walk preschool educational motor
Early age (from 1 to 3 years) is an extremely important and responsible period mental development child. Early age has enormous opportunities for forming the foundations of a future adult personality, especially its intellectual and speech development.
Features of children's development early age:
rapid pace of development, requiring timely influences, a necessary change in the conditions of education;
spasmodic development of basic functions (alternating periods of retardation with critical periods);
rapid establishment of connections with the outside world and slow consolidation of reactions, requiring repetition in training;
unevenness (heterochrony) of maturation of brain structures and functions, abilities, abilities, skills, control over the development of leading lines;
high vulnerability, lability nervous system, protection of the child’s nervous system;
state relationship physical health, mental development and behavior of the child;
greater brain plasticity, easy learning, high sensorimotor needs of the child.
At this time, such intensive brain development occurs that will not occur in any of the subsequent periods of life. By 7 months A child’s brain increases 2 times, by 1.5 years - 3 times, and by 3 years it already accounts for 3/4 of the mass of an adult’s brain. It is during this sensitive period that the foundations of intelligence, thinking, high mental activity, and various speech capabilities are laid. This is the age when everything is for the first time, everything is just beginning - speech, play, communication with peers, the first ideas about yourself, about others, about the world. In the first three years of life, the most important and fundamental human abilities are laid - cognitive activity, curiosity, self-confidence and trust in other people, focus and perseverance, imagination, creativity and much more. Moreover, all these abilities do not arise on their own, as a consequence of the child’s young age, but require the indispensable participation of an adult and age-appropriate forms of activity. L.S. Vygodsky said: “The development of the psyche occurs in the process of assimilation and appropriation of socio-historical experience.”
Early life is a period of significant changes in life small child. First of all, the child begins to walk. Throughout the second year of life, the child masters walking. Upright walking is a great achievement of mankind; only man has mastered upright walking, and this speaks about the development of the human brain. Having gained the opportunity to move independently, he masters distant space and independently comes into contact with a mass of objects, many of which were previously inaccessible to him.
Sensory needs also cause high motor activity, and movement is a baby’s natural state, contributing to his intellectual development. As a result of this release of the child, his dependence on the adult decreases and cognitive activity rapidly develops.
In the second year of life, the child experiences the development of objective activities; in the third year of life, objective activities become leading. By the age of three, his dominant hand is determined and coordination of the actions of both hands begins to form.
With the emergence of object-based activity, based on the assimilation of precisely those methods of acting with an object that ensure its use for its intended purpose, the child’s attitude towards surrounding objects and the type of orientation changes. Instead of asking, “What is this?” When getting acquainted with a new object, the child already has the question: “What can be done with this?” (R.Ya. Lekhtman-Abramovich, D.B. Elkonin).
The child’s cognitive interest expands extremely, so he strives to get acquainted with a large number of objects and toys and learn how to operate with them. In close connection with the development of object actions, the child’s perception develops, since in the process of actions with objects the child becomes acquainted not only with the methods of their use, but also with properties - shape, size, color, mass, material, etc.
Children develop simple forms of visually effective thinking, the most primary generalizations directly related to the identification of certain external and internal signs items.
At first early childhood The child’s perception is still very poorly developed, although he is already well versed in everyday life. This is due to recognition of objects rather than genuine perception. Recognition itself is associated with the identification of random, conspicuous signs - landmarks.
The transition to a more complete and comprehensive perception occurs in the child in connection with the mastery of objective activities, especially instrumental and correlative actions, when performing which he is forced to focus on different properties of objects (size, shape, color) and bring them into correspondence according to a given characteristic. First, the correlation of objects and properties occurs in practical activity, then correlations of a perceptual nature develop and subsequently perceptual actions are formed.
Formation of perceptual actions in relation to different contents and different conditions, in which this content is embodied, does not occur simultaneously. In relation to more difficult tasks, a young child may remain at the level of chaotic actions, without any consideration of the properties of the objects with which he acts, at the level of actions using force that do not lead him to a positive result. But in relation to tasks that are more accessible in content and closer to the child’s experience, he can move on to practical orientation - to the trial method, which in some cases can provide a positive result of his activity. In a number of tasks, he moves on to perceptual orientation itself.
