montessori pedagogy provides
work with different age groups. Division of a group room into centers
activity (practical life, mathematical, speech, sensory), clear
algorithm of interaction with materials, strict rules of social behavior in
group contribute to the formation of the habit of order and respect for individual
other people’s spaces.

Rising interest in “Montessori pedagogy” in the USA
observed from 1910 to 1920. The program was presented in a special
indoors in San Francisco for the 1916 International Fair
d. Then Montessori Pedagogy was almost completely forgotten. In research
Elkind (1998) gives several reasons for the rejection of Montessori Pedagogy in
USA at the beginning of the 20th century: most American parents of that time considered childhood
a period of innocence when only a mother can provide the best care
child; misunderstanding and unwillingness to understand “Montessori Pedagogy” by the leadership and
leading figures in the education system; variable adaptation
Montessori methods, with which M. Montessori herself did not agree; requirements
middle-class parents to focus on teaching subjects,
needed at school the emergence of a huge number of authors who want to benefit from
from the name of M. Montessori.

The modern Montessori movement in America began in
the end of the 50s with the creation of private schools, mainly for the middle class.
Many of these schools were founded by parents. In 1959
The American Montessori Society (AMS) was organized. Its founder is
Nancy McCormick Rambush talked about the importance of not just adopting a method
M. Montessori, but adapt it to implement a “natural” translation
method into the diverse American culture.

Late 1960s parents in several counties became
advocate for the provision of education in ordinary schools according to the method of M. Montessori,
especially for children attending the respective kindergartens. It came
impetus to start funding Montessori schools from the federal budget. AT
currently over 350 schools in 150 school districts across the country offer
various programs according to the method of M. Montessori. Programs designed for children
from 3 years to high school. According to existing statistics, the total
number of public and private Montessori schools across America today
is about four thousand.

the following trends:

1.
A joint
education of normal children and children with disabilities.

2.
Security
continuity in the transition of a child from one educational system to another
(horizontal and vertical transitions).

3.
emergence
full day programs.

4.
Development
partnerships between educational institution, family and community.

5.
Development
language and literacy programs.

6.
Integration
content of education.

7.
Application
information technologies in teaching children.

Co-education of normal children and children
disabled people

For more than three decades, educational institutions in
The United States paid special attention to the education of children with disabilities. Then before education
the goal was to educate such children together with ordinary children.
Studies show the great effectiveness of this approach, because.
children with disabilities in this case can be guided by ordinary children, which
helps them understand acceptable ways of behaving. At the same time, ordinary children
learn to respect people with individual differences by gaining experience
interactions with a different group of children. Moreover, such an interaction
allows all children to learn more effectively.

Transition succession
child from one educational system to another

preschoolers. Some programs are designed for the whole day, some only for
limited stay of the child in the group. Often such programs
designed for children 3-4 years old with special needs, which are
risk group and have a high level of probability of unsuccessful training in
further. Usually these programs are implemented in private educational institutions.
institutions, and therefore are either paid or supported by special
agencies.

Five-year-old children can attend kindergarten,
whose educational program can also be designed either for a whole
day or half a day. After attending kindergarten in the first half
day during which the program of the garden provides for educational work,
children can stay for the second half, i.e. practice all day long. In such
case, children are either placed in a child care center or they are then
are taken home. Such transitions allow children to have a variety of experiences on
throughout the day.

Children have to learn to deal with
“horizontal” transitions, which requires them to be able to communicate with several
adults (and therefore, to comply with the expectations and rules of behavior,
established in each specific situation). Interaction between programs
helps the child to coordinate daily experiences and take the best for himself
from each program. Next, children are faced with learning new, now
school programs. Therefore, the task of the preschool program often includes
familiarization of children with new requirements, tasks and features of school
learning.

The rise of full-time programs

Children need more than educational programs.
The number of children from families with one parent or a working mother
increased, and therefore it became necessary to create programs that
combined education and childcare. In America, to care centers
children are assigned teachers from schools.

Development of partnerships between educational
institution, family and community

More than four decades of employees in the field
early childhood education in the US have been busy establishing relationships between
educational programs, the parents of the children and the community in which
program data has been created. In the early 60s, educational programs for children were
are particularly effective as communication with parents has been established.
Now interaction with parents is established primarily for children.
with special needs and with parents whose children are likely to
failure in school. In these cases, parents help teachers develop
an individual development plan for the child, they evaluate and approve it. Arises
interaction between kindergarten and family.

Integration of educational content

Previously, each subject was usually taught in the classroom
independently of others, so that important concepts are mastered
sequentially. Then it was proposed to combine different items in one common
curriculum. Some researchers insisted on the use of thematic
method, to include children in subject areas based on a topic of interest to
children. To do this, the teacher must create situations in which the children
studied some topic, most often related to the immediate environment
child. In the process of creative activity organized by the teacher, children
receive new knowledge. Educator stimulates children’s research, discussion
recent situations, presenting their observations in a creative
form.

Application of information technology in
teaching children

A new direction is associated with the use of electronic
technologies (computers) in children’s rooms. Here it is important to pay attention
selection of appropriate computer programs. Some programs activate
thinking process, others are mainly related to the drill and the practice of learning
the only correct answer to a particular question. Computer work
may also be of a group nature. Since our age is inextricably linked with
new technologies, it is necessary to introduce children into this world, but introduce them carefully.

Preschool concept
education in the United States is to develop the personality of the child through the acquisition of
experience. Significant attention is paid to the development
children’s creativity and talent. In the process of attracting to art in children
develop the ability to communicate.

Preschool system
upbringing in the USA teaches the child to be a free, independent person. Wherein
it’s about equality of opportunity , not
equality of abilities that needs to be created in the learning process and
education of conditions for the correlation of freedom and order, exactingness and
indulgence towards everyone
child.

List
used literature:

1.
Veraxa
NOT. Modern approaches to teaching preschoolers in the USA // Public education.
– 2004. – No. 3

2.
Dzhurinsky
A.N.

History
foreign pedagogy. – M., 1998

3.
Onishchenko
E.V., Nikolskaya A.S.

Basic
approaches to the organization of the educational space of a preschool child in
American kindergarten. – M., 2005

4.
Paramonova
L.A.

Preschool
and primary education abroad. – M., 2001

5.
System
education in the USA. Reference//People’s education. – 2002. – No.

6.
Sorokova
M.G.

Contemporary
preschool education: USA, Germany, Japan: current problems and ways
development. – M., 1998

7.
Supyan
V.B.

Education
– a key factor in the socio-economic development of the United States in the 21st century//
Pedagogy. – 2004. – No. 2

8.
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki

9.
http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sovremennoe-doshkolnoe-obrazovanie-za-rubezhom

10.
http://pedlib.ru/Books/1/0012/1_0012-1.shtml

Preschool pedagogy in the USA | Related article:

Preschool pedagogy in the USA

The first kindergarten in America was established in 1855 by German emigrants and worked according to the Froebel system. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were public kindergartens in every big city. At the same time, American teachers abandoned the Froebel system and began to develop their own directions in preschool pedagogy.

Several centers have been organized in a modern American indoor kindergarten:

Center for the organization of a complex role-playing game.

Puppet theater.

Art Center.

Culinary Center.

Sand and water play center.

Scientific and mathematical center.

After the reception of the children and their free play, the school day begins. All the children sit on the carpet, the teacher greets the children, all together remember what day it is, the date, the significant date. The teacher encourages children to talk about important events for them, talks about it himself. Further – independent work in the centers. Children clean up after themselves before going out.

During the day, children eat “snacks” – breakfasts brought with them, sleep directly on the carpet on special pillows.

The content of work with children is determined by the tasks of education. The educational system of America allows children to become independent, self-confident, independent, able to defend their own opinion. To do this, children are invited to make their choice: in which center to play, with whom to do and what, what to talk about, etc. with the children, gathers them around the table and asks what they want for dinner. The daughter says she wants chicken and potatoes, and the son wants fish and rice. And mom cooks two dinners for them, according to their wishes. A guest from Russia is surprised: “Why are you indulging their desires? Wouldn’t it have been better to spend this time more productively?”

The American responds: “I want my children to know exactly what they want in this life and to see that anything can be achieved.”

Interethnic and interreligious tolerance is brought up in children. In this regard, kindergartens try to celebrate the national holidays of all peoples inhabiting the United States.

The usual groups include children with mental or physical disabilities. American educators believe that normal children develop a sense of tolerance, while children with anomalies expand the environment for communication and development.

The US government recommends that teachers focus on the B. Bloom system of giftedness development. According to Bloom’s theory, the cognitive goals of teaching can be represented as a certain sequence, including 6 levels: knowledge, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation. In this regard, the training program must be built based on the consistent achievement of cognitive goals. In this regard, compensatory education and integration programs have become a huge field of activity for teachers, on the one hand, for children with developmental disabilities, on the other hand, belonging to different races, nations, speaking different languages. Today, in the United States, teachers are offered variable programs that combine techniques that allow, in a non-discriminatory atmosphere (without separating talented and clearly lagging children), to give everyone the opportunity to develop at their own pace, without interfering with the rest, but without feeling isolated from them. .

Parents are actively involved in cooperation with teachers. The “Head start” program is being implemented, i.e. “advanced start” – early intervention centers are being created. Their task is to maximize the development of potential opportunities, as well as the pedagogical and social potentials of each family member, the successful integration of the family and the child into society.

In the 1990s, the “High scope” project became popular. Its supporters were focused on the education of freedom and responsibility while providing ample opportunities. They emphasized that the child would grow up the way he was brought up (this applied to both ordinary and non-standard children). If you criticize him, he will begin to condemn, if you do not trust him, he will be aggressive, etc. As part of self-learning, the design method was recognized. Preschoolers were given the opportunity to find some interesting topic and work on it in a small group. The task of an adult in these conditions was to help the child and the children’s team as a whole to make their actions more effective. Thus, indirect methods of teaching and educating children were given priority over direct ones.

The shortcoming of the American system of education, in my opinion, is that contrary to all their theories about equal opportunities for all – the division of children into classes depending on IQ. At an older age, children understand this, which gives outsiders a negative attitude to the limitations of their capabilities.

The method of Maria Montessori is very popular in America. Born in Italy, here he truly found a second home. In some spiritual directions, Maria Montessori is even considered one of the saints, “ascended masters”, because. through her technique, the child strengthens the connection with his “Holy Christ Self” – what Steiner calls the “Higher Self”, or “soul”. Montessori herself does not use such words in her books. Its concept is based on the fact that the main motivating motive for all actions of the child is a natural, instinctive desire to develop. For each, this development occurs according to an individual plan (in accordance with the tasks of the soul, according to believers). In this regard, there are various sensitive periods of development, when this or that knowledge is assimilated most effectively. For example, there is a period of development of physical activity, fine motor skills, perception of colors, sounds, smells, weight and texture of objects, assimilation of counting and geometric shapes, reading and writing skills, etc. etc. The start time of a particular period depends on congenital characteristics, individual biorhythms, the child’s well-being, weather, magnetic fluctuations, etc. How can you find out which activities today will be most useful? The choice is entrusted to the child, his feelings. The task of an adult is to prepare such a subject environment in which the needs for the development of all knowledge and skills will be taken into account. Maria Montessori developed a system of didactic materials, which now consists of five thousand different manuals.

In the Montessori classroom, children are taught to follow a few rules:

· Do not interfere with the student.

· After working with the material, clean up after yourself.

· Taking new material for the first time, ask the teacher to show how to work with it.

If a child does not want to study, he goes to the “noisy room” where he can jump, play, climb different ladders. In the class, there are also general classes “in a circle” or “on the line”, when the teacher explains something, or shows, or general rules of behavior are developed. “Silence lessons” are always popular, but whoever wants to can do it on their own at this time. Practice shows that the manuals are so ingeniously designed (maybe they really are “inspired from above?”) That children are ready to study with them for hours without being distracted by anything. The “noisy room” is often visited only during the adaptation period.

Modern Montessori gardens have a special time when everyone goes for a walk in an organized manner. It’s free play time. But whoever wants to can stay. Some time before the walk, or before the general lesson, the teacher rings the bell. This means that you need to gradually finish classes, and remove the material if you do not want to continue studying. What the child has learned according to the Montessori method, he does very well, with an understanding of the deep essence of the process. And the disadvantage of the method is that it is very difficult to repeat:

· Many aids are needed, and they must all be in good condition and look attractive.

· Making a presentation, ie. showing how to work with the material, the teacher must be in a special state of concentration, full concentration on the demonstrated object or action. Only personal example can convey this state to the child. Uses a minimum of words. Every word and movement must be thought out.

· Learning to communicate does not happen spontaneously, but mainly through the teacher. At the stage of class formation, all the rules of behavior are developed by the children themselves and then consciously executed by them. You have to be a virtuoso psychologist so that the children’s team itself develops adequate rules.

Features of the implementation of educational programs in preschool institutions in the USA Text of a scientific article in the specialty “Educational Sciences”

Post-graduate student of the Department of Pedagogy and Methods of Preschool and Primary Education, Voronezh State Pedagogical University; head, Yamensky kindergarten; 394024, Voronezh, st. Lenina, 86; e-mail: [email protected].

FEATURES OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN PRESCHOOL INSTITUTIONS USA

KEY WORDS: preschool educational institutions; preschoolers; educational programs; overseas experience.

ABSTRACT. The article discusses the features of the implementation of educational programs in preschool institutions in the United States. The author substantiates the relevance of the study by the processes taking place in domestic education, namely the search for ways to improve its effectiveness. In this regard, foreign experience (in particular, the United States) can be useful in determining the content of preschool education programs. The article discusses the degree of knowledge of the research topic and concluded that at present there is a lack of scientific research on the issues covered in the article.

The author examines the various programs of preschool institutions with a view to the possible use of the accumulated pedagogical experience in Russia. The article analyzes the features of programs for preschool children in preschool institutions in the United States, defines the features of the formation and development of the content of preschool education. The article also examines the question of the possibility and directions of using the pedagogical experience accumulated in the United States in the practice of domestic preschool education.

The article points out that preschool education in the United States is multivariate. Parents of preschoolers, at their discretion, have the right to choose the program that is more suitable for their child. All programs in US preschools are designed to prepare a child for school. In the practice of preschool education, much attention is paid to the overall development of the child’s personality, which is reflected in the relevant programs. The author points out that in the programs of preschool education, the possibilities of games, as well as stimulus material, are widely used as methods of working with children. Pre-school education is inclusive, which can be used in domestic conditions.

Rakitina Irina Vladimirovna,

Post-graduate Student of Department of Pedagogy and Methods of Preschool and Primary Education, Voronezh State Pedagogical University, Voronezh, Russia.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF REALIZATION OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN U.S. PRESCHOOL INSTITUTIONS

KEYWORDS: preschool educational establishments; preschooler; educational programs; foreign experience.

ABSTRACT. The article discusses the specific features of the implementation of educational programs in preschool institutions of the United States. The author substantiates the urgency of the given research by the processes occurring in the domestic education, specifically by the search for ways to improve its efficiency. In this regard, foreign experience (and of the United States in particular) may be useful in designing the content of preschool education programs. The article considers the degree to which the topic has been studied, and concludes that there is still considerable ambiguity with regard to the issues covered in the article. The author considers various programs of preschool institutions with the view of using the accumulated pedagogical experience in Russia. The article analyzes the specific features of education programs for children in preschool institutions of the United States, and outlines the peculiarities of the formation and development of the content of preschool education. The article also examines the possibility and areas of application of the pedagogical experience gained in the United States in the practical work of Russian preschool education institutions.

The article states that preschool education in the United States has many options and alternatives. The parents of preschool children at their discretion have the right to choose the program that is most suitable for their child. All programs in preschool institutions in the United States are designed to prepare the child for schooling. In practical preschool education, much attention is paid to the general development of the personality of children, which is reflected in the corresponding programs. The author points out that the programs of preschool education focus on the educational potential of games and various stimuli in the work with children. Preschool education is inclusive, which can be also used in the Russian educational environment.

The current situation in the field of preschool education in Russia is characterized by the search for ways to improve the educational process. This search causes an increase in

interest in the pedagogical experience accumulated by the world community. In this regard, the experience gained in the United States in the implementation of preschool education programs is of some value.

© Rakitina IV, 2018

The choice of the American experience as an object of pedagogical research is due to a number of reasons. First, in English-speaking countries (including the US), there is a long tradition of early childhood education. Secondly, at present there are many programs of preschool education in the country (state, created by scientific organizations and practitioners) that are of interest for study in terms of the possible use of individual elements in the Russian system of preschool education.

The indicated reasons make it relevant to study and analyze the content and technologies of preschool education used in the United States. In this regard, the research problem is formulated: what are the features of the implementation of educational programs in preschool institutions in the United States.

The purpose of the article is to analyze the features of educational programs in preschool institutions in the United States.

General issues of the development of preschool education in the USA were considered in the works of L. A. Paramonova, S. P. Borisova [5], M. B. Vodennikova, D. S. Sazonova [3].

Certain aspects of the development of preschool education in the USA are considered in the works of a number of domestic authors. Thus, the issues of constructing the content of preschool education for gifted children are considered in the work of G. I. Poeskova [6]. It is also necessary to note the article by A. E. Tsukarzi, in which an attempt was made to analyze modern English-language programs for the speech development of preschoolers [9].

In addition, in the course of the study, we turned to the works of foreign authors. In particular, B. Raban, M. Brown, E. Care [14], D. Konza [13] considered the issues of the content of preschool education. The available foreign sources affect only certain aspects of preschool education (for example, the design features of speech development programs, the speech development of preschoolers with various deviations).

Thus, foreign and domestic authors studied some issues related to the implementation of educational programs in preschool institutions in the United States. However, today there is a lack of comprehensive studies that would summarize the experience of developing the content, technologies and activities of preschool institutions in the United States for its possible use in Russia.

As part of the study, a hypothesis was put forward that certain elements of educational programs used by

in the practice of preschool institutions in the United States, can be used in Russia.

Research methods. The following methods were used in the course of the study: historical and comparative analysis and synthesis, analysis of facts, theoretical generalization and systematization of pedagogical experience, study and analysis of scientific literature, analysis of normative documents and programs of preschool education used in the USA.

