Cognitive processes of a preschooler
Preschoolers quickly develop all mental processes. A distinctive feature of all cognitive processes in preschool age is their acquisition of voluntariness.
In early preschool age (3-4 years), perception is closely related to the child’s emotions, and the more positive feelings and vivid impressions the child experiences when exposed to some stimulus, the more accurate the perception will be. But already at an older age (5-7 years), perception becomes not just a reaction to a stimulus, but a tool for understanding the world around us. Visual perception is especially developed in preschoolers.
Attention and memory retain their involuntary nature, but by the end of the period their volition develops. By the age of 5, the stability of attention and its volume increase. Moreover, it has been established that stability of attention is related to the character of the child. In calm children it is 2 times higher than in emotional ones.
The most important mental function affecting the development of a preschooler is memory. A child is able to remember a lot of different information, but only when he is interested, and this happens during the game. No special memorization techniques will work.
The development of a preschooler's thinking goes through several stages. At the beginning, the child develops visual-effective thinking, then - by the middle of preschool age - it turns into visual-figurative thinking, and at the end verbal-logical thinking begins to form.
These psychological features of the development of preschool children, and in particular the features of thinking, must be taken into account when communicating with a child. For example, a 4-5 year old child asks when mom will return home. You answer that she will come home after work. And a couple of minutes later the child asks the same question. No, he is not joking with you and he heard your answer well. Simply, due to the specifics of children's thinking, he did not understand it.
The words “after”, “then” belong to the category of time (past, present, future), and this relates to verbal-logical thinking. And the child operates visually and effectively. Therefore, so that the child understands you, list after what actions and events the mother will appear at home. For example: “You and I will go for a walk now, then we will eat, watch a cartoon, it will become dark outside the window, and then mom will come.”
How to help develop psychological processes?
The preschool period is an important stage in the development of a child’s psychological processes.
Parents should teach their child to plan their activities.
In this case, it is necessary to use imagination as a prerequisite for the formation of an internal plan in the child.
External control must be exercised through speech.
To develop elements of cooperation, adults are recommended to engage in some kind of joint activity.
This could be doing some simple household chores together or preparing a dish. This is especially important for children 4-5 years old.
Parents should develop empathy in their child, and also encourage him to take initiative in various activities.
WHAT INFLUENCES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S PSYCHE?
Undoubtedly, the development of such a complex structure as the psyche is influenced by many different factors. These include, first of all, biological and social factors.
- Biological factors are heredity, features of the course of pregnancy and intrauterine development of the baby (the presence of diseases, infections, etc.), features of childbirth (complicated, rapid, cesarean section), the degree of full term of the child at the time of birth, and, accordingly, the degree of biological maturation of all of his systems and organs.
- Social factors include, first of all, environmental factors: natural and social. The natural environment affects the development of a child only indirectly. Climatic and geographical conditions determine certain types of work activity, as well as culture. This leaves an imprint on the characteristics of training and education. The social environment is the direct influence of society. It has a significant impact on the child’s mental development on two levels. These are macro and micro environments.
- Macroenvironment is society in a broad sense. That is, society with its cultural traditions, level of development of culture, art, religion, ideology, media... The child is included in various forms of activity, cognition and communication in accordance with accepted human culture and social experience. The program of mental development is formed by society and embodied through the system of training and education in surrounding social institutions.
- The microenvironment is the child’s immediate environment (his parents, family, neighbors, friends, teachers). The microenvironment has a significant influence on the early stages of a child’s mental development. It is family upbringing that plays the most important role in the development of a small personality. It determines many important aspects: features of communication and activity, self-esteem, creative and intellectual potential. Outside the social environment, no child can develop fully.
Try to create a favorable psychological microclimate in the family. This will contribute to the harmonious development of the baby’s psyche. Frequent scandals, constant stress and nervous tension are a powerful brake on this path.
Another important factor is the child’s involvement in various activities - play, work - as well as communication and learning.
Throughout life, interpersonal communication is of utmost importance for a person’s mental development. Through communication with adults, learning and education and the transfer of experience occur. Through communication, not only speech develops, but also voluntary memory, thinking, perception, attention, and important personality traits (character, temperament, behavior).
While playing, children reproduce characteristic ways of communication, as well as human interaction. The game helps the child develop his cognitive, moral, and personal qualities, assimilate important social roles and methods of activity, interaction of people in society. In the game, the socialization of the little personality occurs, the child’s self-awareness, his will, emotions, motivation, and needs develop.
The process of mental development is inseparable from labor. A child’s involvement in work activities affects all areas of the psyche.
Thus, in order to ensure the correct mental development of a child, it is important to take into account his biological characteristics, the specifics of the surrounding society, and also give him the opportunity to realize himself in play, study, work, and communication with people around him.
In what cases should you contact a child psychologist?
So, we found out that the psychologist works with healthy children and kids with mild developmental disabilities. A child psychologist conducts diagnostics, developmental classes and consultations for parents. In what cases should you consult a psychologist?
Abrupt changes or traumatic experiences in a child's life
Order and stability are very important to kids, so the world becomes predictable, understandable, and therefore a safe place for them. It is for this reason that sudden changes in conditions (moving, changes in family structure and lifestyle) and, even more so, traumatic events (divorce of parents, death of a loved one, physical or psychological violence experienced) can be a serious test for a child.
