Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, practical activities such as drawing, social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were created in the late 18th century in Bavaria and Alsace to serve children whose parents both worked outside home; the term was coined by the German Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from 2 to 6 or 7 years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods. In 1779, Johann Friedrich Oberlin and Louise Scheppler founded in Strasbourg an early establishment for caring for and educating pre-school children whose parents were absent during the day. At about the same time, in 1780, similar infant establishments were created in Bavaria. In 1802, Princess Pauline zur Lippe established a preschool center in Detmold, the capital of the principality of Lippe, Germany.

In 1816, Robert Owen, a philosopher and pedagogue, opened the first British and globally the first infants school in New Lanark, Scotland. In conjunction with his venture for cooperative mills Owen wanted the children to be given a good moral education so that they would be fit for work, his system was successful in producing obedient children with basic numeracy. Samuel Wilderspin opened his first infant school in London in 1819, went on to establish hundreds more, he published many works on the subject, his work became the model for infant schools throughout England and further afield. Play was an important part of Wilderspin's system of education, he is credited with inventing the playground. In 1823, Wilderspin published based on the school, he began working for the Infant School Society the next year. He wrote The Infant System, for developing the physical and moral powers of all children from 1 to seven years of age. Countess Theresa Brunszvik, who had known and been influenced by Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, was influenced by this example to open an Angyalkert on May 27, 1828, in her residence in Buda, the first of eleven care centers that she founded for young children.

In 1836 she established an institute for the foundation of preschool centers. The idea became popular among the nobility and the middle class and was copied throughout the Kingdom of Hungary. Friedrich Fröbel opened a "play and activity" institute in 1837 in the village of Bad Blankenburg in the principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Thuringia, as an experimental social experience for children entering school, he renamed his institute Kindergarten on June 28, 1840, reflecting his belief that children should be nurtured and nourished "like plants in a garden". Women trained by Fröbel opened kindergartens around the world; the first kindergarten in the US was founded in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856 and was conducted in German by Margaretha Meyer-Schurz. Elizabeth Peabody founded the first English-language kindergarten in the US in 1860; the first free kindergarten in the US was founded in 1870 by Conrad Poppenhusen, a German industrialist and philanthropist, who established the Poppenhusen Institute.

The first publicly financed kindergarten in the US was established in St. Louis in 1873 by Susan Blow. Canada's first private kindergarten was opened by the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, in 1870. By the end of the decade, they were common in cities. In 1882, The country's first public-school kindergartens were established in Berlin, Ontario at the Central School. In 1885, the Toronto Normal School opened a department for kindergarten teaching. Elizabeth Harrison wrote extensively on the theory of early childhood education and worked to enhance educational standards for kindergarten teachers by establishing what became the National College of Education in 1886. In Afghanistan, children between the ages of 3 and 6 attend kindergartens. Although kindergartens in Afghanistan are not part of the school system, they are run by the government. Early Childhood Development programs were first introduced during the Soviet occupation with the establishment in 1980 of 27 urban preschools, or kodakistan.

The number of preschools grew during the 1980s, peaking in 1990 with more than 270 in Afghanistan. At this peak, there were 2,300 teachers caring for more than 21,000 children in the country; these facilities were an urban phenomenon in Kabul, were attached to schools, government offices, or factories. Based on the Soviet model, these Early Childhood Development programs provided nursery care and kindergarten for children from 3 months to 6 years of age under the direction of the Department of Labor and Social Welfare; the vast majority of Afghan families were never exposed to this system, many of these families were in opposition to these programs due to the belief that it diminishes the central role of the family and inculcates children with Soviet values. With the onset of civil war after the Soviet withdrawal, the number of kindergartens dropped rapidly. By 1995, only 88 functioning facilities serving 2,110 children survived, the Taliban restrictions on female employment eliminated all of the remaining centers in areas under their control.

In 2007, there were about 260 kindergarten/pre-school centers serving over 25,000 children. Though every government center is required to ha

Sultan Husayn Bayqara Mirza was the Timurid ruler of Herat from 1469 until May 4, 1506, with a brief interruption in 1470. A skilled statesman, Sultan Husayn Bayqara was best known for his interest in the arts and was renowned as a benefactor and patron of learning in his kingdom, he has been described as "the quintessential Timurid ruler of the period in Transoxiana" and his sophisticated court and generous artistic patronage was a source of admiration from his cousin, the Mughal emperor Babur. Sultan Husayn Bayqara was the last Timurid ruler of consequence in Khorasan. Husayn Bayqara was born as Sultan Husayn in Herat in June/July 1438, his parents were his wife, Firuza Sultan Begum. His parents had four other children, his father was a great-grandson of the Central Asian conqueror Timur. His mother was the daughter of Sultan Husayn of the powerful Tayichiud tribe. Firuza was herself a great-granddaughter of Timur twice over. Both his parents were descendants of the Mongol Emperor, Genghis Khan.

