Developmental program for developing attention in preschool children.

WHAT IS ATTENTION?

Attention is a certain psychological process, a person’s ability to concentrate on a necessary action. A child’s success at school largely depends on how well it is developed, so it is very important to start working in preschool age, to create conditions for involuntary attention to develop into a voluntary, volitional ability to concentrate. And the best thing parents can do is to develop the ability to concentrate through play.

The following characteristics of this process can be distinguished.

• Volume. That is, the amount of information that a child can retain in his mind.
• Concentration. A child’s ability to concentrate on something specific.
• Sustainability. The time period during which it is possible to maintain concentration.
• Distribution. The ability to divide attention into several simultaneously occurring processes.
• Switchability. The ability to quickly transfer concentration from one action to another.

The task of parents is to work with their children so productively that they form and develop all these characteristics.

Attention is one of the processes of the cognitive, that is, cognitive, sphere of a person - along with memory, thinking, perception and imagination. Without concentration, it is impossible to obtain new information in the required volume and remember it, so this process can be confidently called the first stage of cognition. Then, with the help of memory, a person accumulates acquired information. Only with the necessary level of attention will a child be able to learn cognitive processes such as reading, writing, and learning in the future.

Methods to help hyperactive and inattentive children

Problems with unstable attention appear already from the cradle. But parents attach great importance to this only in older preschool age and primary school. Inattentive, hyperactive children do not perceive information well, do not want to learn, do not sit in one place for a long time, become lethargic, tired, and do not listen to our requests.

Hyperactive child

Here are some more signs of external manifestations of hyperactivity and attention deficit:

• constant fussiness, the child is constantly on the move;
• these movements are impulsive;
• increased talkativeness;
• aggression and frequent conflicts may appear;
• constant mood swings and high irritability;
• the child may refuse to play with everyone;
• low self-esteem and dissatisfaction with oneself appears;
• The child cannot concentrate on one thing and is constantly distracted.

Important! When correcting attention, you need to combine several methods and approach the problem comprehensively, correcting not only the child’s behavior, but also the attitude of his close circle, parents, and teachers.

First of all, specialists provide consultations to parents on how to train their child’s memory and attention. After the necessary examination and observation, appropriate correction methods are selected, which include the following:

• Teaching new behavior to all family members.
• Correction of the psychological microclimate.
• Choosing a suitable place to study with your child.
• Adjusting your daily routine.
• In a team, selection of the best environment.
• Constant motivation of the child.
• Techniques for reducing negative behavior.
• Selection of an individual behavioral program.
• Gentle correction of behavior in a playful and relaxed manner.
• If necessary, additional adjustments with medications.

To achieve results, a child must be surrounded by care and attention, feel the love of loved ones and the desire to help and not harm.

KINDS

There are several types of attention that have their own specificity in preschool children.

First of all, passive (involuntary, or unintentional) attention, that is, concentration on something interesting, unusual without the child’s volitional efforts. In preschool age, this type is the main one: first, children pay attention to something noticeable, then they begin to be interested in what they did not know before, new to themselves.

The next stage of development is the formation of voluntary attention, and it is important to understand that it will not arise on its own from involuntary attention; for this it is necessary to train the child. The active variety is directly related to volitional efforts, so if a child is sick or irritated, his ability to concentrate decreases. Voluntary attention begins to form at the age of 4-5, although the first type still remains dominant throughout preschool childhood.

Tests and methods for diagnosing attention

There are many tests to determine attentiveness. You can use them selectively or use several methods at once.

Note! Your child will show the best results in the first 15 minutes. Then his attention will begin to decline and become distracted. Therefore, you should not spend a lot of time on this.

It is worth understanding that a child of preschool and school age will not do anything according to orders. Therefore, the test should be carried out in a relaxed playful manner.

Mindfulness exercises

Currently, it is worth taking a closer look at two types of diagnostics:

• Munsterberg test for attention;
• Bourdon test for attention.

