“A healthy mind in a healthy body” - under this catchphrase It is traditionally understood that by maintaining physical health, a person also preserves the health of his soul. Scientists different countries proved that there is an inextricable connection between a person’s physical health and his level of intelligence.
Maybe someone is sure that than more people reads all kinds of literature, the higher he becomes mental activity and memory improves. However, this is not quite true.
Research by neurophysiologists from Switzerland has shown that it has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the brain, up to the possibility of the formation of new nerve cells, good physical state body, especially the cardiovascular system. Therefore, a person who regularly jogs or goes to the gym, trying to maintain his physical health, at the same time improves his mental and mental state.
What underlies this relationship?
Physical exercise promotes the production of certain substances in the brain that enhance its activity.
For 9 years old Ingegard Ericsson– an employee of the University of Malmo in Sweden, conducted an examination of children who are students primary classes. Of the 220 children, 91 did physical education only twice a week, the rest did daily training, and could vary physical activity, increasing it to develop motor abilities. Naturally, the physical fitness indicators of this group of students were significantly higher. In addition, after nine years of study, it turned out that the mental development indicators of these children also exceeded the results of their peers.
Studies have shown that children who are more physically challenged are more capable of mental concentration. Even as second-graders, they had a much better command of English and Swedish and could easily cope with complex math assignments.
In 2009 Swedish scientists Mikael Nilsson and Georg Küch from the University of Gothenburg studied young people of military age. The trial involved 1 million 200 thousand people who were tested to determine their level of physical and mental development and assessed their ability to cope with logical problems. As it turned out, mental abilities are directly related to the state of the cardiovascular system.
To once again verify the conclusions made, scientists studied information over the past three years about physical and mental condition of conscripts. The researchers were once again convinced that those young people who looked after their physical health by training their bodies, and in terms of mental development, were at their best, compared to their peers who were indifferent to physical activity and who even showed signs of degradation.
Thus, we can conclude that by loading cardio - vascular system By fast walking, light jogging, squats, without allowing your heart to relax and succumb to aging, you can increase your mental abilities.
IN 2011 scientists from Georgia State University conducted an experiment with a group of obese children aged 7-11 years. Children's intelligence test scores increased after they first moved around and played outdoor games. Test participants were divided into three groups. The first group of children did physical education every day for 40 minutes for three months. The second group was given only 20 minutes a day to exercise, and the third group did not exercise at all. As it turned out, in order to activate brain activity, it is not at all necessary to bring yourself to exhaustion by subjecting yourself to physical activity. Walking vigorously for 20 minutes before taking the test is enough to make your brain 5% more active.
An interesting observation was made by American scientists using a magnetic resonance imaging scanner. During the experiment, the structure of the brain of children aged 9-10 years, which is responsible for attention and motor activity– basal nucleus. Some of the children had good physical fitness, while others were weaker. So, in three children of four, who were physically better developed, the basal ganglia had a much larger size.
Physical activity is no less beneficial for older people
American researchers claim that older people who do not neglect physical education, especially outdoors, have higher scores on memory tests. During physical activity, the activity of a part of the brain, the hippocampus, which is responsible for remembering, is activated. Over the years, the hippocampus seems to become smaller in size - “shrinks”, which has a detrimental effect on the ability to remember, and physical activity allows you to optimize the activity of certain brain centers.
This conclusion was confirmed in 2009 by physiologists at the University of Illinois and the University of Pittsburgh (USA), who conducted a study of a group of elderly people in good physical shape. As it turned out, they showed quite high memory abilities, and the size of their hippocampus changed very little. During the experiment, participants were asked to remember the location of colored dots, very a short time appearing on the monitor screen. The results were directly dependent on the size of the hippocampus.
Scientists have long proven that the brain has the ability to constantly form new interneuron connections; its individual sections can change in size. Such changes are directly related to learning ability. As soon as a person comprehends something new, learns something that he could not do before, his brain immediately stores the necessary information, which is due to the growth or change of neurons.
It turns out that the relationship between physical and mental state entails a change certain areas brain, which means that physical activity can increase growth and activate brain function.
Neuroscientists have continued to study the relationship between the size of the hippocampus and memory ability in older people. The experiment involved 120 people whose age significantly exceeded 60 years. All of them did not fall into the category of regular exercisers, but they moved for 30 minutes every day. One group of experiment participants consisted of people who walked at a fast pace for 40 minutes every day. While walking, they experienced a 60-75% increase in heart rate. The second group of participants performed stretching exercises, maintaining balance, and the like, while their heart rate remained virtually unchanged.
