Koosha Kids House

Kousha House for Children

Geographical Location: Emamzadeh Yahya neighborhood, Baharestan Street, Tehran
Age Group: ۴-۶ year olds, babies and toddlers
Number of Children:
Number of Teachers: 15
Start Date: September 2014
In Progress

Kousha House for Children started its activity in Dabir-ol-Molk Toys and Health House concentrating on working children in Emamzadeh Yahya neighborhood, Baharesten since 2001. This house belonged to Mirza Mohammad Hussein Khan Farahani known as Dabir-ol-Molk who was one of the Qajar government officials. Dabir-ol-Molk historic house which has been restored by Tehran Municipality, was a place for educating, training and playing for working children and the children from low-income families. In September 2014 four workshops were held for the teachers of Kousha House for Children. Thereupon, the Read with Me program started its activity officially in this center from October 2014.

Another phase of the center’s activities began when they were transferred from Dabir-ol-Malik House to a new location. In addition to Reading Aloud sessions and Basic Literacy Creative education, the new child-centered library of this center welcomes children. A series of Reading with Babies and Toddlers workshops are also held at this center for mothers.

Overview

In September 2013, the child-centered library of the center was opened in the basement of Dabir-ol-Malik House with the support and advice of the Institute for Research on the History of Children’s Literature within the framework of the “Read with Me” program. With the efforts of the authorities and trainers in Kousha House, Read with Me began providing services to the children and teenagers of the neighborhood. The library, which was equipped with quality books classified into different age groups, encouraged children and adolescents to read book in an attractive and creative atmosphere which was different from the classic methods.

Unfortunately, the municipality of Tehran removed Dabir-ol-Malik House from the property of Kousha House for Children. It was allocated to other activities and the child-centered library was closed. However, the officials and supporters of Kousha House for Children did not quit working. Thus, in 2016 the center was moved to a two-story building in the same neighborhood of Baharestan and began to serve children again.

In February 2016, Learning Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Skills workshops were held for 15 of the trainers of the center. Since then, preschool classes have been conducting creative education programs for basic literacy and reading.

Also in March 2017, a series of Reading with Babies and Toddlers workshops were held for mothers and their newborns. In these series, mothers are guided to the right path of reading with their babies. Under the supervision of the trainers, their children enjoy quality books from their infancy. In these sessions, theoretical and practical book related education is provided to the mothers. In addition to Reading Aloud, mothers learn lullabies, poems, storytelling with dolls, and making books for their children.

Two rooms are dedicated to the child-centered library in the new place of Kousha House for Children. This beautiful and active library is now the venue for conducting Reading Aloud sessions and lending books to children. Therefore, in 2017, the child-centered library workshops were held for the librarians and trainers of this center.