The impact of the game on the learning and development of the child
It is known that in the younger preschool age the assimilation of new knowledge in the game is much more successful than in the classroom. The teaching task, put in a game form, has the advantage that in the situation of the game the child understands the very need to acquire new knowledge and methods of action. A child, keen on the attractive design of a new game, does not seem to notice that he is studying, although at the same time he is constantly confronted with difficulties that require a reorganization of his ideas and cognitive activity. If in the lesson the child performs the task of an adult, then in the game he solves his own task.
In modern preschool pedagogy, the educational and educational significance of the game is recognized in principle. But in everyday pedagogical practice of the kindergarten there is practically no time left for the game. And it is used, as a rule, only to consolidate the knowledge gained in the class. Such an artificial division of learning into the assimilation of the new and consolidation of the acquired contradicts the psychological features of the cognitive process in the younger preschool age. Knowledge, filed in ready-made form and not related to the vital interests of the preschooler, is poorly absorbed by them and does not develop it. In the game, it's the child who wants to learn what he does not know yet. However, as a rule, huge opportunities for developing games( didactic, games with rules, etc.), as a rule, are not used. The repertoire of such games is very poor and covers a narrow range of tasks( mostly touch games).Especially few joint games, in which the whole group participates. Virtually there are no games aimed at developing strong-willed, moral qualities of the individual and the formation of humane relations between children.
In addition, often in the classroom developing game is replaced by gaming techniques, where adult activity prevails, or simple exercises.
The use of didactic toys or benefits is also often called a game - it is worth giving the child a pyramid or a nesting doll and it is believed that the game took place. But this is not so. A developing game is not any action with didactic material and not a playful reception on a compulsory educational lesson. This is a specific, full and quite meaningful activity for children. It has its own motives and its own methods of action.
Developing games are characterized by the fact that they contain a ready-made gaming idea, offered to the child, play material and rules( communication and subject actions).All this is determined by the purpose of the game, i.e., by what this game is created for, what it is aimed at. The goal of the game always has two aspects: 1) cognitive, that is, what we need to teach the child, what methods of action with objects we want him to convey;2) educational, that is, those methods of cooperation, forms of communication and attitudes toward other people that should be instilled in children.
In both cases, the goal of the game should not be formulated as the transfer of specific knowledge, skills and skills, but as the development of certain mental processes or abilities of the child. "
The game concept is the game situation in which the child is introduced and which he perceives as his own. This is achieved if the construction of the game is based on the specific needs and inclinations of children, as well as the features of their experience. For example, for younger preschoolers there is a special interest in the objective world. The attractiveness of individual things sets the meaning of their activities. Hence, the game's design can be based on actions with objects or on the desire to get an object into their own hands.
In all cases, the idea of the game is realized in the game actions that are offered to the child so that the game takes place. In some games you need to find something, in others - to perform certain movements, in the third - to exchange items, etc.
Game actions always include a learning task, that is, what is for every child the most important condition for personalsuccess in the game and his emotional connection with the rest of the participants. The solution of the learning task requires the child to have active mental and volitional efforts, but it gives the greatest satisfaction. The content of the learning task can be very diverse: do not run away before time or name the shape of the subject, find the right picture in a certain time, memorize several objects, etc.
The game material also encourages the child to play, is important for the child's learning and development and,of course, for the implementation of the game plan.
And, finally, an important feature of the game are the game rules. The rules of the game bring to the consciousness of children its design, play actions and teaching task.
Game rules are of two kinds: rules of action and rules of communication. Examples of rules of action can serve as the following: recall and name only the toy that no one has yet named( the game "What to get you, my friend?");Do not call the subject depicted in the picture, but only to make a riddle about it, etc. Examples of rules of communication can be the following: do not prompt or interfere with the other guess, act one by one or at the call of the educator, play amicably, listen to each other, choose those children, who was not yet in the circle, etc. The implementation of all these rules requires the child to make certain efforts, limiting his spontaneous activity. But this is what makes the game fascinating, interesting and useful for the development of the child.
In order for the game to really attract children and personally affect each of them, an adult must become its direct participant. Through their actions, emotional communication with children, an adult involves them in joint activities, making it important and meaningful for them. It becomes, as it were, the center of gravity * in the game. This is very important at the first stages of acquaintance with the new game, especially for younger preschoolers. At the same time, the adult organizes the game and directs it-it helps children overcome difficulties, approves their good deeds and achievements, encourages compliance with rules and notes the mistakes of some children. The combination of adults of two different roles - participant and organizer - is an important distinctive feature of the developing game.
Due to the fact that the developmental game is active and meaningful for the child, the activity into which it willingly and voluntarily joins, the new experience gained in it becomes its personal property, since it can be used freely in other conditions( therefore the need to consolidate newknowledge disappears).Transferring the acquired experience to new situations in his own games is an important indicator of the development of the child's creative initiative. In addition, many games teach children to act "in the mind", to think that it empowers the imagination of children, develops their creative abilities and abilities.
Developing game is a rather effective means of forming such qualities as organization, self-control, etc. Its mandatory for all rules regulate the behavior of children, limit their impulsiveness. If the rules of conduct declared by the educator are usually poorly absorbed by children and are often violated by them, the rules of the game, which become the condition for an exciting joint activity, quite naturally enter the lives of children. Of great importance here is the joint nature of the game, in which the educator and the peer group encourage the child to observe the rules, that is, to consciously manage his actions. Evaluating together with an adult the actions of peers, noting their mistakes, the child better learns the rules of the game, and then realizes and their own miscalculations. Gradually, prerequisites arise for the formation of conscious behavior and self-control, which is the practical development of moral norms. The rules of the game become, as it were, the norm of behavior in the group, bring a new social experience. Performing them, children win the approval of an adult, recognition and respect of their peers.
Thus, in the preschool age, educational games contain a variety of conditions for the formation of the most valuable qualities of a person. However, for their development to take place, it is necessary to follow a certain sequence in the selection of games.