Study of selectivity of attention according to Münsterberg

Most often, this test is carried out to determine the child’s preparation for school education, during the transition from primary to secondary school, to study the complexity of learning and to identify the professional orientation of students. Münsterberg's attention method is a set of letters written without spaces, without highlighting, in the same font and style. The student is asked to find a certain number of words, spending as little time as possible on it.

The Münsterberg test for perception and attention helps to qualitatively solve a problem during which a model of a certain activity is created. In this case, the child must concentrate on the necessary object, realize it, and find it, despite the interference around him.

Munsterberg test

The author invented this method at the beginning of the twentieth century and it has been effectively used for several decades.

Correction test or Bourdon test

When conducting this test, you are also given a form on which an arbitrary number of letters are written in several rows. The test taker is given the task of crossing out certain letters, prepositions or syllables. You may be given the task to cross out one letter and underline another. It checks the distribution of attention. In this case, the student must stop on command (for example, every 60 seconds) and count the number of crossed out letters or syllables.

Cognitive and speech development of preschool children

The result of the study is checked by the number of uncrossed letters, time used or characters viewed. In this way, the following types of attention are checked:

• Concentration.
• Sustainability.
• Switchability.

Using existing formulas, scores are calculated that serve to assess the attentiveness of the subject.

Bourdon test

CONCENTRATION STANDARDS

Concentration of attention refers to the period of time during which a person is able to maintain concentration on one action. In children, it can have a different duration depending on age, but even the number of years lived is not a fundamental factor. The norm depends on the individual characteristics of the baby. The table shows specific indicators.

Indicators can be either increased or decreased, because attention, like the body and brain, can be trained with special exercises. Regular classes with a preschooler will give parents and the child a good mood, and will also be very useful for improving the ability to concentrate on something and maintain this concentration. It is necessary to develop it so that the child becomes more observant and can easily detect any small details or subtle signs. All this will further help in the learning process, since attention is closely related to memorization.

Features of the development of younger schoolchildren

When analyzing the development of attention in children of primary school age, it is necessary to take into account that at the age of 7-8 a turning point in life occurs. This is a time of reassessment of values: old motives are replaced by new thoughts and aspirations. It is important to base attention training on the fact that play gradually ceases to be the child’s main activity. Personal development depends on the results of his studies and recognition among peers.

The moment has come when the child thinks before doing something, hides his emotions and experiences, and a loss of childish spontaneity occurs. When developing attention, the emerging sense of responsibility in children of primary school age is involved. Everything that happens around leaves an imprint on his entire future life. The functions of higher nervous activity at this age become voluntary and meaningful.

But external stimuli are still a strong distraction, so it is advisable to perform the following training exercises:

1. Forbidden letter or word: the rules are spelled out in advance that you cannot pronounce any letter or word in response to any question.
2. Cities and countries, when they name the capitals of countries or continue the names of cities after hearing the last letter of the previous word.
3. Training memory and attention - 10-15 objects are laid out on the table in a certain sequence and give the child the opportunity to remember where everything is. After this, you can swap no more than 3 items. Children enjoy finding changes in the arrangement of objects.
4. Playing with lines where you need to trace the beginning and end without using a pencil. To enhance interest, an animal is depicted at one end of the line, and a house at the other. The children are intently looking for the animal's way to the house.
5. To develop stability, inanimate objects are listed and periodically an animal or flower is among them. At this moment the child should clap his hands. This is a fun game for several kids.
6. Finding the difference in pictures is one of the most favorite games among children. From time to time, the images will have to be made more complex, which will increase the effectiveness of learning.
7. The task of finishing or coloring the other half of the picture perfectly trains perseverance, attentiveness, and fine motor skills of the hand.

There are a large number of exercises. It is necessary to remember that you need to alternate tasks so that the learning process is always interesting: encourage the desire to learn, teach consistent purposeful actions, strive to bring the work started to its logical conclusion, and always clean up the workplace or play area after yourself.