A child at this age rarely uses visual correlation, but uses extensive sampling, however, it provides a better account of the properties and relationships of objects and provides more opportunities for a positive solution to the problem.
Mastering sampling and visual correlation allows young children not only to differentiate the properties of objects at the signal level, i.e. search, detect, distinguish and identify objects, but also display the properties of objects, their true perception based on the image. This is reflected in the ability to make choices according to a model.
The close connection between the development of perception and activity is manifested in the fact that the child begins to make choices based on a model in relation to shape and size, i.e. in relation to the properties that need to be taken into account in practical action, and only then - in relation to color (L.A. Wenger, V.S. Mukhina).
Along with visual perception Auditory perception also develops in early childhood. Phonemic hearing develops especially intensively. As a rule, by the end of the second year, children already perceive all the sounds of their native language. However, improvements in phonemic hearing occur in subsequent years.
In the process of objective activity, the child also develops gross and fine motor skills. The close connection between it and the development of speech is explained by the fact that the projection of the hand in the brain is very close to the speech zone, which is formed under the influence of impulses coming from the fingers. As fine movements of the fingers improve, speech develops.
Behind the action comes the word. The first words are verbs. Along with the assimilation of the first words denoting the child’s needs, he also develops a phrase. And by the age of two, the child experiences a so-called “crossroads”: thinking becomes verbal, and speech becomes meaningful, i.e. the child begins to master the language system in which he lives. By the age of 3, the anatomical maturation of the speech areas of the brain ends, the child masters the main grammatical forms of his native language and accumulates a large vocabulary.
Speech acquisition is one of the main achievements of a child in the second or third year of life, and it occurs very intensively during this period. If by the end of the first year of life a child has only 10–20 babbling words in his vocabulary, then by the age of three he active dictionary there are already more than 400 words.
The emergence of speech is closely related to the activity of communication. Speech appears for the purposes of communication and develops in its context. The need for communication is formed through the active influence of an adult on a child. A change in forms of communication also occurs with the initiative influence of an adult on a child.
Throughout early childhood, speech acquires everything higher value for the entire mental development of the child, since it becomes the most important means of transmitting social experience to him. Naturally, adults, guiding the child’s perception, actively use the naming of the properties of objects.
By the age of three, the child develops phrasal speech. He can already express his desires. The child has new needs and a transition to new motives for activity. Phrasal speech performs a certain function - communicative-directed speech appears.
In the third year of life, an important shift occurs in the child’s mental development - the sign (or symbolic) function of consciousness begins to form. It consists in the ability to use one object as a substitute for another. In this case, instead of actions with objects, actions are performed with their substitutes.
The use of various signs and their systems is the most characteristic feature human psyche. Any type of signs (language, mathematical symbolism, skillfully displaying the world in pictures, musical melodies, etc.) serve for communication between people and replace, designate objects and phenomena. At an early age, the sign function develops initially in connection with practical activities and only later is transferred to the use of words.
A very important achievement in the second year of a child’s life is the skill of neatness. Normally, this is achieved by the age of two years of the child’s life.
From an early age, children develop independence. Performing actions without the help of an adult begins to give the baby pleasure very early.
Critical periods in the development of a young child are 1 year, 2 years, 3 years. It is at this time that drastic changes occur, giving a new quality in the development of children:
1 year - mastering walking;
2 years - the formation of visual and effective thinking, a turning point in the development of speech;
3 years is the period when the connection between the behavior and development of the child with the second signaling system is especially clear, the baby becomes aware of himself as an individual. The child develops awareness of his own “I”. The concept of “I myself” appears. The child begins to distinguish himself from the children and adults around him. There is a crisis of three years.
Thus, in early childhood one can note the rapid development of the following mental spheres: communication, speech, cognitive (perception, thinking), motor and emotional-volitional.
An essential feature of early childhood is the interrelation and interdependence of the health status, physical and neuropsychic development of children. Children of this age get sick easily; their symptoms often change (even for minor reasons). emotional condition, the child gets tired easily. Frequent morbidity, as well as increased excitability of the nervous system are especially characteristic of stress conditions(during the adaptation period when children enter nurseries, etc.).
