What do children love most when they are alone? Of course, play! In different games, with different partners, with fantastic and varied attributes.

The game is a special kind of activity. What is the strength of this activity? Why does it so attract both individual children, and groups, and large children's educations? We will have to find answers to these questions in the discussions below.

Before school, the child's play activity is considered the leading one.. Yes, and in elementary school, learning activities are combined with play for a long time.

The value of play for a preschool child

➤ The game has powerful developmental characteristics. It affects the development of all cognitive processes: thinking, attention, memory and, of course, imagination.

➤ The game organizes the feelings of the child and influences his actions. The game reproduces the norms of life in society, the rules of behavior, simulates situations that are close to the life experience of the child.

➤ From an emotional point of view, the technology of the game is phenomenal and unlike other educational technologies. It offers children pleasure, a variety of entertainment and at the same time forms the models of moral behavior necessary for life in society.

➤. Mastering the knowledge gained during the game, the child joins the culture of the country in which he lives and the culture of the world.

➤ The game helps the child to learn social experience and turn it into the property of the individual. In addition, in the game the child actively communicates with peers. This greatly enhances his communication skills.

➤ It is in the game that the will of the child develops, since the child, mastering in the course of playing activity some new way of action for him, learns to overcome difficulties.

➤ During the game, the mental activity of the child develops. After all, the game requires the solution of new, ever more complex tasks. The child, following the rules of the game, must quickly figure out what action the participants in the game expect from him. Moreover, he understands that his actions should satisfy the rest of the participants in the game.

Types of games for child development

Types of games for a child:

✏ outdoor games,

✏ role-playing games,

✏ board games,

✏ didactic games,

✏ business games, etc.

Mobile games for children. The value of outdoor games for a child

Outdoor games enter the life of a child very early. A growing body constantly requires active movements. All children, without exception, love to play with the ball, jump rope, any objects that they can adapt to the game. All outdoor games develop both the physical health of the child and his intellectual abilities. The modern child is constantly on the verge of stress. This is especially true for children living in metropolitan areas. Employment of parents, their social fatigue, lack of assistants in raising children, or their excessive number, all this burdens children, disfiguring their psyche and physical health. The decrease in the volume of motor loads noted in the world has not bypassed children. The modern child is unhealthy. He has scoliosis, gastritis, nervous diseases and chronic fatigue from the demands of adults. Such a condition leads to neuropsychic and general somatic weakness, which in turn causes excessive fatigue and a decrease in the child's performance. This is where mobile games come in handy. They carry, in addition to interest for the child, also a health burden and emotional and mental relaxation. It strengthens different muscle groups, trains the vestibular apparatus, improves your posture, relieves fatigue and increases efficiency. In addition, outdoor games teach children initiative and independence, overcoming difficulties - developing reflection and will in them.

Thus, the specifics of outdoor games is that their use gives not only physical, but also emotional satisfaction. These games create great opportunities for children to show initiative and creativity, since in addition to the richness and variety of movements provided for by the rules, children have the freedom to use them in various game situations.

Role-playing games. The value of role-playing games for a child

Role-playing games are an excellent training room for preparing a child for life in society. In each game, regardless of whether the child plays alone or together with other participants in the game, he performs certain roles. While playing, the child takes a certain role and performs the actions of the hero of the game, carrying out the actions inherent in this character.

The value of role-playing games lies in the fact that children repeat in games the types of behavior spied on by adults and the possibilities for solving life conflicts.

In the game, it is necessary to ensure that arrogance does not appear, that the excess of the power of command roles over secondary ones does not appear. Insubordination in the game can ruin the game. You need to make sure that the role has an action. The role without action is dead, the child will leave the game if he has nothing to do. The most convincing game can become uninteresting for those guys who will be out of work. Interest is determined by the opportunities that are provided to the child in role play. You can not use negative roles in the game, they are acceptable only in humorous situations.

The distribution of roles is very important for a child. When distributing team roles, it should be done in such a way that the role helps children solve problems of an individual nature. These problems include the following difficulties experienced by children. Weakly expressed ability to organize their activities; lack of authority among peers, indiscipline and much more.

Playing all kinds of roles will help children cope with difficulties. The older the child, the more carefully he monitors the fair distribution of roles, the more purposefully he chooses roles for himself. In conflict situations, when claims to roles push children together, they can already analyze how this or that applicant played the role, correctly assess their personal abilities to play the desired role, correlate their understanding of the role and its real loss by another member of the play group. Children use counting rhymes, the order in the use of an attractive role.

Speaking of roles, it is necessary to note their gender. The child, as a rule, takes on roles corresponding to his gender.

If he plays alone, then these roles express the type of adult behavior seen by the child. If this is a boy, then he drives a car, builds a house, comes home from work, etc. If a girl plays, then she chooses the role of mother, doctor, teacher. If we are talking about group games, then a three-year-old child does not particularly share the gender of the playing role, and the boy is happy to play the role of mother or teacher.

The relationships of children in the game are playful and non-playful, real. These two types should not be confused. Game relations are expressed in the fact that the child plays a role in accordance with the rules. If the role requires him to take some positive actions in relation to another child, this does not mean at all that after the game his attitude, given by the role, will continue. On the contrary, it can be diametrically opposed. It is important to understand this and not place too much hope on the game. It should not be assumed that the game will automatically educate the child and instill in him the whole range of vital values, correct his behavior and generally teach life. Adults play an important role in solving these problems. It is they who will teach the baby during the game to solve practical problems that will help to master a variety of living spaces.

Didactic games and their meaning for the child

Didactic games are designed for children who are involved in the learning process. They are used by teachers as a means of education and upbringing. Upon arrival at school, the child still “holds on” to the game, as to a familiar action that helps him enter the world of adults. Let us note that didactic games, in our opinion, are not only the prerogative of teachers. Parents can also use this type of games in their parenting practice. To do this, you need to know a few important things. Such knowledge includes the reasons for the use of didactic games in the child's activities and directly the technology of their use.

Given the fact that the didactic game is aimed primarily at the mental development of the child, we should not forget that its benefits depend on how much joy its decision brings to the child.

How should an adult behave in a play activity in which a child is included?

This is a special conversation. The extent to which a child discovers new life situations through play largely depends on the behavior of adults. When playing, an adult introduces into the world of play the necessary norms of social life necessary to enhance the social experience of the child. It is in the game, together with adults, that the child acquires the useful skills necessary for life in society.

Today, pedagogy and psychology set a goal for the system of preschool education - to prepare a harmoniously developed, diversified child for entering school.

The personal qualities of the child are formed in vigorous activity, which is the leading one at each age stage. In preschool age, such activity is play. Already at the early and older age levels, it is in the game that children have the greatest opportunity to be independent, to generalize with their peers at will, to realize and deepen their knowledge and skills.

N. K. Krupskaya wrote: “For children of preschool age, games are of exceptional importance, the game is study for them, the game is work for them, the game is a serious form of education for them. The game for them is a way of knowing the environment. While playing, they learn colors, shapes, spatial relationships…”.

A. I. Gorky expressed a similar idea: “The game is the path of children to the knowledge of the world in which they live ...”.

Through the game, the child enters the world of adults, masters spiritual values, assimilates the previous social world.

Preschool childhood is a short but important period of personality development. During these years, the child acquires initial knowledge about the life around him, he begins to form a certain attitude towards people, to work, skills and habits of correct behavior are developed, and character is formed.

The main activity of preschool age, as we already know, is a game, during which attention, memory, imagination, discipline, dexterity and other qualities develop.

In the game, the child is formed as a person; he develops those aspects of the psyche, on which his success in educational and labor activities, his relations with people will subsequently depend.

A special place for children is occupied by role-playing games. In them, preschoolers reproduce everything that they see around them in life and in the activities of adults.

Creative play most fully forms the personality of the child, therefore it is an important means of education.

The game is a reflection of life. Imitation of adults in the game is associated with the work of the imagination. The child does not copy reality, he combines different impressions from life with personal experience. Children's creativity is manifested in the idea of ​​the game and in the search for means for its implementation. In the game, children simultaneously act as playwrights, decorators, actors. However, they do not hatch their plan, they do not prepare for a long time to fulfill the role, like actors; they play for themselves, expressing their dreams and aspirations, the thoughts and feelings that currently dominate them. Therefore, the game is always improvisation.

The game is an independent activity in which children first come into contact with their peers. They are united by a single goal, joint efforts to achieve it, common interests and experiences. In the game, the child begins to feel like a member of the team, to fairly evaluate the actions and deeds of his comrades and his own. Creative collective game is a school for educating the feelings of a preschooler.

The game is an important means of mental education of the child. The knowledge gained in kindergarten and at home finds practical application and development in the game. Reproducing various life events, episodes from fairy tales and stories, the child discusses what he saw, what he was read and told about, the meaning of many phenomena, their meaning becomes more understandable for him.

The embodiment of life impressions in the game is a complex process. Creative play cannot be subordinated to narrow didactic goals; with its help, the most important educational tasks are solved. Children choose a playing role in accordance with their tools, their dreams of a future profession. They are still childishly naive, they change more than once, but it is important that the child dreams of participating in work useful to society. Gradually, in the game, the child develops general ideas about the meaning of labor, about the role of various professions.

In the game, the mental activity of children is always connected with the work of the imagination: you need to find a role for yourself, imagine how the person you want to imitate acts, what he says. Imagination manifests itself and develops in the same way in the search for means to fulfill the plan; before going into flight, it is necessary to build an airplane; for the store you need to pick up the necessary goods, and if it is not enough - make it yourself.

So the game develops the creative abilities of the future preschooler. Interesting games create a cheerful, joyful mood, make the life of children complete, satisfy their need for vigorous activity. Even in good conditions, with a full nutrition of the child, he will be lethargic, develop poorly if he is decided by an exciting game. In the game, all aspects of the child's personality are formed in unity and interaction.

To organize a friendly team, to instill comradely feelings in children, organizational skills is possible only if it is possible to captivate them with games that reflect the work of adults, their noble deeds, and relationships.

In my opinion, the following rules of the game can be distinguished:

1. The game should bring joy to both the child and the adult. Each success of the baby is a mutual achievement, both yours and his. Rejoice in him - this inspires the baby, this is the key to his future success.

Observe how happy children are if they manage to make us laugh or make us happy.

2. Interest the child in the game, but do not force him to play, do not bring the game to satiety. And yet, refrain from offensive remarks: “Oh, you fool! "," What you are not quick-witted! ”, etc. Do not offend the child in the game.

3. Educational - creative games. All tasks must be done independently by the children. Be patient and do not prompt by word, gesture, or look. Give the opportunity to think and do everything yourself and look for mistakes. Gradually coping with more and more difficult tasks, the child develops his creative abilities.

4. To get a feel for the relative difficulty of tasks, before assigning tasks to children, be sure to try them yourself.

5. Be sure to start with the tasks that you can do or the easier parts of them. Early success is a must.

6. If the child does not cope with the task, then you overestimate the level of his development. Take a break, and after a few days start with easier tasks. Even better, if the baby himself begins to choose tasks, taking into account his abilities. Don't rush him.

7. Each child needs a separate set of games.

8. In what order should the games be given? The author would start with the game “Fold patterns”, “Colorful cubes” or Montessori inserts, here the child needs to distinguish colors and shapes. And the general rule is to observe the development of the child, record his progress and determine when and which of the games to “turn on”.