Training the muscles of the whole body, outdoor games, and morning exercises are also an integral part of mindfulness classes. Mobile “bouncers” with a ball provide an opportunity to have fun, move, and concentrate on several external stimuli.

FORMATION OF ATTENTION

Psychologists distinguish 6 stages of attention development in children.

1. Disseminated (from 0 to 1 year). Children can be distracted by any noise or new toy.
2. Fixed (1-2 years). The kid, busy with his business, is so absorbed in it that he does not notice anything around him.
3. Flexible single-channel (2-3 years). He may stop what he is doing when he hears an address to himself, but will return to it very quickly.
4. Established single-channel (3-4 years). Children can switch from one process to another, interrupt their activities, and then return to them again.
5. Two-channel short-term (4-5 years). The child gains the ability to do two things at the same time - for example, play and listen to what his mother tells him. If it is necessary to perform a complex action, he is able to concentrate on it.
6. Emerging two-channel (5-6 years). Can do two things at the same time, which is why attention training should begin at this age.

Knowing these stages will help parents understand their child better.

Senior preschoolers

During this period of time, when developing attention in children of senior preschool age, it is necessary to take into account that the child already has full command of the language, pronounces words correctly, and constructs sentences.

He is subject to small and large movements, generalizing words, intonation, and perception of works of art and music. Children at this age enjoy the following pastimes:

• paint;
• sculpt from clay, plasticine;
• cut out;
• glue;
• make crafts, applications;
• help at home.

TECHNIQUES FOR INCREASING ATTENTION

We have seen that developing the ability to concentrate is of particular importance for preschoolers. And parents should train their children using an unobtrusive game form. Let's highlight a few tricks and techniques that you can use.

• Maintaining interest. Using game forms, you can ensure that the child will study with great pleasure and, accordingly, attentively.
• Stick to the duration of your classes. So, when studying numbers with a 4-year-old child, you need to understand that the child is able to hold attention for no more than 20 minutes, so it is better to keep the educational material within this framework.
• Favorite characters and toys will also help you not lose interest, and therefore listen and perceive what the parent is saying.
• Show by example. You can explain to the child that if he is attentive and tries to fulfill his parents’ instructions, then the result (for example, a tower of blocks) will turn out much better than if he worked without concentration, somehow.
• Reading and attention are interconnected, so to improve the second, you can teach your child the first. While the baby is just getting acquainted with letters, the mother can read interesting fairy tales and stories to him. Afterwards, you definitely need to discuss what you read, asking to retell it, asking questions. This will help you find out how carefully the baby listened.

If the baby has trouble concentrating and is very far from his age norm, then he may have shallow breathing. Inflating balloons, soap bubbles, playing the pipe or whistle will help correct the situation. In addition, studies have proven that walks in the fresh air and active sports games are very beneficial for children.

Why does a child have reduced attention?

Often children find it difficult to concentrate due to external factors that have a negative impact on their overall development. To avoid such a situation, you need to comply with certain conditions and control almost all aspects of the child’s life. So what should you pay attention to first?

Health

Good health is the main condition for a child to develop fully and comprehensively.

Diseases or illnesses can weaken concentration at any age, but this affects children much more: the baby becomes distracted and apathetic. It is extremely important to find and eliminate the causes of ailments, as well as closely monitor existing pathologies.

Teach your child to lead a healthy lifestyle. Try to limit your time watching TV, playing on the computer and on your smartphone. It is undesirable to overload him with information and affairs. Rest is one of the main components of good health.

Sleeping mode

If a child does not sleep well and does not follow a routine, he becomes chronically absent-minded, which leads to a decrease in school performance, stress and the development of various neuroses. The amount of energy for concentration and memorizing the necessary information also depends on the mode.

Physical activity

If a person’s body is not in good shape, then the brain does not function fully. The level of attention directly depends on the amount of mobility in the child’s lifestyle.

When children are outdoors, running, jumping and playing games, they get out their energy and stimulate active brain function. With enough active recreation or sports in a child’s life, he will be able to perceive and process information faster and better, which will have a positive impact on academic results.