A year later, all participants in the experiment were examined using magnetic resonance imaging and special memory tests. Scientists were amazed by the results of the relationship between physical activity and the size of the hippocampus.
In people from the first group, the size of the hippocampus increased by 2%, while in the rest it became 1% smaller. Naturally, this directly affected the ability to remember.
What is the mechanism of what is happening?
During the experiment, the level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was measured in its participants. BDNF is a protein produced by the brain. With its help, the growth and development of neurons occurs. This protein exhibits particular activity in the hippocampus. And everyone knows that one of the most rapidly spreading diseases of our time, which is becoming younger every year, is Alzheimer’s disease, which is associated with memory loss and senile dementia. So one of the reasons for the development of this disease is an insufficient amount of BDNF protein in the hippocampus.
It has now been proven that BDNF levels, hippocampal size and physical activity are links in the same chain.
So physical activity without fanaticism promotes the production of the BDNF protein, as a result, memory improves, learning ability increases, there is a real opportunity to never encounter Alzheimer's disease, and this fact has been proven. So, without wasting any time, go for a walk, get on your bikes, dive into the pool, rush to the gym and your body and brain will thank you for it.
Development of cognitive abilities
From the first month of life, the child demonstrates an uncontrollable desire to study and learn new things. Mobility allows him to move more freely. By the end of the first year, the child’s mobility improves significantly, and new horizons open up before him. He is able to examine what has attracted his attention; this interest lasts for a long time. IN early age It is necessary to stimulate, first of all, physical skills that contribute to the development of confidence, freedom of movement, improvement mental abilities and dexterity. This process will awaken curiosity in the child and help develop imagination. Language is extremely important. Talk to your child while going about your daily activities, explain what you are doing, sing and read to him. The learning process in children is consistent and progressive. The organs of the nervous system act harmoniously, facilitating this process; all departments of the system interact with each other, ensuring the orderly development of abilities.
Development of gross motor skills
The first skill that a child masters is the ability to raise his head. The ideal position to stimulate learning is lying on your stomach. When the baby learns to hold his head up and lean on his arms, he will begin to learn to roll over. To develop this skill, place your baby on his back on a flat surface and get his attention so that he turns his head to the side. Then help him position his legs and arms so that he can begin the rollover comfortably. Once your baby's face is facing down, again help him get into a position that makes it easier to roll over. This sequence of actions can be repeated 10-15 times, directing the child in both directions. Once he gets the point, stop helping him. After your child learns to roll over, teach him to sit. Place the child on a flat surface, supporting him at the waist and helping him lean forward, supported by his hands. When the child learns to sit, play with him - pull him towards you, rock him from side to side so that he learns to maintain balance.
- When the child first tries to move, only his hands help him. If you stand behind your child, you can move his legs so that they move in sync with his arms. Tactile stimulation promotes coordination and helps the child maintain balance. Encourage your child to crawl, do not rush him to learn to walk.
- If a child has learned to crawl, it means that he will soon begin to learn to walk. To help him develop a sense of balance, place your child in front of a low table and play with him while holding him - this will help you learn how long he can maintain his balance. Make sure your child stands upright with his feet flat and his back straight - this will help him learn to walk. The support can be a stable chair or a large toy; the child’s arms should be extended forward.
- Make sure that during games the child swings, rolls over, jumps, bends over - all these actions serve as stimulation for the development of mechanisms that provide a sense of balance, and also improve coordination of movements.
- The child should be held tightly during activities. If such an activity does not attract the child, do not insist, it is better to take a break, and then gradually accustom him to longer periods of play.
Development of fine motor skills
- When a child learns to coordinate the movements of his eyes and hands, he will be able to lift various items, although you will take them with your whole palm.
- After the first year of life, the child will learn to more dexterously pick up objects by squeezing them with his fingers, as well as throw them. You can teach your child to draw and turn pages in picture books.
- All this points to the gradual development of perception and motor coordination in the form in which it is used by adults.
- Gradually, he will learn to bring a spoon to his mouth, smooth his hair, and bring the phone (or receiver) to his ear. Now you know how a child’s mental and physical development occurs.
