“Mother School" of Grand Duke Alexei Petrovich of Russia

Abstract

This article reviews the emergence and content of textbook system for “Mother School”, written by the court poet and educator Karion Istomin for Grand Duke Alexei Petrovich of Russia. The concept belonged to grandmother of Alexei Petrovich – Grand Duchess Natalia Kirillovna, who enrolled her son Peter to “Mother School” at the age of 3 instead of usual 5. The idea of preschool education was advanced by the prominent pedagogue John Amos Comenius based on his concept of developmental psychology. The very thought that a child is not a small adult and his perception transforms with age  was innovative for the Age of Scientific Revolution. In the countries of Central and Western Europe, where John Amos Comenius pursued his activity, promotion of this thought encountered difficulties. Although in Russia, where the works of Comenius enjoyed wide popularity, was created a solid foundation for assimilation of this thought. All children of the Romanov family (there is no records on education of their predecessors) received multiple educational toys and visual materials, which were purchased at first, and later illustrated in books. By combining the  Russian tradition with the ideas of Comenius, Karion Istomin the entire series of books, in which upbringing and education was in the form of pictures and poems to them. The most famous book, which retains its relevance today, is the unique Russian Alphabet Book (Bukvar). The author is first to examine the entire system of these textbooks, which mark gradual transformation from visual learning to logical.