Home furnishings

We are talking about the relationship of parents both with each other and with the child. When there are any problems in the family, discomfort is created and tension increases. Children react to such situations painfully and are the first to be hit emotionally.

As a result, school performance may decline, attention may wander, and the child will not be able to concentrate on the subject and will withdraw into himself. Always maintain a healthy climate in the family, and nothing will distract your child on the way to academic achievements.

TYPES OF EXERCISES FOR DEVELOPMENT

The following types of attention tasks can be distinguished for 5–6 year olds.

• Repetition. The parent draws a series of 2-3 repeating figures on paper, the child’s task is to determine which one should go next and complete the series. Instead of figures, you can build rows of letters.
• Search for the superfluous. At first, the task is simple: for example, the baby is offered 10 triangles and 1 square or 5 animals and one plant. We are gradually making it more complicated: 5 garden flowers and 1 wildflower are presented.
• Find the difference. The game is well known to everyone. Two almost identical pictures are laid out in front of the child, his task is to find those details that are slightly different. The level of difficulty also varies depending on preparedness.

• A variation of the previous task - find two identical ones. The child is offered an illustration that depicts several objects, such as vases, that differ from each other in minor details. The preschooler must carefully examine the models and find two identical ones among them. In the first stages of work, it is better to use pictures with obvious differences; this will help the child gain self-confidence and reinforce his interest. Further tasks become more difficult.
• Working with pictures. There are special illustrations in which animals, such as tigers or wolves, are presented in a veiled form. You can invite your child to find them all.
• Correlation of an object and its shadow.

• Coloring by numbers. The parent gives the child a black and white picture that needs to be made in color, while the picture itself is divided into fragments, each of which is marked with its own number. A decoding of the numbers is provided separately (for example, 6 is pink, 5 is red). The child’s task is to carefully color the image without confusing the tones.
• Drawing by numbers. A very good exercise for preschoolers who are familiar with counting to one hundred, and children of primary school age. The child is offered a picture, which for now consists only of dots, next to which a number is indicated. The kid must connect them, moving in order: first find 1, then connect it with 2, and so on.

It is important to remember that training should be built according to the principle “from simple to complex.” If the child does not succeed in something, you should postpone this task and offer him a simpler option.

Methods for assessing attention

To assess functions, there are special individual and group tests and techniques. The most common ones include:

1. A technique for finding the beginning and end of lines in a drawing.
2. To assess distribution, switching, stability, and fatigue, a technique is used in which children are given the task of marking different figures in a certain way, for example, a triangle with a dot, a square with a tick, etc. The time to complete the diagnosis is 2 minutes.
3. In parallel, short-term memory is assessed. To do this, the child is given multi-colored pictures, asked to look for objects and arrange these images in a given sequence. And then they ask where this or that thing originally lay.

When carrying out diagnostic procedures, the child’s desire to participate in them is very important.

EXAMPLES OF SIMPLE GAMES

There are a huge number of all kinds of games and tasks that will help your child learn to concentrate and also give him a good mood. The main thing is to conduct them in a positive way; the child should not have the thought that he is being taught something. It’s better if he is sure that mom and dad are playing with him.

AUDITORY ATTENTION

“Edible – Inedible” is a simple but effective game that you can play with one child or several. Mom throws the ball, saying the name of a dish, product or inedible item, such as clothing. The child listens carefully. If he hears the name of food, then he catches the ball, but if something unrelated to cooking sounds, then he needs to hit the ball.

There are many variations, so when a child is tired of food and is bored, you can offer slightly different games.

