PROGRAMS FOR EDUCATIONAL WORK OF PRE-SCHOOL INSTITUTIONS IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

. The environment in which a child grows is of crucial importance for its development and learning. The provision of a quality and stimulating environment for children from the youngest age, especially in the period of transition from the parental home to a new environment, requires a high level of organization that relies on the perception of the importance of building favorable conditions to support and stimulate the development of children from a young age. The environment in which children live is a significant factor for the quality and effectiveness of their early development and later achievements and progress. Therefore, from the first years of early development, children should be given support in their development, which primarily comes from the family, parents, and further from the community. Right from here come the need and the obligation of the programs according to which preschool institutions work to offer content that will follow and encourage the development of the children of preschool age. The paper analyzes the programs that are used in preschool institutions in the Republic of North Macedonia from 1945 until today. The analysis is aimed at providing an insight into how the development of programs for preschool upbringing and education in Macedonia took place over a longer period of time of 77 years. From the review, it can be seen how our country follows the trend of innovating its programs according to the recommendations of modern professional-scientific knowledge from the theory and practice of preschool upbringing and education, as well as the Convention for the Protection of Children's Rights.


Introduction
Systematic institutional preschool upbringing and education of children of preschool age is of great importance in the formation of the child in this period of life, when its biological development is most accelerated, and therefore the child's perception of the influences of the environment in this period is greater than in other phases of development. Hence, it can be safely asserted that in the preschool period there are the greatest opportunities for shaping a future free and creative person. Preschool education also has a great significance and role in the formation of the foundations on which new knowledge, skills and habits are built, as well as the development of children's creative abilities. The very stay in the kindergarten offers the children the opportunity to learn how to learn, and to experience the learning process pleasantly, joyfully and with special interest (Petrov, 1979, p.5). (Петров, 1979, стр.5).
The care and upbringing of children of preschool age is a form of child protection, which as an activity is organized for care, stay, nutrition, educational, sports-recreational, cultural-entertainment activities, measures and activities to improve and preserve health, and for encouraging the intellectual, emotional, physical, mental and social development of the child up to 6 years of age, that is, until its inclusion in primary education.
As part of the educational system, preschool education in R.N. Macedonia aims to include children from the age of 8 months to the age of 6, that is, before starting primary school. Currently (according to the existing Law on Child Protection, 2019) the care and upbringing of children of preschool age in our country takes place in the following institutions: Kindergarten and Center for Early Childhood Development. They can be public (state, municipal) and private. According to the Law on Child Protection, the Government determines the network of public institutions for children (kindergartens and centers for early childhood development) established by the municipality and the municipality in the city of Skopje on the proposal of the ministry after the previous opinion of the council of the municipality and the municipality in the city of Skopje (Child Protection Act, 2021) (Закон за заштита на децата, 2021 година).
The quality of the experiences that the child acquires in the early years and the quality of the pre-school upbringing and education program are crucial for the further learning and success of the child in school and later in work. That is why special attention should be paid to the programs for educational work according to which the work is carried out in preschool institutions.
The program for the educational work in preschool institutions is a basic document that enables targeted and organized implementation of the educational process in preschool organizations. Through the program, the synthesis of modern professional-scientific knowledge from the theory and practice of preschool upbringing and education is expressed in a specific way. In addition, we tried to present the programs of educational work in kindergartens in our country starting from 1945 until today, in order to see how the process of their innovation is going by following modern trends and recommendations about the importance of early child development.

Historical overview
Chronologically, the educational work with children in preschool institutions was regulated by several rules and regulations and organized by various program documents. In Macedonia, first such documents were adopted in 1945. The first more complete program for educational work in preschool institutions was adopted in 1964. With this program, for the first time in our country, the tasks and contents of educational work with children in younger, medium and older educational groups were determined (Kamberski, 2000, p. 23). A special program for educational work with children in kindergartens was adopted in 1968, and in 1969, the Republic Institute for the Advancement of Education adopted a new improved program for educational work in kindergartens, which more specifically determined the tasks and contents of educational work. It elaborates the activities from respective educational areas for small, medium and large groups, with special attention being paid to the organization of children's lives and to the development of cultural, health-hygienic and basic work habits. In that program, play takes a dominant place in children's activities (Kamberski, 2000, p. 23). (Камберски, 2000, стр. 23).