The novelty of the research: the work contains modern data on the organization and content of preschool education in the United States, which have not previously been covered in domestic literature.

The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that its results can be used in the development of programs for preschool educational organizations in Russia.

The American education system is a model of dynamic, constantly modernizing structure that integrates the best that is in the world in this area. Education helped the country mitigate the problems of racial discrimination, overcome crises, unemployment, poverty, improve the situation of the disabled, national minorities, and women. Since the 1950s in America, there have been courses on “preparing for a life career”, the concept of “preparing students for life”, the concept of personal security, educating a “literate consumer”, combating drug use, and sex education [3].

It is important to note that the interest of the state and society in the problems of preschool education was formed as a result of the economic situation that became more complicated in the United States in the 1980s, when a woman was forced to go to work earlier, as well as the prevailing understanding of the need to develop preschool children in an organized educational environment. activities in American science and practice. Thus, there was a need to increase the number of preschool institutions in the country. On the other hand, insufficient attention to the preschool stage was explained by early schooling (5-6 years), which was considered sufficient for the comprehensive development of the child. A landmark event was the release of the government report “A Nation in Danger. The Need for Educational Reform” (A Nation at Risk: the Imperative for Educational Reform, 1983), which emphasized the need to improve pre-school education to ensure a more successful schooling for the child.

The ideas of J. Dewey, Z. Freud and M. Montessori had the greatest influence on the activities of preschool institutions in the USA. The pedagogical legacy of J. Dewey acquires great significance in connection with the problems of adapting the individual in a rapidly changing world, the education of self-discipline. At the beginning of the 21st century, when polyphonic thinking is the most adequate response to globalization processes, J. Dewey’s approaches remain relevant and can take their rightful place in modern pedagogical discourse [5, p. 45].

There are six leading early childhood education programs in the US early childhood education system: Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, High Scope, Bank Street.

The Maria Montessori Method, which originated in Italy, has truly found a second home here. Its concept is based on the fact that the main motivating motive for all actions of the child is a natural, instinctive desire to develop.

Maria Montessori has developed a system of didactic materials, which, together with modern additions, such as an electric iron, now consists of five thousand different manuals. Practice shows that the manuals are so ingeniously designed (maybe they really are “inspired from above?”) That children are ready to study with them for hours without being distracted by anything. The “noisy room” is often visited only during the adaptation period. As practice shows: what the child has learned according to the Montessori method, he does very well, with an understanding of the deep essence of the process. The disadvantage of the method is that it is very difficult to repeat.

As for the Waldorf Kindergarten, it was first created by the Austrian writer Rudolf Steiner in Stuttgart (Germany) in 1919. According to its founder, a person consists of three aspects – spirit, soul and body.

In this way, Waldorf preschools strive to nurture the spirit of the child, his soul and body, and to focus on the best interests of the child. It includes creative, hands-on group learning, unlike Montessori kindergartens, with an emphasis on rhythmic repetition in a supportive environment.

Children are encouraged to engage in creative free play rather than watching TV and video and playing computer games because these activities interfere with using all five senses to absorb and actively participate in life. This approach is aimed at creating a strong inner enthusiasm for learning and developing

children’s innate abilities and talents.

Reggio Emilia Gardens (named after the Italian city of the same name, where the pedagogical system was born) aims to encourage research and emphasize the importance of community and self-expression. This system of education is based on the project approach. Children spend days and months exploring parts of the whole from different angles – for example, the sea is known through the study of shells.

The system is based on such postulates as the control of the child himself over his learning and development, the acquisition of new knowledge through the study of objects and their movement in space, the many ways of self-realization of the child (music, construction, drawing, storytelling) [8].

Kindergartens in Reggio Emilia are distinguished by their original design. They are as far as possible in appearance from what appears before the eyes with the words “preschool”. Rather, it is a warm, welcoming home with all its smells and sounds, funny pictures and collages on the walls. Educators in such kindergartens are not senior mentors, but co-authors and co-creators, they constantly learn with the children, and sometimes from the children.

The High Scope program uses a carefully designed active learning approach for participants. Children actively learn by having hands-on experience with others, and learning is supported through consistent daily routines and well organized classrooms. High Scope has an academic bias with teaching core subjects: mathematics, reading and science. It is a “shared control” curriculum in which adults and children learn together. As in the Montessori system, the core belief is that children learn best by pursuing their own personal goals and interests. It is based on past and current research in the field of child development [8].

The High Scope program is well suited to any child who needs individual attention. It was originally created for at-risk urban children and has been used successfully in conjunction with the government’s Head Start program. Today it is widely used in various preschool institutions. Also, this program is effective for children with developmental delays and learning disabilities, as it is adapted to the individual level and pace of development of each child.

Bank Street is based on John Dewey’s educational philosophy. Bank Street Preschools focus on a child’s mental, social, emotional and physical development. The child is an active participant and gains knowledge about the world through experience. The students set the pace of learning, and the teacher serves as a guide. Compared to play-based learning, the Bank Street approach focuses on learning through hands-on activities such as puzzles and drama play.

Consider a cooperative kindergarten from Parent Co-Ops. Parents are actively involved in the education of their little ones on a daily basis and work closely with classroom teachers. This hands-on approach allows parents and children to learn together in a nurturing environment with a focus on preschool learning, collaboration and conflict resolution. Parents participate in the business activities of the kindergarten by serving on the board of directors. Co-ops are not for everyone because of the responsibilities and time commitments.

However, hundreds of independent preschools and kindergartens around the country do not follow any of the previous approaches, but mix and match different elements to form their own program. For example, activities and curricula based on the work of Jean Piaget, a Swiss educational pioneer, are as popular as schools modeled after the hugely successful preschools in Reggio

Emilia (city in Italy).

Thus, there is currently no unified system of preschool education in the United States. There are many preschool institutions with their own programs in the country. Another feature of preschool education in the United States is its variability. Parents have the opportunity to choose a program for their child. Moreover, they have the right to change the program at their discretion. For example, in the morning a child attends classes according to one program, and in the evening he can study according to another.

Also, preschool education in the US is characterized by an inclusive orientation. In almost all preschool institutions, children with disabilities study together with other children. The programs of preschool institutions provide for the use of the possibilities of the game for the development of the child. Classes with children are conducted using stimulus material (for example, in programs based on the ideas of M. Montessori).

In conclusion, it should be emphasized that early childhood education and training programs aim to prepare children for primary school. They are diverse, flexible and democratic in content, aimed at teaching independence, initiative, and developing mutual communication skills.

We believe that in domestic conditions the experience of organizing inclusive preschool education accumulated in the USA can be used.

LITERATURE

1. Veraksa AN The English system of preschool education [Electronic resource] // Modern preschool education. – 2008. – No. 1. – C. 121-125. — Access mode: https://sdo-journal.ru/journalnumbers/anglijskaja-sistema-do. html (date of access: 01.09.2018).

2. Veraksa NE Every child is a pearl [Electronic resource] / / SDO. – 2009. – No. 4. – Access mode: https: / / cyberleninka.ru/ article / n/kazhdyy-rebenok-zhemchuzhina (date of access: 09/01/2018).

3. Vodennikova MB, Sazonova DS Foreign systems of preschool education and their features [Electronic resource] // Innovative science. – 2015. – No. 11-2. — Access mode: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/zarubezhnye-sistemy-doshkolnogo-obrazovaniya-i-ih-osobennosti (date of access: 01.09.2018).

4. Gogoberidze AG, Solntseva OV Preschool pedagogy with the basics of upbringing and education methods: a textbook for universities. – 2nd ed. – St. Petersburg. : Peter, 2015. – 464 p. — (Third generation standard).

5. Paramonova LA, Protasova E. Yu. Preschool and primary education abroad: history and modernity. – M., 2001.

6. Poeskova GI Fundamentals of building the content of preschool education of gifted children in the USA: historical and pedagogical analysis [Electronic resource] // Nauchnye vedomosti BelSU. Series : Humanities. – 2013. – No. 6 (149). — Access mode: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/osnovy-postroeniya-soderzhaniya-doshkolnogo-obrazovaniya-odaryonnyh-detey-v-ssha-istoriko-pedagogicheskiy-analiz (date of access: 09/01/2018).

7. Stepanova S. Features of the system of preschool education in the USA. – M., 2000. – 167 p.

8. Fateeva AV Preschool education in Russia and the leading countries of the world: a comparative analysis based on international statistics [Electronic resource] // Uchenye zapiski OGU. Series: Humanities and social sciences. – 2010. – No. 3-2. — Access mode: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/doshkolnoe-obrazovanie-rossii-i-veduschih-stran-mira-sravnitelnyy-analiz-na-osnove-mezhdunarodnoy-statistiki (date of access: 01.09.2018).

9. Tsukarzi AE Programs of speech development of preschool children in English literature / / National Psychological Journal. – 2013. – No. 4 (12). – S. 56-66.

10. Dewey J. Pedagogy Memorandum. – ICU : University of Chicago, Special Collection Research Center of the University of Chicago, Regenstein Library. (President’s Papers. 1889-1923), 1894. – Box 17. – Folder 11. – 3 p.

11. Hamer J. Exploring Literacy with Infants from a Sociocultural Perspective [Electronic resource] // New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work. – 2005. – Vol. 2. – Issue 2. – Mode of access: www.teacherswork.ac.nz/journal/volume2_issue2/hamer.pdf (date of access: 01.09.2018).

12. Hyson M. Enthusiastic and engaged learners: Approaches to learning in the early childhood classroom [Electronic resource] // Early Childhood Education Series, Teachers College Press : Columbia University. – 2008. – P. 177. – Mode of access: http://bookfi.net/book/1454164 (date of access: 09/01/2018).

13. Konza D. Supporting Oral Language and Reading development in the Early Years [Electronic resource] // Spotlight research into practice: research monograph 5, Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, February. — P. 35-49. — Mode of access: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1034914.pdf (date of access: 09/01/2018).

14. Raban B., Brown M., Care E., Rickards F. & O’Connell T. Young Learners – Learning and Literacy in the Early Years [Electronic resource] // AARE International Education Research Conference, 29 Nov – 3 Dec 2009. – 2011. – P. 112. – Mode of access: www.aare.edu.au/09pap/rab091255.pdf (date of access: 09/01/2018).

REFERENCES

1. Veraksa A. N. Angliyskaya sistema doshkol’nogo obrazovaniya [Elektronnyy resources] // Sovremennoe dosh-kol’noe obrazovanie. – 2008. – No. 1. – C. 121-125. — Rezhim dostupa: https://sdo-journal.ru/journalnumbers/anglijskaja-sistema-do.html (data obrashcheniya: 01.09.2018).

2. Veraksa N. E. Kazhdyy rebenok – zhemchuzhina [Elektronnyy resources] // SDO. – 2009. – No. 4. – Rezhim dostupa: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/kazhdyy-rebenok-zhemchuzhina (data obrashcheniya: 09/01/2018).

3. Vodennikova M. B., Sazonova D. S. Zarubezhnye sistemy doshkol’nogo obrazovaniya i ikh osobennosti [El-ektronnyy resources] // Innovatsionnaya nauka. – 2015. – No. 11-2. — Rezhim dostupa: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/zarubezhnye-sistemy-doshkolnogo-obrazovaniya-i-ih-osobennosti (data obrashcheniya: 01.09.2018).

4. Gogoberidze A.G., Solntseva O.V. – 2 izd. — SPb. : Piter, 2015. – 464 s. – (Standart tret’ego pokoleniya).

5. Paramonova L. A., Protasova E. Yu. Doshkol’noe i nachal’noe obrazovanie za rubezhom: istoriya i sov-remennost’. — M., 2001.

6. Poeskova G. I. Osnovy postroeniya soderzhaniya doshkol’nogo obrazovaniya odarennykh detey v SShA istor-iko-pedagogicheskiy analiz [Elektronnyy resources] // Nauchnye vedomosti BelGU. Seriya : Humanitarian sciences. – 2013. – No. 6 (149). — Rezhim dostupa: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/osnovy-postroeniya-soderzhaniya-doshkolnogo-obrazovaniya-odaryonnyh-detey-v-ssha-istoriko-pedagogicheskiy-analiz (data obrashcheniya: 09/01/2018).

7. Stepanova S. Osobennosti sistemy doshkol’nogo obrazovaniya v SShA. – M., 2000. – 167 p.

8. Fateeva A. B. Doshkol’noe obrazovanie Rossii i vedushchikh stran mira: sravnitel’nyy analiz na osnove mezhdu-narodnoy statistiki [Elektronnyy resurs] / / Uchenye zapiski OGU. Seriya : Humanitarnye i sotsial’nye nauki. – 2010. – No. 3-2. — Rezhim dostupa: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/doshkolnoe-obrazovanie-rossii-i-veduschih-stran-mira-sravnitelnyy-analiz-na-osnove-mezhdunarodnoy-statistiki (data obrashcheniya: 01.09.2018).

9. Tsukarzi A. E. Programmy rechevogo razvitiya detey doshkol’nogo vozrasta v angloyazychnoy literature // Natsional’nyy psikhologicheskiy zhurnal. – 2013. – No. 4 (12). – S. 56-66.

10. Dewey J. Pedagogy Memorandum. – ICU : University of Chicago, Special Collection Research Center of the University of Chicago, Regenstein Library. (President’s Papers. 1889-1923), 1894. – Box 17. – Folder 11. – 3 p.

11. Hamer J. Exploring Literacy with Infants from a Sociocultural Perspective [Electronic resource] // New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work. – 2005. – Vol. 2. – Issue 2. – Mode of access: www.teacherswork.ac.nz/journal/volume2_issue2/hamer.pdf (date of access: 01.09.2018).

12. Hyson M. Enthusiastic and engaged learners: Approaches to learning in the early childhood classroom [Electronic resource] // Early Childhood Education Series, Teachers College Press : Columbia University. – 2008. – P. 177. – Mode of access: http://bookfi.net/book/1454164 (date of access: 09/01/2018).

13. Konza D. Supporting Oral Language and Reading development in the Early Years [Electronic resource] // Spotlight research into practice: research monograph 5, Victorian Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat, February. — P. 35-49. — Mode of access: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1034914.pdf (date of access: 09/01/2018).

14. Raban B., Brown M., Care E., Rickards F. & O’Connell T. Young Learners – Learning and Literacy in the Early Years [Electronic resource] // AARE International Education Research Conference, 29 Nov – 3 Dec 2009. – 2011. – P. 112. – Mode of access: www.aare.edu.au/09pap/rab091255.pdf (date of access: 09/01/2018).

US EDUCATION SYSTEM

The education system in the United States has long traditions and well-established canons, but, despite this, it is recognized as the most democratic. In the United States there is no unified education system, the state does not have the right to establish any rules on education or the education system. All matters relating to education are regulated at the state level. Decentralization is the most characteristic feature of the American education system. The US education system has 4 classical levels – preschool, primary, secondary and higher education. Moreover, higher education in the United States has its own additional system, which has its own characteristics in each state.

Preschool education: Preschool

Preschool education, as in most countries, is optional. Children can attend nurseries, kindergartens, pre-school education centers, as well as day care centers for children.
Pre-school education lasts 2 years and is intended for children aged 4 to 6 years. Many states issue a certificate at the end of a preschool setting out the child’s attendance, behavior, and abilities. This certificate may be required when enrolling in elementary school.

Elementary School

Elementary education is compulsory in the US. The program runs for 5 years and attends elementary school for children aged 6 to 11. Institutions of secondary education can be public, private and parochial, where much attention is paid to religion.
A characteristic feature of elementary school is the formation of classes, according to the abilities of students. Students take tests to determine IQ, classes are formed based on the test results. The elementary school curriculum includes basic subjects like reading, writing, arithmetic, etc. All subjects are taught comprehensively by one teacher, in some states, after grade 4, separate subjects are taught by different teachers.
The content of the program, the content and methods of teaching are set at the state and school level, the state does not regulate these issues. After completing elementary school, students move on to secondary school.

Secondary education: Middle School, High school

Secondary education in the US is divided into two stages – Middle School and High school.

• Middle School is designed for 3 years – these are grades 6, 7 and 8, children aged 11 to 13 study there. Mostly subjects are taught by subject teachers, the main focus is on English and the humanities. Already in high school, classes with different biases and abilities of students begin to form. Students who perform better than others in a particular subject can study in an “advanced” class, where they study the material of this subject faster and in more depth.

• Next comes high school – High school . The program is designed for 4 years and lasts from 9th to 12th grade. Senior High School is attended by students aged 14 to 18. The school offers basic and specialized subjects. Many students can independently or with the help of parents and teachers choose the necessary subjects for their future specialty.

At the end of high school, students take final exams – this is SAT I or SAT II . Levels I and II differ in focus and complexity. The first level of the SAT is taken by students who plan to enter a college or an intermediate-level university in the future, while the second level makes it possible to enter the country’s most prestigious universities. After successfully passing the final exam, students are issued a diploma of complete secondary education

Higher education

Higher education in the United States is represented by both small colleges, little-known universities, and world famous Universities.
Education received in the USA is valued and quoted in any country in the world. It is believed that higher education in the United States is prestige and quality. Education can be obtained at colleges and universities, which may be public or private.
The main difference between a college and a university is that the college does not have a department for the development of student research activities and there is no postgraduate education, i.e. master’s and doctoral studies.

• First stage

The program of higher education, regardless of whether it is a college or university, is designed for 4 years. Applicants do not take college (university) entrance exams, they are accepted based on the results of the SAT exam, on the basis of a motivation letter, where future students indicate the main reasons for entering the university of their choice and the recommendations of secondary school teachers, but there are a number of universities (depending on the state ), where there are entrance tests.
The training program provides for the acquisition of knowledge in 30 subjects. Already in the 3rd year, students study narrow-profile subjects of their specialty. At the end of the program, students take state exams and defend their graduation projects. After all these stages, students are issued a diploma of higher education, and a Bachelor’s Degree is awarded. The bachelor’s degree is the first stage of higher education.