• "It flies - it doesn't fly." The mother names animals and birds, the child, when he hears the name of a bird, raises his hands, and when he hears the name of an animal, he crouches. Over time, the task becomes more complicated - the adult names the animal and raises his hands, while the child must pay attention and sit down.
• "Harvest". Mom is reading a story, into which she will periodically insert the words “plums” and “cherries,” and not always appropriately. The child must, firstly, hear the signal words themselves, and then perform the action: for “plums”, jump, for “cherries” - stand on one leg. An important feature is that the exercise is done from simple to complex: first, when pronouncing the text, the parent uses his voice to highlight signal words, then pronounces them in a normal rhythm so that the child is more attentive.
• "Catch - don't catch." You will need two small balls - light and dark. A light child should always catch, and a dark child should only catch when his mother silently throws him. If at the same time the command “Catch” is heard, then you cannot catch.
• "Repeat the rhythm." The mother sets a simple rhythm, beating it with her palms, and the baby must repeat it.
• "Clap." This is also an interesting task, the level of difficulty of which can vary depending on the child’s preparation. The mother gives the instruction: when she claps once, the child stands on his toes, when she claps twice, on his heels, when he claps three times, he squats. The speed of the clapping gradually increases.

All these games are good because they are not tied to a specific place, they can be played almost anywhere, and the child will not have the feeling that he is being taught something, he will have fun and interesting.

SERIES OF TASKS

The child is given instructions to complete several tasks (you need to start with three, gradually increasing their number), while all tasks are listed at once, so the child will have to remember both the actions themselves and their order. For example:

1. Jump 7 times.
2. Bring the red item.
3. Name a garden flower.

If the child did everything correctly, you should definitely praise him, but if something didn’t work out, correct him, but in a soft, delicate manner. Gradually the number of tasks and their complexity increases; such an exercise will also help improve memory.

OTHER EFFECTIVE GAMES

It is very important to constantly offer the preschooler something new, so that he gets the impression of a game, and not a useful activity. For example, "Dwarfs and Giants". The idea is simple: mom names an object, it must be either large (mountain, skyscraper, multi-story building, whale, elephant) or small (needle, button, coin, bead). The child listens, when a word from the “big” series is pronounced, that is, “giant,” he stands on his toes and raises his straight arms up, when the “small” one, he crouches.

If there are several children, you can play “Broken Phone”. To do this, all participants sit in a row, the first whispers a word in the ear of the second child, who passes it on to the third, and so on. The latter listens to the word and pronounces it out loud; if it matches the original version, then the phone works, but if not, it is broken.

“Guess where the woodpecker is.” An adult knocks, imitating the knock of a woodpecker, sometimes loudly (the bird is close), sometimes quietly (far away). The baby’s task is to tell where exactly the woodpecker is located.

VISUAL ATTENTION

There are a large number of exercises that will help improve visual concentration, and you can play in any convenient place - at home, on a walk, on the way to your grandmother. They are simple, do not require any preparation, and are effective.

• Search for an item. The mother describes some object that is in the room (outside), the child must find it with his eyes and name it.
• "Look at me". The child examines his mother, her outfit, hairstyle, and accessories for a few seconds. Then he turns his back to her and answers questions like “what color is my bag”, “am I wearing a lilac jacket”, “do I have a brooch”? The main thing is to formulate questions so that the child has a chance to answer them. You can make the work more complicated: the child looks at his mother, tries to remember the details of her costume, after which she changes something in her appearance, for example, takes off her scarf. The baby must remember the previous image and report what changes have happened to him. The game is played on the principle of increasing complexity: at first the change is obvious, then, when it becomes easier to achieve the required concentration of attention, the details are chosen to be less significant. For example, a mother can remove the ring from one finger and put it on the other, or make two changes to her image (of course, the child must be warned about this).
• Working with a picture. Very similar to the previous task. The child is given a picture that he has not seen before. He should try to remember as many details as possible. After this, the illustration is removed and the baby is asked a series of questions.
• Graphic task "Beetle". The parent draws a sheet of paper in advance to make cells. Places a beetle figurine in one of them. Then he gives the task - listening to his prompts, move the insect. For example: two cells to the right - then one down - now three to the left and one up. Then the task becomes more complicated: mom immediately names several moves: cell down - two to the left - three up. The child must follow the direction with his eyes and place the beetle in the last cell. You can't move your finger.
• Another good exercise is “Cross out the letter.” The mother gives the baby a text, as well as a task - to find all the letters in it, for example, L and cross them out. When this works out well, you can make it more complicated: find A and L, cross out L with one line, and cross out A with two.
• “Do it as it was.” The figures are laid out in front of the child in a certain sequence. These can be buttons of different colors and colors, toy dishes, cards with images. The child tries to remember the sequence, then turns away, and the mother swaps some two objects. Turning around, the baby must say where the changes occurred.