In the 1970s, as a result of the new legislation and under the influence of modern pedagogical and psychological knowledge, an improved program for educational work with children of preschool age appeared in Macedonia. This program, for the first time in our country, covers all important issues related to the upbringing, education, and care of children from 6 months to two years of age (nursery age). With it, the program activities of the children from the group of children that are the oldest and from the preschool group are also equated (Kamberski, 2000, p. 23).
The next program for educational work in preschool institutions was adopted in 1981. The conception, i.e., the attitudes of the program are set and structured by professionally qualified persons from an interdisciplinary profile, such as, for example, pedagogues, psychologists, doctors, pediatricians, and other professional profiles, who deal with the problems of development, upbringing, and education of preschool children. Based on the established concepts and structural relations, the program is definitively drawn up by the Sivevska, D. (2023). THE NOVEL "IGBAL, MY SECRET" BY YAGODA MIHAILOVSKA-GEORGIEVA, OR ABOUT FLYING THROUGH ADOLESCENCE . Vospitanie-Journal of Educational Sciences Theory and Practice, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2023 competent institution, and its application is approved by the Republic Institute for Advancement of Upbringing and Education. The program bases of preschool upbringing and education determine the general goals and tasks, as well as the special goals and tasks of upbringing and education, especially for each group and each educational area. Starting from the general goal of the educational system of the socialist selfgoverning society (developing and forming a versatile free creative self-governing person) in the Program for the educational activity of preschool organizations, among other things, the goal of preschool education is clearly defined: "The goal of preschool upbringing and education is in accordance with the pedagogical-psychological knowledge and social opportunities of the young generation to provide conditions for a healthy, joyful childhood, for optimal physical, intellectual and emotional-social development, for further development and successful upbringing and education and development" (The program for educational work with children of preschool age, 1981). (Програмата за воспитно образовна работа со деца од предучилишна возраст, 1981). From the set goal, it is clearly seen what importance and meaning is given to the program and what tasks arise from it, so in that respect it can be said that preschool upbringing and education through the set goals and tasks should provide optimal conditions and opportunities, to encourage, direct and enable the comprehensive development of the child's personality and in accordance with the psycho-physical peculiarities and characteristics, as well as with the individual abilities and opportunities of the children, which will create favorable optimal conditions for smooth physical-sensory-motor, social-volitional and cognitive-intellectual development.
Through the realization of the set goals and tasks, the preschool organizations for care, education and upbringing have the task of including children of all ages and social backgrounds and to provide them with as much inclusion as possible, thus ensuring approximately equal conditions for normal physical and health development, through that will develop and ennoble their motor skills, satisfy their needs for play and making friends with peers and adults, their needs for knowing and experiencing the environment and the world that surrounds them, while expressing their feelings in a childlike, honest, naive and spontaneous way, feelings and experiences about objects and phenomena from the natural and social environment. In this way, the stay of young children in educational institutions will be part of their and our everyday life, it will make them happy, joyful and satisfied, it will instill confidence in themselves and other people, with optimism, independence, self-initiative and steadfastness, and with all that, the foundations will be created for growing into active subjects in the socialist self-governing society (Petrov, 1987). (Петров, 1987). Thematic units and contents of educational work in preschool institutions are also provided with the program bases. The program's thematic units and contents provide ample opportunities for specific alignment with adults and with the specific conditions and opportunities for acquiring ideas, concepts, knowledge, and experiences, based on which further growth development and education will flow.