• Second stage

Master’s programs are the second stage of higher education. The main distinguishing feature of the master’s program is the great attention to the student’s research activities in a narrow profile area.
The program is designed for 1-2 years, throughout the entire period of study, students are engaged exclusively in their scientific work and research. At the end of the program, the student takes exams.
Based on the result of the exam and the results of his scientific research, the student receives an overall grade. After that, the student is issued a diploma and is awarded a Master’s Degree. In the economic field, the student can receive the title of MBA (Master of Business administration)

• Third stage

The third stage of higher education in the United States is represented by the Advanced Professional Degree program – the equivalent of a doctoral program. The program is designed for 2-3 years. Students devote their studies to writing a dissertation and defending it. It is also the responsibility of the student to attend seminars and lectures at the university. After defending the dissertation, the student is awarded a PhD (Doctoral Level) degree.

• Fourth stage

The highest and most prestigious stage is the Doctor of Science degree under the Postgraduate (Postdoctoral) Level program. Only candidates of sciences who have a lot of research and scientific work behind them can enter this program.

Westwood Knowledge Beginnings | Daycare, Preschool & Early Education in Westwood, MA

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Westwood Knowledge Beginnings

Welcome to Westwood Knowledge Beginnings

Welcome to Westwood Knowledge Beginnings! We are located between Norwood and Dedham, MA, near Route 1. Our center has been proudly serving families and children since 1999. Our center provides a loving, safe, and structured learning environment for all students. Our highly recognized curriculum is designed using the latest research in early childhood education. We build a warm and welcoming environment for all students regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, and experiences.

• Westwood Knowledge Beginnings Programs
• Our Teachers
• Family Stories
• FAQs

AMERICA’S MOST ACCREDITED

We’re so proud!

Nationally only 10% of daycares are accredited – nearly 100% of our learning centers are. That’s a big difference,
and that means KinderCare kids are getting the very best. Here’s why.

SCHOOL-READY

What Learning Looks Like

Our talented early-childhood teachers set kids down the path toward becoming lifelong learners in a positive, safe, and nurturing environment.

Westwood Knowledge Beginnings Programs

Infant Programs (6 weeks–1 year)

Leaving your baby in someone else’s care is a big step. Everyone at our
centers—most importantly, our naturally gifted infant teachers—will work with
you to make sure the transition goes smoothly. When you step into our infant
classroom, you’ll see how much we want your infant to feel safe, loved, and
ready to explore their world.

Toddler Programs (1–2 Years)

Everything in our toddler classroom is designed for little explorers. That’s
because a lot is going on at this age. When your child is wandering all over the
place, that means they’re learning and discovering new things every day. We’ll
help them explore their interests (and find new ones!) as they play and learn.

Preschool Programs (3–4 Years)

This age is all about expression, when kids really start to form their own ideas
about what they want to play and how they want to create. Every day in our
preschool classroom, your child will explore science experiments, create
artwork, and play pretend—all the skills needed for their big next step:
kindergarten!

Prekindergarten Programs (4–5 Years)

When you walk into one of our pre-K classrooms, you’ll see artwork and
writing displayed around the room. Labels are everywhere to help kids connect
letters with words. You’ll also see pictures on the walls that reflect the families
in our community. Your child will also deepen their knowledge in language,
math, science, Spanish, and social skills.

Participating Child Care Aware Center

KinderCare partners with Child Care Aware® of America to offer fee assistance for
Active Duty military families and flexible support to fit their needs when care at a Child
Development Center on the installation is not available.

Learning Adventures – Enrichment Program

Cooking Academy™ (3 – 12 Years)

In Cooking Academy, kids learn new recipes from cultures around the world and
develop a healthy relationship with food. They’ll whip up everything from Southwest
rainbow lettuce wraps to pumpkin muffins, building their skills in STEM, communication,
and more along the way. And yes—little chefs get to eat their culinary creations!

Music Explorers™ (2 – 4 Years)

KinderCare families are already giving a standing ovation to our newest Learning
Adventures program: Music Explorers! Kids will learn to sing, move, listen, play
instruments, and even create their own tunes. Our original curriculum blends math,
science, social studies, literacy, and mindfulness (think yoga!) for a uniquely KinderCare
way of learning the foundations of music.

Phonics Adventures® (2 – 4 Years)

Learning how to read is a whole lot of fun at KinderCare! We help kids grow to love
books and words (and get ready for kindergarten) in our Phonics Adventures program.
From discovering the basics of vowels to practicing poetry, kids learn all about letters
and sounds in small-group lessons made just for their age group. (Bonus: Kids who
attend our phonics program are more prepared than their peers for school—and we
have the data to prove it.)

STEM Innovators (3-8 Years)

You’ve probably heard a lot about how important STEM education is for your child, but
what does that really mean? Our STEM Innovators program takes kids’ natural ability to
make sense of the world and applies it to robotics, chemistry, coding, geology, and
more. While your child experiments, they’ll discover how to use technology to do
amazing things!

Our Teachers

We’re the only company in early childhood education to select teachers based on natural talent. Being a great educator isn’t enough though.
KinderCare teachers are also amazing listeners, nurturers, boo-boo fixers, and smile-makers. Put more simply,
we love our teachers and your child will, too.

Meet just a few of our amazing KinderCare teachers!

A KINDERCARE TEACHER WITH

An Artist’s Heart

“My classroom is full of art!” says Mary Annthipie-Bane, an award-winning early childhood educator at KinderCare. Art and creative expression, she says, help children discover who they really are.

We put our best-in-class teachers in a best-in-class workplace. We’re so proud to have been named one of Gallup’s 37 winners of the Great Workplace Award.
When you put great teachers in an engaging center, your children will experience
an amazing place to learn and grow.

Family Stories

Don’t take our word for it. Hear what our families have to say about our amazing center!

• “

  I have had two kids (one has “graduated”) go through Knowledge Beginnings. My oldest is now thriving in Kindergarten thanks to the great foundational learning she received, and my youngest has been there since she was a newborn. She loves her teachers! I would recommend the school to anyone!

  ”

  Jen M. – KinderCare Parent

• “

  Our two children have been part of the Knowledge Beginnings family for the past four years. During that time, they’ve had the opportunity to experience each classroom, from Infants all the way through to the Prekindergarten class. The staff is fantastic and offers just the right mix of love, caring, discipline and FUN! When I enter the center, I always find my children laughing and enjoying themselves, their friends and their teachers and the teachers always look happy to be there too. Knowledge Beginnings has been an extension of our family for quite a while and my husband and I feel very strongly that we made a great decision in partnering with them.

  ”

  Heather and Charlie – KinderCare Parent

• “

  We love Knowledge Beginnings! When struggling with the decision to go back to work after having a child, the staff at Knowledge Beginnings made me feel confident that my child was being cared for and loved just as much as she would be at home.

  ”

  Meg – KinderCare Parent

• “

  I have two children, ages 4. 5 and 16 months, who have both attended the Westwood Knowledge Beginnings since they were 3 months old.  It has been a great experience for them overall.  Our girls have thrived in that environment, much due to the nurturing staff and just the right balance of academic focus and self-directed play.  Our eldest child is quite prepared for kindergarten at this point but still has another year before she starts in public school!
   
  The staff is quite experienced, many of them having worked at the center for 5+ years and who also bring their own children to the location.  Maryellen and Stacey, the Director and Associate Director respectively, are attentive to the needs of the children and their families while continuously guiding the staff toward excellence; recently demonstrated through achieving National accreditation.
   
  Some perceived drawbacks to this center might be: the location – Rt 1 can be quite busy and the parking lot is not huge, but the location was quite convenient for us and we’ve rarely had a problem with parking. Snacks are provided but lunches are not included in the cost of tuition- this suits our picky eaters!  And the center has recently partnered with a company called Smart Lunches to provide meals for purchase.
   
  We absolutely recommend this center to families seeking a caring place where their children will blossom and grow.

  ”

  Darcy R. – KinderCare Parent

Share Your Story


If you have a story about your experience at KinderCare,

please share your story with us
.

Who Are KinderCare Families?

They hail from hundreds of cities across the country from countless backgrounds, and proudly represent every walk in life. What our families have in common,
though, is the want to give their children the best start in life. We are so proud to be their partner in parenting.

Hear from just a few of our amazing KinderCare families.

A Globe-Trotting Family Finds A

Home in Houston

Four young children, four different passports, two languages, two full-time jobs…oh, and a few triathlons thrown in for good measure.
Meet the globe-trotting Colettas—a family on the go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What accreditations does KinderCare have?

We are your trusted caregiver. Our centers are state-licensed and regularly inspected to make sure everything meets or exceeds standards, including child-to-teacher ratios and safe facilities. Our centers aren’t just licensed—most are accredited, too! Find out more.

Do you offer part-time schedules at Westwood Knowledge Beginnings?

Everybody’s schedule is different. We’re happy to offer quality, affordable part-time and full-time childcare. Drop-in care may also be available. Reach out to your Center Director to learn more.

How does naptime work at Westwood Knowledge Beginnings?

Our teachers meet every child’s needs during naptime. Our teachers know how to get babies to nap. In fact, they are pros at getting children of any age to nap. Visit our article on “10 Ways We Help Kids Get a Great Daycare Nap” to learn more.

Do you support alternative diets?

We strive to be as inclusive as possible. To that point, we provide a vegetarian option at mealtime, take care to not serve common allergens and can adapt menus based on your child’s food sensitivities. If your child has additional needs, we’ll work with you to figure out a plan.

Are meals included in tuition? Can I choose to send my child with lunch?

We provide nutritious meals and snacks developed by a registered dietician to meet the needs of rapidly growing bodies and minds. If your child has special dietary requirements and you would prefer to bring in their lunch, please make arrangements with the center director.

Does my child need to be potty-trained?

Every child begins toilet learning at a different age. Until your child shows an interest in toilet learning, we’ll provide diaper changes on an as-needed basis. When your child shows an interest, we’ll discuss how to work together to encourage toilet learning.

Site Director, Westwood, New Jersey

This job has expired

Location

Westwood, New Jersey

Job Type

Permanent

Posted

22 Aug 2022

KinderCare Education is the nation’s leader in early childhood education. We nourish curiosity through purposeful experiences to create a future full of lifelong learners. From our National Support Center to the classrooms where learning comes to life, we’re united by a passion for creating a world of learning, joy, and adventure for more than 161,000 children ages six weeks through 12 years every day.

 

If you’re passionate about inspiring children and teachers alike to learn and grow, the Site Director role could be for you! Site Directors are passionate about educational excellence and empowering confident teachers. As a Site Director, you will use our nationally recognized curriculum as a framework to create unique and engaging classroom experiences. Site Directors are committed to making their site successful and know that meaningful relationships with children, families, and their team are essential to success. Successful Site Directors are fully engaged, enthusiastic about their work, and eager to share their knowledge with others.

 

When you join our team as a Site Director, you will:

• Lead and supervise a group of teachers to create unique and engaging classroom experiences, leverage and develop best in class educators to be passionate and committed professionals
• Ensure your site is operating effectively; maintain licensing, safety, and educational standards
• Partner with parents with a shared desire to provide the best care and education for their children
• Cultivate positive relationships with families, teachers, school and district leaders, state licensing authorities, community contacts, and corporate partners
• Lead recruitment and enrollment efforts of new families and children in our sites

Qualifications:

Monday though Friday

7:00-9:00 AM and 2:30-6:30 PM Plus Admin Hours

Total Hours a Week: Approximately 35

Required Skills and Experience:

• At least one year of teaching experience with the ability to develop, engage, and inspire a team
• A love for children and a strong desire to make a difference every day
• Ability to build relationships with families and staff and create a dynamic environment where play and discovery go hand-in-hand
• Outstanding customer service skills, strong organizational skills, and the ability to multi-task and manage multiple situations effectively.
• Must meet state specific guidelines for the role
• Must be physically able to use a computer with basic proficiency, lift a minimum of 40 pounds, and work indoors or outdoors.  Must be able to assume postures in low levels to allow physical and visual contact with children, see and hear well enough to keep children safe, and engage in physical activity.
• Ability to speak, read, and write English.

Our highest priority has always been to keep our employees, children, families, and communities as safe and healthy as possible. Starting October 18, 2021, we began requiring COVID vaccinations or weekly COVID testing for all unvaccinated employees. We are also subject to state law, local ordinances, and Health Department requirements for child care workers or school staff.

 

The benefits our career professionals enjoy:

 

In addition to a rewarding career where you help shape children’s futures, KinderCare Education provides a competitive compensation package. Benefits include:

• Medical, dental, and vision
• Discounted child care
• Generous paid time off
• Education assistance and reimbursement
• Medical expense reimbursement/ Life insurance/Disability benefits/ Health and wellness programs
• 401(k) savings and investment plan with employer match

 

KinderCare Education employs more than 32,000 team members across 1,700 locations nationwide. Our devoted family of education providers leads the nation in accreditation and includes KinderCare® Learning Centers, KinderCare Education at Work®, Champions® Before- and After-School Programs, Cambridge Schools , Knowledge Beginnings®, and The Grove School®.

 

KinderCare Education is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal law.

 

Primary Location : Westwood, New Jersey, United States

Job : Teacher and Center Staff

Details

• Job Reference: 692311100-2




• Date Posted: 22 August 2022




• Recruiter: KinderCare Education




• Location: Westwood, New Jersey




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Lee Hutchinson | Ars Technica

Senior Technology Editor

Lee is the Senior Technology Editor, and oversees story development for the gadget, automotive, IT, and video sections of Ars Technica. A long-time member of the Ars OpenForum, Lee has an extensive background in enterprise storage and security, having spent nearly a decade at The Boeing Company as an enterprise architect before departing to work at EMC and then later Symantec. Lee also writes the occasional long-form piece on manned space flight or gaming. He lives in Houston and spends far too much money on obscure single-malt scotches. In what free time he has, Lee produces an Elite: Dangerous webcomic called Fangs.

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Vivienne Westwood. British Fashion Grandmother

#Persona

Vivienne Westwood is one of the rare designers who create fashion in the true sense – not meticulously neat, predictably boring, to the point of vulgarity artless dresses and suits, but completely unexpected ensembles filled with the romanticism of historicism and the aesthetics of chaos, the dynamic cut of which makes such an impression, as if they were sewn by a drunk tailor.

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Male role

A cutting method that creates the effect of incredible dynamics, as if you are in motion, although you have not yet begun to move, invented by Andreas Kronthaler, designer, third husband of Vivienne Westwood. It’s amazing how lucky some lucky women are with their spouses! Her previous husband, Malcolm McLaren, came up with the philosophy of Vivienne Westwood’s business, which turned from a marginal brand of avant-garde clothing into a world-famous British fashion house. McLaren played a pivotal role in Vivienne Westwood’s career. Before meeting him, she was an ordinary primary school teacher, driving primitive knowledge and cliches into the heads of children, a respectable wife and mother, for whom the limit of self-realization is home and family. However, in the late 60s, Vivien met Malcolm McLaren, an art student, a brawler who was known to almost all the policemen in London.

Inspirer

In 1968, McLaren was in Paris, a city that at that time was the center of the spiritual quest of progressive European youth. McLaren got acquainted with the works of contemporary situationist philosophers, among whom was Guy Debord, who opposed the consumer society. The Situationists directed their critique against art as a commodity. Returning to London, inspired by fresh ideas, McLaren decided to act in two directions – fashion and music. Together with his new girlfriend Vivienne, who admired his ebullient free life and original thinking, at 19In 71, he opened the most incredible store in London. A couple of years later, he organized the Sex Pistols group, which played punk rock, which implied not so much skill as the desire to play.

Vivien’s first boutique

The store changed names constantly. First there was a sign over the entrance saying “In the Backyard of Heaven’s Garage”, then “Let There Be Rock”, then “Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die”, which was replaced by the cheeky “Sex”. McLaren and Westwood realized that peace-loving hippies, cute colorful clothes, passing cars, drugs, Eastern teachings, rock are yesterday. They caught a fresh trend in the field of subcultures and created a punk fashion. Having common ideals – unlimited freedom, extreme individualism, anti-capitalism – hippies and punks chose completely different ways to achieve them. Hippies are love, kindness, wisdom, harmony, punks are sex, aggression, superficiality, chaos. Outwardly, punks were very different from their predecessors. They borrowed leather jackets from beatniks and mutilated classic jeans with holes and scuffs. The rest of the elements of style they invented, guided by the principle of provocative deconstructivism.

Birth of style

Vivien was the first to make herself an extreme bob cut out of bleached hair – a ladies’ version of mohawks. She was also the first to make fun of clothes, turning them into rags. The store sold shirts with a swastika on the sleeves, T-shirts and T-shirts with obscene inscriptions, torn tights, leather jackets with rivets and spikes, brutal belts and safety pins. These clothes were similar to those worn by prostitutes, the dregs of society, individuals with deviant behavior. But because punk was trendy, the store enjoyed unprecedented popularity. Her most scandalous work at the dawn of her career is a T-shirt with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of England with a safety pin in her lip. The monarchical theme would later become key to Westwood’s work. “London would be terrible without the queen. If you imagine all these politicians without her, all this would be so boring without such context as, for example, royal flags. I think it’s all charming. Even Buckingham Palace,” says Westwood. Subsequently, she will be carried away by historical costume and will be true to the principle of the situationists to look for inspiration in old things. “I discovered the past,” admits Westwood, “I suddenly realized that there is an inexhaustible source of ideas. Take, for example, Dior. His best collections are allusions to the Elizabethan era! When I re-read The Three Musketeers, I got the idea for the Pirates collection. There, for example, there was a model of “shapeless” pants, which I still like. It looked like these pants had been worn for a century: pockets pulled back, baggy bottoms, and so on. I saw something similar on one of the old engravings and transferred it to our time.

Fat queens with tattoos

By the 1980s, the Sex Pistols broke up, and Vivienne Westwood lost interest first in her husband because he was “too superficial”, and then in the punk style. However, she became fascinated with the history of costume and discovered subtle threads that connected the main passion of her youth with what she was to do later. In 1981, Vivien began presenting her collections at London Fashion Week, and since 1983 at Paris Fashion Week. Her first collections made popular the “rags and holes” style. Subsequently, she created clothes that parodied classical luxury. At 19In 87, the fashion designer presented a collection with parodies of royal robes and a Scottish costume. Disheveled plump women with tattoos on their shoulders and smeared make-up showed off clothes – in corset bodices, plaid miniskirts and shoes on a wooden platform. Vivienne Westwood brought into fashion clothes with external seams, mini-crinolines and linen style. One of Westwood’s sons became a follower of her fashion – he created the world-famous lingerie brand Agent Provocateur. The fashion designer herself says about her clothes like this: “It allows you to design your personality, it is a bit theatrical and gives you a chance to express yourself. She disposes to herself, she kind of invites people to come up to you, talk, get to know each other. The bonus is also that you automatically protect yourself from the attention of conservative personalities – such people simply will not suit you. In her seventies, Vivienne Westwood is full of energy and devoid of prejudice. She posed completely naked for anti-glamor photographer Juergen Teller to show everyone that age is in fashion! In these realistic photos, she looks even more charismatic, sexy, strong and free than in her youth.

