Development of cognitive activity in preschool children

Development of cognitive activity in preschool children

The image of the world is formed and exists in the process of origin, development and functioning of the cognitive sphere of a person from the moment of his birth. Any normal child is born with an innate cognitive orientation, which helps him adapt at first to new living conditions. Gradually, cognitive orientation turns into cognitive activity - a state of internal readiness for cognitive activity.

It manifests itself in search actions aimed at obtaining new impressions about the world around us. As the child grows and develops, his cognitive activity increasingly gravitates towards cognitive activity, which, like any activity, is characterized by a certain structure. Its elements (according to A. N. Leontyev) are: the incentive-motivational part (need, motives, goals), the subject of activity, the correspondence of the subject and motive of the activity and the means of its implementation (actions and operations).

According to the authors, the cognitive activity of a preschooler is manifested, first of all, in the child’s ability to accept from an adult and independently set a cognitive task, draw up an action plan, select means and methods for solving it using the most reliable techniques, perform certain actions and operations, obtain results and understand the need to check them. Thus, it turns out that cognitive activity is a volitional, purposeful action, and the process of cognitive activity is determined not by external (motor) activity, not by the child’s degree of employment, but mainly by the level of internal (mental) activity, which carries elements of creativity.

The prerequisite, the physiological basis of cognitive activity is the unconditioned orienting reflex “What is this?” However, this prerequisite can develop into a personality quality called cognitive activity only under certain conditions. The optimal conditions for the formation of this quality should be considered those that ensure, first of all, the formation of motives for educational activities, as well as the quality of knowledge and an emotionally positive background of learning.

The basis of cognitive activity is cognitive interest. Cognitive interest is a form of manifestation of cognitive needs that ensures that the individual is focused on understanding the goals of the activity and thereby promotes orientation, familiarization with new facts, and a more complete and profound reflection of reality.

In general, the cognitive interests of a preschooler child begin to manifest themselves very early. This first manifests itself in the form of children's questions with which the baby besieges parents from the age of 3-4. However, whether such children's curiosity will become a stable cognitive interest or whether it will disappear forever depends on the adults surrounding the child, primarily on his parents. Adults should encourage children's curiosity in every possible way, fostering a love and need for knowledge.

In preschool age, the development of a child’s cognitive interests should proceed in two main directions:

1. Gradually enriching the child’s experience, saturating this experience with new knowledge about various areas of reality. This causes cognitive activity in the preschooler. The more sides of the surrounding reality open to children, the wider the opportunities for the emergence and consolidation of stable cognitive interests in them.

2. Gradual expansion and deepening of cognitive interests within the same sphere of reality.

In order to successfully develop a child’s cognitive interests, parents must know what their child is interested in, and only then influence the formation of his interests. It should be noted that for the emergence of stable interests, it is not enough to simply introduce a child to a new sphere of reality. He should have a positive emotional attitude towards the new. This is facilitated by the inclusion of the preschooler in joint activities with adults.

An adult can ask a child to help him do something or, say, listen to his favorite record with him. The feeling of involvement in the world of adults that arises in the child in such situations creates a positive connotation of his activities and contributes to his interest in this activity. But in these situations, the child’s own creative activity should also be awakened; only then can the desired result be achieved in the development of his cognitive interests and in the assimilation of new knowledge. You need to ask your child questions that encourage active thinking.

A child who has different cognitive interests is characterized by cognitive activity, but its measure and direction are not the same. Therefore, in order to determine the measure of cognitive activity, E.I. Shcherbakova identifies its manifestations in preschoolers in accordance with how the child organizes and regulates the process of his acquaintance with the environment.

She believes that these provisions show: cognitive activity cannot be considered as a volitional, purposeful action, where the goal goes beyond the immediate situation. Shcherbakova E.I. emphasizes that in this case, cognitive activity is the mobilization of intellectual, moral, volitional and physical forces to achieve specific learning goals. She proceeds from the position that activity in the learning process is determined not by motor activity, not by the degree of employment, but by the level of mental activity, which carries elements of creativity.

Shcherbakova E.I. proposed indicators of cognitive activity of preschool children:

1. Passion for studying the material (concentration, attention).

2. A clearly expressed desire to perform a variety of, especially complex tasks.

3. The desire to continue the activity (often such children themselves are the initiators of the game, joint cognitive activity with adults.