9. Children's hobbies come in "waves", so when a child's interest in the game cools down, forget about the game for a month or even more, and then "accidentally" return to the game, it often happens that it is like meeting with an old friend who has long been did not see.

10. Take care of the games, do not put them within reach along with other toys. After all, the forbidden fruit is sweet, and it is better if the child asks them or offers to play himself. Let them stand in a prominent, but not very accessible place.

11. For the little ones, enliven the game with a fairy tale or story, give “names” to patterns, modules, drawings, figures. Invent, fantasize until the child begins to be carried away by the very process of overcoming difficulties in solving problems, achieving the desired goal.

12. The strong one wants to fight, the fast one wants to run or play outdoor games, but the weak one does not like it. A child may “not be interested in the game” for two main reasons. He has poorly developed those qualities that are needed in the game, or adults discouraged him from hunting, forcing him to play.

13. Create a relaxed atmosphere in the game. Do not hold back the child's motor activity so that you can jump with delight and do somersaults on the mat, and fly like on an airplane.

14. When folding patterns or models according to ready-made tasks has already been mastered, proceed to inventing new ones.

15. It is better to use a stopwatch to arrange competitions for the speed of solving problems. Rapidly developing kids can beat adults as early as 6-7 years old. In this case, you need to muster up the courage and chivalrously honestly admit your defeat.

Based on the foregoing, it can be noted that the leading place in the system of preschool education belongs to the game.

The problem of the formation and development of gaming activity is widely reflected in the psychological and pedagogical literature.

Game activity is of the utmost importance for the comprehensive development of the child's personality, acts as a link in relation to the cognizable.

Thus, the game, with its correct formation, solves the problems of the mental, physical, moral, aesthetic development of each child.

The game is of great educational importance, it is closely connected with learning in the classroom, with observations in everyday life.

The game affects not only the development of the personality as a whole, it also forms individual cognitive processes, speech and arbitrariness of behavior. Of course, a preschooler develops in different activities, but play is of particular importance. It is the leading activity in the preschool period, since no other activity has such a strong influence on the development of cognitive activity of a preschooler.

In support of these words, I would like to give the following example: "How important is the role of didactic play in the formation of knowledge in children of 6 years of age about wild animals."

During the game, such methods and techniques were used as a teacher’s conversation with children, showing visual material (illustrations, riddles, reading poems, which contributed to the assimilation of children’s knowledge about the features of appearance, habits ...

Six people took part in the game.

At the first stage, it was proposed to look at the pictures and answer the following questions:

1. What is the name of the animal shown in the picture?

2. What is the appearance?

3. Where do these animals live?

4. What are the characteristic features of this animal?

5. What does it eat

The first two questions were the easiest. And the rest - the children were able to answer only after many leading questions of the educator. Thus, it was possible to identify the initial knowledge of children about wild animals and I attributed the level of knowledge to the average, that is, all questions were answered, but with leading questions.

At the second stage, didactic games were held with the children: “Guess what kind of animal you are? ”, “Call me”, “Predator - prey”, they were held in order to consolidate the knowledge gained at the first stage of the game. After the games, the level of knowledge of children about wild animals can be considered above average, since the children coped with the task almost independently.

Based on all this, we can conclude how important games (didactic) are in the development of the cognitive activity of a preschooler.

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The role and importance of outdoor play in the development of preschoolers

Game is a kind of activity of the child, which represents consciousness

telnoe, proactive activities aimed at achieving the

a fishing target voluntarily set by the player. The game satisfies

the physical and spiritual needs of the child are ventilated, it forms-

Xia his mind, strong-willed qualities. The only form of activity of the child

ka is a game that in all cases corresponds to its organization.

In the game, the child seeks and often finds a "working platform" for

the development of his moral and physical qualities, his body requires

output in activities corresponding to its internal state.

Through the game, you can influence the children's team, excluding direct

my pressure, punishment, excessive nervousness at work. But at the same

time, the game cannot serve as a means of teaching preschoolers more

complex movements in coordination, requiring a certain clear

technique, increased concentration of attention, additional volitional

For younger preschoolers, outdoor games are vital

need. With their help, a wide variety of tasks are solved.

chi: educational, educational, health-improving. During games

favorable conditions are created for the development and improvement

motor skills of children, the formation of moral qualities, as well as habits

check and team life skills.

The main tasks of physical education are to strengthen

promotion of health, promotion of proper development, education of students

vital motor skills, development of physical,

volitional and moral qualities.

Physical development is a process of change, as well as a set of

morphological and functional properties of the organism.

The game creates a positive emotional background against which everyone

mental processes are most active. The use of

new techniques and methods, their sequence and interrelation will be

contribute to the physical education of children.

The object of the study is the process of physical development of children of the middle

game activity.

The subject of the study is the impact of outdoor games on the physical

children development.

The purpose of the study is to develop and prove the effectiveness of sub-

visual games for the physical development of children.

Research objectives:

1) to study scientific, scientific-methodical and special literature

2) to characterize the current state of the application of gaming

activities in the development of children;

3) to develop a set of outdoor games that contribute to the development

the process of active development of children;

4) to reveal the importance of outdoor games in the development of children.

Research hypothesis: the use of a special complex of sub-

Visual games have a positive effect on the development of children.

Outdoor games are a means of physical education of children. They

provide an opportunity to develop and improve their movements. Miscellaneous

different movements require the active activity of large and small

muscles, promote better metabolism, blood circulation, respiration

niyu, that is, an increase in the vital activity of the body. Big influence

outdoor games also have an effect on the neuropsychic development of

bank, the formation of important personality traits. They evoke positive

positive emotions, develop inhibitory processes: in the course of the game, children

you have to react with movement to some signals and refrain from moving

living with others. These games develop will, ingenuity,

speed, speed of reactions, etc.

Joint actions in games bring children together, give them pleasure

the joy of overcoming adversity and achieving success. source

outdoor games with rules are folk games for which ha-

racterns are the brightness of the idea, richness, simplicity and entertaining

compound. In the kindergarten education program for each age

groups of children are provided with outdoor games in which they develop

movements of different types: running, jumping, climbing, etc.

Games are selected taking into account the age characteristics of children, their

opportunities to perform certain movements, observe game

regulations. The rules in the mobile game play an organizing role:

they determine its course, the sequence of actions, the relationship

niya playing, the behavior of each child. The rules oblige

understand the purpose and meaning of the game; children should be able to use them in different

conditions.

In younger groups, the teacher explains the content and rules

during the game, in seniors - before the start. Organize outdoor games

are indoors and on a walk with a small number of children or from all over

group. They are also part of physical education. After that

once children have mastered the game, they can play it on their own. Guide-

The essence of outdoor games with rules is as follows. Under-

when choosing an outdoor game, the educator takes into account the compliance with the required

its nature of motor activity, the availability of game rules and

all the children wailed, performing all the required game movements, but not to

initiating excess motor activity, which can cause them

overexcitement and fatigue.

Older preschoolers need to be taught to play mobile

games on your own. To do this, it is necessary to develop their interest in these

games, provide an opportunity to organize them for a walk, in part

leisure activities, holidays, etc.

So, an outdoor game is one of the important means of a comprehensive

education of preschool children. Its characteristic feature is

the complexity of the impact on the body and on all aspects of the personality

Benka: in the game, physical, mental,

moral, aesthetic and labor education.

The need to develop this topic is due to the fact that

Exciting team games have been replaced by computer games.

The priority is the intellectual, aesthetic development of

bank. Without denying their significance, it must be admitted that the child is becoming less

less time is left for outdoor games, walks, communication with peers

nicknames. Imbalance between play and other types of nursery

activities, between different types of games (mobile and calm,

individual and joint) negatively affects both the co-

state of health, and at the level of development of motor abilities

preschoolers.

Analysis of studies related to the development of motor

abilities and qualities of children (E. N. Vavilova, N. A. Notkina, Yu. K. Cher-

nyshenko, shows that about 40% of older preschoolers

have a level of development of motor abilities below the average.

Insufficient physical activity of children, especially during active

long growth, when the accelerated development of the skeleton and muscle mass is not

reinforced by appropriate training of the circulatory systems and

breathing, is one of the reasons for the deterioration of children's health,

vitality.

Thus, the search for ways of physical and spiritual

improvement of preschool children, effective means of development of the motor-

noah sphere of the child, the development of interest in movement on the basis of life

the need to be agile, strong, courageous. Solution to this problem

we see in the creation of a set of socio-pedagogical conditions,

providing a holistic educational process, harmonious fi-

physical and personal development of the child.

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"The value of didactic play in the development of cognitive activity in preschoolers"

Play is one of the main human activities. The game is especially important in the life of preschool children. Due to the high susceptibility, responsiveness and gullibility, preschoolers are easy to involve in any activity, and especially in the game.

Among the games of preschoolers, a didactic game occupies a special place. Didactic game is a means of understanding the world: through the game, the child learns color, shape, properties of materials, plants, animals. In the game, preschool children develop the ability to observe, the circle of interests expands, tastes and requests are revealed.

Cognitive (didactic) games are specially created situations that simulate reality, from which preschoolers are invited to find a way out.

Didactic game technology is a specific technology of problem-based learning. At the same time, the play activity of preschool children has an important property: in it, cognitive activity is self-movement, since information does not come from outside, but is an internal product, the result of the activity itself. The information obtained in this way generates a new one, which, in turn, entails the next link until the final result of learning is achieved.

The didactic game as a teaching method contains great potential:

Activates cognitive processes; educates the interest and attentiveness of preschool children;

Develops abilities; introduces children to life situations;

Teaches them to act according to the rules, develops curiosity;

Strengthens knowledge and skills.

A properly constructed game enriches the process of thinking, develops self-regulation, strengthens the will of the child. The game leads him to independent discoveries, problem solving.

Modern preschool education sets the task of forming a system of knowledge at a high level of theoretical generalization. The development of cognitive activity and independence of preschool children is associated with the mastery of generalized theoretical knowledge.

The development of cognitive activity and independence of children for modern preschool education is not only a necessary result of learning, but also a condition for the transformation of knowledge into beliefs. This is explained by the fact that the mastery of theoretical generalization provides the preschooler with an active position in the study of subsequent issues of the subject.

And the wider the generalization formed, the wider the scope of its application, the creative possibilities of preschoolers increase, and therefore the cognitive interest in the work being done also grows. And it is no coincidence that the increase in the theoretical level of the content of educational material and the development of cognitive independence of preschoolers are considered as interdependent and mutually dependent pedagogical problems.

Didactic game is one of the unique forms of teaching preschool children. One of the positive aspects of the didactic game is that it promotes the use of knowledge in a new situation, thus, the material acquired by preschoolers goes through a kind of practice, brings variety and interest to the pedagogical process.

S. A. Shmakov believes that “depriving a child of playing practice is depriving him of the main source of development: impulses of creativity, spiritualization of the mastered life experience, signs and signs of social practice, individual self-immersion, activation of the process of knowing the world.”

Summarizing the above, the following conclusions can be drawn:

The game is a powerful stimulus and versatile, strong motivation in teaching preschool children;

The game activates all mental processes, it allows you to harmoniously combine the emotional and rational learning of preschoolers;

The game contributes to the involvement of everyone in active work;

Skillfully organized didactic games make it possible to use for educational purposes “the energy that preschoolers spend on “underground” gaming activities” (as defined by V. M. Grigoriev);

In the game, internal emancipation occurs: when shyness disappears and the feeling “I can do it too” arises;

The game is a way of learning by action: a cognitive task is organically incorporated in it.