A strong, physically healthy child is not only less susceptible to illness, but also develops better mentally. But even minor disturbances in the baby’s health affect his emotional sphere.
The course of the disease and recovery are largely related to the child’s mood, and if it is possible to maintain positive emotions, his well-being improves and recovery occurs quickly. Therefore, it is important that the lives of children be varied and rich in positive experiences.
Education should take into account individual characteristics child. Children with different types of nervous activity have different working capacity limits: some get tired faster, they more often need a change during the play of calm and active games, and go to bed earlier than others. There are children who themselves come into contact with others, demand that they be called to such contacts, and more often support their positive emotional state.
Children also fall asleep differently: some slowly, restlessly, asking for the teacher to stay with them; For others, sleep comes quickly and they do not need special influences.
During the game, some children easily complete the adult’s tasks (therefore, it is important that the task is quite difficult and that the child solves it independently). Others are waiting for help, support, encouragement.
Young children are suggestible and easily convey the mood of those around them. A raised, irritable tone, sudden transitions from affection to coldness, screaming negatively affect the baby’s behavior.
SUBJECT:“Psychology of child development. Psychology of development of infants and young children"
Newborn crisis (0 – 2;3 months).
Main neoplasm– the emergence of the child’s individual mental life. What is new in this period is that the child’s life becomes an individual existence, separate from the mother’s body.
A revitalization complex appears (2; 3 months), which includes 4 components:
Motor reactions.
Freezing reaction (at the sight of an adult, the child freezes).
A smile in response to a familiar face.
The appearance of this complex indicates that the child has become an infant.
Infancy (2;3 months - 1 year).
Neoplasms:
By the age of one year, the child pronounces the first words (the structure of the speech act is formed);
Masters voluntary actions with objects of the surrounding world (structure of objective action).
Development of general motor activity(verticalization).
Speech.
At 3 months You can expect the appearance of humming.
7 – 9 months the child begins to babble, the appearance of syllables - pa, ma, ba, etc.
9 months – 1 year passive speech appears, the child repeats after you. By the end of 1 year. The child’s vocabulary contains 20–30 words.
By 1.5 years The child develops active speech.
By 2 years the child can construct a sentence.
By 5 years old masters phonetics (pronounces words correctly and places emphasis).
By 6 years old the child masters the grammatical structure of oral speech.
Parenting strategy: speak to children clearly and distinctly in order to impart to the child the skills of correct speech. Show and name objects, tell stories. The process of language acquisition is more successful if parents help.
Subject activity. Associated with the development of movement in a child. There is a pattern in the sequence of movement development.
Eye movements. The phenomenon of “newborn eyes” is known - they can look in different directions. By the end of the second month, these movements are refined, and the child is able to visually focus on an object. By the third month, eye movements are developed almost the same as in an adult.
Expressive movements (animation complex).
Moving in space. The child consistently learns to roll over, raise his head, sit down, crawl, stand on his feet, and take his first steps. All this at different times, and the timing is influenced by the parents' strategy (see below). Mastering each new movement opens up new boundaries of space for the child.
Crawl. Sometimes skips this stage.
Grabbing. By the end of the first half of the year, this movement turns from accidental grabbing of the toy into a deliberate one.
Item manipulation. It differs from “real” actions in that the item is not used for its intended purpose.
Pointing gesture.
Arbitrariness of movements and gestures, controllability. This is the basis for new formation - for objective activity.
As soon as a child learns to walk, the boundaries of the accessible world expand. Consequently, the rivers are freed and the child gets the opportunity to act with things.
Subject activity - this is activity with objects according to their purpose. But the method of action is not “written” on objects; it cannot be discovered by the child independently. The child must learn this from adults. With the help of an adult, the child gradually learns
purpose of the item;
methods of operating with objects;
technique of performing actions.
Toys are of great importance in mastering objective activities. Their purpose is in accordance with leading activities (first in indicative behavior, then in communication with adults; then in objective activity).
According to J. Piaget (Swiss psychologist), a child up to one year is in the 1st period of mental development - sensorimotor– coordinated work and interaction of sensory organs and movements. Children at this time have not yet mastered language and they do not have mental images for words. Their knowledge about people and surrounding objects is based on information received from their own senses and random movements. The sensorimotor period goes through 6 stages, 4 of which are up to a year.