Physical exercise undoubtedly has a very good effect on the mental development of a child. You can stimulate a child's body with the logical mind during the first years of school and this will be a big win for your child, but if physical health is not developed, these benefits will diminish over time. Subsequently, due to the emergence chronic diseases, the mental development of children will be greatly reduced.
The child develops and grows up. Physical activity is of great benefit for this. Therefore, there is no need to constantly force the child to sit at the table and not perform any movements, but only teach, read, etc. And children will not be able to sit in a calm state for a long time, if before that they did not run, that is, did not commit physical activity. But it is very important that the child does not overdo it, because he does not control his fatigue. It is very important for parents to stop their child in time by changing the type of activity.
Eat interesting fact, that if a child can control his body better, then he remembers the theory better and can apply it in practice for a long time.
For a school-age child, exercise in the morning, outdoor games, and not very heavy loads in the evening are quite enough. Even if this minimum is not met, it will not have a very good effect on the child’s mental development. For example, the metabolic process will deteriorate, which leads to the child becoming inattentive and unable to think logically.
Many types of sports have a good effect on a child’s mental development. Gymnastics is considered the best. But there are others, for example, football, basketball, swimming.
Parents who have the opportunity have a chance to enroll their child in some kind of physical exercise or sports section. Professionals usually work there, and they will select an individual type of robot and lesson schedule for your child. This will play a big role, and when he comes home, he can immediately sit down to complete his tasks.
Influence physical exercise It is necessary to pay a lot of attention to the mental development of children and it requires a lot of strength and patience. For example, if a child needs to learn something, it is better to start with a physical warm-up or let him play outdoor games with other children. This will not only help you learn the verse easier, but also help you do well in school. The child will also improve his health.
It is necessary to remember that active image life has a good effect on blood circulation, so the elements that are so useful for a young preschooler are distributed throughout the child’s body. There are receptors throughout the child’s body, from which signals are sent to the child’s brain. If you do enough exercises, the child will be well developed, both physically and mentally. For a child to be well developed, he needs to eat normally. And get enough useful substances It is possible only through the digestive system, which necessarily requires not very great physical activity. At the same time, there will be a healthy appetite and normal functioning of the digestive organs.
There are many factors that have a positive effect of physical exercise on the mental development of children. The most important thing for parents is to watch this process and stop it if the child is overdoing it, to find out what amount of exercise is suitable for him. And then your child will be smart, healthy and physically developed.
Grow up healthy!
Let's talk not just about the mental development of the baby, when through play activities he develops qualities such as the ability to write, read, and count, but also about the physical development of the child, which directly affects mental development. This is what is commonly called - the physical and mental development of children.
Each of the parents can observe with their own eyes how strong the desire to understand the world around them is in each child. From the first months of life, he begins to turn his head, following moving objects, he develops grasping movements of his hands, because the baby wants to try every object by touch and “tooth”, and therefore pulls every thing into his mouth. It is the desire for knowledge that stimulates the child’s desire to move, roll over, crawl, sit and, of course, walk. And by the age of one year the baby is able to move independently and walk or crawl to an object of interest to him. By learning something new, the baby develops his thinking, which means that in the first year of life it is necessary, first of all, to stimulate the child’s physical development, freedom of movement and dexterity. This is where the physical and mental development of children is manifested.
The process of physical and mental development of children is a consistent and progressive process. After all, every baby initially learns to raise his head, therefore, when helping the baby, parents must choose the ideal position for this, that is, lying on his stomach. When helping the baby learn to roll over onto his stomach, adults, placing the baby on his back, should attract his attention so that he turns his head in your direction. Then you need to help him position his arms and legs so that it is comfortable for the child to roll over. It is equally important not to rush the child to walk. If parents are in a hurry to put the child on his feet, the development of general motor skills, the development of the shoulder girdle are harmed, and orthopedic functions body. It is more important for us that the child actively crawls. This is necessary for the development of brain symmetry. Prolonged crawling promotes the active physiological and psychological development of the child, which in the future certainly has a beneficial effect on all functions of the baby’s body. And only when the baby gets stronger, first get up on his knees, and then start walking.
