Story of Lerni Kindergarten

"We are one of the biggest sellers of educational toys in Slovakia (Lerni), and we meet teachers and directors of kindergartens. We understand that most kindergartens face challenges such as a lack of staff, insufficient finances, and other difficulties. Nevertheless, this should not be an excuse for every child in the crucial preschool age not to have the opportunity to develop as needed. 

That is why we decided to join forces and support the Early Intervention Center Kosice (Centrum včasnej intervencie Košice, n.o.) in their effort to create a kindergarten where the development and acceptance of every child are of utmost importance.

We created inclusive Lerni Kindergarten - model kindergarten of the future."

The story of Lerni Kindergarten began at the beginning of 2023 in the Early Intervention Center Košice, n.o. (Centre včasnej intervencie Košice, n.o.). 

As with many great projects, this project arose from great enthusiasm. Enthusiasm for preschool age fundamentally shapes and completes every child's personal development and prepares them for another developmental stage of their lives - school.

Unfortunately, it also arose from frustration from the system that is not adequately prepared to develop each child according to their uniqueness. The system needs to be sufficiently inclusive, approaching each child the same way, regardless of whether they have specific needs related to their health or unique talents.

Why do we support the establishment of an inclusive kindergarten? Why not establish a "regular" kindergarten or a "special" one?" ? 

The answer is that inclusion is a reality and very common in the adult world that we live in. Each of us has different people around us, but for successful projects, we need to find common ground.

Fero is, for example, an excellent joiner, but he thinks differently than Janka, a skilful marketing specialist. Fero and Janka think differently than Maroš, who has loved programming and IT his whole life.

It doesn't mean that someone is worse or better. It means that if they work on a joint project, they need to learn to set aside their differences and focus on what connects them to achieve the best results.

Research shows that children who grow up in inclusive collectives can work in versatile teams naturally. That is why we view it as necessary not to raise children in a bubble of sameness but, on the contrary, to teach them from an early age to establish relations and cooperate not only with very similar children but also with children that are different in something than they are. We are deeply convinced that every child can be an asset to the society that we live in.