4. Demonstration of independence in selecting means, methods of action, achieving results, and exercising control.

5. Use of knowledge in independent activities (game, work, construction).

6. Contacting the teacher with questions aimed at cognitive interest.

7. Quality of knowledge and skills.

In such cases, children achieve the goal not intuitively, but consciously, and are able to explain how they performed the action and why it did so.

To identify and characterize a child’s cognitive activity means to determine its level of development. Godovikova D.B. suggests for this, firstly, to determine the area of ​​​​objects to which it is aimed (content), and secondly, the nature of the organization of searches.

Godovikova D.B., who believes that cognitive activity is the desire to gain knowledge about the phenomena of the surrounding world, this is both a cognitive need and the cognitive activity stimulated by it. Cognitive activity, in her opinion, has distinct external manifestations, based on which one can judge the nature of its organization.

What a child is interested in, what is the intensity of his desire to get acquainted with certain phenomena, can be judged by 4 indicators:

1. Attention and special interest in subjects;

2. Emotional attitude towards objects (surprise, bewilderment, slyness, that is, a variety of emotions caused by this object);

3. Actions aimed at the recognition devices of an object, understanding its functional purpose. The total number of these actions is evidence of the intensity of the survey. But the quality of actions is especially important, first of all their variety and the replacement of some types by others, pauses during which the child thinks about this subject.

4. Constant desire for an object, even when it is not there.

Thus, Godovikova D.B. Identifies manifestations of cognitive activity in accordance with how the child carries out the process of his acquaintance with the environment, which, in her opinion, indicates a readiness to overcome difficulties and obstacles on the way to recognizing the essence of the subject.

Thus, cognitive activity during preschool age goes through a complex path of development from simple orientations, which are caused by the novelty of the subject, to the desire to resolve the contradiction between established knowledge and skills that arise in the process of children’s activities.

In order to develop cognitive activity, a child will ideally need to determine typical attitudes - the development of knowledge and cognitive schemes; protecting existing knowledge and cognitive schemas; degree of inclusion in educational activities/

In preschool pedagogy, cognitive activity has been repeatedly considered from the point of view of cognitive interest (Nechaeva V.G., Zakharevich L.F., Manevscheva M.M., Postnikova N.K.) and mathematical abilities (Krutetsky V.A.) or the development of thinking (Poddyakov N.I., Proskurova E.V.), quality of learning in general (Nepomnyashchaya N.I., Vyatkina L.A., Gracheva Z.A.).

There is another approach to determining the manifestations of cognitive activity. E.I. Shcherbakova, based on psychological and pedagogical literature, and more specifically, approaches to the problem of optimizing the cognitive activity of students (Yu.K. Babansky, M.A. Danilov, I.Ya. Lerner, T.I. Shamova, etc.) identifies the following manifestations of cognitive activities:

1. The ability to see and independently set a cognitive task.

2. Draw up a plan and select ways to solve the problem using the most reliable and effective techniques.

3. Achieve results and understand the need to verify them.

Thus, E.I. Shcherbakova identifies manifestations of cognitive activity in accordance with how the child organizes and regulates the process of his acquaintance with the environment. She believes that these provisions show: cognitive activity cannot be considered as a volitional, purposeful action, where the goal goes beyond the immediate situation. E. Shcherbakova emphasizes that in this case, cognitive activity is the mobilization of intellectual, moral-volitional and physical forces to achieve specific learning goals. She proceeds from the position that activity in the learning process is determined not by motor activity, not by the degree of employment, but by the level of mental activity, which carries elements of creativity.

Such a variety of approaches to determining the essence and content of cognitive activity causes some difficulty in accurately isolating it from the child’s general activity. It is known that cognitive activity begins with living contemplation in a broad sense - with sensations and perception. Thus, in teaching children the elements of mathematics, this is associated with specific practical and cognitive actions: children observe, listen, examine, apply, apply, count, measure, etc.

Already this stage of learning is characterized by activity. However, in these cases, relying on the position of E.I. Shcherbakova, it would be more correct to talk about general mental activity. VC. Kotyrlo and T.V. Dutkevich proposes to judge the cognitive activity of children by their ability to transform the situation, which is expressed in the fact that in older preschoolers the “reaction to novelty” develops greatly, it turns into the ability to see and note the known and the unknown, the known and the new, the ordinary and the unusual. VC. Kotyrlo and T.V. Dutkevich note that children with different cognitive activity can qualify the same situation as familiar or highlight the specifics of its specific conditions.

