On September 5th a presentation of the «Mazal tov» program took place at the KJJC.
“Child - the entire world and universe” – under this slogan the foundation of the «Mazal tov» program was set in 2001. This program represents the strengthening and unification of the Jewish community, the development of children’s creative abilities and the involvement of parents in the life of the community and in the Jewish world.
The vacation season is over; children and their parents have returned home. A new school year has started. For some of the children, this school year is the first one, for the others – it is a return to real life. Nevertheless, our task is to provide children with new opportunities for their education and development.
It is of particular importance to take into consideration the age-related peculiarities of the children. That is exactly what was done and children were assigned into three groups: from 2 years to 3.5 years, from 3.5 years to 5 years, from 5 to 7 years. Of course, age-limit is not entirely strict. For example, the youngest “schoolgirl” is just 1 year, 8 months old.
Today, there are great opportunities for children: a new, well-equipped KJJC building, the help of experienced educational specialists, a pediatrician, a psychologist, and a speech therapist. Educators use methodological recommendations and manuals proposed by national educational programs of the Republic of Moldova and of Jewish methodological centers in the CIS and Israel.
Jewish Family Services, NES, runs the Jewish program and it brings up children to love and respect Jewish culture and traditions.
«Mazal tov» offers the following programs for our children and their parents:

Cultural and educational program:
- speech development for little children;
- instruction in reading and writing;
- foreign language acquisition;
- instruction in fine arts;
- in-depth study of Jewish culture and traditions;
- training for school;
- role-playing.

Health-improving program:
- pediatrician consultations;
- psychological consultations;
- speech therapist consultations;
- physical training.

Working with parents:
- lectures on issues of education and child development;
- involvement of the parents in Jewish community life.

Our pediatrician, with 30-years experience, attended the presentation of the «Mazal tov» program. She addressed the parents with the following words:
“All we do for our children is fine and great, but, first of all, our children must be healthy. We should take into consideration all the characteristics of their physical and mental growth and development, which are in close connection with each other. I am ready to help you, and to answer all your questions. It is necessary to remember that any illness is much easier to prevent then to treat. Therefore, please, do not hesitate to ask me questions, and do not hesitate to get reassured if it seems to you that there is something wrong with your child.
Besides all that, in our program we have an idea of “mother-school” for parents of children of different ages. We have a lot of opportunities, but we also need your participation. Probably quite soon we will organize a so-called “hot-line”, and you will be able to ask your questions right from your home”.
At the end of presentation, young attendees of «Mazal tov» program recited poetry written by Oxana Rogulskaya, the manager of the program.
Unfortunately, children have more problems if they come from incomplete families, overcrowded situations, or from families where unfavorable conditions prevail. Therefore, after the presentation, parents were presented with questionnaires to fill in. The purpose of that questionnaire was to expose the needs and interests of the children and to determine an optimal schedule of studies.