In the Program for educational work with children of preschool age, the program content is divided into six educational program areas: getting to know the natural and social environment, culture and nurturing of speech, introduction to mathematics, physical and health education, artistic education, and music upbringing. Within each educational area, special goals and tasks have been outlined that should be achieved through the realization and specification of the contents of each area. Program content from each educational area is grouped into topics and thematic units. The scope, intensity and method of their development depend on the age group, on the experience and prior knowledge of the children, on the equipment of the preschool organization for game, with visual and didactic materials, as well as on the interests, needs and abilities of the children and on the skill and creativity of the educator. But it is important to note that the division of contents by program areas, as separate program areas, units, remains only within the program. In practice, the division of educational areas is lost, because some contents are elaborated and specified through correlation with other educational areas. Thus, for example, the contents provided after getting to know the natural and social environment are also contents through which the voice-articulation of children is nurtured and taught, or some initial mathematical representations and concepts are developed or clarified. Reading picture books and children's literature in general, in addition to having the function of developing speech expression in children, can also be an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience about the immediate and wider environment, about the life and work of people etc. The illustration and modeling of objects from the immediate environment can also contribute to the development and formation of some qualitative and quantitative features and relations, as well as their connections between objects and phenomena (Petrov, 1987). (Петров, 1987). The contents structured in this way within the program for educational work, as well as the way of their realization, enable the educational work in preschool organizations to represent a solid basis for thoughtful, targeted, planned, and organized upbringing and education, which enables further adaptation, expansion and deepening of teaching in primary school. An effort was made to make the program bases of the preschool organizations and the curriculum of the primary eight-year school mutually oriented, thus enabling easy fitting and supplementing of the contents of both curricula.
At the beginning of the nineties, under the influence of socio-political and economic changes, the SIZs 1 were abolished, and thus certain legal documents were changed, which will ultimately result in a change in the status of preschool institutions. More specifically, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy assumes responsibility for them. However, the monitoring of the educational work, the preparation of the program documents for the educational work and the professional development of the educational staff in kindergartens still remain under the competence of the Ministry of Education and Science.
According to the new Child Protection Law, which was adopted in November 2000, the organized educational work in the year before starting school, for children from 5 to 7 years of age, was realized in large groups in kindergartens and in party groups, in elementary schools, with half-day stays or shortened programs. With the increase in the number of children from 5 to 7 years of age to 83% involved in some form of preschool upbringing and education in the year before starting school, the conditions were created for the Ministry of Education and Science in 2004 to pass a law regulating compulsory preparatory year for children from 5 to 7 years of age. Based on new legal regulation, the Bureau for the Development of Education (through the commissions composed of university professors, counselors for preschool upbringing and education and practitioners from kindergartens and party groups at primary schools) in April 2004 prepared a document "Basics of the educational program work in the preparatory year", which was adopted by the Minister of Education and Science with the decision no. 10-746/25 of April 27, 2005 (Samardziska-Panova, 2019). (Самарџиска-Панова, 2019).
With the introduction of the compulsory nine-year education in Macedonia in 2006, there are also changes in the system of pre-school upbringing and education. With these innovations, it is foreseen that children from the age of six will be included in the first grade, which means that kindergartens will lose this age group. Following these legislative changes, in February 2007 the Bureau of Educational Development (through committees made up of university professors, early childhood education counselors, and kindergarten and elementary school practitioners) produced the final version of the "Basics of the Early Childhood Education Program, work with children of preschool age in public kindergartens". By decision no. 11-3-853/1 of October 8, 2007, this program document was adopted by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy. Sivevska, D. (2023). THE NOVEL "IGBAL, MY SECRET" BY YAGODA MIHAILOVSKA-GEORGIEVA, OR ABOUT FLYING THROUGH ADOLESCENCE .Vospitanie-Journal of Educational Sciences Theory and Practice, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2023 The prepared program is a national document that is in line with modern social-democratic and pluralist movements in our country, with the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as with the Declaration on the Rights of Children. This program document is based on the insights obtained from the analysis of the previous program documents, and it incorporates, in addition to professional and scientific knowledge about the intellectual, cognitive and mental potential of the child from 8 months to 5 years of age, the positive effects of the realization of the project " Step by step", as well as the projects "Civic education", "Approaches to visual thinking" and "Inclusion of children with special needs in regular schools". The program envisages that educational work is planned and implemented in an integrated manner. When planning, the educator clearly and precisely defines the goals of the educational work, and then determines the activities that will most effectively realize the goals.