Children are happy to participate in any activity proposed by the teacher. The very novelty of the preschool child's position provides an emotionally positive attitude towards it.

But you can not give the game a more dominant role in the mind of a preschooler than the knowledge that he receives in the process of this game. The game should not be too easy for children, “didactic play without effort is always a bad game.” This is one of the main tasks of the teacher. It is necessary that the teacher constantly reinforce this attitude with an approving assessment of each child and his activity.

Thus, we can conclude that the developmental potential of games and their impact on the cognitive activity of preschool children depends on: the content of cognitive information contained in the subject of games; it is provided by the very process of the game as an activity that requires the achievement of a goal, independent finding of means, coordination of actions with partners.

On the topic: methodological developments, presentations and notes

Home » Articles » Preschool education » Speech development, preparation for literacy The value of games in child development

The game is a great invention of man; it has for its biological, social and spiritual development no less, and perhaps even more important than fire and the wheel ... It, like in a mirror, reflected the history of mankind with all its tragedies and comedies, strengths and weaknesses. Even in primitive society, there were games depicting war, hunting, and agricultural work. The game arises in the course of the historical development of society as a result of a change in the place of the child in the system of social relations.

The value of the game in the development and education of the individual is unique, since the game allows each child to feel like a subject, to manifest and develop his personality. There is reason to talk about the impact of the game on the life self-determination of schoolchildren, on the formation of a communicative uniqueness of the individual, emotional stability, and the ability to be included in the increased role dynamism of modern society.

V. L. Sukhomlinsky wrote: “Let's take a closer look at what place the game occupies in the life of a child ... For him, the game is the most serious thing. The game reveals the world to children, reveals the creative abilities of the individual.

Without them, there is not and cannot be a full-fledged mental development. The game is a huge bright window through which a life-giving stream of ideas and concepts about the world around flows into the spiritual world of the child. The game is a spark that ignites the flame of inquisitiveness and curiosity.

The brightest example of the game position of the teacher is the activity of A. M. Makarenko. He wrote: “I consider play to be one of the most important ways of education. In the life of the children's team, a serious, responsible and businesslike game should occupy a large place.

And you, teachers, must be able to play.

The essence of the game lies in the fact that it is not the result that is important, but the process itself, the process of experiences associated with game actions. Although the situations played by the child are imaginary, the feelings experienced by him are real.

This specific feature of the game has great educational opportunities, since by controlling the content of the game, the teacher can program certain positive feelings of the playing children. In the game, only actions are improved, the goals of which are significant for the individual in terms of their own internal content.

Through creativity and toys, a child can successfully master many elements and types of human activity. A child who plays little loses in his development, since in the game “a child is always above his average age, above his usual everyday behavior; he is in the game, as it were, head and shoulders above himself.

We can say that the game is a method of knowing reality. It is guided by internal forces and allows the child to quickly master the initial, but very extensive foundations of human culture.

Perhaps the game seduces the child with its incomprehensible variety of situations that require him to actively display individuality, ingenuity, resourcefulness, and creativity. The Soviet writer Vasily Belov, in his book Lad, expressed the idea: "Every child wants to play, that is, to live creatively."

A. N. Leontiev noted that new progressive formations develop in the game and a powerful cognitive motive arises, which is the basis for the emergence of an incentive to study.

L. S. Vygotsky, considering the role of play in the mental development of the child, noted that in connection with the transition to school, the game not only does not disappear, but, on the contrary, it permeates all the activity of the student. “At school age,” he noted, “the game does not die, but penetrates into the relations of reality. It has its internal continuation in schooling, work…”.

Characteristics of the main types of games and their classification

Play as a specific children's activity is heterogeneous. Each type of game has its own function in the development of the child. In preschool and primary school age, three classes of games are distinguished:

Games that arise at the initiative of the child are amateur games;

Games that arise on the initiative of an adult who introduces them for educational and educational purposes;

Games coming from historically established traditions are ethno-folk games that can arise at the initiative of an adult.

Each of the listed classes of games, in turn, is represented by species and subspecies. So, the first class includes: experimenting game and plot amateur games, plot-educational games.

Role-playing, directing and theatrical. This class of games seems to be the most productive for the development of the child's intellectual initiative, creativity, which manifests itself in setting new game tasks for himself and others who play; for the emergence of new motives and activities.

It is the games that arise on the initiative of the children themselves that most clearly represent the game as a form of practical reflection on the material of knowledge about the surrounding reality, significant experiences and impressions associated with the life experience of the child. It is amateur play that is the leading activity in preschool childhood. The content of amateur games “feeds” on the experience of other activities of the child and meaningful communication with adults.

The second class of games includes educational games (didactic, plot-didactic and others) and leisure games, which include fun games, entertainment games, and intellectual games. All games can also be amateur games, since independence in them is based on learning the rules, and not the initial initiative of the child in setting the game task.

The educational and developmental value of such games is enormous. They shape the culture of the game; contribute to the assimilation of social norms and rules; and, what is especially important, they are, along with other activities, the basis of amateur games in which children can creatively use the acquired knowledge.

Didactic games are a kind of games with rules specially created by a pedagogical school for the purpose of teaching children upbringing. Didactic games are aimed at solving specific problems in teaching children, but at the same time, the educational and developmental influence of game activity appears in them.

The didactic game has a certain structure that characterizes the game as a form of learning and game activity. The following structural components of the didactic game are distinguished:

1) didactic task;

3) rules of the game;

4) result.

The didactic task is determined by the purpose of training and educational influence. It is formed by the teacher and reflects his teaching activity. The game task is carried out by children.

The didactic task in the didactic game is realized through the game task. It determines the play actions, becomes the task of the child himself.

Game actions are the basis of the game. The more diverse the game actions, the more interesting the game itself is for children and the more successfully cognitive and game tasks are solved.

Rules of the game. Their content and orientation are determined by the general tasks of shaping the child's personality, cognitive content, game tasks and game actions.

In a didactic game, the rules are given. With the help of the rules, the teacher controls the game, the processes of cognitive activity, the behavior of children. The rules also influence the solution of the didactic task - imperceptibly limit the actions of children, direct their attention to the fulfillment of a specific task of the subject.

Summing up is carried out immediately after the end of the game. It could be scoring; identifying children who performed the game task better; determination of the winning team, etc. At the same time, it is necessary to note the achievements of each child, to emphasize the successes of lagging behind children.

The relationship between children and the teacher is determined not by the learning situation, but by the game. Children and the teacher are participants in the same game. This condition is violated, and the teacher takes the path of direct teaching.

Thus, a didactic game is a game only for a child, and for an adult it is a way of learning. The purpose of didactic games is to facilitate the transition to learning tasks, to make it gradual. From the above, we can formulate the main functions of didactic games:

The function of forming a sustainable interest in learning and relieving stress associated with the process of adapting the child to the school regime;

The function of the formation of mental neoplasms;

The function of forming the actual educational activity;

The function of forming general educational skills, skills of independent study;

The function of forming skills of self-control and self-esteem;

The function of forming adequate relationships and mastering social roles.

Thus, the didactic game is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon.

To organize and conduct a didactic game, the following conditions are necessary:

The teacher has certain knowledge and skills regarding didactic games;

The expressiveness of the game;

The need to include the teacher in the game;

The optimal combination of entertainment and learning;

The means and methods that increase the emotional attitude of children to the game should be considered not as an end in itself, but as a path leading to the fulfillment of didactic tasks;

The visualization used in the didactic game should be simple, accessible and capacious.

All didactic games can be divided into three main types:

1 - games with objects (toys, natural material);

2 - desktop printed;

Object games use toys and real objects.

Playing with them, children learn to compare, establish similarities and differences between objects.

The value of these games is that with their help children get acquainted with the properties of objects and their characteristics: color, size, shape, quality. In games, tasks are solved for comparison, classification, and establishing a sequence in solving problems. As children acquire new knowledge about the subject environment, tasks in games become more complicated: preschoolers practice defining an object by any one quality, combine objects according to this feature (color, shape, quality, purpose ...), which is very important for the development of an abstract, logical thinking.

At preschool age, the foundations of the knowledge necessary for the child in school are laid. Mathematics is a complex science that can cause certain difficulties during schooling. In addition, not all children have a penchant for mathematics and have a mathematical mindset, so when preparing for school, it is important to introduce the child to the basics of counting.

In modern schools, the programs are quite saturated, there are experimental classes. In addition, new technologies are entering our homes more and more rapidly: in many families, computers are purchased to educate and entertain children.

The requirement of knowledge of the basics of computer science presents us with life itself. All this makes it necessary to introduce the child to the basics of computer science already in the preschool period.

When teaching children the basics of mathematics and computer science, it is important that by the beginning of schooling they have the following knowledge:

Counting up to ten in ascending and descending order, the ability to recognize numbers in a row and randomly, quantitative (one, two, three ...) and ordinal (first, second, third ...) numbers from one to ten;

Previous and subsequent numbers within one ten, the ability to make up the numbers of the first ten;

Recognize and depict basic geometric shapes (triangle, quadrilateral, circle);

Shares, the ability to divide an object into 2-4 equal parts;

Basics of measurement: the child should be able to measure length, width, height with a string or sticks;

Comparing objects: more - less, wider - narrower, higher - lower;

Fundamentals of computer science, which are still optional and include an understanding of the following concepts: algorithms, information encoding, computer, computer control program, the formation of basic logical operations - "not", "and", "or", etc.

The basis of the foundations of mathematics is the concept of number. However, the number, as, indeed, almost any mathematical concept, is an abstract category. Therefore, it is often difficult to explain to a child what a number is.

In mathematics, it is not the quality of objects that is important, but their quantity. Operations with numbers themselves are still difficult and not entirely clear to the baby. Nevertheless, you can teach your child to count on specific subjects.

The child understands that toys, fruits, objects can be counted. At the same time, objects can be counted "between times". For example, you can ask him to bring a certain amount of any items needed for the case.

In the same way, you can teach a child to distinguish and compare objects: ask him to bring a large ball or a tray that is wider.

When a child sees, feels, feels an object, it is much easier to teach him. Therefore, one of the main principles of teaching children the basics of mathematics is visibility. It is necessary to make mathematical aids, because it is better to count some specific objects, for example, colored circles, cubes, strips of paper, etc.

You can make geometric shapes for classes, the games "Lotto" and "Domino", which also contribute to the formation of elementary counting skills.

The school course of mathematics is not at all easy. Often, children experience various kinds of difficulties in mastering the school curriculum in mathematics. Perhaps one of the main reasons for such difficulties is the loss of interest in mathematics as a subject.

Therefore, one of the most important tasks of preparing a preschooler for schooling will be to develop his interest in mathematics. Introducing preschoolers to this subject in a playful and entertaining way will help them in the future to quickly and easily learn the complex issues of the school course. The use of educational games increases the efficiency of the pedagogical process.

Material logoped-st.ucoz.ru

The value of creative games for preschool children - The value of play activities in the development of children's speech - Materials - PClever.ru

Materials » The value of game activity in the development of children's speech » The value of creative games for preschool children Page 1

The game is one of those types of children's activities that are used by adults in order to educate preschoolers, teaching them various actions with objects, methods and means of communication.