4 facts about Vivienne Westwood

– Vivienne Westwood attracts only great originals. Richard Branson liked her style of tailoring so much that he asked the British fashion legend to make uniforms for Virgin Atlantic flight attendants.

– Westwood’s activity extends beyond fashion – she creates ironic, slightly avant-garde interior concepts like tablecloths, pillows and wallpaper.

– One day, Westwood said goodbye to her luxurious radiant red hair and shaved baldly in order to draw public attention to the problems of climate change. The designer urges to buy only the necessary things, and invest in the conservation of nature.

– Vivienne Westwood describes her artistic tastes as follows: “My favorite artists are Titian, Velazquez and Vermeer. I also love Dutch painting of the 17th century. But there are also three geniuses of the 18th century: Boucher, Watteau and Fragonard. Their pictures will open the whole world for you. It’s an absolute delight.”

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Vivienne Westwood and Leopard Heels: Theresa May Style Rules

July 12, 2016

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• Forbes Woman

• Olga Proskurnina

  Author

• Anna Kasyan

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After Brexit and the scandalous resignation of David Cameron, a woman whose biography resembles the story of Angela Merkel becomes the British Prime Minister. There is only one essential difference between them, but it is very bright

Former British Home Secretary Theresa May took over the premier’s office at 10 Downing Street today. Before her, only one woman has been Prime Minister – the legendary Margaret Thatcher. However, the British press compares May not only with Thatcher, but also with the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel. Both female leaders grew up in the families of Protestant priests, both are completely immersed in work, have no children, love to walk in the mountains and are considered more boring than they really are. However, Theresa May’s personal style overshadows not only Merkel (which is easily achievable), but many heroines of fashion blogs and magazines.

Photo PA Wire·Press Association Images·TASS

The new Prime Minister was born on 1 October 1956 to Hubert Brazier, vicar of Whittle, near Oxford. In an interview with Telrgraph four years ago, she said that she had dreamed of entering politics since she was 12 years old. Thérèse Marie Brazier studied at prestigious private schools, where she was considered a smartass and a good girl, and graduated from the University of Oxford, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geography in 1977. She began her career at the Bank of England, and from 1985 to 1997 worked in the Association of Payment and Clearing Services. She then won the parliamentary elections for the Conservative Party and began to rise along the party line. Prior to the Conservative victory in the 2010 election, she held high positions in the shadow cabinet.

Photo Photo FA Bobo·PIXSELL·PA Images·TASS

In 2002, Theresa May became famous for her fiery speech at the party conference. Persuading her party members that the Tories should change and get closer to the voters, she said: “You know what people call us – the party of freaks.” Judging by the fact that the Conservatives, led by David Cameron, defeated Labor in 2010, the call was heard after all. In May 2010, May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality. She became the fourth woman in the country’s history (including after Margaret Thatcher) to head a ministry in the British government.

Photo by REUTERS·Suzanne Plunkett

British journalists compare May not only with Thatcher and Merkel, but also with former British Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown (from 2007 to 2010). He, like Mei, came from a family of a priest, at the age of 12 he became interested in politics and had such significant authority in his party that he was able to lead it without a fight. Popularity among conservatives allowed May to win the fight for the post of prime minister. Actually, there was no fight: the former mayor of London, Boris Johnson, refused to claim the post of prime minister, and Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom announced her self-rejection, since her rival’s position in the party is too strong.

Photo FA Bobo PIXSELL PA Images TASS

May’s former classmate at Oxford told the Telegraph in 2012 that during the tumultuous 1970s she was exceptionally well behaved, without engaging in any student frenzy. But with her way of dressing (and especially her shoes), she has attracted the attention of the British press since she entered public politics. There is a well-known picture of 2004, in which Mei, lying on a bench, shows her next extravagant shoes with glass heels to a crowd of photographers.

Photo FA Bobo PIXSELL PA Images TASS

In 1980 Teresa married investment banker Philip May. They met in Oxford, at a disco party of the future Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, and then became close because of their passion for cricket. The prime minister’s husband works as a client manager for Capital International Group. After Theresa May’s nomination for prime minister, Capital International issued a statement that the decision would not affect the company’s investment decisions and that Philip May was not involved in financial management.

The Mays don’t have children – in 2012, in an interview with the Telegraph, Teresa, answering a question about this, said that this was how life happened. In the 36th year of marriage, the spouses live in love and harmony; a family friend told the Telegraph that Philip adores Teresa and is even in awe of her.

Photo by Daniel Leal-Olivas i-Images via ZUMA Wire TASS

One of Theresa May’s favorite designers is Vivienne Westwood. From shoes, she prefers ballet flats, loafers and pumps with leopard prints. Favorite brand of bags is L.K. Bennet: she came to the first meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers with just such a bag, which fits a lot of documents.

Photo by REUTERS Stefan Wermuth

Another hallmark of Theresa May’s style is bright colors. Last week, when it was announced that she remained one of two candidates for the premiership, she went to the press in a fuchsia dress and ballerinas with kiss prints.

Photo by PA Wire Press Association Images TASS

Theresa May doesn’t like to shop online – she likes to go to the market with a wheeled cart herself. She also likes to buy cookbooks, but not super-accurate, like the once popular Delia Smith in England: she prefers the free style of Jamie Oliver.

Photo by Vickie Flores London News Pictures via ZUMA Wire TASS

performed by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons

Pange Lingua Gloriosi Corporis Mysterium (hymn written by Thomas Aquinas performed by Capella Gregoriana)

Edward Elgar Cello Concerto in E Minor

Dancing Queen (ABBA hit)

Rondo from Henry Purcell’s suite “Abdelazar, or the Revenge of the Moor”

Aria of the Queen of the Night from Mozart’s “Magic Flute”

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collections, style, role in modern fashion.

Interview Vivienne Westwood Matt Callard

Text:
Cordula Reier, translated by Sascha Glüwein

In an interview with the German Welt am Sonntag, fashion designer Andreas Kronthaler confessed his love for fashion to his wife, who is a quarter of a century older than him, and spoke about the beginning of a relationship that has lasted for 18 years.

About fashion:
“As a teenager, I discovered Armani in one of the boutiques in Rimini. It was something special – chic, elegance, minimalism… it’s not for nothing that Italians talk about Armani as a god. Since then, I have understood the difference between clothes and fashion.”

What things are for:
“Clothes serve us as a support in life and help us no worse than medicine.”

About the first meeting with his future wife:
“Vivienne was my professor… When she entered the classroom, she was wearing tight overalls with a belt around her hips and wooden shoes that clattered “so-so,” Vivien held a magnifying glass in her hands. She began to speak – it seemed to me that a new universe was born.

About the beginning of the novel:
“She liked that I could fantasize and think big. She took the first step. She felt good with me – all of a sudden it turned out that we were always together … We went to eat together, to the theater, to exhibitions. From her I learned a lot about the history of fashion in the Middle Ages and infected her with a passion for fashion in the 20th century. We started to complement each other. She bewitched me. She is not afraid of anyone or anything. Vivien can stay one or two weeks and still be silent – this is normal for her. On the contrary, I’m afraid of everything.”

About marriage:
“I believe that marriage is the source of energy for love. Vivien and I share everything – and thus the good becomes two more. I can’t and don’t want to live without her.”

About the delights of family life:
“We spend 24 hours a day together! We ride bicycles to the studio to work. Then we also return home. I am in charge of many things and she is always ready to help me. If you need to make some important decision, I discuss it with Vivienne and after the discussion I know what to do. The word “trust” may sound trite, but in reality it is something special when you suddenly realize that you can trust someone.”

About working together:
“Vivienne is very collected, but I, on the contrary, often jump from fifth to tenth. She is much more experienced and cooler, and I am impressed that my opinion is so important to her … I don’t like and I don’t know how to explain my actions, in order to understand what and how I do, you just need to watch me. Vivienne, on the contrary, is very sociable. She always knows exactly what she wants. I never know this and I am ready to try a lot of options.

How to blow off steam:
“I am very impatient, but in recent years I am improving because I do yoga a lot.”

Her collections are studied at the Universities of Fashion, clothes from flaunt on covers and glossy pages, but her personality is no less interesting. And it seems that having learned a little more about her, we understand that there is nothing easier and nothing more attractive than being yourself. How to remain modern, active, in demand at the age of 70? Vivien’s secrets are quite simple.

The simplest secrets of beauty and youth

We don’t have to study rare luxury cosmetics and trendy spa names. You will be surprised, but her recipes are accessible and even banal.

First, 15 minutes every morning.

Secondly, her favorite walks around the city. Vivienne Westwood does not care about age! Throwing back the “show-offs”, she sits on her bike and travels around London. She can often be found doing this with her husband and creative producer Andreas Kronthaler. They calmly cross the British capital on bicycles up and down.

Vivien and Andreas. Photo: www.guardian.co.uk

And Vivienne considers the recipe for a good marriage a quality that is abundant in her – tolerance. “And don’t expect anything from a partner!” Westwood insists on his secret to a happy relationship.

Another of Vivien’s recipes for youth – she believes in simple pleasures. For example, did you know that Vivienne Westwood loves to cook? The signature dish is Beef Wellington. She always cooks it herself, and loves to treat guests with her creation. He also loves to read. Only not magazines and newspapers, but books. Favorite book is À La Recherche du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust.

Vivien does not watch TV and rarely goes to the cinema, although she does not miss the most important films. Most recently, she highly appreciated the painting “The King’s Speech”. Vivien told reporters that she was fascinated by the film’s beautiful simplicity.

Vivienne’s most important recipe for skin is “no sun at all”. – her point.

After long trips or parties, she definitely arranges a juice diet for herself.

Friends, they are idols

Many people are friends with Vivien. Surprisingly, she has both her peers and very young colleagues in her friends. One of her friends is model Kate Moss. Vivienne knows how to be friends, she will never belittle the one with whom she is next to, she will never remind of her merits. For example, when Vivienne Westwood was asked if she could design a future wedding dress for Kate Moss, the fashion designer replied that Kate is a very gifted girl and could make a dress for herself. After these words, Kate Moss, inspired by the high appreciation of her friend, really thought about her own dress design, although she later changed her mind.

Vivienne’s characters are women with a very controversial reputation. But noticeable and different. For example, Vivienne at one time admired the beauty of Pamela Anderson. And now her ideal of beauty is Christina Hendricks. She became the face of Vivienne Westwood this year. Christina Hendricks will present a jewelry collection from the British designer called “Get a Life”, created from the sustainable metal palladium. In 2010, the actress Hendrix was recognized as the sexiest woman in the world according to the men’s magazine Esquire, and also received the prestigious award of the American television people for her role in the TV series Mad Men. In promotional photos for Vivienne Westwood, Christina shows jewelry, hair accessories and other items from the brand’s jewelry collection.

Another woman that Vivien adores is Jane Fonda. “I really love to dress her,” says Vivien. From men, idols and friends, the fashion designer highlights the style and appearance of George Clooney, and is also grateful to Robert Redford for making the world a better place. Vivien herself and her creations are also loved by many. None of her shows miss Dita von Teese, always in the forefront of the audience Kate Moss. Vivien admires her friends, always puts them on a pedestal.

Behind the scenes of the shows

Surprisingly, Vivien herself rarely watches her shows. She just comes out at the end of the defile to bow, but rarely controls everything that happens behind the scenes, leaving it at the mercy of makeup artists, stylists, directors. It is difficult for her to talk about her achievements and successes. They are probably still ahead. Although the last show of Fall-2011 made Vivienne really proud. She really liked the collection, and makeup, and the action itself. Critics said that the models at that show looked like horses. And Vivien is proud of such a comparison.

Collection Fall-2011

What dreams

Surprisingly, Vivien, this outrageous, extraordinary and unlike any other woman, inside is almost the same as most of us. She really finds joy in simple things. She dreams of an apartment in Paris, although she is forced to live in London for the time being, on Oxford Street. He likes to go to the Royal Academy and look at the drawings of Jean-Antoine Watteau. And the best of the moments of life calls the evening spent in the Japanese theater Noh. And he really wants to repeat that action. She assures that if someone offers her to spend the rest of her life in this Japanese theater, she will answer “Yes!”.

Photo: Associated Press

Study

When Vivienne Isabel Swire was 17, she and her family moved to London from Glossop in Derbyshire. There, the girl received a pedagogical education at Trent Park College and studied for one semester at the Harrow Art School. During her studies, Vivien created a collection of jewelry that was sold out at a local kiosk. The future outrageous designer, the “queen of scandal”, worked for several years as a primary school teacher.

Family

In 1962, Vivienne Isabelle Swire married dance hall owner Derek Westwood. The girl sewed the wedding dress herself. Derek’s business soon went bankrupt, which caused poverty and constant scandals. Three years after the wedding, the family broke up. From her first husband, Vivienne has two children: a daughter, Rose, and a son, Benjamin. After the divorce, she left her husband’s surname, under which she later became famous.

Fatal acquaintance

In the late 1960s, future designer Vivienne Westwood met art school student Malcolm McLaren, the future punk inspiration and producer of the infamous Sex Pistols. She lived with him for 13 years in a civil marriage, in 1967 having given birth to a son, Joseph.

70s. Outrageous start and creation of a new style

Starting a business and punk style

Thanks to Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood became interested in design, and at 19At 71, she took up modeling clothes. They opened Let It Rock on King’s Road in Chelsea, selling music CDs and clothes in the resurgent ’50s Teddy Boy style.
Renamed “Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die” in 1973 and “Sex” in 1974.

“We rebelled against what we imposed on our generation. In protest, we searched for ourselves, formed our vision of the world”

The change in name was not accidental: Vivienne and Malcolm felt the end of an era was approaching and began selling clothes in style. The emblem of “Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die” was a pirate flag. Vivienne Westwood by that time had made a new hairstyle – a short crew cut on peroxide-bleached hair. The boutique has become an expression of the punk and porno-chic styles developed by the couple:
forbidden music played in it, the walls were decorated with pictures from porno magazines and indecent inscriptions, and paraphernalia of sex shops served
.

Malcolm became the ideologue of the direction, who developed its content, aesthetics and music together with his comrades, Vivien came up with a new style, and their store became the center of the London punk party. Punk style involved the use of unusual elements in clothing (for example, collars and chains as jewelry) with traditional elements (plaid fabrics, etc.).

Clothes for Sex Pistols

In 1976, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren co-designed for the first time clothing for the Sex Pistols, the iconic punk worldview and lifestyle.
Subsequently, the designer created several hundred stage costumes for them, which popularized the punk style.

In 1977, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated the 25th anniversary of her accession to the throne. The Sex Pistols group released the single “God Save The Queen” as a congratulation, on the cover of which a photograph of a royal person was placed with the inscription “God Save the Queen” instead of eyes and the name of the group instead of lips.

Vivienne Westwood continued the theme and released T-shirts with a portrait of Elizabeth, on which her mouth was pierced with a safety pin. The outrageous and daring act of the musicians and the designer shocked the conservative English society, but made them even more popular. In 1978, Vivienne Westwood created the Vivienne Westwood brand.

80s. Provocative rebellion

Catwalks – a new height

By the 1980s, after the breakup of the Sex Pistols, Vivienne Westwood began to lose interest in punk clothing. At first she wanted to give up design, but at this time she became seriously interested in the history of costume and realized that the work of most fashion designers is a rethinking of the fashion of past years and centuries.

In 1981, the designer refurbished her store and changed its name to World’s End. Instead of street fashion, she turned to the art of tailoring and was carried away by the transformation of historical clothing.

Vivienne Westwood’s first collection was called The Three Musketeers. She became an inspiration for young designers (John Galliano) and (Alexander McQueen). In 1981, Vivien began presenting her collections at London Fashion Week, and since 1983 at Paris Fashion Week.

The first show in 1981 was called “The Pirate Collection”, it duplicated models from The Three Musketeers. The next collection presented clothes with Indian motifs and was called “Savages”. “Savages” and “Vagabonds” 1982 years made popular a new style of “tatters and holes”. The designer created clothes that parodied the fashionable classic luxury of the decade, but with external seams, loose loops and holes.
The hair at the shows was dirty, hats with feathers were sewn from burlap. In the same 1982, Vivienne Westwood put on bras over blouses on models, which became a prerequisite for the development of the popularity of underwear style.

The latest collaboration with Malcolm McLaren “Witches” collection with wool sweaters and voluminous double-breasted was a sensational show. At 1984 Vivienne Westwood introduced puffy short skirts “mini-crini” (mini-crinolines) combined with corsages, and then “Hariss Tweed” with traditional fabrics and a new vision of classic styles.

In 1987, the designer presented a collection with parodies of royal robes and Scottish costume. Clothes were shown by disheveled bbws with tattoos on their shoulders and smeared makeup – in corset bodices, plaid miniskirts and on a wooden platform. Vivienne Westwood’s provocations were external – underneath they hid the high quality of cut, inventive design and perfect execution of clothing models.

Opening of the second store

In 1984, Vivienne Westwood opened her second Nostalgia of Mud store in London. Its façade was decorated with a geographical map, and the interior was stylized as an archaeological excavation, the attributes of which were an earthen floor and voodoo figurines.

90s. Ironic historicism

New ideas

Wearing 1990s clothing, Vivienne Westwood mixed English and French styles in a direction that has become her new calling card. In this decade, the designer ironically rethought the fashion of the XVIII – XIX centuries. with the words “the only way to the future is to look back.” The facade of the boutique “End of the World” was decorated, going in the opposite direction.

In 1990, Vivienne launched a menswear line in Florence. In the same year, Vivienne Westwood launched her famous Portrait collection. In 1993, at the show of the autumn-winter collection, the fashion designer presented shoes on 25-centimeter platforms, saying that she loves to “put a woman on a pedestal, and in the truest sense of the word.” The show was marked by the fall of the model (Naomi Campbell).

