Toys for the story game with children
The world of a modern child is hard to imagine without toys. We have already talked about the fact that the toy is a "proverbial" projection of the game, through it basically society supports and cultivates the children's game.
Imagine that we are in the toy department of the "Children's World", and look closely at the toys that wait for buyers on the shelves. Here is the department of dolls. Here there are small dolls and big ones, with closed eyes and painted, "talking" and "able to walk", naked babies and smartly dressed "girls", "red hats", "nurses", "aybolites", etc. And how many different little animals-plush and plastic bears, rabbits, dogs, monkeys. Next to the counter there is a dollhouse - dishes, a stove, a washing machine, doll furniture. Here at this stove all the taps turn and the oven opens - just like the real one. And next to it - another stove, taps and an oven in it are just painted. And then - toy cars: precise small models of "Zhiguli", wooden trucks, similar to the real ones only in the most general terms. And here is just the steering wheel on the stand - you can adapt it for both the "car" and the truck, and instead of the steering wheel on the boat it will also work.
Toy toy - different, and not only in its subject matter( who and what it depicts), but also in the manner in which real objects and images are represented in it - fully or fragmentarily, in detail or in the most general terms.
Teachers and psychologists refer to story toys those that somehow reproduce the features( image) of a real prototype. But according to the nature of the reproduction of this image, the story toys are divided into realistic( exact copies of real objects) and prototypical ones( imitating real objects in a special way-through the designation and even exaggeration of the main, main details associated with the specific functions of the object, and ignoring its minor details).For example, a plate with turning cranes and other details can be referred to realistic toys, and a plate with painted burners and taps - to prototypical ones.
Toys can be distinguished according to their thematic focus( albeit relatively arbitrary).So, it is possible to allocate polythematic toys, which can be used in games different in content. For example, a toy phone is successfully used when playing in the family, and when playing in the hospital, kindergarten, shop, etc. And there are toys that are more tightly connected with this or that thematic content of the game, for example a phonendoscope or a syringe,desks and slate. These toys can be called monotematic or key( defining the subjects of the plot).
Everyone knows, of course, that children in their game use a variety of subject matter: sticks, bumps, pebbles, ropes, etc., which replace the real items needed during the game. At the same time, children are guided not so much by the external similarity of this material to real objects, as by the convenience of acting with them( for example, pebbles instead of sweets, fallen leaves instead of mustard plasters, sand instead of porridge, etc.).In addition, other things from the "adult" use often come into play( chairs for constructing "machines", sofa cushions for the device "houses" or "caves", father's belt for the role of soldiers, etc.).All these items, not specifically designed as story toys for the game, but involved in the child in it, in psychology and pedagogy are called substitute subjects.
Substitute subjects have an important role in the development of children's thinking, creativity. Psychological studies show that the inclusion of substitute subjects in the games of the toddlers facilitates the transition from visual-effective thinking to imagery;in older preschoolers they contribute to the activation of imagination, imagination, creativity.
What are the best toys, is it more useful for children's games and for the development of a child in it? It depends on whether the child has already developed ways of constructing a story game or just beginning to form, unfolding in the game monotonous, stereotypical subjects or, on the contrary, the abundance of gaming ideas does not allow him to stop on any one. Specifically, questions about what kind of game material is needed in all these cases, we'll discuss below, but for now we will only consider the main trends in the use of toys by children during preschool childhood, the role of toys in the game.
At an early age, when the plot game is just beginning to evolve, toys, in fact, determine the theme of the child's play, and the nature of the game actions. For the child to master elementary game actions, prototypic toys are most important, because they clearly distinguish the basic specific functions of objects. For example, if a child is given a realistic toy plate for 2 years, instead of cooking dinner on it, he will open and close the oven door indefinitely, turn the cranes, etc. The prototypical toy, limiting the manipulation possibilities, will direct the child todeployment of the plot, even if elementary: cooking porridge for a doll, then feeding it. The same happens with dolls. A beautiful doll with golden hair, eyes closed, "real" eyelashes, of course, will attract the attention of the baby 1,5-2 years. But how? He will try his finger with his finger, press harder on them, investigate whether the eyelashes are firmly glued, etc. As a result of such actions, dolls quickly turn from beauties into blind freaks, parents become upset, children cry, and, of course, here it is not up to the plotgames. All these misunderstandings can be avoided if we offer the baby a prototypical doll-golysha( with a painted face, a molded wig), which can be( without fear of damage) fed, wrapped in a blanket, laid to sleep, etc. In other words, a realistic toy can often interferestory game of children of early and younger preschool age.
The older the child, the more difficult is his attitude to the toy, the relationship between toys and the game. One of the trends is that the toy demands that it be as much as possible like a "real" thing: if it is clothes for a doll, it should be "summer" and "winter", with dresses of different styles, caps, coats and the like;if the doll furniture - it is necessary that all the parts functioned really: the doors of the cabinet opened, a light bulb turned on in the floor lamp, etc. But let's look at how children act with such toys. They look at them lovingly, put them in boxes, proudly show visitors, peers, happen, and exchange them. Doll accessories, cars, soldiers( as well as, for example, candy wrappers) become for children their own "treasures", objects of a kind of collectibles. Their possession is often an end in itself. Of course, often these toys are used in the game, but in a game of a special kind - the director's, where the child with their help recreates different events( military battles, car races, etc.), controlling their deployment as if from the outside.
Another trend is connected with the fact that the story game of a child of the senior preschool age, where he himself acts as a hero of imaginary events, is increasingly freed from the power of the toy. The beginning and the course of the game are more often determined by the inner intention, the idea, and not by the toys that surround the child, as it happens in children of early and younger preschool age. According to psychological research, already in 4-year-old children in 50% of cases the beginning of the game does not depend on the presence of certain toys. And then it becomes necessary that toy, which can "serve" a variety of games, be included in different thematic content. In the first place in importance for the game are "polythematic" toys( regardless of their imaginative solutions - prototypical or realistic) and substitute items. The object-playing environment already ceases to be a direct stimulus for the game, but is constructed by the child himself, depending on the chosen theme of the game, i.e., is subordinated to the game plan.