Theoretical ideas about the essence of children's play, developed in domestic psychology, basically boil down to the following:

• the game takes its place among other reproducing activities, being the leading one in preschool age. It is in the process of play as the leading activity that the main mental neoplasms of a given age arise;
• the game is a special activity, social in origin, content and structure;
• the development of the game does not occur spontaneously, but depends on the conditions of the upbringing of the child, i.e. social phenomena.

The problem of learning to play, shaping it as an activity, stood out and was most clearly formulated in the psychological and pedagogical studies of young children and abnormal children.

As a result of psychological research, practical pedagogy turned out to be focused on the formation of proper play activity in young children. However, in relation to children of preschool age, the pedagogical guidance of the game was reduced mainly to the enrichment of the specific content of the game, to the organization of positive relations in the game.

Meanwhile, the conditional play action, which is formed in early childhood and is, of course, the basis of the more complex play of the preschooler, does not yet ensure the transition to it. As a result, the game is extremely monotonous.

Often, even by the older preschool age, the play activity of children does not reach its developed forms. This makes us pose the problem of the formation of play activity more broadly - as the problem of gradually transferring to children more and more complicated ways of play activity throughout preschool childhood.

In connection with this problem, a number of more specific problems arise:

1) what ways of playing should be formed in the child and in what sequence;

2) what should be the nature of the formative influences of an adult and under what conditions they will be most effective;

3) what forms of play will most contribute to the mental development of the child at each stage of preschool age.

It is possible to approach the solution of these problems only after first considering the question of the significance of play for the development of the child. More clearly developing functions of the game are defined in domestic psychology and pedagogy.

Essential for understanding the developmental significance of play are the considerations expressed by L. A. Wenger, who emphasized the need for a clear definition of the specific influence of play on the development of the child. Wenger proceeds from the fact that each specific activity requires certain abilities specific to it and creates conditions for their development.

Education and development of creativity takes place in unity and interaction. This was convincingly proved by E. A. Flerina: “... a decline can occur due to lack of training or due to poor training; with proper guidance and training, the creativity of children reaches a relatively high level.

In the works of psychologists, the importance of the game for the moral development of the child is analyzed, first of all, the role of the content of the game itself, through which the child masters the norms and rules of relationships between people.

Children are united in the game by a common goal, common interests and experiences, joint efforts to achieve the goal, creative searches, and the development of friendship between children is significantly influenced by a long-term creative game.

Joint play creates the conditions for the emergence of a "children's society" and real relationships in it between children. Psychologists see the main educational value of the game precisely in the presence of the qualities of "public" in children, i.e. qualities that enable them to successfully interact with others.

Source www.pclever.ru

Parent-teacher meeting. The role of play in the development of preschool children

Parent meetings in kindergarten

Parent meeting in the middle group "The role of play in the development of preschool children"

Compiled by: teacher Surnina E. A., Kurgan

• to give parents knowledge about the importance of the game in the development of the child;
• be interested in the problem;
• introduce the child to the game in a family environment;
• listen to the opinions of parents on the problem, help to get out of controversial situations, substantiating them.

Conduct form. Discussion.

Assembly progress.

Educator. Have you ever wondered why children love to play? What does play give a child?

Do you remember what you played in your childhood? (Proposes to list the games.)

Educator. Some statistics. Of the 300 parents interviewed, no one said that the child does not like to play.

Many of them noted the role of play in the development of their children, but do not distinguish it from other activities. So, they include fun, pranks, leisure, modeling, listening to books, watching TV shows, etc. to the game of children.

Favorite games of children, in their opinion, are "school", "kindergarten", "hospital", "dolls", "war" and other mobile, desktop-printed, computer games. However, some adults underestimate the role of play in the development of their child.

Question of parents. My daughter plays all the time. She constantly talks to herself, made a cash register, cut paper "money", shifts them from place to place ...

Does it help her development?

Educator. Yes, the role of the game, unfortunately, is underestimated by some parents. For a child, this is a way of self-realization, in the game he can become what he dreams of being in real life: a doctor, driver, pilot, etc. The role-playing game is very popular and loved by children, it prepares them for the future life.

It is called so because its main elements are the game concept, the development of the scenario (plot), the actual game actions, the choice and distribution of roles. This is a kind of creative game that is created by the children themselves, they themselves come up with the rules in it.

Much has been said about the importance of play in child development. The game is the need of the child's body, a means of versatile education of the child.

Questions for parents.

1. What do you think is the role of play in child development?
2. Do you think the child learns while playing?

(The teacher invites those who wish to speak, and then summarizes the answers.)

Educator.

• Emotionally get used to, "grow" into the complex social world of adults.
• Experience the life situations of other people as your own, understand the meaning of their actions and actions.
• Realize your real place among other people.
• Respect yourself and believe in yourself. When solving game problems, children show maximum competence, they act confidently, without asking questions to an adult and without asking his permission. The game is the arena of children's successes and achievements. The task of adults is to strengthen the child's self-confidence by showing a positive attitude towards his play activities.
• Rely on your own strength when faced with a problem: the game provides children with the opportunity to set and solve their own problems. Children who have a lot of playing practice cope with real life problems more easily than those who play little.
• Freely express your feelings. A child living under the constant vigilant control of adults begins to behave unnaturally. He is not bold enough and decisive enough to reveal his true feelings, which is why his behavior becomes constrained. There are barriers to communication. Therefore, adults should have a positive attitude towards his genuine emotions and show the naturalness and purity of the relationship themselves.
• Experience your anger, envy, anxiety and worry. In the free games of children, fear, aggression and tension find a way out and weaken, which greatly facilitates real relationships between children.

situation for analysis.

Children's hubbub in the area. A new, five-year-old boy, who first entered a kindergarten, examines the playing children with curiosity: some bring sand, others load it into a car, others build a sand city.

• Do you also want to play with them? the teacher addresses the child.
• He looks at the teacher in surprise and indifferently answers:
• No-ee... I'll shoot them now!
• He deftly throws up a toy machine brought from home and aims at the players.
• Why do you want to shoot them? the teacher again addresses the boy.
• Attack, no way... I'm a robber! Now commit to them for years! Unfriendly notes in the voice.
• He would only shoot and play war, the mother complains to the teacher in the evening.
• For such games, he seems to have no shortage of toys, the teacher notes, meaning a saber, a pistol with caps, a home-made shield lying in his mother's shopping bag.
• Yes, of course, the mother agrees, he demands, you have to buy. Combat is growing, even too much.
• And you did not try to switch it to other games, more calm? Yes, and toys would be different for him, which are conducive to more relaxed games, for example ...
• What for? wondering woman. Let him play what he wants. Though the Nightingale the Robber! What does it matter!

Questions for parents.

1. In your opinion, what is the significance of the roles that a child takes on in the moral development of a person?
2. What do you think is the educational value of games?

Educator.

In the game, the child acquires new and clarifies the knowledge he already has, activates the dictionary, develops curiosity, inquisitiveness, as well as moral qualities: will, courage, endurance, the ability to yield. He formed the beginning of collectivism.

The child in the game depicts what he saw, experienced, he masters the experience of human activity. The game brings up an attitude towards people, towards life, a positive attitude of games helps to maintain a cheerful mood.

Parents' opinion.

The games take a lot of time. It is better to let the child sit at the TV screen, computer, listen to recorded fairy tales. Especially in the game, he can break something, tear, stain, then clean up after him.

And he will receive knowledge in kindergarten anyway.

Questions for parents.

Are there other points of view on the meaning of children's play? (Those who wish are invited to speak.)

Educator.

The value of the game is sometimes underestimated. For the first time in the Soviet era, it was believed that the child did not need to play this empty occupation. If a child has learned how to make Easter cakes out of sand, then let him go to the factory and bake them there.

Modern research has shown that operating with substitute objects will help the child to further assimilate various symbols, prepare him for learning to work on a computer. The game develops the imagination.

Remember what the child plays, what objects does he use for this? For example, from a chamomile flower, you can “cook” an “fried egg” for a doll, make an injection with a stick, use a tray instead of a steering wheel. You probably noticed yourself that the child in the game seems to forget about reality, believes that the doll is alive, it hurts the bear if he was taken by the ear, and he himself is a real captain or pilot.

Remember that it can be difficult for a child to leave the game, interrupt it, switch to other activities. This feature can be used in education, thus preventing disobedience.

For example, address a child playing hospital: "Doctor, your patients need rest, it's time for them to sleep," or remind the "driver" that the cars are going to the garage. In fact, children always distinguish play from reality by using the expressions "pretend," "as if," "in truth."

Actions that are inaccessible to them in real life, they perform it in the game, "pretend". While playing, the child, as it were, enters into life, gets acquainted with it, reflects on what he has seen. But there are children who do not play or play little due to being busy with classes, due to non-compliance with the regime, excessive enthusiasm for watching television programs.

Children need time and play space. If he; attends a kindergarten, then at best he will play in the evening, if there are no other temptations of a TV, computer, etc. The play space is a corner, a table with favorite toys, a chair, properly selected game material.

Play in a child usually arises on the basis of and under the influence of the impressions received. Games do not always have a positive content, often children reflect negative ideas about life in the game.

situation for analysis.

Once Slava suggested to the guys playing in the family:

Questions for parents.

1. How does this situation make you feel?
2. Why do you think it took shape?

Question of parents.

Why doesn't my daughter want to play alone? If adults are with her, she gets carried away. It is necessary to leave one, immediately the game stops.

She was smaller, they thought, when she starts walking, it will become easier, she can get away with it, and she won’t have to amuse. But the baby has all the conditions: a special corner, a lot of interesting toys. Maybe it depends on the characteristics of the child?

Questions for parents.

1. Why doesn't the child want to play alone?
2. How to teach a child to play?

Educator.

A child of 4-5 years of age needs to play together with adults. Children of this age can play travel, beat the plots of fairy tales and cartoons they like. Multi-theme games are already appearing here, that is, combining several plots into one.

For example, in the game "daughters-mothers" dolls visit kindergarten, get sick, go to the store, to the post office, go on vacation, etc. in the truth of the game.

With children 4-5 years old, use indirect methods, such as leading questions, advice, tips, introducing additional characters, roles. A major role is influenced by the child through the role. For example, when playing in a store, you can ask why there are no certain products, how best to pack, arrange the goods, which departments to open, organize the delivery of products to people, etc.

The problem of educating the preconditions of femininity in girls and masculinity in boys is an urgent one. To cultivate these qualities, it is advisable to form girls' ideas about women's social roles and a positive emotional attitude towards them, to associate their ideas with games, and the ability to reflect them in games.

For example, you can read works with girls where the main character is a female representative, talk about her, emphasize her positive qualities. After the game, talk with your daughter about how the mother was in the game: for example, affectionate, caring or, conversely, indifferent, angry.

Boys can be interested in the roles of firefighters, border guards, rescuers, policemen, draw their attention to the positive qualities of representatives of these professions. Rely also on works of art, where the image of a positive hero is given, showing courage, courage.

Children should not be allowed to choose games with negative content, since the experiences associated with the game do not go unnoticed. You can switch the game, giving it positive content, for example, suggest to the child: "Let dad be kind, affectionate in our game." If it was not possible to switch the game, then it is necessary to stop it, explaining to the child why it should not be continued.

So, the game gives the child a lot of positive emotions, he loves it when adults play with him. Do not deprive him of this joy, remember that you yourself were children.