Reflex exercise. Children “practice” all the skills they have at a given period of development. These are unconditioned reflexes: sucking, grasping, crying. In addition, newborns can also look and listen.
Primary circular reactions.(1 – 4 months of life). The child begins to adapt to his environment.
Secondary circular reactions(4 – 8 months). Children voluntarily repeat those forms of behavior that give them pleasure; They develop the ability to perceive an object. This quality is associated with the appearance of the first fears at 7–8 months (fear of the “stranger”), and the perception of the permanence of objects forms the basis of attachment to people significant to the child.
Coordination of secondary circuits.(8 – 12 months). There is further development of all the mentioned abilities of the child. Babies show the first signs of the ability to anticipate events (for example, they cry at the sight of iodine).
Basic need of age. The need for safety, security. She must be fundamentally satisfied. This is the main function of an adult. If a child feels safe, then he is open to the world around him, trusts it and explores it more boldly. If not, it limits interaction with the world to a closed situation. E. Erickson says that in younger age is being formed a feeling of trust or distrust in the world around us (people, things, phenomena) that a person will carry throughout his life. A feeling of alienation occurs when there is a lack of attention, love, affection, or when children are abused.
At the same age, a feeling of attachment is formed. Scientists highlight 3 phases of the process of forming a child's attachment: 1) the baby seeks intimacy with any person; 2) learns to distinguish familiar people from unfamiliar ones; 3) a feeling of attachment arises for those people who are especially significant for the baby.
Crisis of one year.
The one-year crisis is characterized by the development of speech action. Until then, the child’s body was regulated by a biological system associated with biorhythms. Now she came into conflict with a verbal situation based on self-order or orders from adults. Thus, a child aged about one year finds himself without a system at all that allows him to reliably navigate the world around him. Biological rhythms are greatly deformed, and speech rhythms are not so formed that the child can freely control his behavior.
The crisis is characterized by a general regression of the child’s activity, a kind of reverse development. Emotionally manifests itself in affectivity, emotions are primitive. In this case it is observed:
disruption of all biorhythmic processes (sleep - wakefulness);
violation of the satisfaction of all vital needs (for example, hunger);
emotional anomalies (sullenness, tearfulness, touchiness).
The crisis of one year is not an acute one, so some parents simply do not notice it.
Pre-school period (1 year – 3 years).
At this age, the lines of mental development of boys and girls separate. They are inherent different types leading activities. In boys, on the basis of objective activity, object-tool. In girls based speech activity – communicative. Sex differences in the behavior of children are due not so much to biological and physiological reasons, but to the nature of their social communication. The orientation of boys and girls to different types of activities is socially determined, due to cultural patterns. In fact, there are more similarities than differences between male and female babies. The differences appear later.
Object-tool activity includes manipulation with human objects, the rudiments of design, as a result of which men have better developed abstract, abstract thinking.
Communication activities involves mastering the logic of human relations. Most women have more developed social thinking than men, the sphere of manifestation of which is communication between people. Women have finer intuition, tact, and are more prone to empathy.
As already mentioned, both boys and girls develop in parallel and go through basically the same stages.
Neoplasms of age: the beginnings of self-awareness, development of self-concepts, self-esteem. The child does 90% of the work of acquiring language. In a word, in three years a person goes through half the path of his mental development.
First ideas about yourself occur in a child by the age of one year. These are ideas about parts of his body, but the baby cannot yet generalize them. With special training by adults, by the age of one and a half years, a child can recognize himself in the mirror, master the identity of the reflection and his appearance.
By the age of 3, a new stage of self-identification begins: with the help of a mirror, the child gets the opportunity to form an idea of his present self.
Begins to use the pronoun “I”, learns his name and gender.
Gender identification. By the age of 3, a child already knows whether he is a boy or a girl. Children gain such knowledge from observing the behavior of their parents and older brothers and sisters. This allows the child to understand what forms of behavior in accordance with his gender are expected from him by others.
The emergence of self-awareness. By the age of 3, a child develops self-awareness and develops an aspiration (the desired level of self-esteem) for the aspirations of adults. By positively assessing certain actions, adults make them attractive in the eyes of children and awaken in children the desire to earn praise and recognition.
