Yuliia Slobodianiuk, Olena Sandakova, and Yana Hryhorieva created the SoloWay children’s space by combining a flexible format, Montessori principles, and an individualized approach to every child. In this interview, the founders discuss earning parents’ trust, maintaining safety during wartime, supporting mothers, and their mission to preserve Ukrainian children’s right to a happy, well-rounded childhood.
Yuliia Slobodianiuk
Founder of SoloWay and a pilot with ten years of professional experience. The idea for the children’s space grew from her personal experience of motherhood during the war and extended periods of working abroad, which forced her to spend long stretches away from her daughter. At SoloWay, Yuliia creates a safe, nurturing environment free from pressure and bullying, where children can thrive and parents can confidently entrust them to a professional team. At the heart of the project is the belief that Ukraine’s future depends on the education, values, and principles instilled in the next generation.
Olena Sandakova
Co-owner of SoloWay and an expert in marketing and operational development. Within the project, she oversees brand positioning, team building, operating standards, and communication with families. She is developing SoloWay as a support ecosystem that recognizes each child’s individual needs while helping parents balance childcare with work, rest, and their personal lives.
Yana Hryhorieva
An early childhood educator, governess, and after-school program teacher. She received her professional education at the A. S. Makarenko Kremenchuk Pedagogical College and Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University. Her work with children is grounded in trust, acceptance, and respect for each child as an individual, creating a safe environment where they can grow, explore their creativity, and discover the world.
What personal need or observation inspired the idea of creating a space for children? When did you realize it could become a fully developed business with its own philosophy and mission?
The idea began with a conversation in the kitchen. We were discussing how Kyiv lacked places where parents could bring their children exactly when they needed to and for as many hours as suited their family.
A mother may need a few hours for work, personal errands, or time for herself, but the traditional daycare model does not always accommodate that. At the same time, we wanted to create a space that reflected our own vision of how children should be treated, educated, given freedom, and kept safe.
That led us to a simple thought: if such a place did not exist, we should create it. After nearly a year of renovations, we opened on July 1 and, as we like to say, took our first flight. Today, families can come to us by the hour when they need childcare for a short time or attend regularly as part of a traditional daycare program. In both formats, children receive guidance from educators and opportunities to learn, grow, and socialize.
You chose the Montessori method as the foundation of your work with children. Why this particular approach, and which of its principles do you consider especially important for a generation growing up during a war?
We connect deeply with the Montessori view of a child as an individual—with their own pace, interests, emotions, and right to make choices. An educator’s role is to recognize a child’s interests and use them as a pathway for development.
The space itself is organized around this principle: all materials are accessible to the children, and there are sensory, reading, music, sports, and creative areas, as well as quiet spaces where they can be alone and rest.
We want to raise children who know how to make decisions, understand their emotions, and become independent. During wartime, these qualities are especially valuable. When so much around a child is beyond their control, they need stability, the ability to make choices, and the assurance that they are heard and respected.
The war has transformed both the daily lives of Ukrainian families and the conditions in which businesses operate. What challenges are you facing today, and how do you preserve an environment where children can learn, play, and feel safe, even during air-raid alerts?
When we were searching for a location, having a lower level was essential. During an air-raid alert, we move there and continue our activities and games without creating additional stress for the children. The space is equipped with everything needed in an emergency, and when the threat level is high, we can quickly move to the basement.
The main challenges for the business today are staffing shortages, families leaving the country, power outages, and heating-related risks. We have a generator and alternative energy sources and are constantly adapting to changing circumstances.
Our primary goal is to ensure that children who remain in Kyiv still have a childhood. We organize celebrations, activities, and new experiences for them, while offering parents free sessions with a psychologist. Families need to know that there is a place nearby they can rely on.
Today, many mothers are effectively raising their children alone while their husbands serve in the military, and some families have lost loved ones in the war. How does a mother’s emotional well-being and energy affect her child, and what role can socially responsible businesses play in supporting these families?
Today, many women are effectively raising their children alone: their husbands may be serving in the military, their partners may be absent, and support from relatives may not be available. Even the most loving mother has finite emotional and physical resources, and constant exhaustion inevitably affects the atmosphere within the family.
Sometimes, just a few free hours—to sleep, take care of personal matters, or simply spend time alone—can help her recover.
On social media, we see posts from mothers who share their exhaustion, difficult circumstances, and lack of support. In these cases, we reach out to them directly and offer to care for their child free of charge for a few hours or an entire day. To us, social responsibility means recognizing a specific need and offering help where our resources can genuinely make a difference.
You are developing a project that will provide free childcare spots for mothers who need support and time to recover. How will it work, who will be eligible, and do you envision this initiative becoming a separate social program within your brand?
We now want to transform individual acts of support into a structured program for mothers who are raising children alone or facing difficult life circumstances.
We already care for children free of charge when we see on social media that a mother urgently needs time to recover. We contact her directly and offer to welcome her child into our space for a few hours or for the day. The next step is to establish transparent eligibility criteria, determine the number of available spots, and define how the program will operate.
In the future, we envision it as a separate social initiative within the brand. At the same time, the model must be financially sustainable so that we can support families consistently over the long term.
For parents, the decision to entrust their child to someone else always carries great responsibility. How do you build that trust, and what does it mean to create a space where both children and adults feel at ease?
Trust is built through safety, transparency, and attention to each individual child. For every child—every “little bird,” as we affectionately call them—we create a personalized profile containing information about allergies, nutrition, daily routines, fears, habits, and interests. Our team knows who is afraid of loud noises, who loves books, and who enjoys taking care of plants.
After every visit, parents receive feedback. We take and use photos and videos only with the family’s consent—privacy is an integral part of safety for us.
We also observe each child’s development and discuss with parents which areas may need additional support, while avoiding diagnoses and labels. To us, parents and educators are one team. Trust emerges when a family sees that their child is known, heard, and respected as an individual.