The value of play in the development of a preschool child.

preschool childhood- a short but important period of personality formation. During these years, the child acquires initial knowledge about the life around him, he begins to form a certain attitude towards people, to work, skills and habits of correct behavior are developed, and character develops.
The main activity of preschool children is a game, during which the child’s spiritual and physical strengths develop: his attention, memory, imagination, discipline, dexterity, etc. In addition, the game is a peculiar way of assimilation of social experience, characteristic of preschool age.
N. K. Krupskaya in many articles spoke about the importance of the game for the knowledge of the world, for the moral education of children. "... Amateur imitative play, which helps to master the impressions received, is of great importance, much more than anything else." The same idea is expressed by A.M. Gorky: "The game is the way for children to learn about the world in which they live and which they are called to change."
All aspects of the child's personality are formed in the game, significant changes occur in his psyche, preparing the transition to a new, higher stage of development. This explains the enormous educational potential of play, which psychologists consider the leading activity of the preschooler.
Games occupy a special place which are created by the children themselves - they are called creative or role-playing. In these games, preschoolers reproduce in roles everything that they see around them in the life and activities of adults. Creative play most fully forms the personality of the child, therefore it is an important means of education.
What gives the right to call the game a creative activity? The game is a reflection of life. Here everything is “as if”, “pretend”, but in this conditional environment, which is created by the child’s imagination, there is a lot of real: the actions of the players are always real, their feelings, experiences are genuine, sincere. The child knows that the doll and the bear are only toys, but loves them as if they were alive, understands that he is not a “real” pilot or sailor, but feels like a brave pilot, a brave sailor who is not afraid of danger, is truly proud of his victory.

Imitation of adults in the game is associated with the work of the imagination. The child does not copy reality, he combines different impressions of life with personal experience.
Children's creativity is manifested in the idea of ​​the game and in the search for a means for its implementation. How much imagination is required to decide what journey to take, what ship or plane to build, what equipment to prepare! In the game, children simultaneously act as playwrights, props, decorators, actors. However, they do not hatch their plan, they do not prepare for a long time to fulfill the role, like actors. They play for themselves, expressing their dreams and aspirations, thoughts and feelings that they own at the moment. Therefore, the game is always improvisation.
The game is an independent activity in which children first come into contact with their peers. They are united by a single goal, joint efforts to achieve it, common interests and experiences.

Children themselves choose the game, organize it themselves. But at the same time, in no other activity are there such strict rules, such conditioning of behavior as here. Therefore, the game teaches children to subordinate their actions and thoughts to a specific goal, helps to educate purposefulness.
In the game, the child begins to feel like a member of the team, to fairly evaluate the actions and deeds of his comrades and his own. The task of the educator is to focus the attention of the players on such goals that would evoke a commonality of feelings and actions, to promote the establishment of relations between children based on friendship, justice, and mutual responsibility.
Creative collective game is a school for educating the feelings of preschoolers. The moral qualities formed in the game affect the child's behavior in life, at the same time, the skills that have developed in the process of everyday communication of children with each other and with adults are further developed in the game. It takes a great skill of the educator to help children organize a game that would encourage good deeds, would evoke the best feelings.
The game is an important means of mental education of the child. The knowledge gained in kindergarten and at home finds practical application and development in the game. Reproducing various life events, episodes from fairy tales and stories, the child reflects on what he saw, what he was read and told about; the meaning of many phenomena, their significance become more understandable for him.

Types of games.

There are several groups of games that develop the intelligence, cognitive activity of the child:
I group- object games, like manipulations with toys and objects. Through toys - objects - children learn the shape, color, volume, material, the world of animals, the world of people, etc.

II group- creative games, plot-role-playing, in which the plot is a form of intellectual activity.

Intellectual games like "Lucky chance", "What? Where? When?" etc. Data is an important component of educational, but, above all, extracurricular work of a cognitive nature.

At the end of the early period of childhood, a game with a plot emerges from object-manipulative activity. Initially, the child was absorbed in the object and actions with it. As he mastered the actions woven into joint activity with an adult, he began to realize that he was acting on his own and acting like an adult. In fact, he had acted like an adult before, imitating him, but did not notice this. As D.B. Elkonin, he looked at the object through an adult, "as through glass." At preschool age, the affect is transferred from the object to the person, due to which the adult and his actions become a model for the child not only objectively, but also subjectively.

In addition to the necessary level of development of objective actions, for the appearance of a role-playing game, a radical change in the relationship of the child with adults is necessary. Play cannot develop without frequent, full-fledged communication with adults and without those diverse impressions of the world around which the child also acquires thanks to adults. The child also needs various toys, including unformed objects that do not have a clear function, which he could easily use as substitutes for others. D.B. Elkonin emphasized: you can’t throw away bars, pieces of iron, and other unnecessary, from the mother’s point of view, garbage brought by children into the house. Then the child will have the opportunity to play more interestingly, developing his imagination.
L.S. Vygotsky wrote: “... if at preschool age we would not have had the maturation of needs that could not be realized immediately, then we would not have had play either.” Play, he wrote, "should be understood as an imaginary, illusory realization of unfulfilled desires." At the same time, it is emphasized that the basis of the game is not individual affective reactions, but enriched, although not conscious by the child himself, affective aspirations.

Creative role play becomes, by definition L.S. Vygotsky “the leading activity of a preschooler”, in which many of his psychological characteristics are formed, among which the most important is the ability to be guided by ethical authorities. A role-playing game is an activity in which children take on the roles of adults and, in a generalized form, reproduce the activities of adults and the relationship between them.

Directing and imaginative role-playing play become sources of role-playing game, which reaches its developed form by the middle of preschool age. Later, games with rules stand out from it. As I.Yu. Kulagin, the emergence of new types of play does not completely cancel the old ones, already mastered - they all remain and continue to improve. In the role-playing game, children reproduce actual human roles and relationships.

Undergoing various changes, any role-playing game turns into a game by the rules. This game gives the child two necessary abilities. Firstly, the implementation of the rules in the game is always associated with their comprehension and reproduction of an imaginary situation. Imagination is also connected with meaning and, moreover, for its development it involves special tasks for comprehension. Second, playing with rules teaches you how to communicate. After all, most games with rules are collective games. They have two kinds of relationships. These are relations of a competitive type - between teams, between partners who have a directly opposite goal (if one wins, then the other will lose), and relations of genuine cooperation - between members of the same team. Such cooperation, participation in collective activities helps the child "get out" of the situation and analyze it as if from the outside. It is very important.

Conclusion

Preschool childhood is a period in which there is an active development of the whole personality as a whole. Speech develops rapidly, creative imagination appears, a special logic of thinking, subject to the dynamics of figurative representations. This is the time of the initial formation of personality. The emergence of emotional anticipation of the consequences of one's behavior, self-esteem, the complication and awareness of experiences, enrichment with new feelings and motives of the emotional-need sphere, and finally, the emergence of the first essential connections with the world and the foundations of the future structure of the life world - these are the main features of the personal development of a preschooler.
The game for preschool children is a source of global experiences of the dynamism of one's own Self, a test of the power of self-influence.

Even 15-20 years ago, in order to enter the first grade, neither reading skills, nor the ability to count, nor, moreover, knowledge of foreign languages ​​were required. The children went to school after an absolutely carefree childhood - and they learned everything from their first teacher. Now the situation has become fundamentally different - now, in order to enter the first grade, you need to go through a whole quest for "professional suitability", if, of course, we are talking about a more or less good school. Therefore, parents, forgetting about the leading activity of preschool children - playing - take them to various preparatory courses, work with them at home, teach them foreign languages. And such classes, of course, cost a lot of money - on which teachers in various disciplines for preschoolers profit.

But in the end, neither parents nor the children themselves become happier from these activities. Why is this happening? What are the disadvantages of such intensive preschool education for children?

Disadvantages of replacing play activities with educational activities at preschool age

First of all, it must be taken into account that preschool children are not capable of purposeful learning activities, so the hope that they will consciously learn something at 3-4 years old is the height of optimism! Yes, they can learn the names of the seasons, months, and even a few words in a foreign language, but they are not able to put their knowledge into practice. If you ask a preschooler what month it is now, he is unlikely to be able to answer, despite the fact that he taught his name. Thus, the knowledge acquired by a preschooler within the framework of "learning activity" becomes divorced from life - which leads only to the nervous and mental exhaustion of the child and the weakening of teachers and parents.

Many now can complain about the laziness of the baby, but this is not so. A child cannot learn and apply all this, not because he does not try or is lazy, but simply because he is a child - and he is not yet able to “jump over his head”.

Thus, neither the child nor the parents acquire anything positive from such intensive early development, but there are more than enough minuses! First of all, psychologists unanimously note that modern preschoolers absolutely cannot play on their own, they have a poorly developed imagination and the ability to find non-standard solutions to various problems. That is why now in kindergartens most of the time for children is occupied with various developmental exercises and learning activities, and when they are given time to play, they begin to mess around, push, fight - that is, do anything, but not play in the usual sense of the word.

In addition, paradoxically, but a child who is intensively preparing for school already loses all desire to go to this very school - because fatigue and disappointment accumulate - and, of course, the child has no desire to continue this "hard labor".

The value of games for preschoolers

First of all, the game as the leading activity of a preschooler is the basis for the formation of knowledge about an important layer of human culture - the relationship between people. Surely, you have noticed that in their games, whether it is cars, daughters-mothers or playing doctor, children copy the behavior of adults, scenes of their films they have watched or moments of their own lives.

In addition, the game helps not only to copy scenes from life, but also teaches children to communicate and establish communication with each other. After all, games are usually passed on from the older generation of children to the younger ones - and communication in such a company of different ages has a positive effect on the development and socialization of the baby.

Any game is subject to some rules - therefore, playing activities also help children learn to adhere to some rules. Of course, you can now object that in the process of learning, and especially at school, you also need to adhere to certain rules. This is true, but the difference is that the school rules are set by someone - and the child obeys them simply because it is necessary, while the rules in the game are set by him, of his own free will - and here he acts as a creator and voluntary (and not according to coercion) by the performer. No wonder psychologists and educators say that the game develops imagination, logical thinking, the ability to think outside the box. The game also helps the child learn to organize their activities without waiting for outside prompts (what modern children sin), develops curiosity and independence.

Educational games and their conditions

But you should not think that a preschool child should be allowed to play enough until the age of 6-7, without caring about his development. It is necessary to develop a child, but this must be done not with the help of tedious classes in groups at preparatory courses, but at home and in the process of communication between the baby and peers - in the form of a game. Fortunately, developing and educational games for preschool children have long been invented and, most likely, even you encountered them in childhood. What are these games?

Before listing them and highlighting their positive qualities, you need to say a few words about the most important things in order for such a game to really benefit your baby. First of all, educational games should be held with the participation of adults - it is the adult who should guide the baby and help him show his strengths in joint activities with him.

In addition, educational games must be selected taking into account the age of the child and in a reasonable sequence of stages - that is, from the least difficult to more and more difficult tasks, additional complicating elements can also be gradually introduced.

So, what educational games do teachers recommend?

1. Role-playing games

These include the very games “in the doctor”, “daughters-mothers” and the like. Such games reflect reality and allow children to copy the relationships between people in the adult world. The child, on the other hand, takes on some role of an adult, begins to act, partly copying the behavior he has seen, partly adding something of his own. Such games develop independence, are the first experience of the "adult life" of the baby, they help to learn about the world around and, starting from what they see in reality, under the influence of their own imagination, create new behaviors.

