Abstract:

Environmental protection is one of the most important problems of the modern world. Understanding the importance of preserving and multiplying the «green lungs» of the planet, and that of our country in particular, is the task of environmental education and environmental awareness of children and young people. To achieve this, educators, teachers, parents and the public must have a variety of knowledge and skills, both modern and time-tested. These include among others the knowledge of folk pedagogical experience in forming positive interaction with the nature. The article provides the analysis of some folk pedagogical methods and means that contributed to the formation of positive interaction between children and the plant world, which was based on our ancestors’ worldview on forests, groves, individual trees, their significance in various aspects of human life, which originated in the ancient times, have come a long way and were partially preserved in the 19th and early 20th centuries and are represented in ethnographic and folklore collections, objects and monuments of traditional everyday culture, and works on civil history and the history of religion. The article highlights the ideas about the plant world (forests, trees) and the corresponding attitude towards it formed on the basis of pagan beliefs, which were embodied in various ways in the life of children and adults and yielded positive results in education. It has been proven that the main worldview ideas were the ideas of the spiritualization of vegetation, the idea of reincarnation, the concept of the world tree, and the main methods of education were ritual actions, remnants of tree taboo, folk omens, children’s games, various genres of folklore (spells, fairy tales, proverbs, riddles, chants), and verbal prohibitions. Knowledge of folk pedagogical experience can come in handy for modern teachers, educators, and environmental specialists in diversifying the content and methods of children and young people upbringing, including in the field of ecology. 

Keywords: upbringing, folk pedagogy, natural environment, positive interaction, world outlook, environmental education, folklore, ritual actions. 

References:

1. Afanasiev, A. N. (1982). Drevo zhizni: Izbrannyie stat’i. [Tree of Life: Selected Articles]. 

2. Boltarovych, Z. Ye. (1990). Narodna medytsyna ukraintsiv. [Ukrainians’ Folk Medicine]. Kyiv. 

3. Dovzhenok, H. V. (1981). Ukrainskyi dytiachyi folklor (virshovani zhanry). [Ukrainian Children Folklore (Poetry Genre)]. Kyiv. 

4. Zelenin, D. K. (1911). «Obydennyie» polotentsa i «obydennyie» khramy. [‘Ordinary’ towels and ‘ordinary’ temples]. 

5. Zelenin, D. K. (1937). Totemy-derevia v skazaniiakh i obriadakh yevropeiskikh narodov. [Totem Trees in Tales and Rituals of the European Nations]. 

6. Zolotoslov. (1988). Poetychnyi kosmos Davnoi Rusi. [Zolotoslov. Poetic Cosmos of Ancient Rus’]. Kyiv. 

7. Kylymnyk, S. (1994). Ukrainskyi rik u narodnykh zvychaiakh v istorychnomu vysvitlenni. [Ukrainian Year in Folk Customs In Historical Perspective: in 3 Books]. Kyiv. 

8. Kostomarov, M. I. (1994). Slavianskaia myfolohyia. [Slavic Mythology]. Kyiv. 

9. Maksymovych, M. (2002). Dni ta misiatsi ukrainskoho selianyna. [Ukrainian Farmer’s Days and Months]. Kyiv. 

10. Motsia, O. P., Rychka, V. M. (1996). Kyivska Rus: vid yazychnytstva do khrystyianstva. [Kyiv Rus’ from Peganism to Christianity]. Kyiv. 

11. Prysliv’ia ta prykazky: pryroda. Hospodarska diialnist liudyny. (1989). [Proverbs and Sayings: Nature. Economic Activity]. Kyiv. 

12. Radul, O. S. (2013). Vykhovannia ditei v protsesi zhyttiediialnosti davnikh skhidnykh slov’ian (VI– XIII st.). [Children Upbringing through Vital Activity among Ancient Eastern Slavs (6–13th centuries)]. Kirovohrad. 

13. Rybakov, B. A. (1988). Yazychestvo Drevniei Rusi. [Ancient Rus’ Peganism]. 

14. Ukrainski zamovliannia. (1993). [Ukrainian Charms]. Kyiv.