They emphasize that even under normal conditions, a cognitively active child, thanks to his imagination and interest, transforms the environment, revealing its new sides and nuances, enriching his cognitive experience. Transformations are expressed in changing the conditions of the situation, introducing new elements and finding their new combinations or unusual possibilities of functioning.

This rather important indicator of cognitive activity should be taken into account along with the indicators of cognitive activity proposed by E.I. Shcherbakova:

1. Passion for studying the material (concentration, attention).

2. A clearly expressed desire to perform a variety of, especially complex tasks.

3. The desire to continue the activity (often such children themselves are the initiators of games and joint cognitive activities with adults).

4. Demonstration of independence in selecting means, methods of action, achieving results, and exercising control.

5. Use of knowledge in independent activities (play, work, constructive)

6. Contacting the teacher with questions aimed at cognitive interests.

7. Quality of knowledge and skills. In such cases, children achieve the goal not intuitively, but consciously, and are able to explain how they performed the action and why it did so.

Researchers note that every child is characterized by cognitive activity, but its measure and direction are not the same. To identify and characterize a child’s cognitive activity means to determine its level of development. D.B. Godovikova proposes to do this, firstly, to determine the area of ​​objects to which it is directed (content), and secondly, the nature of the organization of the child’s search activity in a difficult cognitive situation for him.

Based on this, D.B Godovikova identifies three levels of cognitive activity:

1. Children strive for toys that have bright perceptual properties (large, colorful, sonorous), as well as those that are familiar in their functional purpose (telephone, dishes, etc.); there is no interest in objects of unclear purpose. Search regulation is external; objects dominate activity (the level of interest in the external properties of an object is determined by the object itself).

2. Its essence is the content of the cognitive need and the level of self-organization. Children strive to become familiar with toys and other objects that have certain functions. The possibility of using them in different ways and testing their functional properties is attractive; the desire to penetrate into the hidden properties of an object is expressed. However, the regulation of search is subject to emotions (the level of interest in the functional qualities of an object and the regulation of search are determined with the help of an adult).

3. Its essence is new content. Interest and activity are aroused by the hidden, internal properties of an object, the so-called secrets, and to a greater extent by internal, conceptual formations. Activity is guided by the goal of achieving the desired result. The goal may not be achieved, but the desire for success remains for a long time. Behavior is guided by one's own intention.

The combination of all signs of behavior is not always so clearly uniform, emphasizes D.B. Godovikov, but characteristic and stable enough to serve as the norm.

Thus, cognitive activity during preschool age goes through a complex path of development from simple indicative reactions that are caused by the novelty of the subject, to the desire to resolve the contradictions between existing knowledge and new cognitive tasks that arise in the practical activities of children.

What factors ensure the transition from one level of development of cognitive activity to a higher one, what is the source of the formation and manifestation of cognitive activity? Modern studies studying the characteristics of cognitive activity do not give a clear answer to this question.

M.S. Yakimansky believes that cognitive activity depends on the experience of the child himself, which provides him not only with the conscious assimilation of new material, but also with its transformation.

P.A. Pobirchenko draws attention to the fact that activity is especially noticeable when there is an opportunity to explore, transform, engage in new connections and relationships, pose new problems, and discover new things.

L.I. Bozovic notes that one cannot expect activity in a child who is deprived of independence.

A.M. Matyushkin believes that the basis for the development of cognitive activity is those principles of personality education and the development of thinking, which include stimulation and encouragement of the very acts of cognitive activity on the part of another person. That is why, according to A.M. Matyushkin, the most significant situations in the occurrence of acts of cognitive activity are situations of communication, various types of interpersonal interaction, games, and learning. Thus, he assigns decisive importance in the development of cognitive activity to the leading type of activity and communication with adults.

From the point of view of M.I. Lisina, the main factor in the development and formation of cognitive activity should be considered the communication of a child with an adult, during which the child learns, on the one hand, an active and interested attitude towards phenomena and objects, on the other hand, ways to manage his behavior, overcomes the difficulties of orientation in new situations.

E.I. Shcherbakova points out that the prerequisite, the physiological basis of cognitive activity is the orienting reflex “What is this?” But this prerequisite can develop into a quality called cognitive activity only under favorable conditions. The main task of pedagogy, in her opinion, is to create such conditions.