Mental development and personality traits. The main incentive for improving mental activity in children is their sensory-motor activity. Children 1–2 years old are in the first (sensorimotor) period of mental development, which Piaget divided into 6 stages. The child goes through 4 of them before one year (see above).
Stage 5– tertiary circular reactions (1 – 1.5 years) – experimentation with objects. The purpose of the experiment is in themselves: kids love to observe how objects behave in new situations. Reflexive behavior is replaced by truly mental activity: the child is looking for new ways to interact with previously unknown objects.
Stage 6(1.5 – 2 years). The emergence of symbolic thinking, that is, the ability to perceive them at one time or another based on psychological images imprinted in the brain (symbols of objects). Now the child can perform operations not with real, but with ideal objects. The child begins to solve the simplest problems in his head, without resorting to trial and error (catching up around the table). Physical activities help successful work thinking.
For perception outside world at this stage of mental development it is characteristic egocentrism. A child of 1.5 - 2 years old is already aware of his isolation, separation from other people and objects, and also understands that some events can happen regardless of their desires. However, he continues to believe that everyone sees the world the same way as he does. Formula for a child’s perception: “I am the center of the universe,” “The whole world revolves around me.”
Fears. Children aged 1 to 3 years have a greater range of fears than infants. This is explained by the fact that with the development of their perception abilities, as well as mental abilities, the scope of life experience expands, from which more and more new information is drawn. Noticing that some objects may disappear from their field of vision, children are afraid that they themselves may disappear. They may be wary of the water pipes in the bathroom and toilet, thinking that the water might carry them away. Masks, wigs, new glasses, a doll without an arm, a slowly deflating balloon - all this can cause fear. Some children may have a fear of animals or moving cars, and many are afraid to sleep alone.
Parents' strategy. Usually, fears disappear over time as the child masters more subtle ways of thinking. Excessive irritability, intolerance, and anger of parents can only aggravate children's fears and contribute to the child's feeling of rejection. Excessive parental care also does not relieve the child of fear, and this is also a clear example.
Basic need. If in infancy the need for security was saturated, then it is updated need for love . Children aged 1 to 3 years are still dependent on their parents; they constantly want to feel the physical closeness of their father and mother. The leading role in satisfying basic needs is given to the parent of the opposite sex. 3 – 4 years the formation of the Oedipus complex and the Electra complex. Important acquires tactile contact. The child masters the language of sensations. If the need is unsatisfied, the person remains tactilely insensitive (for example, at this age the formation of erogenous zones occurs).
Crisis of 3 years.
When approaching a crisis, there are clear cognitive symptoms:
acute interest in one's image in the mirror;
the child is puzzled by his appearance, interested in how he looks in the eyes of others. Girls have an interest in dressing up;
boys begin to show concern for their efficiency, for example, in construction. They react sharply to failure.
The crisis of 3 years is considered to be acute. The child is uncontrollable and becomes angry. The behavior is almost impossible to correct. The period is difficult for both the adult and the child himself. The symptoms are called seven-star crisis of 3 years.
Negativism. The reaction is not to the content of the adults’ proposal, but to the fact that it comes from adults. The desire to do the opposite, even against one’s own desire.
Stubbornness. A child insists on something not because he wants, but because he demanded it, he is bound by his original decision.
Obstinacy. It is impersonal, directed against the norms of upbringing, the way of life that developed before the age of three.
Self-will. Strive to do everything yourself.
Protest riot as if a child is in a state of war and conflict with others.
Symptom of devaluation manifests itself in the fact that the child begins to swear, tease and call his parents names.
Despotism. The child forces his parents to do everything he demands. In relation to younger sisters and brothers, despotism manifests itself as jealousy.
The crisis is proceeding like a crisis social relations and is associated with the formation of a child’s self-awareness. Position appears "I myself." The child learns the difference between “should” and “want”.