Games to develop attention should be carried out regularly, only in this case can a positive effect be expected from them. Among the many exercises, you can choose those that your baby likes most and turn to them.

How to develop attention skills in a child

In order to gradually and effectively develop the baby’s attention and memory, it is necessary to include various exercises in the process. The main thing is that they take place in a playful format and that the child is interested in taking part in it. You can play with him, so the baby will feel supported and will have a competitive attitude.

Schulte tables

This exercise is implemented in many applications - you can do it anywhere. The table is a 5x5 square with 25 cells, in which numbers from 1 to 25 are located in a chaotic order. The child’s task is to find all the numbers in order as quickly as possible.

The tables come in large 7x7 and 8x8 cells, and there are also colored distracting examples and variants when, after finding a number, all the other numbers in the table are shuffled, preventing you from remembering their locations.

Stroop test

The exercise consists of several lines. The child will see words denoting different colors, but they will be written in different ink. The goal is to name the actual color of the word, not the written color. For example, if the word “red” is written in blue, then you need to say blue.

It’s easier for our brain to read a word, and such a simple discrepancy confuses it for a few seconds. It is believed that this test was used in counterintelligence to screen suspects. They were given this piece of paper with words and asked to name the colors. If a person does not know the language in which the test is written, then listing the colors will not be difficult, but ignoring familiar words without preparation is difficult.

Camera

The point is to pay attention to a specific part of the body or clothing of the people you meet all day long. These could be noses, eyebrows, earrings, etc. You need to adjust your “lens” only to this part of the image, examine it (without causing inconvenience to strangers, of course) and try to remember. This way the child will learn to see small details and pay attention to nuances. Then you can look at the person and describe his appearance as a whole. A high concentration of attention will be required, because your gaze will need to focus on many details at once.

Exercises with objects

For some time, you need to pay attention and name objects according to a pre-selected attribute: specific color, shape, size, material of manufacture, area of ​​application. Start small. You can train in a room or apartment, and when all the subjects have been learned, look for subjects on the street. Convenient to play while walking.

If you want to play with your child at home, then take several objects, place them on the table and ask the child to remember them. Then mix the items, remove a few or, conversely, add extra ones - now the child must return all the items to their place, recreating the original picture on the table.

You can complicate the task: let the child remember all the objects, and then turn away or leave the room. Remove one or more of them, and the child needs to figure out the loss.

Labyrinths

A simple but addicting game that requires concentration. The purpose of such an exercise is to find a way out of confusing corridors or to trace which symbols connect ornate lines. But there is a nuance: you cannot lead a pencil or finger along the line - you can only trace the path with your eyes.

Fly

You don't need any special equipment to play; you only need available tools and enthusiasm.

Draw a 5x5 field, write letters on top and numbers on the left, like in the game “Battleship.” An imaginary fly sits in the middle cage; its movement always begins from this place. Select a leader who will give the fly the direction of flight for 30 seconds using the commands: up, down, left and right (in cells).

Players need to track the movements of the fly and after 30 seconds give the correct answer on which cell it landed on. The game can be gradually made more difficult: let the fly fly out of the field or even keep the field in your mind without a piece of paper.

Find the differences

The child is faced with the task of finding all the differences between two seemingly identical images. Pictures can be found on the Internet, but choose images that are not too detailed so that the child can get used to the game. This exercise is suitable for both first-graders and students in grades 2–4.

But for schoolchildren in grades 5–7, bright pictures with an abundance of small details are just right, the consideration of which trains not only attentiveness, but also the ability to concentrate on several objects at the same time.