In the program itself, it is foreseen that the organization of the space where the educational activity is carried out should be flexible, which offers opportunities for organizing activities in a larger or smaller group, individual work, even if the children are temporarily left alone. With the principle of active learning, it is imposed to organize learning corners in the hobby room: family drama, math, library, water and sand corner, construction, musical, artistic, research, a small stage for puppet shows, a corner for exhibiting children's works. The very opening of the corners for work depends on the goals planned in the short-term (daily) planning. In the Basics of the program, the involvement of the family in several aspects of the life and work of the group is encouraged. Cooperation with parents/guardians is planned together with them, depending on the possibilities and interests of the parents and the needs of the educational process. Parents are informed daily about the achievements and development of their child, and the teacher receives information necessary for the planning, implementation, and monitoring of the educational work. In the Program for educational work with children of preschool age, the program contents are arranged according to the areas of development of children of the earliest preschool age: social and emotional development, motor development, communication and creativity, and intellectual development. Within each aspect of development, the program contents are divided according to the age of the children (from 8 to 24 months; and from 2-6 years of age, which is further divided into the development of children from 2-3 years, from 3 to 4 years, from 4 to 5 years, from 5 to 6 years). At the same time, within each of the mentioned areas of development, the goals that need to be achieved are clearly stated and specified, with an example of activities that can be realized during the performance of the educational activity, as well as the expected results. And for this program it is characteristic that the division of the contents according to the separate program areas, as separate units, remains only within the framework of the program. And in practice, this division is lost, because most of the content through correlation is elaborated and specified through other educational areas.

Current situation
The overall political and social environment, the latest scientific and professional knowledge about the overall development of children in the first years of birth, imposed the need for the promotion of early childhood development in the Republic of Macedonia. All of that, based on the Convention for the Protection of Children's Rights, requires changes to be made regarding the treatment of preschool education in our country. The creation and promotion of Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) for children from 0 to 6 years old, is based on the scientific concept of early childhood development, but also on the local context of what children can learn and need to know at the respective age. These standards are a reference used to promote appropriate care, concern, and early stimulation of children's development in a holistic way, through the acquisition of skills for all that children can do and need to know between the ages of 0 and 6, in a stimulating environment that offers a number of opportunities for early learning. The standards define the expected achievements of children of preschool age, in different spheres of their development (motor development, socio-emotional development, intellectual development, etc.). They can be applied in all contexts in which children aged 0-6 years are served with care, upbringing and education services (in families, in kindergartens, in children's recreational centers and in various informal types of childcare) (Education Strategy for 2018-2025 and Action Plan).
The expected values that children should possess when reaching the Standards for early learning and development in R. Macedonia are independence, creativity, initiative, responsibility towards oneself and the environment, acceptance and respect for those who are different from oneself, tolerant behavior and solidarity, as well as respect for the community and the state as a whole (Standards for early learning and development in children from 0 to 6 years, 2015). (Стандарди за рано учење и развој кај деца од 0 до 6 години, 2015). Standards are expectations of what children should know and be able to do at a certain age. Every expectation is inextricably linked to age. The standards for early learning and development in R. Macedonia refer to the age interval from 0-6 years (or from 0-72 months), divided into the following age groups: -0-2 years (0-6 months, 6-18 months and 18-24 months); -2-3 years (24-36 months); -3-4 years (36-48 months); -4-6 years (48-60 months, 60-72 months).
The division of age groups is determined by legal regulation, based on which the work of kindergartens and the division of children into groups are organized. (Standards for Early Learning and Development, 2015) (Стандарди за рано учење и развој, 2015) In this document, the standards are presented by development domains, but it is necessary to emphasize that the development process and learning among young children does not take place in isolation, but takes place continuously, through all domains. Developmental domains are interconnected, and children learn by building on pre-existing knowledge across all domains. There are no priority domains in child development. Respecting the holistic approach in the educational process and avoiding the tendency to favor certain domains in the development of a child's personality, in the preparation of the standards for early childhood development in R. Macedonia, attention is paid to the following domains: -Physical health and motor development; -Socio-emotional development; -Development of an approach to learning; -Language development, literacy and communication; -Cognitive development and acquisition of general knowledge. To a large extent, the development of young children is realized complementary, through related developmental domains, so that the progress made by the child in one domain has a strong influence on the development and progress in another developmental domain. The complementary connection and interdependence of all domains mandates the holistic approach, as a unique approach in the development of standards for early learning and development in the Republic of Macedonia (Standards for early learning and development, 2015). (Стандарди за рано учење и развој, 2015). Sivevska, D. (2023). THE NOVEL "IGBAL, MY SECRET" BY YAGODA MIHAILOVSKA-GEORGIEVA, OR ABOUT FLYING THROUGH ADOLESCENCE . Vospitanie-Journal of Educational Sciences Theory and Practice, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2023 Based on the Early Learning and Development Standards, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, in March 2014, adopted the Early Learning and Development Program, which was prepared by the Education Development Bureau. The program itself is based on knowledge that indicates the importance of early childhood for intellectual, emotional, and social development, and therefore the importance of the organized creation of conditions for that development.
