The Islamic Economics and Finance Research Group, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS), conducted a Community Service (PKM) activity at KB/RA al-Islam, Jamsaren, Surakarta, on Saturday, July 23, 2022.

The PKM team from FEB UNS led by Dr. Falikhatun, M.Si., Ak, CA, SAS., as the Head of Community Service Program, along with Prof. Dr. Salamah Wahyuni, SU., Dr. Muthmainah, M.Si., Ak., and Dr. Susanto Tirtoprojo, MM., provided a Workshop and Training on Writing Islamic Children’s Stories for teachers of the Kindergarten (KB/RA) al-Islam in Jamsaren, Surakarta.

The activity held in the KB/RA al-Islam classroom aimed to assist teachers in enhancing their teaching capabilities, including preparing teaching materials through writing Islamic children’s stories.

In her presentation, Falikhatun expressed that the idea for this PKM was motivated by the lack of Islamic children’s storybooks written by teachers at KB/RA al-Islam Jamsaren, despite the kindergarten’s long establishment. So far, the storybooks used in the teaching process were purchased from various publishers and written by other authors.

“Storybooks are one of the learning resources for children that can be used to enhance their knowledge and instill moral values. Storytelling is expected to cultivate children’s curiosity towards new knowledge and enable them to respond to moral messages,” Falikhatun explained.

The event featured a highly competent guest speaker, Nur Laili Munazalah, S.Sos, a writer of Islamic Children’s Storybooks who has published dozens of books and won various National Competitions for Writing Children’s Stories.

Laili explains that writing children’s books presents its own challenges. This process requires adults to genuinely immerse themselves in children’s world both in language and behavior. She also shared some tips for writing children’s books, such as using short sentences, easily understandable diction, and incorporating moral messages and educative teachings in simple language.

The activity aims to motivate teachers to create their own works to improve their entrepreneurial competence, enabling them to produce quality and marketable books that can ultimately increase their revenue. (Tetri)