Conditions conducive to the activation and development of cognitive activity, proposed by T.I. Babaeva, in our opinion, generally take into account the characteristics of the cognitive activity of preschool children:

1. The development of cognitive activity is facilitated by such an organization of learning in which the child is involved in the process of independent search and discovery of new knowledge and solving problems of a problematic nature.

2. The child’s intellectual and practical activities in the classroom should be varied. The monotony of information and methods of action quickly causes boredom and reduces activity.

3. It is necessary to constantly change the forms of questions and tasks, stimulate the search activity of children, creating an atmosphere of intense teamwork.

4. The content of the classes should be difficult, but feasible. Material that is too simple or complex does not arouse interest, does not create the joy of intellectual victory, problem solving, or supporting cognitive activity.

5. The more new material is related to the existing experience of preschoolers, the more interesting it is for them.

6. The teacher’s emotionality, his ability to support and direct interest in the content of the lesson stimulates the cognitive activity of children.

Thus, we see that cognitive activity is formed mainly in cognitive activity, which is associated with the purposeful actions of children. Pedagogically correctly organized activities contribute most effectively to its formation. N.N. Poddyakov believes that the basis of such activity should be the provision that, simultaneously with the formation of clear, distinct knowledge, there remains a zone of uncertain knowledge, appearing in the form of guesses, assumptions, and questions from children, so that satisfaction with the new acquired knowledge at the end of the next lesson is combined with the impatience to learn that The next one will be so that children do not wait for explanations from adults, but rather clarify what is unclear to them, make predictions, and make guesses.

It is this peculiar problem in the form of uncertainty of knowledge that is a powerful stimulus for children’s cognitive activity. Based on this situation, in the mid-80s a basic strategy for problem-based learning for preschool children was developed. Research by A.V. Zaporozhets, A.N. Leontyeva, L.A. Venger, N.N. Poddyakov convincingly reveal that problem-based learning should be built as an independent creative search, only then learning is not a reproductive, but a creative activity, then it contains everything that can captivate, interest, and awaken a thirst for knowledge. At the same time, being formed in the process of activity, cognitive activity at the same time affects the quality of this activity, acting as a means and condition for achieving the goal.

Cognition is the process of reflecting and reproducing reality in human thinking, conditioned by the development of social historical practice. The result of which is new knowledge about the world. Specially organized cognition constitutes the essence of the educational process.

Mental development is a complex dynamic system of quantitative and qualitative changes that occur in a person’s intellectual activity as a result of his mastering experiences that correspond to the social and rhetorical conditions in which he lives, the age and individual characteristics of his psyche.

Abilities are individual psychological characteristics of a person, which are a condition for the successful implementation of one or another productive activity.

The cognitive development of a preschooler implies mastery of the means of cognition, mastery of means and methods of describing the world around him, the development of intellectual emotions, familiarity with various spheres of reality, the expansion of cognitive activity and independence.

Means of cognition - standards, models, speech, etc.

Methods of cognition - observation, examination, comparison, classification, seriation, analysis, synthesis, inference, evaluation, experimentation.

The concepts of curiosity and cognitive interest have a common basis - a cognitive attitude towards the environment. Differences in the volume and depth of this relationship, in the degree of activity and independence

Curiosity is the general direction of a positive attitude towards a wide range of phenomena.

Cognitive interest is manifested in the desire to find out what is unclear about objects and phenomena, in the desire to delve into the essence, to find connections and relationships. The basis of cognitive interests is active mental activity.

Cognitive interest differs from curiosity in its breadth of coverage of objects, depth of knowledge, and selectivity. Reflected in drawings, stories, games and other types of creative activities.

Cognitive interest is most often directed at a certain aspect of life, at one or another phenomenon or object. Cognitive interest includes intellectual activity in combination with an emotional attitude and volitional efforts. Characteristic features of cognitive interest: versatility, depth, stability, dynamism, effectiveness.

Cognitive activity is an active state of the individual, which is characterized by the desire to learn, mental stress and the manifestation of volitional efforts in the process of acquiring knowledge. 3 levels – reproducing, interpreting, creative.