Adult strategy. If the crisis proceeds sluggishly, this indicates a delay in the development of the affective and volitional sides of the personality. Children begin to develop a will, which Erikson called autonomy (independence, independence). Children no longer need adult supervision and strive to make their own choices. Feelings of shame and insecurity instead of autonomy arise when parents limit the child’s expression of independence, punish or ridicule any attempts at independence. The development of a child consists of acquiring “I can”: he must learn to correlate his “want” with “should” and “cannot” and on this basis determine his “can”. The crisis drags on if the adult takes the position of “I want” (permissiveness) or “I can’t” (prohibitions). The child should be provided with an area of activity where he can demonstrate independence. This area of activity is in the game. Play with special rules and norms that reflect social connections serves as a “safe island for the child where he can develop and test his independence and independence” (E. Erikson).
Psychotherapist Vladimir Levi says how to raise a 3rd child: “In 1/3 of cases you need to insist on your own, in 2/3 of cases you need to follow the child’s lead, in 3/3 of cases you need to distract the child and distract yourself from the situation.”
So the long-awaited little one has appeared in your house, so small and defenseless. You intuitively understand that now he needs your care, guardianship, tenderness and love. But time passes, the baby grows, actively gets acquainted with the world around him, and the first character traits appear. And suddenly the moment comes when the child becomes capricious and uncontrollable; many parents do not know how to react to such a situation and make a grave mistake using “educational” methods. Why does a child suddenly begin to act up and how to react correctly to this?
To answer this question, we need to understand how it develops from birth. Here we can distinguish two of the most important stages of a child - infancy (from birth to one year) and the period of early development (from 1 to 3 years). It is during this period that character is formed and behavioral reactions to surrounding objects and people are laid.
Infancy.
This period is characterized by strong attachment and complete dependence of the child on the mother; the baby needs close physical and emotional contact with the mother to feel protected. The baby gradually becomes familiar with the world around him and reacts to sudden changes by crying. familiar surroundings or sensations. The most important thing at this time is for parents to be patient, because psychology of young children During infancy, she is very fragile and sensitive. For a child under one year of age, whining or crying is a form of communication, but parents often react to such behavior with irritability and sometimes uncontrollable anger. Hug your baby more often, smile, sing funny songs and recite rhymes, because positive emotions from parents give the child a feeling of security, calm and happiness.
Early development period.
Developmental psychology of young children in the period from 1 to 3 years, it is characterized by the fact that the child becomes more independent, knowledge about the world around him becomes wider, and at the same time the need for communication and attention from parents grows. This period is complicated by frequent crises in the development of children, which manifest themselves in capriciousness, denial, negativism, and affective reactions of the child. A child's whims are not a character trait, but simply the next stage of development. At such moments, it is very important to communicate gently and calmly with the baby, and to treat any emotional manifestations with care.
It is at an early age that a child’s self-esteem is formed, which is laid down by parents. Therefore, do not reproach your child if something does not work out for him, encourage him to be independent. Be patient, attentive and be sure to discuss and explain your actions, because this is the only way the baby will understand what is good and what is bad.
Help your child to develop comprehensively, teach him to follow a routine, since the constancy of the world around him is very important for him. And remember that there is no such thing as too much love, don’t be afraid to praise and enjoy the time you spend together, because it will fly by so quickly!
learning at school, where he will have to listen to an adult, sensitively absorbing everything that the teacher will say.
A significant role in the formation of a child’s personality is played by the need to communicate with peers, in whose circle he is from the first years of life. Many different forms of relationships can arise between children. Therefore, it is very important that the child, from the very beginning of his stay in a preschool institution, acquires a positive experience of cooperation and mutual understanding. In the third year of life, relationships between children arise mainly on the basis of their actions with objects and toys. These actions acquire a joint, interdependent character. By older preschool age, in joint activities, children have already mastered the following forms of cooperation: alternate and coordinate actions; perform one operation together; control the actions of the partner, correct his mistakes; help a partner, do part of his work; accept their partner’s comments and correct their mistakes. In the process of joint activities, children gain experience in leading other children and experience in subordination. A preschooler’s desire for leadership is determined by his emotional attitude to the activity itself, and not to the position of the leader. Preschoolers do not yet have a conscious struggle for leadership. During preschool age, communication methods continue to develop. Genetically most early form communication is imitation. A.V. Zaporozhets notes that arbitrary imitation of a child is one of the ways to master social experience.
