Misheel’s Story: A child teaches others

Last September, Hidden Gems trained 61 new teachers in Baigalmaa. Each lesson includes activities that emphasize teamwork.

One little girl participating in Hidden Gems came from an orphanage. One day, her caregiver met with her teachers and shared this story: “Every day, when she comes from kindergarten, she calls together every child and shares quotes, stories, songs, and poems about good behaviors. This sharing became a routine. Now everyone eagerly waits for her to return and share whatever she learned from school.” 

Hidden Gems is a project at Mongolia Development Center that teaches children, parents, and teachers. Focused on character development, the curriculum includes children’s workbooks, a teacher’s manual, a parent’s manual, and a CD of songs and stories.

The teachers find this program very helpful:

“I learned many skills and methods, such as how to help children become active members of society, how to correctly work with each child, and new ways of encouraging and conversing with them.” -Kindergarten teacher at Egshiglen

“It used to be very difficult to work with the children. They would often fight for toys, and it was even harder communicating with their parents. But gradually the children changed as I taught the Hidden Gems curriculum. They started sharing toys and even apologizing to each other. When I organized a parents’ training, we started getting to know each other. Now we share the many good qualities we see in our children. The atmosphere became warm and positive. I’m really inspired to work as a teacher and help children this way.” – Oktober