Role-playing games have their own characteristic features:

This is a form of active reflection by the child of the everyday life of adults;

This game involves complex actions, not separate ones - the same and periodically repeated (like writing or reading);

The plot of such games changes over time - what children played 20 years ago and what they play now are two big differences;

The plot-role-playing game involves a creative reflection of reality by the child;

Such a game contributes to the knowledge of the world around the baby and the development of cognitive abilities and curiosity;

Such a game involves not empty memorization of something, but the application of one's knowledge in practice;

As a rule, such games can only be played collectively, so this activity contributes to the development of the child's communication skills;

The initial scenario of the role-playing game may change in the process of its implementation, which contributes to the development of the child's creative abilities and his ability to navigate and choose non-standard solutions.

2. Solving crosswords, riddles and puzzles

Such games help develop the child's logical thinking, cognitive abilities and, again, teach them to apply the acquired knowledge in practice. A children's puzzle is probably the most popular form of riddles for young children, developing not only logical thinking, but also creative imagination.

Ordinary children's riddles and crossword puzzles in a playful way will help the child improve his vocabulary, develop memory and imaginative thinking. In addition, solving riddles allows you to develop ingenuity, observation, imagination and non-standard thinking of the child.

3. Games-competitions

Psychologists believe that it is in competition games that children develop the desire for success and the opportunity to become the first.

4. Construction game

This type of game is more suitable for children of older preschool age, when their motor skills are already well developed, and they can already design something. With the help of various constructors and prefabricated models, children develop elementary labor skills and abilities, they learn the physical properties of objects, and they develop practical thinking. As a result of construction, the baby develops imagination and imaginative thinking, he learns to plan his actions in a certain sequence.

5. Dramatization game

In fact, this game involves the child memorizing the words of the role, the exact transmission of the feelings and emotions of the hero. It develops the moral traits of the baby, teaches him to distinguish emotions and be able to convey them. The basis for the plot of such a game can be any literary work, of course, not very difficult for a small child.

What does play mean for a preschooler? She means a lot to him. It is in the game that the personality traits of the child are formed, it is with the help of the game that he learns sociability, learns to show his abilities, begins to strive for success, learns to independently acquire knowledge and find solutions. In addition, a child who played various games in childhood is more confident in himself, he has a well-developed imagination and curiosity and the ability to adhere to certain rules. All these qualities will undoubtedly help him in later life much more than thoughtlessly learned a few words in English or the ability to count to 100 and back at the age of three!

Twenty years ago, most children went to school unable to read, write, or count. All this children were taught at school, and their intellectual development did not suffer at all from this. Now the situation has changed.

In order for a child to be accepted into a good school (which means that he gets a decent education, and then successfully settled in our difficult life), he needs to pass a solid exam for “readiness” at the age of 6. Therefore, parents are in a hurry to start his education as early as possible. The so-called "early development" is very popular and fashionable these days. Almost from birth, children are taught to read, count to 100 and vice versa, they are taught a foreign language, logic, rhetoric, grammar, mathematics, etc. And parents are ready to pay a lot of money for such preschool education - after all, nothing is a pity for the unborn child! And educators, in accordance with the laws of a market economy, willingly go towards the consumer (ie the parent) and teach. As a result, the system of preschool education is increasingly turning into the lowest level of school education. Despite the progressive and humanistic concepts of scientists and calls to preserve childhood, fear of the future takes its toll and "readiness for school" becomes the main goal of parents, educators and even psychologists working in kindergartens. This trend is not only unjustified - neither from a pedagogical nor a psychological point of view, but also very dangerous, carrying with it unpredictable social consequences. The fact is that, due to their psychological characteristics, children of preschool age (up to 7 years old) are not capable of conscious and purposeful learning activities. Even having memorized some terms and formulations, children do not understand them and cannot use them. So, for example, having memorized the names of individual months or days of the week, they do not know what season it is, or, having memorized the names of prepositions in class (above, under, above, etc.), they do not use them in their actions. Such memorized knowledge, cut off from the real life of children, remains meaningless speech clichés. Despite the enormous efforts of teachers and the mental exhaustion of preschoolers, their readiness for school remains very doubtful. Children cannot learn just because adults want to. And not because they are lazy and naughty, but because they are children. And the trouble is not that they do not gain anything from such premature education, but that they lose the extraordinarily important opportunities that preschool childhood opens up for them. Preschool age is a unique and decisive period in the development of a child, when the foundations of personality arise, will and voluntary behavior develop, imagination, creativity, and general initiative develop actively. However, all these most important qualities are formed not in the classroom, but in the leading and main activity of the preschooler - in the game. The most significant change, which is noted not only by psychologists, but also by most experienced preschool teachers, is that children in kindergartens began to play less and worse, role-playing games were especially reduced (both in number and duration). Preschoolers practically do not know traditional children's games and do not know how to play. Lack of time to play is usually cited as the main reason. Indeed, in most kindergartens, the daily routine is overloaded with various activities and there is less than an hour left for free play. However, even this hour, according to the observations of teachers, children cannot play meaningfully and calmly - they fuss, fight, push - therefore, educators seek to fill the children's free time with calm activities or resort to disciplinary actions. At the same time, they state that preschoolers do not know how and do not want to play. It really is. The game does not arise by itself, but is transmitted from one generation of children to another - from older to younger. At present, this connection between children's generations is interrupted (children's communities of different ages - in the family, in the yard, in the apartment - are found only as an exception). Children grow up among adults, and adults have no time to play, and they don’t know how to do it and don’t consider it important. If they take care of children, they teach them. As a result, the game disappears from the life of preschoolers, and with it, childhood itself disappears. The curtailment of play at preschool age has a very sad effect on the overall mental and personal development of children. As you know, it is in the game that the thinking, emotions, communication, imagination, consciousness of the child develop most intensively. The advantage of the game over any other children's activity is that in it the child himself, voluntarily obeys certain rules, and it is the fulfillment of the rules that gives maximum pleasure. This makes the child's behavior meaningful and conscious, turns it from a field into a strong-willed one. Therefore, the game is practically the only area where a preschooler can show his initiative and creative activity. And at the same time, it is in the game that children learn to control and evaluate themselves, to understand what they are doing, and (probably this is the main thing) to want to act correctly. The attitude of modern preschoolers to the game (and hence the game activity itself) has changed significantly. Despite the preservation and popularity of some game plots (hide-and-seek, tag, daughter-mothers), children in most cases do not know the rules of the game and do not consider their implementation mandatory. They cease to correlate their behavior and their desires with the image of an ideal adult or the image of correct behavior. But it is precisely this independent regulation of their actions that turns the child into a conscious subject of his life, makes his behavior conscious and arbitrary. Of course, this does not mean that modern children do not master the rules of behavior - everyday, educational, communication, traffic, etc. However, these rules come from outside, from adults, and the child is forced to accept them and adapt to them. The main advantage of game rules is that they are voluntarily and responsibly accepted (or generated) by the children themselves, therefore, in them the idea of ​​what and how to do is merged with desires and emotions. In the developed form of play, children themselves want to act correctly. The departure of such rules from the game may indicate that for modern children the game ceases to be a "school of voluntary behavior", but no other activity for a child of 3-6 years old can fulfill this function. But arbitrariness is not only actions according to the rules, it is awareness, independence, responsibility, self-control, inner freedom. Having lost the game, children do not acquire all this. As a result, their behavior remains situational, involuntary, dependent on surrounding adults. Observations show that modern preschoolers do not know how to organize their activities themselves, fill it with meaning: they loiter, push, sort out toys, etc. Most of them do not have developed imagination, lack creative initiative and independent thinking. And since preschool age is the optimal period for the formation of these important qualities, it is difficult to harbor illusions that all these abilities will arise by themselves later, at a more mature age. Meanwhile, parents, as a rule, do not care much about these problems. The main indicator of the effectiveness of the kindergarten and the well-being of the child is the degree of readiness for school, which is expressed in the ability to count, read, write and follow the instructions of an adult. Such "willingness" not only does not contribute, but also interferes with normal schooling: having had enough of forced training sessions in kindergarten, children often do not want to go to school, or lose interest in learning already in the lower grades. The advantages of early learning are felt only in the first 2-3 months of school life - such "ready" children no longer need to be taught to read and count. But as soon as you need to show independence, curiosity, the ability to decide and think - these children give in and wait for the instructions of an adult. Needless to say, such passivity, lack of interests and independence, inner emptiness will have very sad results not only at school.

GAME AND RANDOMITY IN MODERN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Issues of Psychology No. 1/2004 pp. 91-103

One of the main directions of D.B. Elkonin is undoubtedly the psychology of children's play. The positions he discovered and proved related to the play activity of a preschooler have become classics of Russian psychology and still remain the main (if not the only) guidelines in understanding the nature of play and its place in child development. He repeatedly and convincingly emphasized the special sensitivity of the game to the sphere of human relations. The game arises from the conditions of the child's life in society and reflects these conditions. In it, “a primary, emotionally effective orientation in the meanings of human activity takes place, there is an awareness of one’s limited place in the system of adult relations and the need to be an adult” .

In the current situation of children's development, these provisions often lose their original meaning and their significance in the practice of preschool pedagogy. Meanwhile, right now they are of particular relevance. Therefore, it is advisable to return to them and take a fresh look at these traditional ideas.

The fact is that in modern pedagogy the meaning of the game is increasingly seen as exclusively didactic. The game is used to acquire new skills, ideas, develop useful skills, etc. However, the narrowly didactic value of the game is very limited. The game as such is far from the best means of learning. Of course, it is possible (as is usually done) to use the game for didactic purposes, but at the same time its main, specific functions, its fundamental contribution to children's development fade into the background or are completely supplanted. For example, you can organize a game in the store to teach a child how to use scales (use real scales, weights on which children will weigh different objects, determine the cost of a “goods”). In such games, children may learn to weigh and measure. However, their focus will be on actions with weights, counting, etc. At the same time, the main content of the game - the relationship between the seller and the buyer, the desire to perform the roles of these adults well, correctly - will be relegated to the background. Role play is not an exercise in some particular function. As emphasized by D.B. Elkonin, a child, playing the role of a driver, doctor or hairdresser, does not acquire any useful skills. He does not learn to drive a car, or to treat the sick, or to do hair. But what he receives is much more important and essential for the development and formation of the personality of a preschooler.

The main advantage of play activity lies precisely in the fact that play is directly related to the formation of the need-motivational sphere of the child. D.B. Elkonin, following L.S. Vygotsky, repeatedly emphasized that a new form of desire arises in play. The child learns to desire by relating his desire to an idea, to a fictitious self (that is, to a role).

If in an object game for a young child (as in the case of an undeveloped game of a preschooler) the main thing is the possession of an object and actions with it, then in a role-playing game the semantic center of the situation is transferred from the object to the person who was previously standing behind the object. Thanks to this, the adult and his actions begin to act as a model for the child. The child wants to act like an adult. It is under the influence of this very general desire, at first with the help and prompting of adults (parents and educators) or older children, that he begins to act as if he were an adult.

On the borderline from objective to role-playing, for a child, neither the social functions of adults nor the social meaning of their activities yet exist. He acts in the direction of his desire, objectively puts himself in the position of an adult, while an emotionally effective orientation takes place in the relations of adults and in the meanings of their activities. First, there is an emotional understanding of the functions of an adult person as carrying out something important and significant for others and, therefore, causing them a certain attitude. The generalization and abbreviation (conditionality) of play actions are a sign that such a separation of relations between children is taking place and that it is emotionally experienced. The intellectual and operational-technical moment follows the emotionally effective experience. This sequence once again confirms the pattern of development, repeatedly proved by D.B. Elkonin: initially, the meanings and motives of activity are mastered, and only then (and on their basis) the operational and technical side. It is important to emphasize that these meanings arise and take shape in the game.

