Construction is a productive activity of a child, aimed at creating a specific subject. This word came from the Latin language, in which construere means "building, creating a model." Design plays an important role in the mental, labor, moral development of children. This type of activity is informative and creative. There are two types of children's design: technical and artistic. They differ in the materials used in the classroom.
Technical design
Technical construction is the process of creating a child’s objects that he has already seen in real life or imagines them. The structure and functional features are important here: a car with a door, hood, trailer; house with a roof, door, window.
Technical design includes the creation of objects from the following materials:
- building elements
- designer parts
- oversized modules.
We use building materials
Modeling from building materials is considered the easiest, so you can deal with it with young children. This activity forms the basis of design. The bottom line is to create buildings of various types. In this case, cubes, bricks, plates and 3-sided prisms are used.
First, children get acquainted with the names of the elements, their shape, characteristics (large-small, high-low). Then they learn to make buildings: first simple from the minimum number of elements (paths, ladders, houses), and over time more complex (furniture, towers, bridges).
Constructing from designer parts
The construction of the designer parts involves the presence of various fasteners: nuts, grooves, spikes. This type of activity is considered difficult and is used in the older group. Children learn to create real-life objects according to the schemes that are present in any design kit. They already understand that all objects are made up of smaller parts. And to make the building stronger, it must be fastened.
Design from large modules
The construction of large-sized modules is the creation of large-scale volumetric or planar structures. This view is close to construction, but large areas of the premises are used here. In fact, children themselves make buildings for sports competitions, games.
Art design
Art designing is a creative process in which the main role is played not by the structure of the object, but by the child’s attitude to it. Children do not create a practical, but an emotional image. This activity is also divided into three subspecies.
A lesson in designing from natural material is held with young children. Toddlers learn to see the unusual in the ordinary, get closer to nature. At the beginning of the training, sand and snow are used. Later, crafts are made from branches, cones, leaves, bark, nuts. The children learn to compare objects in shape, size. They analyze and make decisions which material is more suitable, for example, for the body of an animal, and which one to choose for the head. Gradually, crafts become increasingly difficult due to the number of elements and how to connect them.
Paper construction is a more complex form of creativity. Various techniques are used here: origami, kirigami, paper sculpture. A feature of this activity is that the craft can not be redone. If the baby cut or glued something incorrectly, this can no longer be fixed. This teaches him attentiveness and responsibility.
Coils, plastic bottles, caps, boxes, polystyrene, wire, etc. are used for the construction of waste material. This approach helps the child to form a non-standard view of the objects around him, overcome dies and stereotypical thinking.
Forms of organization of training
- Patterning. This form of training is that the child is shown samples of buildings made of parts, and taught how to reproduce them. Ready-made knowledge is passed on to children, and they are shown an algorithm of actions that they must imitate. In the full sense of the word, this type of activity can hardly be called a creative process, but this is an important stage in the development of technology.
- Design by model. This is a more complex form of creativity. As a sample, children are shown a model in which its constituent details are hidden. Thus, the child is faced with a task, and the way to solve it must be sought out independently. Thanks to this, imaginative thinking develops .
- Design by conditions. In this case, the children are not given either a sample or a way to erect a building, but simply set the requirements to which the craft should correspond. This species is most conducive to the development of analytical skills.
- Design by design. The child is given complete freedom of action: he decides what and in what way he will create. This is a very difficult task, but it contributes to the development of independence and creativity.
- Design according to diagrams and drawings. Children learn to use patterns to transform them into volumetric geometric bodies. This type of activity develops logic and imaginative thinking.
- Designing on the topic. Children are given a thematic direction ("Birds", "Transport"), and what exactly they will do, from what material and in what way - they decide for themselves.
With any form of organization of children's education, it is necessary to stimulate compliance with the laws of architecture: utility, strength, beauty. Design, materials for which must be carefully prepared by the teacher, is an integral part of the learning process. It is practiced both in kindergartens and in schools.
Baby designing has recently become increasingly popular. In programs for preschool education, this type of activity is considered one of the main. In any form, construction is a creative process that contributes to the mental development of the child. This type of activity creates favorable conditions for the formation of mathematical knowledge about the shape, size, number of subjects. During the creation of crafts, imagination, thinking, and memory are stimulated.