The program itself states that development is a process of change that occurs as a result of respecting early learning and development in young children. The social processes of democratization are reflected in the educational work with children of preschool age and require consistent practical application of professional-scientific knowledge, as well as consistent application of the humanistic-theoretical, pedagogical-psychological process of interpreting a child's personality. The overall educational activities in preschool education are aimed at respecting and satisfying the needs, interests, and opportunities of each child (Early Learning and Development Program, 2014). (Програма за рано учење и развој, 2014).
The early learning and development program is in accordance with the needs, interests, age, and developmental characteristics of preschool children and is aimed at the holistic development of each child. It means integrating the cognitive, social, cultural, physical, and emotional dimensions of personality development. The application of the holistic approach in working with children of pre-school age means that each child should be allowed to progress according to his/her own pace and possibilities of progress. It is based on the fact that all children are skilled, strong, but also unique, creative, independent, children who grow and learn through play, exploring, observing, etc. The holistic approach, which is based on the development and learning of the child from preschool age, refers to the provision of a safe and secure environment for learning and development, strengthening the developmental readiness for school, as well as the formation of correct habits for the protection of the child's health (Early Learning and Development Program, 2014). The concept of the holistic approach refers to the idea that all aspects of an individual's development can be covered and some of its parts or individual components cannot be developed separately.
The real application of this approach in practice would mean the development of the "child as a whole" and should represent a real challenge for every educator. In the program itself, the organization of the time for performing the most diverse educational activities during the day, such as reception of children, leisure activities and games, nutrition, implementation of daily planning, passive and active rest, implementation of optional programs ( if there is interest from the parents), motor activities, walks, observations, activities for acquiring cultural and hygienic habits, participation in various manifestations within the public and cultural activity of the kindergarten, individual work with children and parents (as needed) (Program for early learning and development, 2014). (Програма за рано учење и развој, 2014).
In the program, the organization of time is flexible and relies on a holistic approach in its implementation. The introductory pages of the Program state the fundamental principles, such as: Principle of equal opportunities and respect for diversity among children and principle of multiculturalism; Principle of democracy; Principle of game dominance and principle of connection with life reality; Principle of active learning and encouraging different ways of expression; Principle of compliance with age characteristics and principle of individualization; Principle of completeness and integrity; Principle of openness of the educational process; Principle of monitoring and encouraging children's development; Principle of development-process approach; Principle of critical evaluation and Principle of continuous professional development of the educator.. The holistic approach in the program is based on a systematized and integrated influence on all developmental domains of the child, i.e., Access to learning, Health and motor development; Socio-emotional development; Language, Communication and literacy development; and Cognitive development and acquisition of general knowledge. All Sivevska, D. (2023). THE NOVEL "IGBAL, MY SECRET" BY YAGODA MIHAILOVSKA-GEORGIEVA, OR ABOUT FLYING THROUGH ADOLESCENCE . Vol. 18,No.  In order to be able to monitor and encourage children's development in all domains, it is important in the kindergarten / playroom itself to create an environment that is stimulating and creative and in which children will feel free to express their opinion, believe in themselves, in their friends, to cooperate, to respect others and to be successful. The overall environment and atmosphere must be designed so that it allows children to observe, explore and experiment, encouraging them to examine, critically assess and solve problems. And in the early learning and development program itself, spatial conditions for the implementation of the program are specified. Namely, in the program itself, it is said that educational activities in the study room should be carried out in learning centers. In the recreational facilities of the institution, the educational work in the areas of socio-emotional development, motor development, physical education, health education, intellectual development, communication, and creativity are carried out in activity centers. Activity centers are thematically structured spaces in the playroom that allow children to play and learn in a different way. Playing in the centers is a kind of "learning" that allows the children to express their ideas, thoughts, and attitudes, and for the educational team to fulfill its essential role, which consists in providing assistance and coordination of the game. Basic centers that should be in every learning room in the kindergarten/early childhood development center are: -Literary Center; -Mathematical center; -Center for play with constructive material; -Scientific research center; -Art center; -Center for role-playing games, dramatization and puppet shows; -Center for exhibiting children's works.