Physical and mental development is impossible without the development of fine motor skills. It begins when the child learns to coordinate the movements of his hands and eyes. The baby learns to move his fingers, learns to hold a toy and other objects in his hand, squeeze them and throw them. As the baby develops, he will learn to turn the pages of a book, hold a spoon and eat with it on his own, seeing how adults do this and trying to imitate them, and will also learn to hold the phone receiver, bringing it to his ear, and smooth his hair with his hand. But most of all fine motor skills develops when the baby learns to draw, both with fingers and with a brush, sculpt from plasticine or clay, and also write. For the development of motor skills, it is very good to play games with the baby where you need to clap your hands, offer the child fabrics with different textures, games using fingers - songs, fairy tales, the simplest counting rhymes. Musical instruments, sticks, balls, etc. are great for developing hand motor skills.
At an early age, the foundations for the further development of the baby are laid. Parents’ actions should be aimed at ensuring that the baby’s fine motor skills develop fully, because the physical and mental development of children largely depends on it.
The fact that physical and mental development is closely related to age was understood already in ancient times. This truth did not require special proof: man lived longer in the world - he became taller and stronger in body, became more insightful, gained experience, and increased his knowledge. Each age has its own level of physical, mental and social development. Of course, this correspondence is valid only in general; the development of a particular person may deviate in one direction or another.
To manage the development process, educators have long made attempts to classify periods of human life, the knowledge of which brings important information. There are a number of serious developments of periodizations of development (Komensky, Levitov, Elkonin, Shvantsara, etc.). Let us dwell on the analysis of the one that is recognized by the majority of teachers.
Periodization is based on the separation age characteristics, – anatomical, physiological and mental qualities characteristic of a certain period of life. Growth, weight gain, appearance of baby teeth, their replacement, puberty and other biological processes occur at certain age periods with slight deviations. Since biological and spiritual development human developments go hand in hand, age-appropriate changes also occur in the mental sphere. Happens, although not like this in strict order, as biological, social maturation, the age dynamics of the spiritual development of the individual are manifested. This serves as a natural basis for identifying successive stages of human development and compiling age period ization.
Complete periodizations of development cover the entire human life with the most characteristic stages, and incomplete (partial) - only that part of it that is of interest to a certain scientific area. For pedagogy primary school Of greatest interest is the periodization covering the life and development of a child in preschool and junior school age. This is the age from birth to 10–11 years. Periods of mental development of children are also distinguished in psychology. But this periodization does not entirely coincide with the pedagogical one: after all, the development of the psyche begins in the womb, and the upbringing of a child begins from the moment of birth. Let us consider the types of these periodizations in order to better understand the characteristics of child development.
It is easy to see that the basis of pedagogical periodization, on the one hand, is the stages of physical and mental development, and on the other, the conditions in which education takes place. The relationship between age and development is shown in Fig. 3.
Rice. 3. Relationship between age and development
If objectively there are stages of biological maturation of the organism, its nervous system and organs, as well as the associated development of cognitive powers, then a reasonably structured educational process should adapt to age-related characteristics and be based on them.
In pedagogy, attempts have been made to ignore age-related stages of development. There were even theories that claimed that it was enough to choose the right methodology, and a child, even at 3–4 years old, could master higher mathematics and other abstract concepts, assimilate any social experience, knowledge, practical skills and abilities. In reality this is not the case. Even if a child learns to pronounce even very complex words, this does not mean that he understands them. The restrictions imposed by age should not be confused with the fact that modern children develop faster, they have a broader outlook, a richer vocabulary and conceptual stock. This is due to the acceleration of the pace of social development, wide access to a variety of information sources, and a general increase in awareness. The possibilities for accelerating development are increasing somewhat, but are far from unlimited. Age tenaciously dictates its will. The laws operating in this area strictly limit human capabilities.
Ya.A. Komensky insisted on strict consideration of the age characteristics of children in educational work. Let us recall that he put forward and substantiated the principle of conformity with nature, according to which training and education should correspond to age stages of development. Just as in nature everything happens in its own time, so in education everything should take its course - in a timely and consistent manner. Only then can a person naturally instill moral qualities and achieve a full assimilation of the truths for which his mind is ripe for understanding. “Everything to be learned must be distributed according to age levels so that only what is perceptible at each age is offered for study,” wrote Ya.A. Comenius.
Taking into account age characteristics is one of the fundamental pedagogical principles. Based on it, teachers regulate the teaching load, establish reasonable amounts of employment various types labor, determine the most favorable daily routine, work and rest for development. Age characteristics oblige to correctly resolve issues of selection and placement educational subjects and material in each of them. They also determine the choice of forms and methods of educational activities.