Snowball

You can play together with your child or involve other family members. The rules are simple: the first player names a word, the second player names this word and says his own, the third player repeats the first two words and says his own, and so on. As the game progresses, a long chain of words is formed, which each player must name every time it is his turn. This exercise also develops memory.

Reverse Day

The essence of the exercise is that the child needs to remember how his day went, but in reverse order. It is advisable to remember all the events of the past day, and if you manage to remember the details, you can safely say that your child’s attention and memory are at a high level.

You can guide your child, help him and give him hints if he cannot remember some events.

Realize your potential together

Add something from yourself to each exercise, transform it as you please, the main thing is that the child finds it interesting and is as passionate about the process as possible.
Diversify your activities, come up with interesting games and tasks, and join in the training. And if you don’t have time to draw up a lesson program, sign up for the “Family Memory Development Course” and realize your hidden potential together! Remember that the process of developing memory and attention in a child is quite labor-intensive. Everything has its time. Be patient and the result will meet your expectations.

Attention of preschool children, its features.

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Attention -

one of the main psychological processes, the characteristics of which determine the assessment of a child’s cognitive readiness for learning at school and the success of his educational activities.

Good attentiveness of a child is the key to his early development, further good studies, success at work, and simply the opportunity not to stumble on the road in everyday life. Inattention can lead to both small troubles, such as confusing salt with sugar, and larger ones, for example, completing a task that is not written under the number assigned by the teacher.

Attention in itself is not a cognitive process, but characterizes the conditions for the occurrence of any cognitive process. Attention performs the following functions

: activates necessary and inhibits currently unnecessary psychological and physiological processes, promotes targeted, organized selection of incoming information, ensures long-term concentration of activity on the same object.

External attention

addressed to objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, to the actions of other people. Such attention can be observed in a child from birth: turning the head towards the sound, focusing the gaze on the mother’s face.

In preschool children, attention is directed to their inner world

. When your child suddenly stops and looks at one point, know that at that moment his inner attention reaches its highest point. We take this moment for absent-mindedness.

There are three main types of attention

: involuntary, voluntary, post-voluntary.

Involuntary attention

arises by itself, without the child’s efforts to create and maintain it. Bright, noisy things arouse interest, but it is short-lived and as soon as the object ceases to be interesting, this type of attention stops.

Voluntary attention

it is necessary for the child to do not what he wants, but what is needed, perhaps sacrificing another activity that is more interesting for him. Psychologists believe that the better the speech is developed in a preschool child, the earlier voluntary attention is formed. Its development is facilitated by various activities with the child, games according to the rules, in which the adult takes direct part, showing the need for such attention.

If a child is carried away by a game or completing a task, he no longer needs to make an effort to concentrate, and voluntary attention turns into post-voluntary

.
Here the signs of involuntary and voluntary types of attention are combined.
Preschooler's attention

has the following
properties:
volume, stability, concentration, selectivity, distribution, switchability.

Attention span

characterized by the number of objects that a child can follow without losing attention.
By the age of six,
a child is able
to simultaneously perceive not one object
(as at four or five years old),
but three
, and with sufficient completeness and detail. The scope of attention narrows if the child sees objects for the first time. At the same time, the bright appearance or size of objects at the age of 6 years become less important than at 3-4 years.

Sustainability

shows how long a child can
focus on an object or activity.
It is believed that
by the age of 5-6 years,
children can
maintain attention for up to 2 hours
, depending on the type of activity - a game or a monotonous, boring activity.

Concentration of attention

shows
how intensely a child can focus on an object and whether he is able to resist distractions.
Most often,
concentration in preschoolers is low
, and it is very important to develop it.

Selectivity of attention

allows the child
to focus on a specific part of the object
, which helps him successfully solve the problem.

Distribution

means the ability to pay
equal attention to several objects
, to perform
several different actions without errors.
Switching attention

promotes
rapid switching from one type of activity to a completely different one
, while the child experiences a certain nervous tension, which becomes less pronounced with age.