The room can also have a sand and water play center (placed near a water fountain) as well as other centers if needed (Early Learning and Development Programme, 2014). (Програма за рано учење и развој, 2014).
During the activity, the children, individually or in groups, usually "rotate" moving from one corner to another. The time spent in them depends on the active engagement of the children in the game and on the creative use of the materials. Furniture arrangements should support children's independence and needs, as well as new learning challenges. It should allow children to move quickly while working. The tables should be grouped in such a way that a workspace is created for 4 to 6 children. Easels and small boards can be worked on without chairs. Learning materials should stimulate active and concrete research, with the game method dominating. Each center should have appropriate materials to suit individual needs and learning styles.
The children's works on display in the study room should be changed frequently. Such productions should be exhibited so that it is possible to see how the learning process took place.
Every learning center should help children to be active in the learning process and have activities that take place on two levels: concrete and visual. This way of playing and learning allows children to constantly acquire communication skills, overcoming conflicting situations that occur as a result of different thoughts or interests. The organization and combination of the centers depends on children's interests and needs, as well as on educational goals.
In the Program, the width, depth and order of processing of the contents are not determined in detail, leaving room for the educators themselves to more precisely determine the intensity, depth and order of their processing during the selection and arrangement of the contents. Separate educational areas: getting to know nature and society, mathematics, culture of speech, physical, musical, and artistic education, are mutually connected and as separate units can be met and studied only in the work program of kindergartens. In order to more successfully and more fully achieve the set educational goals, as well as in the direction of respecting the holistic approach in the development of children, educators connect and combine separate educational areas in the realization of their educational activities every day.
In the program itself, guidelines are given according to which children's achievements and progress should be monitored. They should be continuously observed in accordance with the standards for early learning and development and in accordance with the expected results provided for in this program. The teacher evaluates the achievements by means of assessment instruments made for each developmental period separately. The monitoring of the child's achievements and progress during the year is carried out through the evidence in the child's file, which is kept for each child from the educational group. In monitoring children's achievements, positive records are kept, that is, it is recorded what the child can do and what it achieves, what it is progressing in, and not what is difficult for it to do or what it did not achieve. The file of the child with purified and selected data continues to be maintained in the following year, in the group to which the child will transfer. When the child is enrolled in primary school, the child's file is handed over to the school (Early Learning and Development Program, 2014). (Програма за рано учење и развој, 2014).

Other programs for work in kindergarten
According to legal decisions, in our country, other institutional activities are organized to satisfy the specific interests and needs of the child in the direction of strengthening the child's personality by developing its physical, intellectual, cultural and other abilities, which are carried out in accordance with special programs that are adopted by the director of the kindergarten at the suggestion of the expert team, and are approved by the management board of the kindergarten, that is, the center for early childhood development. Such activities are carried out through specialized programs and in accordance with the capabilities of institutions for children that operate within the system for care and education of children of preschool age, and in accordance with the needs and interests of children and parents as well as local self-government units. For the realization of these programs, it is necessary for them to be approved by the minister, after a previously obtained opinion from the Education Development Bureau (Child Protection Law, 2021). (Закон за заштита на деца, 2021).

Conclusion
Early childhood education plays a key role in children's development and has significant positive socio-economic effects on the entire society. The first years of a person's life are most favorable for the development of attitudes and values that form the basis of personality. Preschool upbringing and education is understood as the creation and structuring of an educational environment in which the child will find all the necessary incentives for the development of mental processes and for the development of other personality traits. Starting from these findings, preschool upbringing and education historically changes its program bases, contents, forms, and methods of work, and from health and social institutions with a fostering character, they move to educational institutions, where under the leadership of professionally qualified staff, programmed educational activity is carried out. The presented knowledge indicates that our country follows the modern achievements of pedagogical and psychological sciences, as well as numerous program documents and conventions on children's rights and implements them in its national educational policies. This enables the creation and stimulation of an appropriate environment for growth and preschool education, which will enable every child to develop their potential and find their own path for progress and personal development. We can conclude by saying that organized preschool upbringing and education should be given a special role and importance, because it provides conditions for normal and unhindered further full development in upbringing, for ensuring an approximately equal start in further schooling and life.