Noting the conventionality and known mobility of the identified periods, let us pay attention to a new phenomenon that led to a revision of the boundaries between some age groups. We are talking about the so-called acceleration, which has become widespread throughout the world. Acceleration is accelerated physical and partly mental development in childhood and adolescence. Biologists associate acceleration with the physiological maturation of the body, psychologists – with the development of mental functions, and teachers – with spiritual development and socialization of the individual. Teachers associate acceleration not so much with an accelerated pace physical development, how much with the mismatch between the processes of physiological maturation of the body and the socialization of the individual.
Before the advent of acceleration, which began to be noticed in the 60-70s of the last century, the physical and spiritual development of children and adolescents was balanced. As a result of acceleration, the physiological maturation of the body begins to outstrip the pace of mental, mental, and social development.
A discrepancy arises, which can be expressed as follows: the body grows faster than the mental functions, which are the basis of intellectual, social, moral qualities. By the age of 13–15 for girls and by 14–16 for boys living in the middle regions of our country, physiological development is basically completed and almost reaches the level of an adult, which cannot be said about the spiritual aspect. A mature organism requires the satisfaction of all “adult” physiological needs, including sexual ones; social development lags behind and comes into conflict with rapidly progressing physiology. Tension arises, leading to significant psychological overload, the teenager looks for ways to eliminate it and chooses those that his fragile mind suggests. These are the main contradictions of acceleration, which has created many difficulties both for the teenagers themselves, who do not know how to cope with the changes taking place in them, and for parents, teachers, and educators. If with purely technical problems of acceleration - providing schools with new furniture, students with clothes, etc. somehow managed, then in the area of the moral consequences of acceleration, primarily manifested in the widespread prevalence of sexual intercourse among minors with all the attendant negative consequences, the problems remain.
The following comparative data indicate the rate of acceleration. For four last decades Teenagers' body length has increased by an average of 13–15 cm, and their weight has increased by 10–12 kg compared to their peers in the 50s. Acceleration begins to manifest itself already in older preschool age, and by the end of elementary school, significantly older girls and boys cause a lot of trouble for teachers and parents.
Among the main reasons for acceleration are: the general rate of acceleration of life, improvement of material conditions, improvement of the quality of nutrition and medical care, care for children at an early age, and the eradication of many serious childhood illnesses. Other reasons are also indicated - radioactive contamination of the human environment, which initially leads to accelerated growth, and over time, as experiments with plants and animals show, to a weakening of the gene pool; decrease in the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, which entails expansion chest and ultimately leads to the growth of the entire organism. Most likely, acceleration is due to the complex influence of many factors.
Since the mid-80s, acceleration around the world has declined, the pace physiological development several fell.
In parallel with acceleration, another phenomenon is noted - retardation, i.e. retardation of children in physical and mental development, which is caused by a violation of the genetic mechanism of heredity, negative influence on the development process, starting from the moment of inception, carcinogenic substances, unfavorable ecological environment in general and in particular excess background radiation. There are delays not only in physical, but also in mental development.
Thus, each age has its own level of physical, mental and social development. To make it easier for teachers to correlate a child’s capabilities with his age, age periodization has been developed. It is based on identifying age-related characteristics. Age-related characteristics are anatomical, physiological and mental qualities characteristic of a certain period of life. Reasonably organized education should adapt to age characteristics and be based on them.
Development of a preschooler
During the period from 3 to 6–7 years, the child continues fast development thinking, ideas about the world around us, an understanding of oneself and one’s place in life are formed, and self-esteem is formed. His main activity is playing. Gradually, new motives for her are formed: playing a role in an imaginary situation. The role model for the main role is an adult. If yesterday it was most often the mother, father, and teachers, then today, under the influence of television that destroys the children’s psyche, idols more often become gangsters, robbers, militants, rapists, and terrorists. Children transfer everything they see on the screen directly into life. The position about the decisive role of living conditions and education in the mental and social development child.
Natural properties and inclinations act only as conditions, and not as driving forces, for the development of a child. How he develops and how he grows depends on the people around him, on how they raise him. Preschool childhood is an age period when development processes in all directions are very intense. Brain maturation is not yet complete functional features it has not yet been developed, its work is still limited. A preschooler is very flexible and easy to learn. Its possibilities are much higher than parents and teachers assume. These features must be fully used in education. Care must be taken that it is comprehensive. Only organically connecting moral education with the physical, labor with the emotional, mental with the aesthetic, it is possible to achieve uniform and coordinated development of all qualities.