In the fall-winter 1994-1995 and spring-summer 1995 collections, Vivienne Westwood offered models with “new erogenous zones” – a modified bustle in combination with a miniskirt. With regard to the body, the designer was a fetishist, even in her clothes emphasizing erogenous zones with the help of a cut, lining, or corset. Bustles were not commercially successful, but corsets continued to be present in almost every collection.

Awards

• From 1989 to 1991, the designer, who did not have a higher education, was a fashion professor at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts.
• In 1990 and 1991, Vivienne Westwood was named Fashion Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council.
• In 1992, the designer became an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Arts. In the same year, Queen Elizabeth II presented Vivien with the OBE (Order of the British Empire) at Buckingham Palace. The outrageous designer was dressed according to the rules of official social visits – in a hat, gloves and a skirt below the knees, but at the exit from the palace she waved the hem, demonstrating the absence of underwear.

• In 1998, Vivienne Westwood received the Queen’s Award for Export Development.

In the same year, Vivienne Westwood, with the participation of the Japanese company “Itochu”, created a joint venture to promote products in the US and Japan, which to this day creates collections under the brands “Gold Label” (luxury women’s clothing), “Red Label” ( youth), “Man” (men’s clothing), “Anglomania” (unisex casual wear). At the end of 90’s designer released the perfume “Boudoir” (“Boudoir”).

2000s. Present and future

Family

Vivienne Westwood’s third husband was her student and creative partner Andreas Kronthaler, whom she met at the Vienna Academy.

“I hardly criticize my husband, Andreas Kronthaler. Although he is not entitled to any discount on age. He’s just the only one – of those whom I know in fashion – capable of ingenious solutions. His collections inside mine look like I’ve outdone myself. Because my head is a little tired. And there are still a lot of undeveloped territories in his head.”

The designer’s eldest son Benjamin is now a well-known erotic photographer, and the younger Joseph has created the world-famous lingerie.

Awards

In 2006, the Queen raised the Vivienne Westwood Order to the DBE for services to fashion. In 2007, within the framework of the British Fashion Awards, the designer was awarded an award for significant contribution to fashion design. The “queen of outrageousness” was late for the presentation, as she was in the toilet. That same year, Glossopdale Community College named its branch after the designer.

Stores and customers

Vivienne Westwood’s clients include Gwen Stefani, Gary Hall, Mick Jagger, Pete Burns, Nakashima Mika, Fearne Cotton, Naomi Campbell et al.

Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw appeared in a Vivienne Westwood wedding dress in the feature film Sex and the City.

Westwood was also marked by style criticism (Kate Moss), reproaching the model for being too fond of things. The fashion designer also received a negative response from the image of Kate Middleton:

“Katherine looks like a completely ordinary girl, but she should try to be special.”

Vivienne Westwood currently has five branded stores, three in London and one each in Milan and Leeds. There are also showrooms in Milan, Paris and Los Angeles. Franchise stores are open in Glasgow, Liverpool, Nottingham, Newcastle, Manchester and York.

“A person trying to keep up with today is a complete zero. Here and now there is something that can only be understood after a while.

Vivienne Westwood’s interview with Tim Blanks (published in Interview magazine on July 19, 2012)

T.B.:
I’ve always liked the way you use aesthetics as a weapon – or at least as a force of good – as if you were a medium between culture and the real world. The last example I love is the nude portraits you did with Juergen Teller. I know they were created back in 2009 but I first saw them on his show in February. These portraits reminded me of Venus in front of Velazquez’s mirror.

V.V.:
She is there with her back to the viewer, she has a beautiful back and beautiful pale arms and legs.

TB:
And what kind of picture, where the artist depicted the object and naked and dressed at the same time?

VV:
It’s Goya! We did nude portraits since my hair was down. I usually don’t wear them loose. I think I’m too old for this. Old women with long flowing hair look stupid. Although my hair is dyed red. If they were white, I would look like a witch. In any case, Jürgen is pleased that we did everything the way we did.

T.B.:
Was the idea his or yours?

VV:
Oh no, I would never have thought of that. But I trust him, which is why I let him do it. I believe in him. If he says he wants to take a naked picture of me, I don’t think that I don’t want to do it. I think, “Well, okay, I can do it.”

TB:
And I thought the artistic idea came from you.

VV:
Jurgen told me to sit on the sofa. I could just sit on the couch and undress… I let my hair down. You know, being naked doesn’t mean being completely naked. A beautiful hairstyle, makeup is important … You can put a beautiful ring on your finger or something like that. It’s important to be “dressy”. I said I want to let my hair down. At that time, Jurgen’s wife and his little son were with us, the atmosphere was very relaxed.

T.B.:
Are you conceited?

VV:
I could be conceited… But I’ll tell you that I’m not trying to compete with other women at all. It’s possible when you’re young, but now, if I walk into the room and see Pamela Anderson, who looks amazing, I will admire her and not try to draw all the attention to myself. I am always happy for those who do something good. I’ll tell you this (I don’t know if this is conceited or not): when I wake up, sit in front of the mirror and put on my makeup, I look at myself and think I’m getting old. And then I forget about it. I’m satisfied with myself, that’s all. In fact, I think I look great for my age. Sometimes I don’t even do makeup and don’t think about it. There is one girl who always wears lipstick. Even when the phone rings and it turns out that this is her boyfriend, she begins to paint her lips. This is genius. And Jeri Hall, for example, puts on perfume before going to the podium. I mean it’s not vanity. When I was young, I always thought I looked good. Even though I didn’t have very straight teeth. I always thought that I would grow up and be even better. I knew that I could look good, so I always took care of myself and spent a lot of time doing my hair and so on.

T.B.:
When I think back to your first shows in Paris in the 80’s, I think about how different they were from anything you’ve done before on a cultural level. I was wondering if the songs of the Sex Pistols, the sound of the guitar and so on inspired you then?

VV:
Yes! Yes! I have always compared Charlie Parker to Steve Jones. They played different instruments, right? I think Steve was a genius guitarist, just great! I also liked Johnny Rotten.

T.B.:
He is a great example of how a person can turn into armor. It is possible to live a happy life outside of the image that you present to the world. Do you think you are doing this?

VV:
I don’t really care. I don’t want to seem good to everyone, but I think it’s reasonable to have a motive to make the world a better place. Of course, there is also self-indulgence, because in order to know something, you need to explore it. And if you have researched an object, you can make it better. I want to explore, that’s what I really care about. “I think, and therefore I exist” – this is all I am. I consistently go through all the lives that I live, because the opinion tends to be different at different times.

T.B.:
Do you agree that contradiction is the thread that ties all your lives together?

VV:
My husband calls me the queen of awkwardness. I guess it is, because I always have a opposing reaction to the monotony, when people do the same thing all the time … By the way, there is a girl, Jane Mulvach, who wrote a book about me, which is complete garbage. When she came to me, I didn’t want to help her write the book, because I don’t like people who try to be more important than you and plot behind your back. She said that I should talk to her, and I thought “Never!” Of course, if I had not refused her, the book would have turned out much better. But I did not help her, and it turned out to be rubbish.

T.B.:
Do you agree that wisdom comes with age?

VV:
Yes, it is. I call it investment. How you perceive the experience and how you relate to it. You can radically change your mind when you’re young, but I think the older we get, the less we change our minds because our outlook on things becomes more solid. Solid in the best sense of the word. All our decisions are based on experience and therefore are the most acceptable for us.

T.B.:
Do you think we get freer with age? This is especially true for women. A woman once told me that with the passage of time, all women are freed from worldly concerns and from what bothered them in their youth and middle age.

VV:
I think you are right. When I was younger, I probably performed my female role much brighter than I do now. A lot of people talk about a midlife crisis. It happened to me at the age of 30. After that, I stopped worrying about not being a sex object anymore.

T.B.:
Have you been before?

VV:
Yes. I got a lot of attention. She looked amazing! But I remember that when I saw Brigitte Bardot in the movies, I thought that I could never look so good.

TB:
How aware are you of your place in fashion history? In 1989, John Fairchild said that he considered you one of the most influential designers.

VV:
See Halston’s book on the table? Andreas bought it at a second-hand store. I have never looked at his work before, but now I do. His style seems to come from the 70s. If he was not alive, then everyone would think that these are clothes from the 70s. I think that here my fashion corresponds to the period in which I live. She is very eclectic. In the 70s, when Malcolm and I opened Let it Rock, we were looking for something rock, something from the 50s, because we were tired of hippies. He was never a hippie, he hated authority and never dressed according to the trends of the time. It was the beginning of an era of nostalgia for the 30s, 40s… I analyzed all the facts and decided that we should be rebels, we should go back to the 50s and protest against the adult world. That’s when the teddy-fights came along. People didn’t like it, they continued to follow the hippie fashion. And that was just the beginning of an era of nostalgia. Now fashion has gone through everything that is possible. Now it will not be possible to invent something new, so fashion has become eclectic.

T.B.:
I didn’t understand whether you were against nostalgia or for it. It seems to me that your eclecticism had a fairly strong radical influence …

VV:
Oh, I think I had a very strong influence. But mostly it was directed against me. People thought clothes shouldn’t have torn edges. If the fabric is bad, then it really looks terrible, but I influenced the fact that people basically started using this technique. I can not express my opinion about today’s fashion. A few years ago, I would have said that she is terrible, that there are no people who look good. Of course, there are some really good designers in the world. Yves Saint Laurent and Cristobal Balenciaga inspired a lot of people. But I never follow the general trends, because I don’t even look at fashion magazines, unless they have photographs of my work printed in them.

T.B.:
I always thought that there was some special relationship between you.

VV:
I consider her a very, very talented designer. This is first. I know that Rei is more committed to contemporary art than I am. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t inspire me. We are all inspired by everything that happens around us. Rei can be very extreme at times. She can make clothes with very wide hip lines, with a hump or something like that…

T.B.:
But both of you changed the fashion silhouette, dropped all the rules.

VV:
I don’t know. I just added different details to fashion at different times. Did I change the silhouette? At some time, I left the wide shoulders and returned the narrow shoulders to the silhouette. I made a lot of changes in the style of my clothes while working with Andreas. By the way, in the last 20 years he has developed no less designs than I have. Few people know about it. He is very responsible. Most of the time I am, in fact, his assistant. He is the boss. He watches over everything. I mean, he gets terribly upset if something is sewn in the wrong way. He very aesthetically perceives beauty and human potential in clothes.

T.B.:
Is this the first time you have worked with someone in this way?

VV:
I learned a lot from Andreas and I think he also benefited from working with me. He cannot control his power on his own.

TB:
It’s funny to think that you discipline someone.

VV:
I have a very strong inner discipline. I am one of those who break the principles. Andreas can create amazing cuts based on principles, while I rely more on geometry. We work with him in different ways. The best thing he did was figure out a way to make our clothes look like they were made by a drunk tailor. And this creates a feeling of incredible dynamics. As if you are in motion, although you have not yet begun to move. This is genius.

T.B.:
Are you melancholy?

VV:
No. Now I feel much happier than a few years ago, because the work has given me the opportunity to talk about things that are really important to me. I feel that now everything is coming together and merging into a single whole. My fashion helps me say what I want. And what I say, in turn, helps fashion. I’m worried that I don’t interact with people enough. But I want to force them to do something that will help our climate and ecological situation. It seems to me that I am doing my best for this, this question has always bothered me. There are thousands of non-governmental organizations and charitable foundations, individuals doing amazing things. Recently, I have met people who support me and give me hope. I believe in the Gaia principle, according to which the Earth interacts with the biosphere and thereby restores its health. I believe that we have the potential to help make the Earth healthy.

T.B.:
That’s why I asked you about melancholy. After all, we do not know how the world works.

VV:
Yeah. I would like to be the last person on earth to find out how it all works.

TB:
In your works melancholy goes hand in hand with romance. The romantic ideal is one of the unrealizable ideals of mankind. It exists to be destroyed.

VV:
Are you talking about Romance with a capital “R”, the Romance of the 1830s – suffering and consumptive? I don’t know, maybe it’s a kind of nostalgia… A kind of longing for the past or for something that doesn’t even exist. I always come up with designs designed for a parallel universe. For me, a hero is someone who is able to live a real life.

T.B.:
Do you think that the controversial path you have chosen is being swallowed up by the mainstream? I mean that you are honored by the society that you despised.

VV:
I know. I realize that I am very popular. At the end of the punk rock period, I realized that it was a marketing ploy and an opportunity to develop more products. But it was also an opportunity to create a free society. “We have rebels, so we are free.” But I thought that this was not enough, that we should go further and generate more ideas. Forget the rules. I don’t oppose them. Of course, politically we do not agree with them, but I am no longer interested in opposing anything. I am interested in research.

T.B.:
I imagine moments where you chuckle at being hailed as Mistress Vivienne Westwood.

VV:
No, I never thought it was weird. Such thoughts never crossed my mind. Of course, when you are suddenly given such a title, you are at a loss for words. But, in any case, you accept it. Perhaps Socrates felt something similar when he took the poison. It’s the same, but in a good way. If society asks me to, why not?

T.B.:
But this title has turned you into a symbol…

VV:
I am aware that if my parents had not moved from Northern England to Southern England, I might have become a teacher, not a designer. Sometimes I think it would be nice to live an ordinary life, read books and see friends. In the conditions of my life, I do not have time for this . .. Other people have more time for all this, but I understand that I live a life that not everyone lives. I have always gravitated toward learning life lessons. I don’t know what would happen if I became a teacher. I’m sure I’d be the headmistress. Or I would work with students… or teachers’ unions… Maybe I would write a book and do something for the education system.

T.B.:
Who would you say is the most important person in your life?

VV:
This is Gary Ness, my friend. I know I judge myself. But I consider him one of the smartest people in the whole world. He drew my attention to art and carried me away with reading. He taught me to look at things realistically. Of course, Malcolm also influenced me. But I got tired of him, because he only wanted superficial success, he did not go deep into the matter. So he stopped being interesting to me. I think it’s important to move forward, and he didn’t do that.

T.B.:
And the last thing: how would you like to see your old age?

VV:
I wish I could live long enough to see people confront the issue of climate change. Perhaps then they will have a real motivation to fight it.

TB:
And that would be more important than what people think about how you changed fashion?

VV:
Yes, I don’t worry about that. I don’t expect anything from anyone. We know so little… We have lost much more knowledge than we have gained. And so I don’t know what I think about life after death. I’m still convinced that it doesn’t exist. I don’t want monuments erected to me, I would rather just disappear. Definitely, definitely, definitely.

Vivienne Westwood (Interview with Time Out-London, 2008)

Time Out London:
Who are your London heroes?

Queen. I understand that she is the hero of the whole country, but London would be terrible without her. If you imagine all these politicians without her, all this would be so boring without such context as, for example, royal flags. I think it’s all so sweet… Even Buckingham Palace. You may think he’s terrible, but I think he’s cute. And Neil MacGregor from the British Museum.

Time Out London:
Of all the events in the fashion industry that have taken place over the past 40 years, which do you consider the most significant?

Punk – nothing more to say. I walked the streets in rubber negligees and stilettos while everyone else sported jeans and platform shoes. I felt like a real heroine. I knew I looked good.

Time Out London:
What is the future of fashion?

Looks like London will be half underwater in 20 years! The collection that I show here is characterized by street and sexy style. She reminds me of fun, drinking and stuff like that. It’s for people who go out on a Saturday night and want to dress up.

Time Out London:
What is your favorite place in London?

Wallace Gallery. The works of French art that are in the Wallace collection are unlike anything else, they are magnificent. It was collected at a time when all this was not appreciated, after the Revolution. I have always said that this is the best art school in the country.

Vivienne Westwood is a British fashion designer, born in Derbyshire (England) on April 8, 1941, the creator of the punk style. The tabloids call Vivienne Westwood the “English rebel”, the most non-standard and provocative designer of the turn of the millennium.

Career Vivten Westwood

Not stopping there, Vivienne Westwood was fascinated by the history of costume, resulting in the transformation of traditional historical outfits in a very unexpected modern interpretation.
Vivienne Westwood’s creative path began with studying at an art school, where she not only studied the basics of design skills, but also met a life partner – Malcolm McLaren, a fan of street subculture and producer of the Sex Pistols group. In 1971, together they opened the Let It Rock store (later renamed Sex) in London, which became the center of the informal party. The features of the outfits of regular customers of the store inspired Vivienne Westwood to develop a new style of street fashion – “punk” as well as “porno-chic”.

Vivienne Westwood’s collections amazed with a unique choice of images, from which new trends of modern fashion subsequently developed: “Three Musketeers” (hats with feathers and tight pants), “New Romantics” (clothes with Soviet symbols), “Pirates” (baggy cut, wide trousers), Savages and Tramps (torn clothes with tatters, dropped loops, seams out), Longing for mud (incredible color combinations of clothes and blurred makeup), Witches (voluminous double-breasted coats), Mini -Crini” (corsets and crinolines), “Hariss Tweed” (the use of traditional English fabrics and classic styles).

In 1978, a new brand officially appears in the fashion world – Vivienne Westwood. Since 1981, Vivienne Westwood regularly participates in London fashion shows of ready-to-wear collections, and two years later her clothes conquered the catwalks of Paris.

In 1998, the Vivienne Westwood brand became famous in the USA and Japan, where, with the assistance of the Japanese company Itochu, the production of the Gold Label collection (luxury men’s and women’s clothing), Red Label (ready-to-wear youth collection ), “Man” (casual menswear), “Anglomania” (unisex clothing).

Vivienne Westwood managed to harmoniously combine the styles of “punk” and “fetish”. The recognizable elements of Vivienne Westwood’s author’s collections are Victorian-style corsets and crinolines adapted to the present, heraldic elements on accessories, fabrics with large blue stripes or bright plaid, high boots with many straps or shoes on a high wooden platform, asymmetric fasteners, turned-out seams, dropped loops, deliberately lifted skirt hemlines, pulled back pockets and knees, underwear worn over blouses.

Despite the outrageous style, each presented item impresses with its virtuoso, impeccable cut, fantastic ingenuity of finishing, excellent workmanship, and at the same time looks very sexy and feminine.

