Role of specialized tourism projects based on the national fairytale symbols in patriotic education of children

The article is devoted to specialized tourism projects, which are focused on the formation and development of patriotism in young children. In recent years, the problems of patriotic education take key place in national and regional educational and training programs. However, as it is noted in the article, not enough attention is paid to development of patriotism in young children, who are most susceptible to the effects of various forms and pass through one of the most important stages in the formation of identity. The article highlights the features and techniques of children's patriotic development and justifies importance of emotional connection with a territory or place in formation of this feeling in children. The article also shows that the development of specialized tourism and local history projects can be an instrument of formation and promotion of images of national heroes and patriotism in general. The article describes a specialized project "Fairytale Map of Russia". The authors have revealed the potential for its use in children's educational and training programs for the development of patriotism. The main objective of creating an image of the national folk hero is the selection and positioning of its strengths and qualities, which in most cases are the basis for the formation of the child's personality and can be used for the development of patriotic characteristics of children. The article presents the description of Russian national fairytale heroes that may be the basis for an empirical image for the generation a sense of love of country in young children. The authors have determined that the use of submitted fairytale images allows solving a number of key tasks associated with different areas of children’s education. In the article the connection between common educational functions and the functions of patriotism is revealed; and categorization of folk images of national fairytale heroes on the basis of their impact on the development of certain common cultural and patriotic qualities is provided.