The Characters of the Animated Feature Film MAVKA. THE FOREST SONG Will Engage School Students of Chernihiv and Kyiv Oblasts in Education to Make Up for Gaps

When magic meets math, reading, and writing, the CATCH program takes shape! The GoGlobal Educational Foundation, in cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Ukraine and FILM.UA Group with the participation of Animagrad Animation Studio and Nerd agency, invites students of Grades 2–4 on an exciting journey: the characters of the most successful animated feature film MAVKA. THE FOREST SONG will help them make up for their educational gaps and improve their reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.

Tetiana Kovryha, Director of the GoGlobal NGO, said: “Making up for educational gaps is one of our priorities. We understand that children need help learning what they have missed in elementary school. To make this process interesting for our youngest students, we have for the first time involved fairy tale characters from the famous film MAVKA. THE FOREST SONG. Swampy, the Kittyfrog, and Hush, the Forest Noise Keeper, will be part of our educational materials and will go through all those tasks and assignments together with the children.”

One of CATCH's unique components is its game-based learning format. It helps to better digest the material and build associations that promote memory development. So, thanks to the partnership with the Mavka creators, students will learn alongside their favorite characters from the Magic Forest — Swampy the Kittyfrog, and Hush, the Forest Noise Keeper — that have become protagonists of textbooks, homework diaries, and a game.

These characters will help children learn the material more easily and make it more interesting to study because Swampy and Hush will speak to them in a language appropriate for younger students. For them, learning will be not just studying material from textbooks, they will dive into a magical world of knowledge, where everyone can feel exceptional and conquer the unknown, overcoming all obstacles. 

Why these characters? Hush, the Forest Noise Keeper, adds positive emotions to learning. Despite the panic, he finds the right answers and moves on. These are the practices he will teach children: to look for the right answers and pursue the goal no matter what. And Swampy the Kittyfrog, is Mavka’s faithful friend, who will not leave our students’ side. He loves testing everything because that’s how he learns about the universe. Together, students will explore the universe of learning and try all its possibilities presented in the CATCH curriculum. 

These charming characters who embody the beauty and depth of Ukrainian identity will guide children throughout their studies, immersing them in the depths of their major subjects, like in a magical forest.

In the course of the program, each teacher will conduct 15 to 20 lessons in each subject. The program is designed for 8 weeks (2 or 3 lessons per week) and will cover about 6,000 children, 300 teachers, and 100 student teachers in the communities of Kyiv and Chernihiv Oblasts affected by the hostilities.

The CATCH program is supported by the educational platform All-Ukrainian Online School. So, an interactive app is to be integrated into the Online School’s educational content.