"Home of My Dreams"

The class in the "Home of My Dreams" series for children ages 6-7 took place on March 10, 2012. The "Home of My Dreams" project is part of the "Home: A Century of Change" exhibition at the Center.

"Home" is many things to a child: family and the building where she lives, the furniture and everyday things surrounding her. The objective of "Home of My Dreams" is to unlock preexisting knowledge, and encourage children to draw conclusions from presented material, develop perspective in their thinking, and try the role of the builder of their "dream home". The classes will stress the ethical, aesthetic, cultural and artistic aspects of the concept of home.

The topic of this week's class was "My Home - My Toys." Toys are an indispensable component of a child's home environment; they perform an important educational, developmental, and organizational role. Toys are an important factor in a child's psychological development - not just fun, but the child's real, present, vivid, independent life. At the same time, they help prepare the child to responsible adult life. Toys and games, their themes and forms are closely connected to the material life of society, and the development of its spiritual culture, while also reflecting the evolution of views on upbringing. The toy industry of today offers a very wide variety of products; however these multifunctional toys can also limit the children's imagination. In this week's class we created a house for the child's favorite toy, tried to transcend the boundaries of mainstream superheroes imposed by the media, and came up with our own. There were many games, we discussed the fascinating history of toys, as well as made spring-themed greeting cards.

A three-hour class includes:

• An introductory lecture part, where the concept of "home" will be studied in various contexts (in the form of interactive games and electronic presentations)
• A viewing/screening part, including visits to the "Home: A Century of Change" exhibition, and screenings of animated features dedicated to the topic of home
• An artistic part, where children will be able to realize their creative potential, create their own "dream home" using artistic means.

The class taught by Khrystyna Boiko. Khrystyna Boiko graduated from the Ivan Franko National University in Lviv in Culturology and Art History. Her research interests include contemporary Ukrianian art. She teaches art history for children.

Classes will take place every Saturday from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm at the Conference Room of the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe in Lviv at 6, Bohomoltsia St.

To register, call: 097 2099267

Participation in the program is free of charge.

Upcoming classes will take place on:

• March 17, 2012 (for children ages 8-10)
• March 24, 2012 (for children ages 6-7)

The project is realized by the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe, as part of the "Home: A Century of Change" exhibition, with the support of the ERSTE Stiftung. The "Home of My Dreams" program is implemented with support of the Rinat Akhmetov "Development of Ukraine" Fund.

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