MAGAZINE Preschooler.RF

As soon as a child is born and adapts a little, he begins to be interested in the world that surrounds him. And a preschool child is a real natural explorer. The world opens up to the child through the experience of his personal feelings, actions, observations, and experiences. “The more a child has seen, heard and experienced, the more he knows and has learned, the more elements of reality he has in his experience, the more significant and productive, other things being equal, his creative and research activity will be,” wrote Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. The development of cognitive interests of preschool children is one of the pressing problems of pedagogy, designed to educate a person capable of self-development and self-improvement. This question has been raised in pedagogy for many years. And in modern conditions, an overabundance of information (television, computer games, early learning methods, an abundance of toys, magazines and books) is especially acute.

Modern preschool education in the light of the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education is designed to ensure the self-development and self-realization of the child, to promote the development of cognitive activity and initiative of the preschooler. One of the principles of the Federal State Educational Standard for Preschool Education is “the formation of the child’s cognitive interests and cognitive actions in various types of activities” (clause 1. 4. (7)). One of the target guidelines at the stage of completing preschool education is that “the child shows curiosity, asks questions to adults and peers, is interested in cause-and-effect relationships, and tries to independently come up with explanations for natural phenomena and people’s actions; inclined to observe, experiment” (paragraph 4.7). In addition, cognitive activity and cognitive interest are the basis for successful educational activities (A. P. Arkhipova, N. A. Belyaeva, L. I. Bozhovich, etc.)

By cognitive activity of preschoolers I understand the desire to understand objects and phenomena of the surrounding world. It is expressed in:

• curiosity (the child asks a lot of questions and is interested in receiving information)
• independence (selects the object of interest, the ability to obtain information using available sources, independently searches for answers to questions of interest)
• initiative (the child shows a desire to clarify, deepen his knowledge, offers various types of activities, he has a desire to share his knowledge with others).

Therefore, I set myself the following tasks:

1. Create conditions for motivating children to various types of activities.
2. To develop research skills in children: the ability to ask questions, put forward hypotheses, conduct a simple experiment, determine the signs and properties of objects in the surrounding world, observe, establish cause-and-effect relationships, and draw conclusions.
3. To develop initiative, independence, curiosity in children, and to cultivate personal qualities.

I decided to develop children’s research skills in the process of such activities as: observation, elementary experimentation, collecting collections, excursions and children’s project activities.

For me, the TRIZ-OTSM technology, adapted for preschoolers by T.A., became an effective tool for making all these types of activities not only unusual, exciting, and interesting for children, but also to form the foundations of systems thinking and a holistic picture of the world. Sidorchuk (candidate of pedagogical sciences, author of more than 200 publications on the use of OTSM - TRIZ in pedagogy, Ulyanovsk).

Through the “Explore World” corner, I introduced the children to 5 analyzers that people use when exploring the world around them, and to 14 features that can be identified in any object using these analyzers. I set a task for the children - to be able to name the name of the attribute, determine the meaning of the attribute of a specific object, and know the designation of the attribute's icon. All these skills help the child learn how to explore any object and support cognitive interest in various types of activities.

I most often organize observations during a walk. I teach children observation using the “Observation Ring.” Children, looking through the ring, select an object and identify as many features of this object as possible using analyzers known to them. In the older group, I set the children the task of noticing a change in an object or sign over time (for example: at the beginning of the walk the sun was shining brightly, and at the end of the walk it hid behind the clouds; at the beginning of the walk a man stands on the balcony of a neighboring house, and at the end of the walk - his no; on the morning walk the dandelions were open, but on the evening walk they were closed). In the preparatory group, children learn to record the results of their observations in an album using diagram icons, as well as analyze the results of their observations and establish cause-and-effect relationships (the dandelion closed because the sun hid, which means the opening of the flower is affected by sunlight; the cloud has moved, because the wind blew, it means that the movement of the clouds occurs due to the force of the wind).

I decided to increase motivation for cognitive activity, to arouse in children a desire to explore the world and ask questions using the method of children's experimentation.

For me, experimentation has become a learning method that:

• allows the child to model in his mind a picture of the world based on his own observations, experiences, establishment of interdependencies, patterns, etc.;
• arouses children's interest in exploring nature, develops mental operations (analysis, synthesis, classification, generalization, etc.), activates the perception of educational material on familiarization with natural phenomena, the basics of mathematical knowledge, the ethical rules of social life, and, of course, stimulates cognitive activity and curiosity of children;
• involves all senses (vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste), which ensures the assimilation of material not only at the mental, but also at the sensory level.