Achievements Vivienne Westwood

• Vivienne Westwood became the second woman in the history of British fashion to conquer Paris Fashion Weeks.
• Vivienne Westwood’s early collections inspired fashion designers Alexander McQueen and John Galliano to create their own trends and styles.
• In 1992, Queen Elizabeth II presented Vivienne Westwood with a high award – the OBE order, and in 2006 – an even higher DBE order for services to fashion. Today Vivienne Westwood has been awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
• Vivienne Westwood has been named UK Designer of the Year multiple times and is one of the top 10 fashion designers of the 20th century.
• According to the British, there are three queens in the country that they are proud of: Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher and Vivienne Westwood.
• The British art school Glossopdale Community College in 2007 named one of its branches “Westwood” in honor of the famous designer who once studied here.
• In Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker’s character) appears several times in outfits designed by Vivienne Westwood, and the wedding dress is especially popular.
• Dita Von Teese married Marilyn Manson in a purple Vivienne Westwood wedding dress.
• Today Vivienne Westwood has three boutiques in London, one each in Leeds and Milan, stores in Los Angeles and Paris.

Personal life Vivienne Westwood

Primary school teacher Vivienne Westwood never thought that her life would be connected with the world of fashion. She married Derek Westwood early in order, according to rumors, to quickly leave a poor but scandalous family. However, today she herself is often called the “queen of scandals”, capable of disturbing the peace of even stiff English society.

Marriage with Westwood was short-lived, but soon after the divorce, Vivienne met musician Malcolm McLaren, with whom she lived in a civil marriage for 13 years.

Today the flamboyant designer is not alone again: her current husband is the Austrian designer Andreas Kronthaler, who is 30 years younger than Vivien, which does not prevent her from feeling happy.

Vivienne Westwood leads an active political life, participating in actions to support the Labor Party, to cancel the government’s decision on the operation of nuclear power plants; she even released a collection of T-shirts, which flaunted the inscription: I
AM
NOT
A
TERRORIST,
please
don’
t
arrest
me.

Vivienne Westwood style

Bright orange hair, stylish t-shirts with catchy slogans, parodic outfits, incredible platform shoes, extreme make-up – the appearance of shocking queen Vivienne Westwood always causes an emotional shock in others, as well as her collections presented on the catwalks.

Vivienne Westwood quotes

. A whole personality always consists of contradictions.
. If a woman is confident in herself, then she can successfully manipulate all other things, including sexual attractiveness.
. We must be able to be bold and pay less attention to other people’s opinions.
. The secret of success is in self-sufficiency, in the ability to be a person, to remain happy with yourself. It’s difficult. But everything else life will present to you as a gift.
Vivienne Westwood on psychology

. You can wear whatever and however you like. The main thing is that it looks feminine and sexy.
. Even if you have little money, save up for one chic thing and wear it everywhere – to work, to visit, to parties.
Vivienne Westwood on style and fashion

. It would be strange to hide your age, anyway, anyone can calculate it.
. A person trying to keep up with today is a complete zero. Here and now something is happening that will become clear only after a while
Vivienne Westwood on age

Vivienne Westwood’s popularity is gaining momentum more and more. Her punk attitude to life at the beginning of the 21st century is even more relevant than before, and her British patriotism is simply inimitable. It was not for nothing that she was granted the title of Lady of the British Empire.

Dossier:

Vivienne Westwood’s real name is Vivienne Elisabeth Swire, she was born in the town of Glossop in Derbyshire on April 8, 1941.

She began designing in 1971 when she opened Let It Rock at 430 Kings Road. In 1974 the store became known as Sex.

In 1976, together with her future husband and partner Malcolm McLaren, she designed clothing for the Sex Pistols.

In 1981 Vivienne Westwood’s first collection came out in London, called Pirate.


In 1990, Vivien launched a men’s clothing line, which was presented in Florence. Then she was named the best British designer of the year – as in 1991 year.

In 1998, she received the prestigious Queen’s Export Award.


In 2007, she was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Fashion Design at the British Fashion Awards – but she arrived late because she was on the toilet.

About her views on life, she says: “When I was a schoolgirl, my history teacher, Miss Scott, proudly told us about freedom and democracy, about the French monarchy and the fall of the Bastille. We can only take democracy for granted if we stand up for our freedom.”

Vivienne Westwood has been at the top of the fashion industry longer than anyone else and is a role model for many. Super trendy and mischievous at the same time, she wows everyone with her antics, like wearing a 2005 children’s T-shirt that reads “I’M NOT A TERRORIST, don’t arrest me.” Her path to the Olympus of world fashion could be filmed as a new punk Cinderella fairy tale, inspired by the love and spirit of the London streets.

Ten facts from the biography of Vivienne Westwood

1 – School teacher.

Today’s image of Vivienne Westwood: red mop of hair, bright makeup and crazy outfits – does not fit too well with the classic image of a teacher.

Nevertheless, Vivien began her professional career in pedagogy. After moving to London from the English province of Westwood, she graduated from teacher training college, and then married dance hall manager Derek Westwood, gave birth to a child and worked as a school teacher for some time.

2 – Through the love of fashion.

Who knows what the fate of Vivienne Westwood would have been if in the early 70s the future “scandal queen”, as they call her in her native Britain, had not fallen in love. And Cupid chose his chosen one for Westwood with imagination – he became the leader of the famous Sex Pistols group Malcolm McLaren. Vivienne Westwood spent 13 years with him and it was from him that she got the idea to design clothes.

By the way, McLaren became the first financial partner of Vivienne Westwood in her fashion empire – at 19In 1974 they opened a clothing store together with the flashy name “Sex”

3 – New old punk style.

Many designers have made their careers not on radical innovations in fashion, but simply on the original compilation of fashion styles and trends. Vivienne Westwood was one of them.

Inspired by youth subcultures and street fashion in London, Westwood brought punk into fashion at the end of the hippie flower era.

Ripped clothes, denim, British flag symbols have become favorite details of the Westwood collections. In essence, Vivienne Westwood created fashion from anti-fashion, so in the 70s, punk was a purely street, anarchist culture, closely associated with music.

4 – From punk to romanticism.

Vivienne Westwood admits that during her affair with Malcolm McLaren and her first punk design experiences, she did not feel like a fashion designer – she was simply drawn to experiments.

Nevertheless, the designer calls historical romanticism the core of his corporate identity. In the 80s, Vivienne Westwood re-read Dumas’ novel The Three Musketeers, studied old engravings and decided to create a collection at the intersection of the past and the present. Thus was born the most stellar collection of Westwood – “Pirates”. Baggy cut, wide trousers and pirate hats from this collection inspired the designer for new experiments more than once.

5 – Fashion for rags and underwear for show.

After the “Pirates” collection in 1981, Vivienne Westwood became famous as an extraordinary fashion designer, and Westwood, in turn, “woken up her appetite.” Her next collection in 1982, Savages and Tramps, began a new era in Vivienne Westwood’s history.

The designer parodies fashion by showing ripped clothes with out-seam and underwear over blouses. But the most scandalous effect was produced by models in which the symbols of Great Britain were played up, in particular, the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1987, on one of Vivienne Westwood’s T-shirts, the designer pierced the queen’s lip with a pin. The queen was not offended, and the scandalous picture invented by Westwood was then copied more than once by other brands.

6 – Fetish – pirate boots

First seen in Vivienne Westwood’s debut Pirates collection in 1981, the multi-strap leather high boots have become a Westwood iconic piece.

Over the course of 20 years, Vivienne Westwood has re-released pirate boots dozens of times in a variety of color variations: with and without heels, made of leather and fabric, leaving branded straps unchanged

British fashionistas Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Kate Moss also love pirate boots as an integral part of the English style.

7 – Clothes in Sex and the City

A good friend of Vivienne Westwood and a big fan of her work, Patricia Field, an American stylist, has been choosing clothes for the Sex and the City actresses for several years in a row.

In several episodes of the series, the main character Cary Bradshaw appears dressed as Vivienne Westwood. The most famous of them: the episode where Bradshaw gets a chance to work in Vogue magazine and comes to an interview in a Vivienne Westwood Anglomania striped business suit.

Carey Bradshaw’s wedding dress has become no less famous – in the first film, “” Carey receives Vivienne Westwood’s wedding dress as a gift before the wedding.

8 – Very young husband

Now 70-year-old Vivienne Westwood is married to her former student, Austrian designer Andreas Kronthaler, who is half her age.

In one of her candid interviews, the designer admitted that she met Andreas after eight years of loneliness, but she never planned to marry him.

“I had no intention of marrying Andreas at all – the English bureaucracy is to blame. We were lovers, we lived together, but Andreas often had to leave for Europe and return back to England, and it was easier for us to get married than to draw up a whole pile of papers every time, ”says Vivienne Westwood.

9 – Opinion on Kate Middleton

For the royal wedding in April 2011, Kate Middleton chose a bridal gown designed by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton.

When, a few weeks before the wedding, Vivienne Westwood found out that she had not been offered to design the future princess’s wedding dress, the designer suddenly decided to criticize Kate Middleton. Vivienne Westwood has announced that Kate Middleton will never be a style queen. And the designer also said that the chosen one of the prince does not have enough taste to wear her creation.

By the way, not the first celebrity that Vivienne Westwood offends. Recently, when asked what Vivien thought about the style of actress Emma Watson, she replied that she had no idea who she was talking about.

10- Star of your country

As the British say, there are three queens in Great Britain who can be proud of – these are Elizabeth II, the famous woman politician Margaret Thatcher and the inimitable brawler Vivienne Westwood, who symbolizes the natural love of the British for kitsch and outrageousness with her collections.

Vivienne Westwood has repeatedly become the designer of the year in her native UK, she also has the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire and is one of the top ten most famous fashion designers of the century.

Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood spring summer 2017 collection Paris Fashion Week

Based on materials from Lyubov Zazova

Ecology and politics are the theme of the show of new works by the famous designer and grandmother of the punk movement.

Famous fashion designer Vivienne Westwood showed her new collection at Men’s Fashion Week
in London. It was called “Ekotrichestvo”
(Ecotricity) and, in a typical Westwood style, carried not only new fashion trends, but also important social and political meanings.

Vivien’s work is traditionally dominated by political activism and ecology. The name of the new collection symbolizes this trend. It reflects the combination of the words “ecology” and “electricity”, which, combined into one, serve as a call to use environmentally friendly energy sources. Westwood herself calls “green energy” the best idea she has ever heard, and the description of the London show said:

“What’s good for the planet is good for the economy. What is bad for the planet is bad for the economy.”

Vivienne Westwood Red Label spring-summer-2016 collection London Fashion Week

Punk motifs have not disappeared. The combined show of the men’s and women’s collections included mohair inserts, scuffs, torn inserts, and even homemade accessories made from plastic cutlery. Strings as belts and paper crowns made an expressive reference towards marginality and outrageousness. Some models wore prints featuring Westwood herself, while others sported eco-political slogan patches on their suits.

Vivienne Westwood spring-summer-2017 Milan Fashion Week

Of course, more non-trivial items have appeared in the collection, for example, men’s dresses or tight leggings, but most of the new works will appeal to the designer’s many fans. As always, her creations are distinguished by a skilful cut, which includes stylish models of outerwear and quite glamorous evening dresses. Westwood remains one of the darlings of secular society, whose representatives often show off in her outfits on the red carpet of premieres and festivals. Last weekend, for example, in a dress from Vivienne Westwood came to the awards ceremony “Golden Globe” actress of series “Game of Thrones”
Christy Gwendolyn.

Vivienne Westwood about style and fashion — Women’s magazine “GOLDEN”

At 77, Vivienne Westwood is the “grandmother of punk”, the queen of outrageousness and the national treasure of England. Who better than her can teach you to express yourself through clothes?

Once a punk grandmother, now a national treasure in England, before a red-haired beast, and now a respectable gray-haired lady. Vivienne Westwood has been surprising the fashion world with her creativity for almost half a century, and along the way she gives us invaluable style lessons.

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Shopping

“Buy less. Choose carefully. Quantity is not quality. Today people buy too many clothes.”

It’s time to learn about the basic wardrobe, make capsules and seriously think about rational consumption. Even if the problem of overproduction is not yet obvious to everyone, the problem of closet overpopulation is relevant for everyone. And it doesn’t matter if we are talking about several shelves and half a rail in a closet or a whole dressing room.

Read also: What to wear when there is nothing to wear – we sort out the wardrobe with a stylist >>>>>

The situation “nowhere to hang, but nothing to wear” exists with any input. We will solve it comprehensively! Finally, sort out things: get rid of everything that is not worn, presses, pricks, small, large, in spools or out of fashion. And for everything else, buy universal companion items. Versatile means matching three to five sets at once, and not just those pink sequined trousers.

About style

« Style is when the crowd drives you out of the city, and you pretend to lead the procession.»

Probably, it happened to you too, when you felt the increased attention of the public on yourself, you got lost, doubted and tried to take a safe position somewhere in the corner and on the periphery. Perhaps that evening you decided on some original outfit, on an open back or bright makeup. And, perhaps, all this even suited you, looked impressive and stylish, but with the first interest shown, not supported by words of approval, self-confidence melted like the first snow.

Read also: “The main thing in a dress is the woman who puts it on” – Yves Saint Laurent style lessons >>>>>

style, albeit in the most expensive clothes. So stay confident and free, even if your image is already photographed without hesitation.

About self-expression

« I personally never worry about what people think of me. You have to come up with your own look and get off the fashion treadmill.”

Of course, it’s not about making a ritual ashes out of all the fashion gloss warmed up in the house, and not about unsubscribing from all fashion bloggers at once. Fashion in itself carries a lot of great ideas, aesthetics and satisfies our age-old feminine passion for renewal. But only on condition that this passion does not become harmful and does not cause dependence.

Read also: “Each thing you wear is important” – style lessons from Donna Karan >>>>>

A girl for whom success, her own attractiveness and value are measured only by the novelty of the collections she wears causes serious concern. People do not evaluate us by tags and price tags, at least those who are worth talking to. And what suits you looks more expensive than it costs – and in the eyes of others too.

About the right clothes

“In my opinion, fashion is an exciting way to show yourself, your true self. The right clothes make you an interesting extraordinary person. The main thing is that you should wear what really suits you.

Westwood’s fashion may seem too bold an experiment to become a mass phenomenon, but nevertheless her models were and remain in demand. The secret is in a bright personality, unusual beauty, ultimate character. All collections to some extent reflect their author, but at the same time they teach not to be afraid to show themselves through their wardrobe.

Read also: “There is nothing sexier than a woman in a men’s suit” – style lessons from Ralph Lauren >>>>>

We often make mistakes in our attempts to copy someone else’s style, confusing the relationship between person and image. As if a suit like Kylie Jenner would make us look like her. Nothing happened! It will look good only if it really suits you – just for you, and not for distant red-carpet celebrities, even if they are popular and stylish.

About perfection

“ Perfection should look natural.”

It happens that in the dressing room mirror we see an ideal beauty, but for some reason she does not reach the house with us. Or it comes, but prefers not to know the outside world, and lives in a closet compartment called “I bought it and don’t wear it. ” This happens in two cases: if there is nothing to wear a thing with (but such people accompany you at least occasionally, albeit in non-ideal sets) or if the thing is bought in a state of passion, under the influence of fashionable ideals and advice from friends.

Read also: “There is no beauty without strangeness” – Karl Lagerfeld’s rules of life >>>>>

Although the most correct decision is obvious to the banal: first, understand what you love more, find it among the current models and combine it in those combinations that are comfortable for your eye and sense of beauty. The ideal look is one in which you feel naturally at home.

Vera Markina

Naked anarchy Vivienne Westwood: 10 facts from the life of an 80-year-old punk grandmother

1. She was a teacher

It’s hard to believe, but in her youth, Westwood graduated from Teachers College and worked as a school teacher for a while. One must think that the students were delighted with her – even then Westwood considered herself a punk in her soul and dressed, to put it mildly, atypically. Later, the youngest son, Westwood, recalled that every time his mother was called to school, he wanted to sink into the ground from shame at the way she looked.

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2. From the first husband left a son and a surname

The first husband of the future punk-style grandmother was Derek Westwood, from whom, after three years of marriage, there was a son, Ben, and a surname that Vivien glorified all over the world. Ben is now known as an erotic photographer.

Photo: Wikimedia

3. Love brought her into fashion

Acquaintance with Sex Pistols producer Malcolm McLaren was a key moment not only in her personal but also in her creative life. It was thanks to McLaren that the self-taught designer decided to devote herself to creating clothes. It all started with the “Sex” store, which he and McLaren opened at 1974 and where the style of her brand originates from. They lived with McLaren for 13 years, they have a joint son, Joseph, the founder of the famous erotic lingerie brand Agent Provocateur. And although they parted rather coolly (McLaren called Westwood a seamstress, and she called him his group manager), their influence on the culture of Great Britain cannot be overestimated.

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0070

Westwood’s personal life has always been closely intertwined with her career: her former student Andreas Kronthaler became the designer’s third husband. Today he is her permanent companion and co-author of all collections of the brand. Paying tribute to him, the Queen of Punk renamed Vivienne Westwood’s label Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood.

Naomi Campbell’s famous Vivenne Westwood shoes on the catwalk
(Photo: Wikimedia)

5. She designed clothes for the first persons of the state

For the then Prime Minister Margaret Matcher Vivienne created a strict tweed suit, but before sending it to the customer, she could not resist and herself starred in it in the image of the “Iron Lady” for the cover Tatler magazine. Under the photo it said: “Once upon a time this woman was a punk.” The Prime Minister is said to have been angered by this outburst. But Theresa May, who held this post from 2016 to 2019, was much more complacent and often wore Vivienne Westwood things. Vivienne also had clients in the British royal family. However, she refused to sew a dress for Kate Middleton, saying that the image of the future princess seems fresh to her.

6. She doesn’t follow the trends

Westwood’s clothing does not fall under any fashion canon and at the same time always remains relevant. The designer does not follow fashion trends and from year to year hones his own style, based on a mixture of historical (primarily Victorian) costume, theatricality and street trends.