Usually in preschool age distribution and switchability

attention spans
are not sufficiently developed
, so they should be given special attention in activities with the child. In this case, you should take into account the personal characteristics of your child and not demand the impossible from him.

In preschool age,
attention is involuntary
and is caused by externally attractive objects, events and people.
The attention of a preschool child reflects his interest in surrounding objects and the actions performed with them. A child fixes attention on something or someone only during the period of time in which he retains direct interest in the person, object or event. That is
the child is focused until interest wanes .
The appearance of a new object
immediately causes
a shift of attention
to it. Therefore, children rarely do the same thing for a long time.

By the age of five, children can consciously concentrate their attention with the help of an adult. On one's own

The child begins
to concentrate and maintain attention
on an object of interest to him
by the age of six.
At preschool age, different degrees of attention stability are already observed in different children.

. This may be due to the type of nervous activity, physical condition and living conditions. It has been observed that nervous and sick children are more likely to be distracted than calm and healthy children.

During preschool age, due to the complication of children’s activities and their movement in general mental development, attention acquires greater concentration and stability

.

After three years, attention becomes more stable, and by six years it reaches a good level, which is very important in preparing a child for school.

So, if younger preschoolers can play the same game for 30-40 minutes, then by the age of five or six years the duration of the game increases to two hours. This is explained by the fact that the play of six-year-olds reflects more complex actions and relationships between people, and interest in it is maintained by the constant introduction of new situations.

The stability of children's attention also increases when looking at pictures, listening to stories and fairy tales. Thus, the duration of looking at a picture approximately doubles by the end of preschool age. Younger preschoolers look at pictures that interest them and can engage in a certain type of activity for 6–8 seconds, and older preschoolers can do it for 12–20 seconds. A six-year-old child is more aware of a picture than a younger preschooler

Major change in attention

in preschool age is that
children for the first time begin to control their attention,
consciously direct it to certain objects, phenomena, and stay on them, using certain means for this.

Voluntary attention

arises
as a result of the influence of adults, the result of upbringing and training
. It is distinguished by its active nature, complex structure, and indirectness.

The origins of voluntary attention lie outside the child’s personality. This means that the development of involuntary attention itself does not lead to the emergence of voluntary attention. Voluntary attention

is formed
due to the fact
that
adults include the child in new types of activities
and, using
certain means,
direct and organize his attention.

At the initial stage of the transition of attention from involuntary to voluntary, the means that control the child’s attention

(for example, a set of colored cards that are external aids for successfully focusing attention on the conditions of the game),
and reasoning out loud
.

In addition to the means that organize attention in connection with a specific particular task, there is a universal means of organizing attention

—
speech
.

Initially, adults organize attention

child using
verbal instructions
.
He is reminded of the need to perform a given action, taking into account this or other circumstances (When you fold the turret, choose the largest ring. Yes, that’s right. And where is the largest now? Remember!!! etc.). Later, the child himself begins to verbally designate those objects and phenomena
that need to be paid attention to in order to achieve the desired result.

Formation of voluntary attention

accompanied by the appearance of
egocentric speech
Egocentric speech - (from the Latin ego - I, centrum - center of the circle) - speech addressed to oneself, regulating and controlling the child’s practical activities.

Throughout preschool age, the use of speech to organize one’s own attention increases sharply

. This is manifested in particular in the fact that when performing tasks according to the instructions of an adult, children of older preschool age pronounce the instructions ten to twelve times more often than younger preschoolers.

Thus, voluntary attention is formed in preschool age with a general increase in the role of speech in regulating the child’s behavior.

The most effective activities for developing attention in preschool children are games

.
Playful activities promote intensive development and stability of attention
.

The process of forming voluntary attention

helps
to attract the baby to new activities
. It is important that the child expands the possibilities of his attention without experiencing much nervous tension, then curiosity, thirst for knowledge and liveliness of thinking will greatly help the child in his future school life.

Attention!

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