I teach elementary experimentation according to the methodology of conducting experiments (studies of the state and transformation of matter, movement of air and water, properties of soil and minerals, living conditions of plants, etc.) O.V. Dybina (Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Preschool Pedagogy and Psychology, TSU). I also use Internet resources.

To begin this work, I needed to create an appropriate developmental subject-spatial environment in the group, namely a corner for experimentation or a mini-laboratory.

A special place in the group was allocated and work began on collecting equipment and materials. Everyone participated in this: children, parents, preschool staff. As a result, our “Solar Laboratory” appeared. Where we collect natural materials (cones, seeds, pebbles, shells, tree cuts); objects made of metal, wood, plastic; different types of paper and fabric and much more.

The necessary equipment is available: a microscope, magnifying glasses, magnets, mirrors, various types of scales and watches, jars, cones, tweezers, pipettes, etc.

Our laboratory also has collections of minerals, shells, buttons, and candy wrappers.

The main pedagogical problem for me was the fact that the laboratory, despite its rich content, aesthetic appearance and apparent accessibility, did not arouse the expected interest among the children. All activities were limited to viewing collections and some items. Analyzing the current situation, I realized that children's experimental activities should be organized in a special way, it should be accessible not so much in terms of subject matter as in technology, the child must understand the algorithm of actions in the laboratory.

So the main feature of our laboratory was working on trays using cards-schemes that we created together with the children. It is very important for me that the experiments that we do with the guys in joint activities, they subsequently want and are able to repeat on their own. For this purpose, I specially organized the children’s independent activities in the laboratory. Each experience in the form of an algorithm of actions using icons is schematically depicted on a card. All this is done together with the children, in front of their eyes, taking into account their suggestions after the teacher demonstrates the experience. On a separate tray there is equipment for the experiment and a diagram card is placed there. Starting from the middle group, children work with a set prepared by the teacher, and for the preparatory group, children have the opportunity to independently, using a card, prepare equipment and materials and conduct experiments. Currently, our laboratory has diagrammatic maps for conducting experiments: “Volcanic eruption”, “Surface tension of water”, “Making a filter, water purification”, “Sinking - not sinking”, “Study of the properties of paper and fabric”, “ Optical illusions with a mirror and a magnifying glass,” and many others.

In addition to the laboratory, we created a book corner “Book House” in the group, with a constant change of material depending on the topic. Children can use games using TRIZ-OTSM methods ( “Yes-no-ka” based on fairy tales, “Guess the fairy-tale hero”). Books are always available for children, you can look at illustrations, encyclopedias in which children can find the necessary information, albums. There is a “Book Hospital” and children can “treat” an injured book themselves.

We have created a wonderful creative center “Little Artists”, where all materials for modeling, drawing, making appliqués, stencils, albums with children’s drawings, a collection of postcards, etc. are available to children every day.

Collecting also increases children's interest in the world around them, teaches them to navigate the variety of objects and their characteristics, and allows them to develop classification skills. This is exactly the task I set for children when collecting collections. It is important for me that a child can not only collect some exhibits, but also systematize his collection: arrange the exhibits according to a certain criterion and give them names. For example, we systematize the collection of animals according to location (natural areas); collection of tea based on color or smell. When creating a clock museum, children classified clocks according to time (antique, modern); based on the part (with a cuckoo, with a door, with a stand, etc.); by shape, size, etc.

This approach helps to support cognitive interest not only in proactive children, but also increases cognitive activity in other children. Encourages them to examine exhibits in detail, participate in the collection of general collections (bring their own exhibits), or even collect their own collection.

All of the listed types of children's cognitive activity are often components of projects and project activities. Project "Clock Museum" . We created a mini-museum of watches in the group, during which children learned to look for information in different sources and systematize it. Collect exhibits and create a collection. We developed communication skills, learned to act as tour guides, talking about the mini-museum. We got acquainted with the concept of a museum and got an idea of ​​the function of such an object as a watch. We learned about the history of the origin and development of watches. Children learned about the existence of time zones on Earth, some learned to “find out” (understand) what time it is. We worked on developing a sense of time (1 minute is a lot or a little: sitting motionless and silent for 1 minute is a lot, but playing is very little).