Photo: Wikimedia

7. Anarchism is the essence of her nature

In 1992, Vivienne Westwood was awarded the Order of the British Empire for services to fashion. She received the award from the hands of Queen Elizabeth II. Leaving the territory of Buckingham Palace, Westwood began to pose for photographers and pulled up her skirt so that it was clear that she was not wearing underwear. She repeated the same trick in 2006, when the Prince of Wales awarded her the title of Lady. Outrageous? Yes, but also the desire to show that for her there are no unshakable authorities.

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8. She is not afraid to be ridiculous and funny

Westwood’s creative style is as controversial as its creator. Therefore, the best face of Vivienne Westwood collections is Vivienne Westwood herself. She starred in the advertising campaigns of her brand in the most unattractive way, without any filters and photoshop, not embarrassed by wrinkles and a flabby body. And it was not just a desire to shock, but a call not to be afraid to be funny, ridiculous, free – in a word, to be yourself. The UK has always valued a bright individuality, paradox and eccentricity.

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9. Queen of protests

Westwood has always had an active life position and was not afraid to express it (for example, harshly criticizing Margaret Thatcher). But in the last decade, actionism seems to excite her much more than fashion itself. From global warming to Brexit (she was a vocal opponent of Britain’s exit from the EU), from the deforestation of Brazil’s forests to the fate of Julian Assange, Westwood knows how to draw the public’s attention to the most serious problems.

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men’s. Back in January 2017, she combined them under one logo and has since shown at London Men’s Fashion Week. And Westwood also held a digital presentation instead of a traditional show, one of the first in the world. Over the past years, the designer has been talking about the importance of conscious consumption, convincing the audience to buy fewer things, but of better quality. And she does it absolutely sincerely, and not because such a position is now in vogue.

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* In honor of Vivienne Westwood’s anniversary, Vogue gave her a gift – digitized her archival collections and posted them for public access on vogue.com.

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Pirate princess. Vivienne Westwood

Pirate Princess

Vivienne in those days was like a grenade with the pin pulled out.

Carlo D’Amario, CEO of Vivienne Westwood and former lover of its founder

Leave the matter to me. I will plunder everything for you. Stick with me and you will get generous gifts. My name is Progress… Now hardly anyone believes that the world will get better. What is the future of unlimited profit in a world that will come to an end?

“Pirate” and “Active Resistance” parts from Vivienne Westwood’s “Active Resistance to Propaganda”

“The reason I became a designer somehow comes down to the fact that I felt the need to do it. I started helping Malcolm simply because I could help. But then the moment came when The Sex Pistols appeared, then Sid died, and everything had to change. The Sex Pistols disbanded, and the rent of our World’s End store went up, and I was faced with the choice of whether to continue working or not. I could give up. At that time, I was suffering big losses in the store, I didn’t know then that the manager was to blame for the losses, who was stealing from us in order to buy drugs for himself. It has become a big problem. In the meantime, our paths with Malcolm finally diverged. So Malcolm opened up design for me, but I ended up doing it by myself. For the Pirates collection, I did absolutely everything myself. I knew every detail of clothing as if it were my own children, because I myself made every, even the smallest decision! Now I don’t do that much anymore.”

In 1979, the Conservatives, led by Margaret Thatcher, won a landslide victory in the elections. They came to power on a wave of conflicting sentiments: nostalgia for the values ​​of the war years – faith in one’s own strength and unshakable moral principles – and a clear distrust of the poor and disenfranchised people. The One Nation Tory movement faded into the background, giving way to a radical free market economy and the assertion that there is no single society, only individualism and, so be it, the family. When Lady Diana Spencer gave birth to the heir to the throne, British fashion had a stormy romance with the past, and with the royal past, and this fit very well with the concept of Vivienne’s work, which followed punk. For better or for worse, the country seemed to be re-creating its identity – as was Vivienne. True, for her, the late 70s and early 80s were more than just the transformation of the owner of a punk clothing store into a mass fashion guru. In those years, she and Malcolm finally parted, and Vivienne, as a real designer, began to fully control the creative component of the process. “In all the years of The Sex Pistols and punk rock, I didn’t consider myself a designer at all.” And after – yes.

“That’s how it was. When The Sex Pistols disbanded, we closed the shop (Seditionaries). The rent was raised, and I had to make a decision whether to continue working. I told Malcolm: “Either I help you with music, or you help me with fashion,” and he replied: “Always only fashion.” Malcolm advised me which direction to take, he said: “We need romance.” I was dumbfounded: the last thing I expected from him was such a statement. When they asked me what we would do next, I answered: “Romance. ” And suddenly everyone began to call themselves “new romantics.” Bought theatrical costumes at Fox Sale. One guy looked very cool – disc jockey Jeremy Healy, very handsome, thin, with bleached hair, which he then dyed gray and tied back in a ponytail. He was very reminiscent of the protagonist of Hogarth’s series of paintings “The Rake’s Adventures”. I think it was actually he who started the new movement, and Malcolm came up with “Romance” looking at him. Soon Jeremy changed his image, began to dress in the style of a hobo / trump. I thought: “Well, that means what other fashion designers are doing.” And I bought a book on the history of fashion.

Pirates Collection and iconic Westwood print

Vivien’s explanation of her cutting technique, which combines historicism and revolutionism

At the same time, Adam Ent asked Malcolm to be his manager and the manager of his band Ants. And the first thing Malcolm did was get rid of Adam and start looking for another singer and eventually found Anabella, who worked in a dry cleaner and created a band called Bow Vow Vow.

The image that attracted me – and, as it turned out later, attracted my former students – dresses, paintings and engravings from the French Revolution with images of golden youth, amazing incruise bleu and magnificent merveilleuse. They wore wigs and coats back to front, tied a red ribbon around their necks in memory of the era of terror and the guillotine, and the Merveilleuse cut their hair short “a la victim”, draped in long pieces of muslin, tying them under the chest, and wetting them to fit the body: they wanted to look like Greek statues. I included a similar dress in the Pirates collection, and Malcolm encouraged me to add a Nazi helmet to it instead of a Greek one. But the main haircut for the collection was like that of Rod Stewart from the album “Rod the Mod”, and frock coats of the 18th century with narrow shoulders had a lot in common with fashion 1970s.

Malcolm was not with me. He became interested in mixing music: he created his own music from someone else’s – he was engaged in piracy. He wanted me to recreate a pirate look, so I turned to 17th-century musketeer outfits and contemporary cuts. I copied several historical costumes as closely as I could and enjoyed my discoveries. I always tried to capture the features that are most characteristic, for example, for a jacket of that time or breeches. I’m the only fashion designer who tried to do this. You will inevitably adapt the old pattern, decorate it and/or lighten it to suit your purposes. In addition, I got one or two ideas from tribes, third world countries, and patterns on Indian saddlebags. And we stylized the collection as if our pirates absorbed exotic motifs of tribal clothing into their image.

I started to work on the Pirates collection, which eventually developed into a real fall/winter 1981 collection, based on a shirt cut that had not been used for several centuries. I thought: to make my knead, I will have to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum with a measuring tape! But instead, I found Nora Waugh’s Tailoring Men’s Clothing and bought it. ”

So Vivienne began to get acquainted with a completely new language of fashion for her. In her outfits, she had previously turned to the past, but only to the recent past or to the motives of different tribes. It was as if Vivien were working as a production designer in a theater, creating the story, the shop decorations and the music, and using them to create context and give meaning to the motifs she used from the past.

“When I was working on the Pirates collection,” says Vivien, “I saw a print of a pirate in wide trousers with a fabric hanging over the crotch, and I wanted to make the same ones. And to create the same liberated image … They [in the 17th century] looked at sexuality in a completely different way. I only found out about this when I started looking for information.

I must say that my self-confidence grew. I didn’t have a choice. I quite consciously decided to become a fashion designer, to hold a show and turn to the past, to history, to romance. That’s where other fashion designers get their ideas from, I thought: they go to Mexico for a vacation and look for inspiration there. I didn’t have that opportunity. There was not a penny left in my pocket and I had to raise two sons. But I could turn to the past, I had books, so I began to create a romantic image. It was then that the idea came up to make a pirate collection. This idea made it possible to break out of the ordinary – from the place and time in which I was stuck – and delve into history, into the study of third world countries, trying to escape from London, where punks roamed the streets, in the process of creating Pirates, and find out more about the world we live in. Exploration and wonderful discoveries awaited me. Such was my idea. Gold teeth and nothing else black and no chains. If we used chains, then only artificially aged, rusty ones – like on pirate ships of the New World. My first collection was inspired by characters as diverse as the Apache leader Geronimo and pirates. The collection was a combination of their images, seasoned with the French Revolution, with its hopes for change, violence and sexuality. The result was an image that spread throughout all countries, got on the stage and in the cinema. Just think of Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow could well have walked the runway at the show of my then collection.

Architect’s drawing of a clock for World’s End

Vivienne decided to leave the store at 430 Kings Road and it was redesigned for the last time – in the manner of a pirate ship with a sloping deck. It was also renamed “World’s End”, or “Edge of the World”, and the name denoted both the place and the spirit that reigned there. At the same time, a clock was installed on the facade, on the dial of which there are 13 divisions, and the hands run backwards, and on the tag of clothes sold under the World’s End brand, you can still see a pirate saber and the inscription “Born in England” – “Born in England”. Then the Pirates collection itself began to be sold at 430 Kings Road, in the already updated World’s End store.

The Pirates collection was a first for Vivien – a first in many ways. Vivienne then felt like a fashion designer for the first time and for the first time she was called that. She first appeared on the podium at Olympia after the show. “I was wearing an old gray school sweater, I didn’t have time to make up, I almost missed the show, and Malcolm made me come on stage, saying:“ They want to see you for who you are, they want to make sure that you really gave it your all. It was at that time that Malcolm first managed to successfully link fashion and music, he agreed on sponsorship with the company that provides the most modern technologies, “Sony Walkman” (!), And showed the public his latest band – “Bow Vow Vow” in Vivienne’s pirate costumes. One of the models was immediately bought for the Victoria and Albert Museum. As John Galliano said, “it would be impossible to imagine bands, music and the spirit of punk and neo-romanticism without the work of Vivien.” “Pirates” became Vivienne’s next statement for posterity. The show was attended by Boy George; Adam Ent has already taken on the Healy/McLaren/Westwood pirate look, and “Steve Strange (club promoter) called his club the ‘Hero Club’, just like we used to call our clothes ‘hero clothes’ back at Seditionaries” and it helped the business a lot.” Club owners and regulars, such as Steve Strange and Leigh Bowery, were happy to buy and wear Vivienne’s clothes. Like club promoters Michael and Gerlinda Kostiff, who also came to her first show at Olympia: “The spectacle was simply incredible, magical – this has not been seen before. Everything breathed luxury, shone with gold and created a feeling of recklessness and heroism. An amazing show … Before him, all Vivien’s clothes were too black, and then all of a sudden these colors, shiny gold! Vivienne did indeed design clothes for heroes, as the sign on the store said, and heroism, according to Vivien’s idea, was part of an ongoing punk clothing campaign. “I don’t think it’s necessary to lock everything with locks. You can’t move people to change the world around them by showing them how miserable and humiliated they are … you need to make them feel great, and only then start changing.

“I am very literary,” Vivien repeated to me again one morning, “and I have literary ideas. For example, pirate pants are from some story. But not only they – even worn jeans give rise to the idea of ​​some life baggage. If you wear old clothes, then you look like a person who has lived and your things breathe history. So the creation of pirate pants was a very important moment: a completely new image was born. I was looking for something and found it in a historical costume, so for me the moment came when I began to look back and look to the future at the same time. And it’s also quite important that I began to realize the essence of “aging” and “vintage” in clothes. Because with their help in fashion, you can also tell a story and hint at life experience. Malcolm played a critical role in the early stages and often provided ideas. But by the time Pirates was created, everything began to change, and by the time I was working on the Witches and Pancouture collections, I didn’t want to work with him at all. He spent most of his time in the States, and then appeared and interfered in my work, and I soon got tired of him commanding me.

It was then, during the creation of “Pirates”, that our creative paths diverged. You could say Malcolm gave the collection its name, and I gave it life. He was not around, I did everything myself, and he behaved like a father who abandoned his family. He offered some ideas on what to choose fabrics – with a pattern in the form of curls and printed with African patterns, which became our signature, but we saw it at my friend, fashion designer Jean Charles de Castelbajac, when Gary Ness somehow went to his studio. And then Malcolm stopped participating in the creative process.

I have to admit that I was partly interested to know if someone like me, who doesn’t represent a major fashion brand, can stay in this industry not only through good marketing, but through talent, hard work and word of mouth. From a practical point of view, I was interested in what fashion as a business can teach me. For fashion to make me survive in the business world. To better understand this world. So I approached this – as a task for ingenuity. Task for yourself. I set myself the goal of completely controlling the creation of models, I considered it my duty, because if I didn’t control everything myself, I would simply go with the flow. And I also felt something – I probably will seem crazy, but maybe I was like that – which can be expressed something like this: in addition to the intention to prove something to myself, there was a sense of duty in me. Debt towards the world of fashion, towards yourself. If I can do something, I must do it at any cost. Because if not me, then no one will. I am the same in politics. And as a child, she was like that when she said: “I did it.” I don’t know… That’s how I got into fashion, and although sometimes I had to work to the point of exhaustion, I don’t regret anything. On the contrary, I was able to prove to myself what I wanted, I get real pleasure from creating clothes and through it I can express my position. But if someone at 1979 came up to me and said, “Listen, Vivien, you are good at it, but I can do it just as well, I can do your job. And you go study,” I would probably answer: “Well, okay, I’ll go.”

“I had something to prove in material terms as well. And this, too, I will allow myself to tell now, and, I hope, my story will be useful to those who have ever been deceived or who have suffered from swindlers. It’s not that I don’t know how to handle money, no, I grew up in a store. Not in this case. I’m just too trusting and I assume that other people are as honest and hardworking as I am. Now I will explain why Michael Collins got away with it, even though he stole money from me for many years. Now I can already talk about it … I’m sorry that Michael is no longer alive, but now I can tell everything frankly. From the very first day when he started working in the store, he began to steal. He worked for me for at least 8 years and took every extra penny, but I still couldn’t understand why I didn’t succeed, why the balance didn’t converge, and I thought that I probably couldn’t count. Before Michael came, the store was doing very well. And then this stylish young man appeared, and I hired him. And on his first day in the store, I did not have a profit. I couldn’t understand why. He told me: “What a nightmare! Look, I have money, I don’t really have to work. My friend – and he, Michael, was gay – supports me. I will give you money. How much do you need?”

Well, he lent me money, and I thought, “What a cool guy!” and we were able to open the store again, but I wasn’t sure about the success of the enterprise, so I didn’t even have suspicions about him. Since then, I absolutely trusted Michael, and he kept saying: “You know, I’ll ask my friend to give us some money if you don’t have enough.” He was very charming. I believed him. But he gave me my own money! He didn’t have any friend. I was so naive. I didn’t keep proper records of goods and other things. This is how we worked. Believe it or not, this went on for eight years! Finally, the pattern maker Mark Tabard, who worked for me, said: “Vivien, this is unbearable: Michael is stealing all your money” – and everything immediately became clear to me. It’s embarrassing to remember, but that’s how it was.”

During this time, Malcolm worked first with the New York Dolls and then with The Sex Pistols and Bow Vow Vow. And I sewed clothes for Dolls and Pistols and even sent packages with things for Dolls to America. Still sometimes I sent money to Malcolm, back to America. That is, I had some funds, but they were barely enough to develop further, and I worked like a damn all the time. Malcolm began to complain to me that I was from Northern England, and therefore hopelessly stupid and gullible, irresponsible about business and can only work with my hands. We fought over this. That’s what he told me, though he himself behaved no better. As far as money was concerned, he was hopeless. He himself did not interfere in anything, but simply asked: “How are we with money?” – Well, and everything in that spirit. In fact, neither of us understood anything. At the same time, a few years after Malcolm said that I was to blame for everything, that I was stupid and did not know how to earn money, I helped him in many ways. We had money in the store for eight years, Malcolm was doing his musical projects, he lived in America and was interested in the emerging hip-hop, I sent him money, and he scolded me for not doing business well. Partly because of this, our breakup happened. None of us tried to end everything at once. Every time I wanted to leave, he managed to stop me…”

Late in 1979, Malcolm left Surley Court for the last time. Between him and Vivien there was no quarrel, no last frank conversation. As Joe put it, his father just picked up one day and didn’t come home. Malcolm’s thoughts were increasingly focused on America, the financial affairs of the family, as well as the World’s End store, were in critical condition, and partly because of this, Vivien took in a tenant – an old friend and store manager Gene Krell. Jean and Malcolm were very friendly, and Vivienne and Malcolm admired, as Vivien put it, “Gene’s gift for selling.” But the store “Granny Takes a Trip” was closed, Gene was penniless, and Vivienne took him to work and invited him to live with her. So how long it took Vivienne to recover from her breakup with Malcolm was witnessed by their mutual friend Gene, who, however, says that he looked at everything with a heroin-clouded eye, feeling only gratitude and love for Vivienne. After all, he believes that Vivienne, although she then had enough of her own problems, saved his life.

“At first I was addicted to heroin, and then, when I could no longer get heroin, I became addicted to alcohol. Vivien nursed me all this time. She has always been against drugs. I don’t know how she managed to keep up with a husband like Malcolm. When they parted, the level of anger of those around me reached the limit: people on King’s Road and in the nightclubs where I went showed hostility towards me because they felt like they had been betrayed. As if it was my fault that the sweet couple broke up. It seemed to affect them all. Vivien took charge of the business and the creative process. She had a lot of worries. We were talked about in the press like we were a huge company; that’s what we called ourselves in the language of advertisers, but bailiffs stood under our door. We could not pay the rent, they tried to close the store, and despite the threat of deportation, I refused to give the keys. Vivien was determined to keep the business and prove to herself, or maybe Malcolm, that she could do it. She stayed on Surley Court and literally re-stitched her life path. She became such a recluse that once a transvestite even came to the store, pretending to be Vivienne. That period was strange in many ways. We received many notes threatening to kill us. They came by mail. I don’t even know if Vivienne knows. The notes fell into four categories: from those who supported Malcolm, from those who supported Michael Collins, and also from bailiffs and letters that we were to blame for the moral decay of the nation. The latter were distinguished by the clearest formulations: “Eternal torment awaits you” – and the like. They are about Vivienne. Very personal messages. Of course, they would be treated much more seriously now than we did then. Perhaps even today Vivien has no idea of ​​the danger she was in. But I didn’t tell her: she already had enough experiences. The atmosphere was the worst.”

