Our History

The Russian Kids House was formed in 2003 by Alyona Davidova and Lena Oleynikova and is a women-owned business. The Russian Kids House is the Limited Liability Company, registered to do business in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Being parents of 2 and 4 children themselves, the owners of Russian Kids House realized that quite often being familiar with only one culture is not enough for children to communicate with their playmates, especially if the kids were either born in or just came from another country. Knowing that there may be other points of view and that other behavioral patterns would help children to enlarge their horizon, to make friends and be happy, these two women saw a need for an institution that would provide a bilingual environment for kids of Russian descent. Prior to launching RKH, Alyona Davidova had already gained over 5 years of experience running a Russian language school in Greater Washington area and developed a good understanding of what the bilingual needs were in here. This was complemented by managerial experience and professional skills of Lena Oleynikova. Another driving force to create the Russian Kids House was the adoption of the Russian girl by one of the company’s owner. During the adoption process she came across multiple adoption families and was exposed to a desperate struggle of adopting families to keep their adopted kids heritage. Ultimately, Russian Kids House was formed mostly to respond to these needs.

Philosophy

We believe that each child possesses unique talents and gifts. Children are by nature curious and exploring and, hence, are inclined to learn organically. At the heart of our philosophy is the conviction that we have an opportunity and responsibility to help children become happy, successful, lifelong learners. Our programs provide children with hands-on learning experiences because children learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process. Additionally, we try to create a comfortable, family-like aura in the school that would make children’s morning arrival at school a much wanted event. Our curricular emphasis is organized around creating, building, exploring and actively growing knowledge. Our programs are presented in a fun and interesting manner which invites children to immerse themselves in all the activities. Our methods, from developmental basics to beginning reading, writing and mathematics reflect an age-appropriate and natural style furthering the development of positive attitudes toward learning. In doing so, we build on elements of Russian educational tradition and culture, actively incorporating methods by Nikolay Zaytzev in early child development. At the same time we adjust our programs to be genuinely bicultural and better reflect American educational realities by incorporating standards of Core Knowledge in our process. We place a strong emphasis on learning to think critically and creatively, to work cooperatively, and solve problems. We believe that effective teaching capitalizes on the child’s natural motivation to explore, experiment, and to make sense of his or her world. Basic human values such as honesty, respect, forgiveness and wisdom, are encouraged to develop; so that children love themselves, love each other and the world around them, and have the strength of character to make morally sound decisions. The ultimate goal is to develop a positive attitude towards learning in each child and make the process of constant learning an organic part of his or her life.