CONCEPT WORKSHOP

2nd Children's Workshop: Little Hearts, Big Questions – How Can We Explain Abstract Concepts to Children?Organized by the Bülbülzade Foundation Teacher Education Unit, the 2nd Children’s Workshop was held under the title “Little Hearts, Big Questions: How Can We Explain Abstract Concepts to Children?”. Educator-Author Şule Kala and Clinical Psychologist Merve Doğanlar gave presentations at the workshop.The opening speech was delivered by Hatice Neşe Çandır, a member of the Education and Teacher Unit. Emphasizing the aim of the second children’s workshop, Çandır stated: “How should we as adults respond to children's abstract questions and what kind of attitude should we adopt? We will seek answers to these questions.” After the opening speech, the results of a survey conducted within the scope of the workshop were shared. In the survey, which evaluated the answers given by families to the questions children ask, the following points were made: “Children learn concepts such as good and evil by concretizing them; they evaluate their behavior through these images. Some participants, however, believe that misusing these images may lead to fear or pressure.” The Education Unit has carried out many educational activities for children, youth, and adults. It was also announced that two upcoming workshops will be held: the “Concept Workshop” and “Discussing Islam with Youth Workshop”.The first presentation of the workshop was delivered by Educator-Author Şule Kala. She addressed how to respond to children's religious questions and provided participants with strategies for age-appropriate answers. Emphasizing the importance of nurturing children’s spiritual world, Kala said: “The answers given to children become seeds of faith. For these seeds to sprout, they need the soil of curiosity, the water of love, and the light of patience. Faith saplings can only flourish through a healthy religious education. It is important to highlight these values in conclusion.”The second presentation was delivered by Clinical Psychologist Merve Doğanlar. She explained how the concept of faith is formed and how children make sense of it. She particularly focused on the questions that children ask their parents. Doğanlar also discussed the brain-based perception of reality, sharing detailed information about the neuropsychological development of children aged 4 to 12.Following the presentations, workshop activities were conducted with the participants. The workshops were organized under four categories: Death–Afterlife, Heaven–Hell, Angels–Devil, and Good–Evil, based on questions children often ask their families. The aim was to seek answers to the questions: “What do children ask most, and how can we respond to them?”. The program concluded with the evaluation of the workshop results.Click here for the survey results of the 2nd Children's Workshop.

“I Wonder Allah, I Know My Prophets” WorkshopBülbülzülzade Foundation Education and Teacher Unit held the workshop program titled “I Wonder Allah, I Know My Prophets” on Saturday, April 19, 2025 at Zade Life Hotel within the foundation. Various university, secondary and primary school educators, academics, experts and parents participated in the training program, which aims to guide children's religious curiosity.The program included important sessions and workshops on how educators and parents should approach the questions children face in the process of getting to know Allah.The first session of the day started with an interview with author Özkan Öze on his book “Allah'ı Merak Ediyorum”. The background of children's questions about Allah, parents' attitudes towards these questions and the correct ways to answer them were discussed in detail.In the second part of the program, a workshop session titled “Children's Religious Curiosity and Adults' Approach” was held. Participants made evaluations on the child-centered approach in religious education through group presentations.Nurcan Yıldırım's talk titled “Style and Prophet Lives”, which started after the lunch break, emphasized how the prophet parables should be explained to children and the importance of a language based on love and compassion.The 2nd Workshop Session of the program was titled “Discussions on the Lives of the Prophets”. Five different groups discussed how to answer the questions that children are most curious about with excerpts from the lives of five prophets from Adam to Moses. In the workshops; various topics such as “Why were humans sent to the world?”, “How to gain questioning and contemplation?”, “Why is forgiveness important?”, “Do miracles really happen?” and “Why did Prophet Moses oppose Pharaoh?” were discussed.Bülbülzade Foundation's Education and Teacher Unit added a new one to its work with educators for children and young people and contributed to equipping the participants with both theoretical knowledge and practical approaches. The program ended with group presentations and general evaluation.