8–10 years. Let's learn more and discuss concepts
At this age, you can discuss with your child the meaning of concepts such as homeland
,
patriotism
and others. First, check with your child how he himself understands these words, what they mean to him. It is likely that he has already formed his own opinion, which he will share with you.
You can tell your child about interesting periods in the history of our country, about the origin and meaning of its main symbols (coat of arms, anthem, flag). An encyclopedia about Russia or an illustrated book for self-study will help him get to know his homeland even better.
Tell your children about the 13 seas that wash the shores of Russia, about Moscow, where more people live than in all of Sweden, that the number of residents of St. Petersburg is comparable to the population of Norway, and also:
- about the endless taiga and steppes, about the gigantic snow-covered expanses of tundra and subtropical parks of Sochi, about the pole of cold in Oymyakon, about the wonderful warm Black Sea;
- about the valley of geysers in Kamchatka and the mineral springs of the North Caucasus, about the ski resorts of the Urals and the pearl of Siberia - Baikal, surrounded by snowy mountain peaks;
- about Kolyma gold and Yakut diamonds, about Ural malachite and Baltic amber;
- about the Novgorod and Kazan Kremlins, about the architecture of the cities of the Golden Ring, the brilliant palaces of St. Petersburg and the luxurious parks of Peterhof and Gatchina, Tsaritsyn and Kolomenskoye;
- about the crooked streets of old Moscow, about Stalin's high-rise buildings and the skyscrapers of Moscow City, about the drawbridges of the Northern capital, about the stone pavements of Vyborg and Kaliningrad, about the Church on the Blood in Yekaterinburg and the White Mosque in Astrakhan, about the monument to mammoths in Khanty-Mansiysk and others amazing places that our country is so rich in.
Teenagers: helping to form values and traveling together
By adolescence, in general, the idea of belonging to the country and a sense of patriotism in one sense or another is already formed. It is clear that teenagers want to feel special in everything and contrast their views with the opinions of others. And just Russia Day is a good reason to “synchronize watches” and find out what
a growing child thinks about the country in which he lives and his place in its life.
Trying to have moralizing conversations with a teenager is a thankless task: for any of your remarks, he probably already has counter-arguments in stock. Therefore, here, as in the case of preschoolers, a practical approach also works better.
Perhaps one of the most effective ways is to go on a family trip, especially since teenagers tolerate travel much better than younger children. However, it is not necessary to travel halfway across the country - there will probably be many interesting places in your own region and in neighboring ones that will reveal to him our history and culture from a new side using close examples. Plus, spending time on the road and sharing adventures and experiences is a good way to maintain a close bond with your growing child.
Bonus: what you can read with your child on Russia Day (and not only)
- Ivan Shmelev “Russian song”
- Mikhail Prishvin “My Motherland”
- Konstantin Ushinsky “Our Fatherland”, “Bread”
- Ivan Turgenev "Village"
- Ivan Bunin "Mowers"
- Konstantin Paustovsky “My Russia”, “Collection of Miracles”
- Sergey Maksimov “Trip to the Solovetsky Monastery”
- Arkady Gaidar "Hike"
- Stanislav Romanovsky "Rus"
- Evgeniy Permyak “A fairy tale about our native Urals”
Photo: Collection/iStock
6–7 years old. Studying the facts
At this age, the child can be told interesting facts about our country in a form accessible to him - for example, the following.
- Russia is the biggest country in the world. Its area is 17.1 million square kilometers.
- Russia borders on 16 countries. The total length of the borders is 60 thousand kilometers. This is the longest border in the world.
- It has the longest railway route in the world: the Moscow-Vladivostok train runs along the route for almost a week.
- Russia has the world's deepest lake (Baikal), the deepest mine (Kola Superdeep), and St. Petersburg also has the world's deepest metro.
- Also in St. Petersburg is the largest museum in the world by area - the Hermitage.
- Forests occupy 60% of the territory of our country.
- Russia is the seventh most populous country in the world. It is home to approximately 145 million people.
You can also invite your child to independently find out other interesting facts about Russia and tell family members about them.
