Preschoolers learn the world through the game. They like to compete with each other, save animals in trouble, collect puzzles and solve riddles. At the same time, they gain the necessary knowledge about the world around them, learn to count, read, compare objects. Didactic games for children play an important role in preschool education. Willingly joining them, the kids develop their abilities, overcome the first difficulties and are actively preparing for admission to school.
Definition
The didactic game combines two principles: educational and entertaining. It consists of the following components:
- A cognitive task, which is formulated for children as a game ("Collect a picture", "From which tree did the leaf fly away?", "Continue the ornament"). Entering an imaginary situation, the child joyfully joins the workflow.
- Content. It can be the most diverse. Games form mathematical representations and sensory standards in children, develop speech, musical ear, introduce natural laws.
- Game actions that are designed to cause the child joy, interest. At the same time, they develop children's abilities, skills and abilities.
- Preset rules. Their task is to direct the attention of the players to the fulfillment of a specific goal, and also to regulate their relationship with each other.
- Summarizing. This may be an oral praise of the teacher, scoring, identifying the winner.
Objectives of didactic games
Kids like to collect puzzles, play lotto and dominoes, go through mazes, colorize pictures. This is interesting fun for them. In fact, the goals of didactic games are much more serious. Participating in them, children:
- develop logical thinking, memory, attention, perseverance;
- receive and learn to put into practice elementary knowledge;
- enrich vocabulary, learn to communicate, express their thoughts;
- get used to abide by the rules, regulate their behavior by effort of will;
- form moral qualities: justice, sympathy, pliability, perseverance;
- learn to adequately respond to victories and defeats;
- develop fine motor skills of hands, get positive emotions.
Classification
In pedagogy, the following types of didactic games are distinguished:
- Desktop-printed. These include paired and cut pictures, lotto, puzzles, dominoes, thematic games (“Whose cub?”, “Third superfluous”, “When does this happen?”), Mosaics, checkers, folding cubes. Their feature is reliance on the visual perception of information by children.
- Games with items. They are widely used in classes with children of primary preschool age. Toddlers learn to manipulate toys, natural materials, real objects. At the same time, they get acquainted with the concepts of size (matryoshka), shape (sorter), color, etc.
- Didactic games for the development of speech. They suggest solving problems on a mental plane, without relying on clarity. Children should use their knowledge in new circumstances: guess which animal is being described; quickly group objects ("Edible-inedible"); pick the right word ("Say the other way around").
Application in DOW
The knowledge of the world is a natural desire of preschoolers. In their games, they recreate the real world, learn to act, imitating adults. In this case, there is a lively interest, mental processes are activated. According to GEF, the didactic game meets the age needs of the child. It is a necessary component in the educational process. An important role is given to the teacher.
The task of the educator is to interest the children in the game. For this, various fairy-tale characters are used (“Heroes got lost”), a surprise moment (“Who hid inside the nesting doll?”), Imaginary situations (“The snowman cannot pick up a pair of his mittens”). During the game, a joyful tone is maintained, the use of jokes is encouraged. Children should not feel that they are being purposefully taught something, otherwise protest is born. Also important to them is the effect of novelty, the constant complexity of the tasks.
Games with objects and toys
Kids enthusiastically assemble the pyramids, build towers from cubes and constructor, lay out figures from counting sticks and laces, count cones, look for beans in the sand. At the same time, they learn to compare objects on different grounds, independently determine the correct sequence of actions. Such didactic games for preschoolers are especially important in the younger and middle groups.
Children 2-3 years old operate on objects that are very different from each other. In the middle group, the tasks become more complicated. At this age stage, the difference between the game material is not so obvious. The memory is actively trained: the children should look at the toy for a few seconds and find the same one, notice which object has disappeared or changed its location. Children learn to string beads, cope with lacing, assemble the whole from parts, lay out patterns.
Widely used plot and didactic games. So, by portraying buyers and sellers, children consolidate knowledge about fruits and vegetables, learn to count, to distinguish colors ("Give me one green apple").
Board and Printed Games
Children of different ages play with pleasure in them. Often the rules involve the participation of several children. We can distinguish the following types of didactic games for preschoolers:
- Selection of paired pictures. For kids, they will be the same images. Older preschoolers are given a more difficult task. For example, to find pictures with the same number of objects, not paying attention to their color, size, shape, etc. This also includes popular games in lotto, dominoes.
- Finding images, united by a common sign ("What has grown in the garden, and what - in the garden?"). Similar games can be devoted to a wide variety of topics.
- "What changed?". Children remember the content, quantity, and location of pictures. They need to notice the changes made by the teacher.
- Folding cut pictures, puzzles.
- Showing a painted object or action using gestures, facial expressions, sound imitation. At the same time, the rest of the game participants must guess what is at stake.
- The passage of the maze by several participants with the movement of chips across the field, throwing a dice, observing the proposed rules.
Speech development didactic games
They teach preschoolers to listen carefully to others, apply knowledge, focusing on the task, quickly select the answer, clearly articulate their thoughts. Holding such didactic games in the older group helps prepare the children for their upcoming studies at school.
Conventionally, all verbal fun can be divided into 4 groups:
- Games that teach children to highlight the essential signs of phenomena, objects. This includes all kinds of puzzles when you need to recognize an animal, a person, a toy, etc. from the description.
- Games that form in children the ability to compare objects, find alogisms, build correct conclusions ("Fiction", "What do day and night have in common?").
- Games forming the skills of generalization and classification ("How to say in one word?", "I know 5 names").
- Entertainment that develops attention, endurance, speed of reaction and sense of humor ("Do not walk in black and white", "Flies, does not fly").
Computer games
Information technology is now being applied universally. It is not surprising that the use of a new type of didactic games is actively promoted in kindergartens. Computer games are very interesting for modern kids, they present educational material in a bright, unusual way. All this helps to quickly remember it.
The child needs to press keys, click the mouse on the screen, while watching the changing pictures. So the skill of anticipation of one’s actions, the speed of reaction develops. The child has to solve entertaining problems on his own, while it becomes possible to individualize learning. Kids feel free, are not afraid to make mistakes, learn the basics of computer literacy.
However, games on the screen should not be allowed to last long. Preschoolers can spend up to 20 minutes per day on a computer, and six-year-olds can spend no more than half an hour.
Organization Methodology
Holding a game in a group involves:
- Familiarization of children with the used objects, pictures, organization of a brief conversation on their content.
- The explanation of the rules.
- Demonstration of game action.
- Defining the role of the teacher. He can become an equal participant in the game, a fan or a judge.
- Summing up, the mood for joyful expectation of the next game.
Guiding children's games, the teacher takes into account the age characteristics of the children. Younger preschoolers poorly understand the verbal explanation, so it is accompanied by a show. Of great importance is the surprise moment. The teacher actively participates in the game, shows an example, creates a joyful atmosphere.
In the middle group, the teacher teaches children to play together, monitors compliance with the rules, gives advice in case of difficulty. Didactic games in the older group involve independent actions of children, which are preceded by a verbal explanation of the rules. The teacher encourages the manifestation of goodwill, mutual assistance, intervenes in the event of a conflict.
A didactic game for children is a practical activity, during which they learn to apply their knowledge, to navigate in changing conditions. At the same time, curiosity, mental processes, and the ability to control one’s behavior develop, which will come in handy when entering first grade.