The preschooler’s abilities are manifested in the sensitivity of his perception, the ability to isolate the most characteristic properties of objects, to understand difficult situations, the use of logical-grammatical constructions in speech, observation, and ingenuity. By the age of 6, special abilities, such as musical ones, also develop.
A child’s thinking is connected with his knowledge - the more he knows, the greater the supply of ideas for the emergence of fresh thoughts. However, as he acquires more and more new knowledge, he not only refines his previous ideas, but also finds himself in a circle of vague, not entirely clear questions that appear in the form of guesses and assumptions. And this creates certain “barriers” to the increasing development of the cognitive process. Then the child “slows down” in front of the incomprehensible. Thinking is constrained by age and remains “childish.” Of course, this process can be somewhat speeded up in various clever ways, but, as the experience of teaching 6-year-old children has shown, there is hardly any need to strive for this.
A preschool child is very inquisitive, asks a lot of questions, and requires immediate answers. At this age he continues to be a tireless researcher. Many teachers believe that they need to follow the child, satisfying his curiosity and teaching him what he himself shows interest in and asks about.
At this age, the most productive development of speech occurs. The vocabulary increases (up to 4000 words), the semantic side of speech develops. By the age of 5–6 years, most children master correct sound pronunciation.
The nature of relationships between children and adults is gradually changing. The formation of social norms and labor skills continues. Some of them, for example, cleaning up after themselves, washing their face, brushing their teeth, etc., children will carry with them throughout their lives. If the period when these qualities are intensively formed is missed, it will not be easy to catch up.
A child of this age is easily overexcited. Watching even short television programs every day is harmful to his health. Often a 2-year-old child sits with his parents for an hour or more watching TV. He is not yet able to comprehend what he hears and sees. For his nervous system, these are super-strong irritants that tire his hearing and vision. Only from 3-4 years of age can a child be allowed to watch a children's program for 15-20 minutes 1-3 times a week. If overstimulation of the nervous system occurs frequently and lasts a long time, the child begins to suffer from nervous diseases. According to some estimates, only a quarter of children come to school healthy. And the reason for this is the same ill-fated TV, which deprives them of normal physical development, tires them, clogs their brain. Parents are still taking the advice of teachers and doctors very lightly.
By the end of the preschool period, children begin to develop the rudiments of voluntary, active attention associated with a consciously set goal and volitional effort. Voluntary and involuntary attention alternate, transforming into one another. Its properties such as distribution and switching are poorly developed in children. For this reason - great restlessness, distractibility, absent-mindedness.
A preschool child already knows and can do a lot. But one should not overestimate his mental capabilities, touching how smartly he pronounces intricate expressions. The logical form of thinking is almost inaccessible to him, or rather, it is not yet characteristic of him. The highest forms of visual-figurative thinking are the result of the intellectual development of a preschooler.
Play a big role in his mental development mathematical representations. World pedagogy, studying the issues of teaching 6-year-old children, has thoroughly studied many issues of the formation of logical, mathematical and generally abstract concepts. It turned out that their child’s mind was not yet mature enough for a correct understanding, although with correctly chosen teaching methods, many forms of abstract activity are available to it. There are so-called “barriers” of understanding, which the famous Swiss psychologist J. Piaget worked hard to study. In play, children are able to acquire concepts about the shape of objects, size, and quantity without any training, but without special pedagogical guidance it is difficult for them to step over the “barriers” of understanding relationships. For example, they cannot figure out where there is more in size and where there is more in quantity. Pears are drawn on two pieces of paper. There are seven on one, but they are very small and occupy only half of the leaf. On the other there are three pears, but they are large and take up the entire sheet. When asked where there are more pears, most give the wrong answer, pointing to a piece of paper with three pears. This simple example reveals the fundamental possibilities of thinking. Preschool children can be taught even very difficult and complex things (for example, integral calculus), but they will only understand little. Folk pedagogy, of course, knew the “Piagetian barriers” and adhered to the wise decision: while young, let him remember, as he grows up, he will understand. It is not at all necessary to spend enormous efforts in order to somehow clarify at this age what will naturally come with time. Artificially accelerating the pace of development does nothing but harm.