In addition to this, he claimed descent in the ninth generation from Khwaja Abdullah Ansari of Herat known as Pir-e-Herat. Sultan Husayn's father died when he was eight years old. Given that the latter was not a noteworthy personality in the Timurid family, Sultan Husayn adopted the name Bayqara after his more illustrious grandfather, Bayqara Mirza I. After consulting with his mother, Sultan Husayn entered the service of his older cousin, Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza, ruler of Herat in 1452. Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza was not the best ruler, he mismanaged his territory and went into battle against Abu Sa'id Mirza, the Timurid ruler of Samarkand. Husayn Bayqara, not happy with his employment, tried to go over to Abu Sa'id Mirza by meeting with him. Although Abu Sa'id was inclined to take him into his service, a rebellion on part of Husayn Bayqara's relative, Sultan Awais Mirza, son of Muhammad Mirza, son of Bayqara Mirza, induced Abu Sa'id to arrest Husayn Bayqara and other relatives as a precaution. On the plea of his mother, Firuza Begum, he was freed and he rejoined Abul-Qasim Babur Mirza till the latter's death two years later.

Following Babur's death in 1457, a period of anarchy ensued in Khurasan. Economic instability and lack of central authority with frequent regime changes invited the invasion of the region by the ruler of Samarkand, Abu Sa'id Mirza who occupied Herat on July 19, 1457, but Abu Sa'id Mirza abandoned the city in order to deal with troubles at home. Next came the invasion of Jahan Shah who took Mazandaran. During this chaotic time Khurasan was divided into many territories. Husayn Bayqara, unable to compete with these rivals, adopted the life of a mercenary and joined Sultan Sanjar Mirza of Merv who married him to his daughter, Beqa Sultan Begum. To them was born Badi' al-Zaman Mirza. Sultan Sanjar Mirza and Husayn Bayqara got along well, but in June/July 1457 when Sanjar appointed Husayn in charge of the city while he was absent, Husayn tried to take power; this was due to him suspecting that Hasan Arlat was plotting to kill him. Amirs loyal to Sanjar revolted and the attempt failed. Husayn Bayqara was forced to escape with just five horsemen.

But outside the city he was joined by the head of security of trade caravans of Iranji sector, Hasan Charkas and his 200 men. This would become Husayn Bayqara's first mercenary force. To solidify this new relationship, he married Afāk Begum, he was chased by Sanjar Mirza to Karakum Desert. He was continuously pursued until he was forced to march towards Khwarazm, where he remained between the deserts of Marv and Khiva. Recognizing the weakness of Timurid authority in Herat, Jahan Shah invaded and took the city on June 28, 1458, now occupied by Ibrahim Mirza's father, Ala al-Dawla Mirza, but Abu Sa'id Mirza could not tolerate this and after negotiations, Jahan Shah decided to return territorial demarcation to Shah Rukh's times. Thus, Khurasan and Jurjan were returned to the Timurids and Abu Sa'id Mirza returned and took Herat a second time on December 22, 1458. Husayn Bayqara had now mustered a force of 1,000 men and took Jurjan on October 19, 1458 from the Kara Koyunlu. Abu Sa'id Mirza invaded Jurjan, which Husayn Bayqara hastily abandoned and fled towards Khwarazm again.

Abu Sa'id Mirza appointed Sultan Mahmud Mirza as Jurjan's governor. When Husayn Bayqara learned that Abu Sa'id Mirza had left Herat to crush the rebellion of his relative Muhammad Juki, he attacked Jurjan again and at the Battle of Jauzi Wali in May 1461, he defeated Sultan Mahmud Mirza and appointed Abdal-Rahman Arghun the territory's governor. However, he could not follow up this victory when he besieged Herat from August–October 1461. Abu Sa'id Mirza returned and Husayn Bayqara again fled towards Khwarazm, from where he began making pillaging raids into Khurasan. Seeking to protect himself against Abu Sa'id, he requested the help of the Uzbeks, but that help never came since Abul-Khayr Khan, the Uzbek leader died in 1468. This period of 8 to 10 years was the worst in Husayn Bayqara's life, he wandered from one place to the next at times in dire straits. When Abu Sa'id Mirza went to war agai

The 2008 Cup of Russia was the fifth event of six in the 2008–09 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, a senior-level international invitational competition series. It was held at the Megasport Arena in Moscow on November 20–23. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, ice dancing. Skaters earned points toward qualifying for the 2008–09 Grand Prix Final; the compulsory dance was the Viennese Waltz. Friday, November 21 Compulsory dance Ladies' short program Pairs' short program Men's short program Saturday, November 22 Ladies' free skating Original dance Pairs' free skating Men's free skating Sunday, November 23 Free dance Exhibition gala 2008 Cup of Russia at the International Skating Union "2008–09 Grand Prix Announcement". Archived from the original on 2008-09-28. Retrieved 2008-06-12. "Men's Entries". "Ladies' Entries". "Pairs' Entries". "Ice dancing Entries"