The Pancouture show program features Blade Runner-inspired images

“Mom is always generous to Malcolm,” Joe remarks sadly. She is very kind to him. But understand, Malcolm left us with a lot of debt – mom, me and Ben, and this was our life, our home. True, he left not only debts, but also their assets with their mother of a common company. And he left us and went to America. They did not form a company as such and were considered partners, but he dropped everything. Left both debts and assets. At the time, World’s End and the new Nostalgia of Mud store were very risky to run. And Malcolm didn’t just leave. He finally destroyed everything. Tried to destroy. Somehow Vivien comes to work, and there Malcolm’s new girlfriend, in clothes sewn by her, tells everyone what to do, declares that now she is the “designer”, and Vivien no longer works here. And do you know who told her to arrange all this in the store? Malcolm. This is how my father was. So from my mother’s side, agreeing to put both names on the labels is damn generosity; it was not he who created these models in the first place, but she, especially since he tried to destroy everything when mom was fighting for survival. And he threw everything in the trash, tried to destroy her case and herself. He was such a person: if he could not get something, completely take possession of something, then he mercilessly threw it into the trash.

So, Ben and I started helping Vivienne and working at World’s End, but not because we wanted to make a career in fashion or sales. We just wanted to help mom. She didn’t have anything. And it’s mom! We were sitting in Clapham with no electricity, no telephone, no water or gas, because Malcolm turned everything off. But I had a few smart buddies who knew how to wire everything back up. And outside the door the bailiffs were waiting for them, several healthy bullies, and then I thought: “I’ll call my father.” And, I remember, I call him on a pay phone, and he asks from his Hollywood: “Do you have a home phone?”

Despite this, Vivienne always spoke kindly of Malcolm. Especially in conversations with me. But I knew that she did not reveal her true feelings. She said things that she didn’t think would upset me. This is how she is. She had a very hard time. Now we know everything. Malcolm’s version from now on sounded like this: “The only reason for Vivien’s success is acquaintance with Malcolm McLaren.” Yes, he is right, but only in the sense that he was the instigator. I think few people realize that Vivien created all the things – she was responsible for all the design. She designed all these cool punk rock t-shirts and I know they are a reflection of her, as a child I saw her make them right at our house on Searly Court – that’s how my mother was. We had a silk-screen printing machine and a table, the one that she now has in the studio, we ate at it, and it was always littered with things on which she printed a drawing. What about Malcolm’s contribution? Downplay the complexity of what she was doing: “Cutting potatoes again, right?” All the Seditionaries items, all the anarchist shirts, all of this was done by my mother, and in our apartment: she dyed them in the bathroom and printed designs on them in the living room. Week after week. Created things for the store.

“Maybe I need to explain something about Malcolm and me,” Vivienne said out of the blue as we looked at fabric samples and a slightly punk-inspired pattern. – Why I was psychologically and mentally ready to move on in our turbulent relationship. People are really surprised by this. He suddenly leaves, then suddenly changes his mind and comes back, then leaves again. It was exhausting. Much later, when the relationship became terrible, Malcolm even hired a lawyer and demanded 50,000 pounds from me . .. And when I finally found a way to get this amount, Malcolm refused to take the money and said: “Can’t you see? I want you to come back.” He played these games with me all the time – he didn’t show up at home and stuff like that. But I’ve gotten used to being angry at him. I used to hit Malcolm. And one day he hit me back. I didn’t raise my hand to him after that. But I hit first. But here I will tell it like it is: Malcolm brought me to tears. He had such a fad, and it took me a while to find a solution. He couldn’t leave the house without doing this. Without bringing me to tears.

But then the moment came when I just stopped crying: I couldn’t cry anymore. I have no tears left. I realized that the only way to get rid of him and make him stop the torture was to cry, that is, to give what he wanted from me. He wanted, probably, to make me feel bad, to hit harder. He kept trying to hurt me. Because he was in pain. That’s how he behaved – he didn’t leave the house until he somehow brought me to tears. Sometimes I just pissed off his character. In general, it was easier to give up, burst into tears so that he would stop torturing me. Later, I never really cried. At that moment, I stopped crying. And since then, to be honest, I have never cried. She cried out all she could. I think people usually cry for themselves, and then the moment came when I realized that I had had enough.

Joe agrees. Until now, when talking with Joe and Ben, when they remember those years, it becomes clear how relieved they felt when Vivien and Malcolm finally broke up, although Joe says that his mother was far from a rag: “In the end, their relationship became just terrible. Every morning only squealing, screaming and screeching. And we were just waiting for Malcolm to finally leave home. In the end, every morning Vivienne kind of forced herself to cry, because she knew that then he would leave and it would all be over, and we could start our day. Malcolm was a disgusting badass. A classic example of some flawed, unhealthy relationship – they were mutually dependent on each other, and he, forcing his mother to cry, felt . .. in short, he received the emotions he needed. It wasn’t easy for Vivienne to hit back, but you always knew exactly when you’d gone too far. Not that word! Mom could hit so that sparks fell from her eyes. I remember one time we were on the subway, around that period of their relationship… I don’t know if this episode will show how angry she could get… Anyway, she had an office in Camden and our train always stopped between Mornington Crescent and Camden. Once we were traveling together, and in the carriage some girls were mocking an Indian woman. They said something disgusting in a racist spirit, like: “It stinks of curry in here.” That woman could not stand it and got up to get out of the car, but the train got stuck in the tunnel, and then one of the girls took out a huge booger from her nose and wiped it on her sari. The woman turned and asked, “Why are you doing this to me?” Then Vivienne answered and answered: “Because they are ugly brought up.” Then the train started moving, we got up to get off, but one of the girls tripped the Indian woman . .. Then Vivienne grabbed the girl by the kerchiefs and hit her in the face so that a torn tuft of hair remained in her hand. Then, when she got off the train, she was shaking. But she taught that girl a good lesson. Yes, Vivienne can hit hard!”

“That’s my theory,” Vivienne continues. – The more suffering in your relationship, the stronger the feeling of betrayal when they collapse. I put everything into my relationship with Malcolm. Because of Joe and because Malcolm needed me. And also, perhaps, because there was a little love. So when I realized that it was all over, when he left and at some point he had another girlfriend, and not just a passing crush, I felt cheated and like I died for four years. Yes, for four years my soul was dead. Until I had another love, perhaps that’s what you can call it – Carlo. Almost four years. I was burned with a sense of betrayal, I suffered a lot of pain in my relationship with Malcolm, it’s all about that. This is the main reason for my suffering. Do not have another one. I suffered not because I wanted him to return: that was the last thing I wanted. But, you see, I was very upset by his departure. It’s weird, you keep coming back to your past, trying to figure it out, and some things just drive you crazy, but one thing I knew for sure: I didn’t want him back. No thanks. For many years we saw each other at social events, but for a long time after the breakup, we did not see each other in private. I remember that ten years have passed, and we met, and he must have been very surprised, realizing that I was pleased to see him. And it was nice because I was happy to find that I no longer have any feelings for him. He always liked me, he always interested me. But what a relief I felt when I realized that he could no longer hurt me. So I was happy to see him.”

“Shortly after our breakup, people, since no one doubted that we had broken up, began to ask who was the main one in our couple – Malcolm or me. Malcolm was quite envious, and of course he was jealous of me, so he always tried to show that I was nothing. That I am his cutter, as he called me, his creation. They called him Svengali, referring to “The Sex Pistols”. He himself tried to maintain a reputation as a magician when it came to punk, The Sex Pistols, and our work with him. And I really didn’t care. I treated him condescendingly, even felt sorry for him, because he behaved so petty. By the way, if you create something, you are always impressed by the work of others! It certainly impresses me. And you don’t think that your creations, especially if they come easy to you, are somehow important. So it was with Malcolm and me. I trusted Malcolm in everything, just helped him do what he wanted, starting with the idea of ​​​​returning to image 1950s: I was very interested in rock and roll, and also the opportunity to sell this image again. Malcolm had great ideas, but he never, never said to me, “No, that’s bad. Do it like this.” Never, because he was not a practitioner. And my friends said to me: “Vivien, the Women’s Emancipation Movement would be very ashamed of you, because you do all these things and at the same time attribute all the credit to him. Woman, what are you doing? “But why?! Vivienne, why are you giving him this? Why don’t you admit how smart you really are? But, you see, Malcolm is a very talented man. He had good ideas, such as wearing underwear over other things as outerwear. This is what Malcolm came up with. And this idea is attributed to me, Gauthier, Madonna and others. But actually, that’s what Malcolm and I did. Such ideas and their implementation were really good. Malcolm could start my creative process, even, for example, send me something, some images that would inspire me. And so he did. He was also very good with shoes. Perhaps our relationship can be explained by the example of the exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum. When the Witches collection was on display, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren were listed as the creators, but in fact, Malcolm made only one thing for her – a hat with a pointed crown in the style of comedian Chico Marx. He brought the museum’s curator and cataloger to tears and a nervous breakdown. Almost every day, he sent her letters, written in legal language, in which he wrote: “You are absolutely wrong. You violated my copyrights by holding this exhibition because I am the designer of these clothes, not Vivien” – and many other words like that. In a letter to the curator, he called me his cutter.

Joe agrees that his father was especially hostile when it came to authoring their work. Years later, Joe experienced it himself when, about to open the Agent Provocateur brand, he raised funds for this, recreating some of the things invented by his parents. Mom immediately agreed; and Malcolm threatened to sue. “Then I realized what kind of person he was and how he treated my mother. He took a perverse pleasure in belittling others, including my mother and me. On all the tags, I smeared his name with a stroke. It was a kind of metaphor. I haven’t spoken to him in years.”

“I think he couldn’t help it,” says Vivien. “He envied me, and then Joe. He went crazy when it came to public recognition – he himself badly needed it. Recognition was the most important thing for him. Even more than Joe and me. In fact, I went out of my way for years to give Malcolm his due, often more than he deserved, but at the time it was easier for me. You see, Malcolm treasured his reputation and heritage very much and defended them zealously. He ended up sabotaging everything I did. I never really talked about it much and still haven’t had the opportunity to honestly admit it, but since Malcolm is no more, I can say that he behaved incredibly cruelly. Both professionally and personally – in all. True, at the end of his life he had serious problems, and it still saddens me. Because I once loved him and remained devoted to him. Until his death.

I think there comes a point in a relationship when you realize that you’ve learned everything you could from your partner. Malcolm fascinated me with his intellect, but as the years went on, the relationship deteriorated greatly due to his temper and envy, so boredom took over. Malcolm never finished reading a book. I took it, read for about forty minutes, then found something valuable in it that could be sold – just snatched out something that you would not have noticed in your life if you read normally, like everyone else! But it was enough for him if, after a short reading, he could come up with some kind of theory or boast of new information. Malcolm splashed in the shallow water. He was not really interested in learning anything, he was only interested in what could be used, sold, what could shock or impress. So I ended up getting bored with him. I was tired of hearing the same thoughts, I was tired of his same approach to everything. I really got tired of it. Of course others have noticed. There’s a tape of Malcolm and I being interviewed, probably in the early 80’s, because I’m wearing a Buffalo Girls skirt. Then we had already parted, but we maintained a professional relationship, but I was so bored with Malcolm that during the interview I kept fiddling with my hem and thinking: “If only you would shut up. ” And then Simon Barker asked: “Vivien, were you intentionally cold with him, or were you just completely uninterested in what he said? Everyone noticed it.”

Invitation to show the “Witches” collection. It’s a Keith Haring creation

After my intellectual interest in Malcolm dried up, our relationship went downhill, and that’s why it kept going. At first, Malcolm helped me sort out problematic issues, especially political ones. How was I to understand what was happening in the world? And he knew much more than I did. He studied at an art college, they developed various serious ideas there: about the underground and alternative people, about everything that gave rise to the hippie movement in 1968 year. But as soon as I realized that Malcolm is who he is, everything was over. He stopped in development, got stuck in 1968. Didn’t dig deeper. Was not ready to try to understand the world in which he lived. He preferred to live on superficial knowledge and use it to manipulate the people around him. At some point, I had nothing to learn from him, I realized that I was no longer growing, being next to him, and our dialogue stopped. Malcolm was in some ways more conservative. I remember when I was doing the Pancouture collection, he said that a cotton skirt would look much better if it were made of silk, and I suddenly objected: “Malcolm, maybe you are right. Maybe it would be nice. But this is no worse, and I like it better this way. He was right only in the sense that it would have made the skirt look more like a high fashion item, and I think my previous collections had silk and stuff that Malcolm would have insisted on. It’s funny, but Malcolm loved chic. But after the collection “Pirates” I realized that I no longer want to work with him – I wanted to embody my ideas myself. Our names stood side by side on the labels, but more and more works were only mine. The last time we worked together was on the Pancouture collection. During the making of The Witches, we broke off relations completely.

“Witches” (Autumn/Winter 1983) was entirely my own idea. I was in New York and there I got acquainted with the work of Keith Haring – and with Keith himself. His graffiti looked like hieroglyphs. For symbols. A barking dog or a baby with a glow around its head is a visual language of symbols that seemed magical to me. He seemed terribly pleased to hear from me that I really liked his work, and in the Witches collection I used many of his ideas, because he was glad to work with me. I don’t really follow contemporary art, but there are some works that I think are really relevant, and that, in my opinion, was the work of Keith Haring. It was impossible not to recognize him as an artist. He knew how to convey his thoughts to others, and his work attracted attention. A year after we met, he contracted AIDS and died. He was one of the best people – always friendly, pleasant, generous and truly talented. If he had not died, I am sure: with his talent, he would have managed to go beyond graffiti. In general, “Witches” was somewhat inspired by his work and color: blue, like firework paper, mauve, like firelighter paper, fluorescent, like his graffiti. And there was also a dirty green, almost black – it reflected that period of my life and partly the history of Keith’s life. Haring also drew a face with three eyes. And a square with three eyes. At that time, hip-hop was gaining popularity, something like a freeze frame in a dance, it could be reflected in clothes, for example, by placing three tongues on sneakers. I was the first to make sneakers a runway shoe, and for good reason: it was in line with the new trends, the graffiti that flooded New York and London, and the “cartoon” dances – I told about all this through fashion.

Gradually, my self-confidence began to return. I finally found out that I had talent, and the appearance of my punk-inspired pieces on the Parisian catwalks gave me confidence. I saw how things change there. Hairstyles are changing. Even Vogue is changing. I began to be taken seriously. For example, I visited Grace Coddington from London Vogue. I came to her with a suitcase of things I created, and she was embarrassed by the clothes that I showed her, which did not interest her at all. I remember thinking: at least she saw that the design was good. I put small boots on the table in front of her, turned into pirate boots: they looked unusual. Now they met all over the world – and in Paris too. But then she said this: “No, no, look for another magazine.” So I went to the Ritz and they put me on the cover. By the way, Grace, even though she rejected me, was wearing an exact copy of the mohair sweater that I designed!

Caroline Baker (according to Vivien, “an amazing stylist”; she worked first for Vogue and then for Westwood) says that it was only after Terry Jones left Vogue and helped found i-D magazine that dedicated to street fashion and its impact on our lives, British Vogue realized they had missed it. “I loved what Vivienne was doing,” says Caroline, “her work seemed a natural and obvious reflection of the chaos that was happening in the political life of the country, so it was foolish for Vogue and other publications to ignore them. Her first two collections were my favorites, Pirates and Buffalo Girls. They were like dishes prepared for us: appetizing, simple, appearing before us as if by magic. I became a little rastaman – the same were the images from the collection “Girls from Buffalo”: puffy skirts, rastaman hats, hairstyles with careless curls: we found an ancient hair curling technique when strands are wound around cotton ribbons. Vivien came up with all this.”

Vivienne (back row, center) and her staff at Nostalgia of Mud in St. Christopher, 1982

“So by 1982 or 83 I was working alone. I had a cutter and two seamstresses. But even things had to be tried on by myself. I realized that if you want a thing to sit well and correctly, there is nothing better than putting it on yourself. I still think so. I’m so used to it. But at the time, it was very, very hard for me.

So I started designing models myself and running the company myself, organizing production and everything else turned out to be terribly difficult. I knew what it was. I was on my own, and although the press was crazy about what we were doing, before the release of the collections “Mini Crini” (“Mini Crini”) and “Harris Tweed” we had ten extremely difficult years.

When the couple’s relationship fell apart, Vivien’s first attempt was to expand the company and opened her first West End store, Nostalgia of Mud in St. Christopher’s shopping area off Oxford Street. The store got its name as a tribute to the romantic idea of ​​the French, who idealized poverty. The interior evoked no less reaction than the clothes presented in it, but it was combined with Vivien’s chosen palette of earthy shades and voodoo cult attributes: this style immediately hit the catwalk, the design was copied for modern theatrical productions in Great Britain. “The store was like an archaeological site. I was responsible for the concept. Me and Roger Burton,” Vivienne says. “There were Miss Havisham-style chandeliers, little things I kept in my little car, and I had the idea of ​​making stuffed crows out of wood and thick planks, and that’s how I met Tom Binns. The second of the two stores I designed myself was on Davis Street. But I loved Nostalgia of Mud, and it shaped public opinion.” The store gave the name of the clothing collection “Nostalgia of Mud” (“Nostalgia for the Mud”), however, because of the floor-length Bolivian skirts presented in it and the accompanying soundtrack “Buffalo Girls” it is often called “Girls from Buffalo”. The store only lasted two years, falling victim to Vivienne and Malcolm’s breakup. Despite this, the Buffalo Girls collection was shown in Paris and won universal acclaim. With her began the period of Vivien’s creativity, for the first time independent: it had an unprecedented impact on the fashion world. The New Romance, with its loose shirts and skirts, belts and luxurious fabrics, was just the beginning. The dirty color palette and worn felts of the Buffalo Girls collection were copied by the entire fashion world – they were equally seen in mass fashion, in clubwear collections and on the catwalks. The free cut and muted colors of Vivienne’s things really liked the Japanese, and the image of a tramp in torn clothes was immediately adopted by the Comme des Gar?ons brand, becoming its hallmark.