By the time a child enters school, the motivational sphere undergoes serious changes. If a 3-year-old child acts mostly under the influence of situational feelings and desires, then the actions of a 5-6-year-old child are more conscious. At this age, he is already driven by motives that he did not yet have in early childhood. These are motives associated with children’s interest in the world of adults, with the desire to be like them. An important role is played by the desire to gain the approval of parents and educators. Children strive to win the sympathy of their peers. The motives behind the activities of many children are personal achievements, pride, and self-affirmation. They manifest themselves in claims to leading roles in games, in the desire to win competitions. They are a kind of manifestation of children's need for recognition.
Children learn moral standards by imitation. To tell the truth, adults don't always give them role models. Quarrels and scandals among adults have a particularly detrimental effect on the formation of moral qualities. Children respect strength. They usually feel who is stronger. They are difficult to mislead. The hysterical behavior of adults, insulting shouts, dramatized monologues and threats - all this humiliates adults in the eyes of children, making them unpleasant, but not strong. True strength is calm friendliness. If at least educators demonstrate it, a step towards raising a balanced person will be taken.
There is only one way to direct a child’s choice between an unseemly and a right action - to make fulfilling the necessary moral norm emotionally more attractive. In other words, an undesirable action should not be inhibited or supplanted by the right one, but overcome by it. This principle is common basis education.
Among individual characteristics Preschool teachers are more interested in temperament and character than others. I.P. Pavlov identified three main properties of the nervous system - strength, mobility, balance and four main combinations of these properties:
Strong, unbalanced, mobile – the “unrestrained” type;
Strong, balanced, agile – “live” type;
Strong, balanced, sedentary – “calm” type;
"weak" type.
The “uncontrollable” type underlies the choleric temperament, the “lively” - sanguine, the “calm” - phlegmatic, the “weak” - melancholic. Of course, neither parents nor teachers choose children by temperament; everyone needs to be raised, but in different ways. At preschool age, the temperament is still dull. Specific age-related features of this age include: weakness of excitatory and inhibitory processes; their imbalance; high sensitivity; fast recovery. When wanting to raise a child correctly, parents and educators will take into account vitality nervous process: maintaining efficiency during prolonged work stress, stable and fairly high positive emotional tone, courage in unusual conditions, sustained attention in both quiet and noisy environments. The strength (or weakness) of the child’s nervous system will be indicated by such vital indicators as sleep (does he fall asleep quickly, is his sleep restful, is he sound), is there rapid (slow) recovery of strength, how does he behave in a state of hunger (cries, screams or shows cheerfulness, calmness). The vital indicators of balance include the following: restraint, perseverance, calmness, uniformity in dynamics and mood, the absence of periodic sharp declines and rises in them, fluency of speech. Vital indicators of the mobility of nervous processes are quick response, development and change of life stereotypes, quick adaptation to new people, the ability to move from one type of work to another “without swinging” (Ya.L. Kolominsky).
The characters of preschool children are still being formed. Since the basis of character is the type of higher nervous activity, and the nervous system is in a state of development, one can only guess how the child will grow up. You can give a lot of examples, describe a lot of facts, but there will be one reliable conclusion: character is already the result of formation, formed from many large and imperceptible influences. It is difficult to say what exactly will remain of a 5-6 year old child. But if we want to form a certain type of character, it must be appropriate.
The problem of society and school is the one-child family. In it, the child has a number of advantages, favorable conditions are created for him, he does not have a deficit of communication with adults, which has a positive effect on his development. The child grows up loved, caressed, carefree, and initially has high self-esteem. But there are also obvious “disadvantages” of such a family: here the child too quickly adopts “adult” views and habits, he develops pronounced individualistic and egoistic qualities, he is deprived of the joys of growing up that children go through in large families; he does not develop one of the main qualities - the ability to cooperate with others.
Often in families, especially with one child, “greenhouse” conditions are created that protect children from experiences of displeasure, failure, and suffering. This can be avoided for a while. But it is unlikely that it will be possible to protect the child from troubles of this kind in later life. Therefore, we must prepare him, we must teach him to endure suffering, poor health, failures, and mistakes.