We carried out “My Sunshine” project Parents and children had to come up with and create an image based on the following categories: future profession, fairy-tale hero, my hobby. Children learned to present their “image” and learned about each other’s preferences and hobbies. The project helped develop initiative in children, since the main idea for creating an image came from the child.

“Painted Miracles” project helped enrich the RPPS in the group. Thanks to him, our group now has products made in various types of folk arts and crafts. The children got acquainted with such types as: Gorodets painting, Gzhel, Khokhloma, Dymkovo and Filimonovskaya toys. We learned to select information about the history of the origin and development of fisheries and answer questions that arise. Thanks to the help of parents, we were able to create the atmosphere of those years both in the group, and in the reception area, and in the hall near the group. We created “Slavyanskaya Sloboda” and recreated the life of a Russian hut. The children made various works in the style of these paintings.

Another educational project, “Journey Around the Earth,” took us around different corners of the Earth. With the help of the Travel Compass , my children and I “visited” various natural areas: from the Arctic and Antarctic to jungles and deserts. Children, with the help of their parents, actively searched for various information, every day we had a “question of the day” , which we placed on the “Hot news of the group” so that parents were aware of our news, and could help the child, and simply understand him better, when he shares information, impressions, and experience gained. In addition, the children and I created models of various natural areas and collected a collection of animals. Our card index of experiments has been replenished with experiments - experiments “Salt and fresh water” , “What are mountains made of, what are deserts made of” , “Artificial snow” , “What is an Iceberg” , “Direct and oblique rays of the sun” , etc.

“Tea House” project made it possible to improve work on such activities as collecting (collecting exhibits, searching for information from different sources, classifying according to various criteria).

Another way for me to develop cognitive interest in children was excursions. This is facilitated by the fact that our institution has the ability to organize various trips on its own bus. Starting from the middle group, the children and I visited the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Novosibirsk Museum of Nature the Botanical Garden of Academgorodok, the chocolate factory, and the fire station No. 11. Berdsk, in the Berdsk “Historical and Art Museum”, on the sports grounds of Berdsk: LDS, SK Kristall, SK Vega. SK "Winter-Summer", Ski resort "Metelitsa".

Our kindergarten is located in a forest area, so several times a year (in different seasons), the children and I go on an excursion to the forest to get acquainted with seasonal changes. In order to form ideas about our hometown, the structure of streets, systematize knowledge about traffic rules and safe behavior on the street, we take excursions around the Molodezhny microdistrict. These trips and hikes are of great importance both for the development of curiosity and broadening their horizons, and for the successful socialization of children.

Cooperation with the city’s sports facilities (training twice a week in football for boys, in rhythmic gymnastics for girls) ensures physical activity and helps to cultivate determination and independence in children.

In terms of fostering independence, I realized that the most important thing is the accessibility of the environment: every child can do everything, there is freedom of choice and freedom of action, but there are also certain rules for everyone.

I assign an exceptionally large role in the development of children’s cognitive activity to parents. They are an important and integral part of this work.

Therefore, at the beginning of the school year, we held the first parent meeting in a large forest clearing in the Berdsk recreation area. It was a real quest with tasks “Five mysteries of autumn” , during which the children explored the secrets of the forest, guessed riddles, played outdoor games, and looked for the smallest inhabitant of the forest. Parents also did not stand aside, participated in the relay race, formed and flew in a “wedge of cranes” and much more. But most importantly, parents felt the importance of shaping the cognitive actions and cognitive interests of children, they learned to instill in their children observation skills, the ability to see small miracles around them. At the end of the middle group, I held a parent meeting, at which the children demonstrated the ability to carry out basic experiments, act according to an algorithm, comment on their activities, draw conclusions, and read conventionally schematic images. This form of work in the form of a presentation is effective because... there was an immediate response, discussions between parents, interest, but it cannot be done often, and it is important for parents to understand how to support the child’s initiative when he wants to repeat the experience, or share information with relatives. For this purpose, I use the “Group Hot News” , where information is posted daily about what the children did today, what information they received, an algorithm for conducting an experiment or a description of the rules of the game, a problematic issue or riddle of the day. This technique helps parents not only have a more complete understanding of the life of their children and the work of the kindergarten teacher, but also have a more informative conversation with their child about their day. The modern form of working with parents in our preschool educational institution is the VKontakte news page, where the children and I have the opportunity to share events from our lives.