For preschool age The child’s character of imitation changes. If in early preschool age he imitates certain forms of behavior of adults and peers, then in middle preschool age the child no longer blindly imitates, but consciously assimilates patterns of behavioral norms. The activities of a preschooler are varied: playing, drawing, designing, elements of work and learning, which is where the child’s activity is manifested.
The leading activity of a preschooler is role-playing game. The essence of the game as a leading activity is that children reflect in the game various aspects of life, features of the activities and relationships of adults, acquire and clarify their knowledge about the surrounding reality, and master the position of the subject of the activity on which it depends. In a gaming group, they have a need to regulate relationships with peers, moral standards develop.
§ 2. Psychological development in preschool age
moral behavior, moral feelings are manifested. In play, children are active, creatively transform what they previously perceived, freer and better manage their behavior. They develop behavior mediated by the image of another person. As a result of constant comparison of his behavior with the behavior of another person, the child has the opportunity to better understand himself, his “I”. Thus, role-playing has a great influence on the formation of his personality. The consciousness of “I”, “I myself”, the emergence of personal actions promote the child to new level development and indicate the beginning of a transition period called the “three-year crisis.” This is one of the most difficult moments in his life: the previous system of relations is destroyed, a new system of social relations is formed, taking into account the “separation” of the child from adults. The child’s changing position, increased independence and activity require timely restructuring from close adults. If new relationships with the child do not develop, his initiative is not encouraged, independence is constantly limited, then actual crisis phenomena arise in the “child-adult” system (this does not happen with peers). The most typical characteristics of the “three-year crisis” are the following: negativism, stubbornness, obstinacy, protest-rebellion, self-will, jealousy (in cases where there are several children in the family). An interesting characteristic of the “three-year crisis” is depreciation (this feature is inherent in all subsequent transition periods). What depreciates in a three-year-old child? What was familiar, interesting, and expensive before. The child may even swear (devaluation of rules of behavior), throw away or break a previously loved toy if it is offered “at the wrong time” (devaluation of old attachments to things), etc. All these phenomena indicate that the child’s attitude towards other people and himself is changing; the ongoing separation from close adults (“I myself!”) indicates a kind of emancipation of the baby.
At preschool age, elements of labor appear in the child’s activities. In work, his moral qualities, a sense of collectivism, and respect for people are formed. At the same time, it is very important that he experiences positive feelings that stimulate the development of interest in work. Through direct participation in it and in the process of observing the work of adults, a preschooler gets acquainted with operations, tools, types of labor, equipment
86 Chapter III. Psychology of early and preschool childhood
improves skills and abilities. At the same time, he develops volition and purposefulness of actions, volitional efforts grow, curiosity and observation are formed. Involving a preschooler in work activities, constant guidance from an adult is an indispensable condition for the comprehensive development of the child’s psyche. Training has a great influence on mental development. By the beginning of preschool age, the child’s mental development reaches a level at which it is possible to form motor, speech, sensory and a number of intellectual skills, and it becomes possible to introduce elements of educational activity. An important point, which determines the nature of a preschooler’s learning is his attitude to the demands of an adult. Throughout preschool age, the child learns to assimilate these requirements and turn them into his goals and objectives. The success of a preschooler’s learning largely depends on the distribution of functions between the participants in this process and the presence of specific conditions. Special studies have made it possible to determine these functions. The function of an adult is that he sets cognitive tasks for the child and offers certain means and methods for solving them. The child’s function is to accept these tasks, means, methods and actively use them in his activities. At the same time, as a rule, by the end of preschool age the child understands the educational task, masters some means and methods of performing activities and can exercise self-control.
In the study by E.E. Kravtsova1 shows that the new formation of the preschool period of development is imagination. The author believes that in preschool age three stages and at the same time three main components of this function can be distinguished: reliance on clarity, use of past experience and a special internal position. The main property of imagination - the ability to see the whole before the parts - is provided by the holistic context or semantic field of an object or phenomenon. It turned out that the system used in practice to familiarize children with various standards, which occurs at early age stages and precedes the development of imagination, contradicts the logic of the development of the central neoplasm of preschool age. It is built with the expectation that the child will assimilate a system of meanings, in
1 See: Kravtsova E.E. Psychological neoplasms of preschool age / Questions of psychology. 1996. No. 6.