There is another extraordinary moment associated with the role of the game: in it, the child becomes aware of his Self. According to L.S. Vygotsky, “the child learns his self in the game”. By creating fictitious points of identification and relating himself to them, he singles himself out and masters his own Self. Naturally, at the age of three, a child already has his own Self, his experiences and other internal processes, but does not realize them and his place among people. In the game, due to the divergence of the semantic and visible fields, it becomes possible to act “from a thought, not from a thing”, from one’s own plan, and not from a situation. After all, a child, no matter how emotionally he enters the role of an adult, still feels like a child. He looks at himself through the role he has taken on, i.e. through an adult, and discovers that he is not an adult at all. Awareness of oneself as a child, i.e. their place in the system of social relations, occurs through the role and through the game.

The game is of particular importance for the formation of various forms of arbitrariness in children - from elementary to the most complex. Recall that L.S. Vygotsky called the game "the school of voluntary behavior."

The main paradox of the game lies in the fact that it is in this activity, as free as possible from any coercion, which seems to be entirely in the power of emotions, that the child first of all learns to control his behavior and regulate it in accordance with generally accepted rules. The essence of children's play lies precisely in this contradiction. Explaining it, D.B. Elkonin noted that by taking on the role of an adult, the child thereby takes on a certain, understandable way of behavior inherent in this adult.

In his research, D.B. Elkonin showed that with a developed form of role-playing, the sequence of actions of the role that the child takes on has for him, as it were, the force of a law to which he must subordinate his actions. Any attempt to break this sequence or introduce an element of conventionality (for example, make mice catch cats, or have the driver sell tickets and the cashier drive the bus) causes a violent protest from the children, and sometimes even leads to the destruction of the game. By taking on a role in the game, the child thereby accepts a system of rigid necessity to perform certain actions in a certain sequence. Freedom in the game exists only within the limits of the role taken on.

But the thing is that the child takes on these restrictions voluntarily, of his own free will. Moreover, it is this obedience to the adopted law that gives the child maximum pleasure. According to L.S. Vygotsky, a game is “a rule that has become an affect” or “a concept that has become a passion”. Usually the child, obeying the rule, refuses what he wants. In the game, however, obeying the rule and refusing to act on an immediate impulse brings maximum pleasure. The game constantly creates situations that require action not on immediate impulse, but along the line of greatest resistance. The specific pleasure of the game is associated precisely with overcoming immediate urges, with obedience to the rule contained in the role. In the game, he begins to correlate his desires with the "idea", with the image of the ideal adult.

These provisions have become the traditional basis for understanding the nature of the preschooler's play activity and have been repeatedly proven in experimental studies. However, D.B. Elkonin were carried out in the 60-70s. of the last century, when social relations and society as a whole were different in many respects. Since then, there have been significant changes in the lives of adults and in relationships between them, as well as in the conditions of children's lives. These changes could not but affect the children's game. The nature of these changes is extremely important to understand, since the features of the game of modern preschoolers reflect the originality of their mental development, their interests, values, ideas, etc.

Has the significance of the game as a leading activity of today's preschoolers been preserved? What do children lose (or gain) by not playing role-playing games?

Despite the importance of these questions, serious psychological studies on the specifics of the play of modern children are currently lacking. To fill this gap, we undertook a study in which we tried to study the features of the role-playing game of modern preschoolers in comparison with their peers from the middle of the last century. We were interested not only in a broad and generalized picture of what modern preschoolers play and how, but above all in how play affects the development of the main neoformation of preschool age - voluntary behavior.

The first aspect of the analysis was aimed at clarifying the plots of children's games, namely: what do modern children play and what games are most popular with them.

To answer this question, an observation was made of the free play of preschoolers 4; 5-5; 5 years old. The observation was carried out by practical psychologists of kindergartens in Moscow. More than 1000 preschoolers participated in it. Small groups of children (5-6 people) were asked to play a game for 40 minutes in a familiar room. The observer noted what the children were playing, and if necessary, after the game was over, asked: “What did you play?”

Observation of the free activities of children showed that a significant proportion of preschool children (approximately 40%) did not play in their free time.

They demonstrated separate objective actions (rolling cars, throwing a ball), looked at books, drew, engaged in Lego constructor, etc. Many children, having heard the suggestion to “play”, took boxes with didactic board games from the shelf.

The rest of the preschoolers demonstrated one or another version of the role-playing game. Let's dwell on them in more detail.

The most popular among preschoolers were traditional everyday subjects: a shop, a hospital, and a hairdresser (30% of cases). The second place is occupied by stories related to the care of the doll. Feeding, putting to bed, walking, bathing the "daughter", etc. were observed in 23% of cases. This also includes variants of the game "daughters-mothers", and a modern version of this game "Barbie Doll Family". Boys more often acted out plots related to defense and attack: “cops and thieves”, “bandits and ours”, “ghost hunters”, chasing criminals, etc. Such aggressive plots occurred in 10% of cases.

Often (about 15%) there were characters and plots related to TV shows and cartoons (spider-man, robots, ninja turtles, the last hero, "Brigade", "Charmed", Rex the dog, etc.). The rest of the plots met in isolated cases and had the most diverse character (circus, traffic police, airplane, flight to the moon, dances, dogs, etc.). It is noteworthy that among the plots of children's games there are actually no plots related to the professions of their close adults. Modern professions of adults (lawyer, economist, manager, designer, etc.), due to their specificity (their content is closed to children), do not provide material for play roles. At the same time, modern preschoolers prefer to play in their games plots borrowed from television films, in which they play not the professional roles of adults, but the roles of television heroes (Angelica, Spiderman, ninja, Chip and Dale, etc.). This may indicate that that children are more familiar with the lives and relationships of movie characters than the adults around them. And although the content of such games remains the behavior of people and their relationships, the weak representation of professional and social roles and the isolation of games from the life of close adults may indicate that the social life of adults ceases to be the content of children's games, as was supposed in the domestic psychological concept of children's play. The place of close adults is beginning to be occupied by virtual characters.

However, the plot is only the outer shell of the game. Recall that D.B. Elkonin proposed to distinguish between the plot and the content of the game. If the plot reflects the area of ​​social reality that children reproduce in their play, then the content is what is reproduced as a central moment in human relations, reflects the depth of penetration into them. It is the content of the game that expresses the level of development of game activity. Despite the importance of this characteristic, there are no generally accepted methods for assessing it in psychology. Play as an independent and free activity of a child is practically impossible to quantify and diagnose under standardized conditions. To date, the only tool that allows you to determine the development of gaming activity are those proposed by D.B. Elkonin levels of play. Let's dwell on their description and try to highlight the main characteristics of each of the levels.

First level

The actions of children are monotonous and consist of a number of repetitive operations. They can be carried out in a certain sequence, although strict adherence to it does not matter.

Roles are defined by subjects or the nature of actions. Children do not call themselves by the names of the people they play.

Children play side by side or alone. Independent play is usually short-lived. The stimulus for its occurrence sometimes becomes a toy or substitute object previously used by the child in the game.

Second level

The logic of actions corresponds to their sequence in reality. The variety of actions increases and goes beyond any one type (for example, not only "feeding", but also preparing dinner, putting to bed, dressing, etc.). Violation of the sequence of actions is not actually accepted, but it is not protested either.

The role is indicated by the word. During the game, children sometimes call themselves or a partner a game name (“I am a mother”, “you are a driver”). But there is no verbal communication from role positions, although separate phrases appear that are correlated with the role.

The rule is not explicitly defined yet.

There is a first interaction between the participants about the use of a common toy or the nature of the action. Associations of children are short-term and few in number (2-3 children).

Toys are not selected in advance, but more often children use the same ones.

Third level

The roles are clearly marked and named before the game starts. They determine and direct the behavior of the child. A role-playing speech addressed to a partner in the game appears, but sometimes ordinary off-game relationships also appear.

The logic, nature and direction of actions are determined by the role. Violation of the logic of actions causes protests of the players with the reference to the fact that “this does not happen” (“mothers do not run”, “policemen do not shout”, etc.

A rule of behavior is singled out, to which children subordinate their actions. Although it does not yet completely determine behavior, it can sometimes overcome the immediate desire that has arisen. Breaking the rules is better seen from the outside.

Toys and objects are selected according to the role. The game often proceeds as a joint activity, although the interaction alternates with partner actions that are not related to each other, but corresponding to the role. The duration of the game increases, the plots become more diverse: children reflect the life, work and attitudes of adults.

Fourth level

This highest level of development of play activity is typical for children of middle and senior preschool age (4; 5-6 years). The main content of the game is the performance of actions related to the attitude towards other people, the roles of which are played by partners in the game.

The roles are clearly defined and named before the game starts. In accordance with the role, the child builds his behavior until the end of the game. The role functions of children are interrelated. Speech is role-playing.

The actions in the game are varied, they recreate the sequence of real relationships. The game is emotionally colored. Children are passionate and involved in the game. In words and actions there are elements of creativity of the children themselves.

Violation of the logic of actions is rejected. During the game, the child follows strict rules that determine his behavior.

Associations are stable and are built on the basis of children's interest in the same games or on the basis of personal sympathies and affections.

In the game, a preparatory stage is often distinguished: the distribution of roles, the selection of game material, and sometimes its production. The number of children involved in the game increases to 5-6 people.

As can be seen, each level of play development, despite the variety of indicators, has its own semantic center, which absorbs the main content of the game and reflects the interests of the child. At the first and second levels, this is an action with an object, at the third - the fulfillment of a game role, at the fourth - the transfer of role relationships and interaction with partners in the game. Based on the highlighted D.B. Elkonin levels, we tried to evaluate the content of children's play in the process of observation. The observation involved 89 children of three age groups: middle (from 4; 6 to 4; 11 years old), older (from 5 to 5; 11 years old) and preparatory (from 6 to 6; 9 years old). At a specially allotted time, a small group of children (4-5 people) in a familiar kindergarten were offered to play any game (what they want). The nature of the play activity of each child was correlated with one of the described levels of play and qualified in accordance with one of the variants of its content, which we briefly defined as action play, role play, and relationship play. The second and third levels of development were combined because of their content similarity and the difficulty of a clear distinction in terms of children's behavior.

It should be noted that many children in the proposed situation did not play, but were engaged in other activities (drawing, looking at books, constructing, etc.). We recorded these cases separately as a lack of play. The results of this analysis for different age groups are presented in fig. one.

In today's children in the heyday of role-playing - in the middle and older groups - the game-action prevails, which is characteristic of the first level of development of play activity. Their game is reduced to the same type of simple plots and separate remarks addressed to a partner.

For example, three boys laughingly chase each other with sticks representing guns and "shoot". From time to time, one of them joyfully states: "That's it, I killed you." When asked what they are playing, they, after thinking, answer: “To catch up ... No, to the police ... to batmen ...”.

Role play is less common at all ages, and with age the number of children with this level of play consistently decreases from 36.8 to 18.2%. Such games are characterized by repeated pronunciation of roles (before the start of the game and in the process), the presence of detailed role-playing speech, and the relative stability of the idea. At the same time, the attitude towards partners is formal and there is no real interaction - each of the players “plays his role”.