It has been established that the child understands only those feelings that he himself experiences. Other people's experiences are unknown to him. Give him the opportunity to experience fear, shame, humiliation, joy, pain - then he will understand what it is. It is better if this happens in a specially created situation and under the supervision of adults. There is no point in artificially protecting you from troubles. Life is difficult, and you need to really prepare for it.
A prominent researcher of the age characteristics of preschoolers and primary schoolchildren, academician Shalva Amonashvili, identifies three aspirations characteristic of this age, which he calls passions. The first is a passion for development. A child cannot help but develop. The desire for development is the natural state of a child. This powerful impulse to development embraces the child like a force of nature, which explains his pranks and dangerous undertakings, as well as his spiritual and cognitive needs. Development occurs in the process of overcoming difficulties, this is a law of nature. A pedagogical task The point is that the child is constantly faced with the need to overcome various kinds of difficulties and that these difficulties are consistent with his individual capabilities. Pre-school and early childhood childhood is the most sensitive period for development; in the future, the passion for the development of natural forces weakens, and what is not achieved during this period, in the future, may not be brought to perfection or even lost. The second passion is the passion for growing up. Children strive to grow up, they want to be older than they are. Confirmation of this is the content role playing games, in which each child takes on the “responsibilities” of an adult. Real childhood is a complex, sometimes painful process of growing up. Satisfying the passion for this occurs in communication, primarily with adults. It is at this age that he should feel their kind, ennobled environment, affirming in him the right to adulthood. The formula “you’re still small” and the relationships that correspond to it absolutely contradict the foundations of humane pedagogy. On the contrary, actions and relationships based on the formula “you’re an adult” create a favorable atmosphere for the active manifestation and satisfaction of the passion for growing up. Hence the requirements for the upbringing process: communication with the child on equal terms, constant affirmation of his personality, manifestation of trust, establishment of cooperative relationships. The third passion is the passion for freedom. The child exhibits it from early childhood, in different forms. She reveals herself especially strongly when a child tries to escape from the care of adults, strives to assert his independence: “I myself!” The child does not like the constant guardianship of adults, he does not tolerate prohibitions, does not listen to instructions, etc. Due to the desire to grow up, in conditions of misunderstanding and rejection of this passion, conflicts constantly arise. All prohibitive pedagogy is the result of suppressing the aspirations for growing up and freedom. But there cannot be permissiveness in education either. The pedagogical process carries with it the need for coercion, i.e. restrictions on a child's freedom. The law of coercion is exacerbated in an authoritarian pedagogical process, however, does not disappear in the humane.
Accurate observations of the characteristics of child development have been made in astrology. As follows from eastern horoscope, human life consists of 13 life periods, each of which symbolizes a particular animal or bird. So, the period from birth to one year, i.e. period infancy, or infancy, is called the age of the Rooster; from one year to 3 years (early childhood) - the age of the Monkey; from 3 to 7 (first childhood) - the age of a Goat (Sheep); from 7 to 12 (second childhood) - the age of the Horse; from 12 to 17 (adolescence) - the age of the Ox (Buffalo, Ox) and, finally, from 17 to 24 ( adolescence) – the age of the Rat (Mouse).
The age of the Goat (from 3 to 7 years) is considered one of the most difficult. Its onset is easy to notice by the child’s behavior: a small, calm toddler suddenly turned into a capricious, hysterical child. At this age there is no need to strive to build up physical strength, strengthen the child’s will.
The main task of physical development, and indeed the whole meaning of age, is play and play again (development of dexterity, coordination). In “The Goat” there is uncontrollable cockiness, combativeness, and irascibility. Don't encourage pugnacity, but don't discourage it either. At this age, the child’s emotions are manageable - he is able to cry and rejoice, whine and bliss - and he does everything very sincerely.
The main task of this age is to comprehend the surrounding natural world and the world of words and speech. Just as a person learns to speak before the age of 7, he will continue to speak throughout his life - talk to him as if he were an adult. In nature, study with him the basics of botany, zoology and geology. The main characteristic of the “Goat” is that he is a useless and stubborn student. Don't force him, the main mechanism for his learning is play. Girls at this age are much more serious, and the attitude towards them should be more balanced.
A preschooler is in a stage of intensive development, the pace of which is very high. Important feature is heightened sensitivity (sensitivity) to the assimilation of moral and social norms and rules of behavior, the development of new types of activities. Most children become ready to master the goals and methods of systematic learning. The main activity is play, through which the child satisfies his cognitive and social needs.