Two girls are playing in the hospital. Holding hands, they walk around the room and, laughing, repeat together: “We are sick, our tummies hurt, we need to be treated.” One of them takes a cube, puts it to her ear like a mobile phone, and says into it: “Hi, mom, my stomach hurts. Well, for now, I don’t have time.” But they never come to the doctor, and there is no “treatment” plot.

The highest level of development of play (play-attitude) appears only in individual children after 5 years of age and is observed in the preparatory group in 18.2% of cases. At this level, role relationships are pronounced and the behavior of children is interconnected with other players. Role-playing dialogue reflects the specifics of the plot. With a minimum of game actions, emotional and business relations between partners are maximized.

An example of this level is the game of daughter-mothers, in which the mother carefully equips her daughter for a walk, picks up warm clothes for her so that she does not freeze and does not catch a cold, and the girl pretends that she does not obey her mother and refuses to put on a hat.

It is noteworthy that the number of non-playing children increases with age (from 16% in the middle group to 36% in the preparatory group). We cannot say anything definite about the level of development of play in these children, since we did not have the opportunity to observe it. At the same time, the absence of plot-role-playing in their free time (especially among children 4-6 years old) may indicate the unwillingness and inability of children to play, and hence the underdevelopment of play activity.

Thus, based on the results of observation, it can be stated that the level of development of the game of modern preschoolers is significantly lower than that of their peers from the middle of the last century. A developed form of play (fourth level) is reached by only a few children, mainly after 6 years of age, i.e. towards the end of preschool. These data basically coincide with the opinion of educators and confirm the curtailment of children's play activities.

How is this fact reflected (and is it reflected at all) on the formation of the main personality neoformations of preschool children? Does the role-playing game retain its position as the leading activity of the preschooler? The answer to this question is of exceptional importance both for understanding child development and for preschool pedagogy. In our study, we tried to specifically consider it in relation to one of the main neoplasms of preschool age - voluntary behavior. The child's ability to consciously control his actions and control them initially develops in a role-playing game. As emphasized by D.B. Elkonin, the advantage of the game over any other children's activity lies in the fact that in it the child himself, voluntarily obeys certain rules (open or set in the game role), and it is the implementation of the rules that gives him maximum pleasure. This makes the child's behavior meaningful and conscious. Therefore, the game, while remaining the most free and attractive activity for the child, becomes a "school of voluntary behavior", teaches him to achieve a goal (even if it is a game), to overcome his impulsive desires. The game streamlines not only behavior, but also the inner life of the child, makes it more meaningful and conscious.

As evidence of the leading role of the game in the development of arbitrariness, D.B. Elkonin cites the work of Z.V. Manuilenko. In this work, the time the child kept a motionless posture served as an indicator of voluntary behavior. The ability of children to maintain a given position for a long time (without changing it and holding it for as long as possible) was compared in two situations - in the game and outside the game. In one of the experimental series, the child had to hold a certain position on the instructions of an adult, following his instructions "to stand still as long as possible." In another, the child was asked to maintain the same posture, playing the role of sentry "guarding the factory." Comparison of the time of maintaining a posture in play and outside play (according to instructions from an adult) showed that the performance of this task, which is difficult for preschoolers, occurs much more effectively in play. At the same time, characteristic age differences were recorded. It turned out that from four to six years, the discrepancy between the results in the two situations increases. It reaches its maximum value in five-year-old children, when the time of maintaining a pose in play is more than three times higher than the same indicator in a non-play situation. During this period in the game, thanks to the accepted role of the "sentinel", maintaining the posture becomes a special task and content of the preschooler's behavior. In a non-game situation, there is no such purposefulness. By the age of 6-7, due to the rapid increase in non-play voluntariness, these indicators converge and the time for maintaining a pose in play and non-play situations is practically comparable.

Thus, in this work, the law of the "parallelogram of development" was once again confirmed, according to which the introduction and use of additional external funds significantly increases the efficiency of activity. With the transition to an older age, these means "grow" and become the child's internal property, so the need for external means disappears, and the success of direct activity rises to the level of direct activity.

In the work under consideration, a playing role acts as such an external means, which sets the zone of proximal development and subsequently “grows”, internalizes. Thanks to this, arbitrariness turns into a personal ability, independent of the specific situation.

The described experiments were carried out in the middle of the last century, when the quantity and quality of play activities were much higher. Have these patterns persisted today? Does the lack of play affect the formation of voluntary behavior?

To answer these questions, an experiment was conducted that reproduces the methodology of Z.V., Manuilenko. As in her work, the time to maintain a posture, in and out of play, served as an indicator of voluntary behavior. In order to bring the plot of the game closer to modern conditions, the children were offered not the role of a sentry, but the role of "a guard who protects the bank from racketeers." The essence of role-playing actions did not change from this, and the content of the role became more understandable. Otherwise, the situation of the experiment, the studied ages, the observed indicators and their processing exactly repeated the study by Z.V. Manuilenko. Nevertheless, the data obtained by modern preschoolers differed fundamentally from her results. On fig. Figure 2 shows the dynamics of voluntary behavior in and out of play among preschoolers of two generations - modern and those who attended kindergarten 55 years ago. The presented graph clearly reflects a number of significant differences in the level of development and in the dynamics of voluntary behavior.

First, today's preschoolers have significantly lower absolute indicators of voluntary behavior. Even in the preparatory group, our children are not able to hold a pose for more than three minutes, while their peers of the previous generation calmly maintained a pose of immobility for an average of 12 minutes. These differences clearly indicate a decrease in the ability to control oneself and to manage one's behavior.

The second clear difference concerns the age dynamics of voluntary behavior. If according to Z.V. Manuilenko, in children from 4 to 7 years old, the ability for voluntary behavior increases sharply (the time for maintaining a posture increases by almost 20 times), while in modern children over the same age, the shifts are very insignificant. Age dynamics is much less pronounced here.

Finally, the third and most important difference for us has to do with the relationship between playful and non-playful arbitrariness. As can be seen from fig. 2, in contrast to the results of the subjects Z.V. Manuilenko, the results of modern children do not form a parallelogram of development, but are practically parallel lines. It is significant that in all age groups the duration of maintaining a pose in a game is somewhat longer than in a non-game situation. However, these differences do not exceed 20–30 s on average (the significance of the differences does not reach statistical significance) and remain practically the same throughout the entire preschool age.

The data obtained indicate that in modern children, voluntariness in a game situation is slightly, but still ahead of the same indicator outside the game, however, the internalization of this ability, the "rotation" of external means does not occur. The ability for arbitrary behavior by the end of preschool age is preserved only in the game and does not become an internal quality of the personality.

At the same time, children with different levels of development of play activity took part in this experiment. It can be assumed that the gap between play and non-play voluntariness, and hence the path of development of this quality, is determined by the level of development of the child's play activity. To test this assumption, we compared the time of maintaining a posture in play and outside play in children with different levels of development of play activity.

The most significant discrepancies between the indicators of voluntariness in the two situations were recorded in children with a high level of development of play, where the content of the children's activity becomes a play role and attitude towards a partner. Characteristically, the maximum indicators of arbitrariness for this sample were recorded in the situation of play among children who had reached the highest level of development of this activity. These data confirm the assumption that the gap between play and non-play voluntariness is determined by the level of development of the child's play activity. Only at a sufficiently high level of development can play activity set the zone of proximal development, and therefore determine the development of the child's volitionality and, accordingly, have the status of a leader. So, the data obtained in the work allow us to state significant changes in gaming activity that have occurred over the past decades. The main thing is to reduce the level of development of the role-playing game - for the vast majority of preschoolers it does not reach its developed form and remains at a low level. Meanwhile, as our results showed, the game can set the zone of proximal development, i.e. be a leading activity, only in the case of its full development. Game-action does not affect the development of volitionality, and therefore does not determine the main neoplasm of preschool age. The playing role sets the zone of proximal development only for preschoolers with high levels of development of the game. We recall that a developed form of play (relationship play) occurs only in children of the older group, and there are very few such children - 10% in the older group and 18% in the preparatory group. Considering that the developed forms of play (and the corresponding advance of indicators of voluntariness in the situation of play) were observed mainly in the oldest preschoolers who are on the threshold of school (6-7 years old), it is difficult to hope that the external, playful means of organizing their behavior in these children are internalized. and pass into an interpsychic form. Most likely, arbitrariness will remain in the sphere of play and the leading activity of the preschooler will not have time to “bring” the child to adequate age-related neoplasms.

In this regard, it is interesting to recall the well-known metaphor of L.S. Vygotsky, which figuratively characterizes the "drama" of the game: "The Moor has done his job - the Moor can leave." The conclusion suggests itself that in the current situation of the development of preschoolers, the “Moor”, if he appears, clearly does not have time to “do his job”, so he either remains (i.e. children continue to play even at school age), or his “ case”, i.e. development of arbitrariness, remains "unfinished". In both cases, the normal path of mental development is distorted, which clearly negatively affects the main social result of preschool childhood - readiness for schooling.

Paradoxically, it is the readiness of the child for school that is the main concern of parents and educators, and at the same time the main reason for curtailing the game. An important indicator of the effectiveness of the kindergarten and the well-being of the child is the degree of readiness for school, which is expressed in the ability to count, read, write and follow the instructions of an adult. Such “readiness” not only does not contribute, but also interferes with normal schooling: having had enough of forced training sessions in kindergarten, children often do not want to go to school or lose interest in learning already in the lower grades. But the main thing is that preschoolers who have not learned to play remain personally immature. After all, the game is practically the only area where a preschooler can show his initiative and creative activity. It is in the game that children learn to control and evaluate themselves, to understand what they are doing, and (probably, this is the main thing) to want to act correctly. It is the independent regulation of their actions that turns the child into a conscious subject of his life, makes his behavior conscious and arbitrary. Meanwhile, adults artificially accelerate children's development.

Under the guise of modernization of education, child development undergoes simplification, i.e. excessive simplification and impoverishment: it is identified with the accumulation of knowledge, skills and abilities. Behind this understanding lies a rather traditional and difficult to eradicate idea of ​​a child as a small adult, only undereducated, who knows nothing and cannot do anything. Recently, this idea has been reinforced by slogans about the democratization of education and the equal rights of the child. The legal equality of children, as it were, extends to their actual and psychological equality, according to which children perceive and understand the world in the same way as adults. Based on this idea, the task of education and development is to teach the child as early and as much as possible and accustom him to adult forms of life. From this point of view, the game is a waste of time, an idle and useless activity, which is opposed by useful and promising learning and learning new things.

Such a tactic in approaching the education of children is not only limited, it is absolutely destructive, since it separates the child from the true sources of his development. A simplified view of child development and its acceleration (i.e., simplification and acceleration) inevitably leads to impoverishment, narrowing of the child's capabilities, resulting in a decrease in the level of general development and its significant lag (despite the accelerated mastery of certain knowledge and skills).

D.B. Elkonin has always objected to such a formally primitive approach to child development. He insisted that the development and appropriation of culture is always active in nature, while the child does not adapt to the conditions of his life, but acts as the subject of their transformation, reproducing and creating human abilities in himself. The sources and reserves of the child's development are hidden in the specific forms of the child's activity that best correspond to the child's needs and abilities. Effective and full-fledged (rather than accelerated) development of the child does not involve curtailing the game, but the timely and fullest possible use of its capabilities. It seems that today these provisions of D.B. Elkonin sound even more acute and relevant than 50 years ago.