At such moments, a consultation with a child psychologist will help parents understand how the child copes with changes, how they can help him, and for the child himself, classes with a psychologist can become a comfortable place to experience difficult experiences.
The appearance of unwanted behavior in the baby
Changes in behavior, disobedience, tearfulness, aggression towards other children and adults, shyness, isolation, excessive fantasizing, nightmares, stubbornness, lack of curiosity, slowness, difficulties in kindergarten and school and other behavioral problems can also be a reason to consult a psychologist . He will be able to determine whether such behavior is normal, explain its reasons and help parents choose the best educational tactics to normalize the situation.
Parents' fatigue and lack of confidence in their abilities
It would be great if parenting always brought only positive emotions, and we always knew what to do in the best way. But, unfortunately, even the most attentive and responsible mother can feel lost, not know what to do next and need emotional support. In a situation where the experiences are primarily related to the child, you can contact a child psychologist. For example, if you feel guilty towards your child for devoting little time to him, if it seems to you that you do not have the strength to raise a child, you lash out at the baby, or if you do not understand how to raise a child correctly. In all these cases, a child psychologist will provide you with emotional support, help you find an inner resource, and give recommendations on how to restore strength and self-confidence.
Plan of individual lessons for a teacher-psychologist with problem children of senior preschool age
Anna Bunakova
Plan of individual lessons for a teacher-psychologist with problem children of senior preschool age
Relieving psychomotor tension and emotional pressures
"Whims and stubbornness"
Pogudkina I. A.
“Psychologist’s work with
problem preschoolers ” LESSON 1
1. Greeting - children, passing the ball to each other, greet each other and say their name.
2. Exercise “Different but similar”
- children follow the adult’s commands according to the general characteristic he named.
3. Exercise “Emotions”
- children use pantomime to depict various emotions; make up a story.
4. Game “Naughty Minute”
- children play pranks for 1 minute.
5. Exercise “Applause”
- children applaud another child sitting on a chair.
6. Farewell - children talk about their mood, about games they liked and not so much, and say goodbye.
LESSON 2
1. Greeting - children say hello by saying the neighbor’s name.
2. Exercise “Tender name”
- children say the affectionate form of another child’s name.
3. Exercise “Actions”
- children find pictures depicting bad and good deeds.
4. Game "Whim"
- children calm down
the “whims”
and change places.
5. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “How are you living?”
- children say words with appropriate movements.
6. Game – relaxation “Humpty Dumpty”
.
7. Farewell - children cover the ball with their palm and say in unison : “Goodbye!”
LESSON 3
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “Spiderweb”
- children, holding a thread from a ball in their hands, say what they love, passing the ball to a neighbor.
3. Conversation “My mood”
— children talk about their mood.
4. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “How are you living?”
- children say words with appropriate movements.
5. Relaxation game “Humpty Dumpty”
- the children turn their bodies in different directions while listening to the poem, and in the end they fall onto the carpet.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 4
1. Greeting – children say hello and affectionately call the neighbor’s name.
2. Conversation “Mood”
- children talk about the moods of sun and clouds.
3. Game “Angry Dogs”
- children take turns portraying angry dogs and frightened children.
4. Exercise “Freeze!”
- children move around the room and freeze when given a signal.
5. Exercise “Sounds”
- Children listen to various sounds with their eyes closed.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 5
1. Greeting.
2. Game “Guys and animals”
— children take turns pretending to be boys and animals.
3. Exercise “Pantomime”
- children take turns showing with pantomime what they like to do, others guess.
4. Psycho-gymnastics exercise “Beetles”
— children pretend to be beetles.
5. Exercise – relaxation “On the Beach”
— children imagine that they are going to the beach to relax.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 6
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “Different but similar”
- children agree or disagree with the statements of other children.
3. Exercise “Magic chairs”
- children, sitting on magic chairs, show the different moods of animals.
4. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Closed door”
— sitting
cross-legged,
the children open the closed door one by one and change roles.
5. Exercise “Freeze”
(see
Lesson 4 ) 6. Farewell.
LESSON 7
1. Greeting.
2. Game “Who’s missing?”
- the children guess which child is hiding.
3. Game “Wonderful bag”
- children identify the toy in the bag by touch.
4. Game “Everything is the other way around”
- children say the opposite word to what the adult says.
5. Exercise - psycho-gymnastics “Runners and jumpers”
— children take turns pretending to be runners and jumpers.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 7
1. Greeting.
2. Game “Add a word”
- children take turns adding another word that is suitable in meaning to the word spoken by the child.
3. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Closed door”
— sitting
cross-legged,
the children open the closed door one by one and change roles
4. Exercise “Sounds”
(see
Lesson 4 ) 5. Exercise-relaxation “Magic wand”
- children, after touching
the “magic wand,”
lie down on the carpet and, with their eyes closed, relax to the music.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 8
1. Greeting.
2. Game “An extra word”
- children add an extra one after each word in a sentence, for example
“ay”
.
3. Conversation “It’s me!”
- children become familiar with the fact that every person is first a baby.
Then it grows, matures and becomes old .
4. Psycho-gymnastics exercise “Athletes”
— children pretend to be boxers.
5. Exercise “Magic Wand”
see
lesson 6
6. Farewell.
LESSON 8
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise – finger gymnastics “My Family”
- children bend their fingers under the corresponding text.
3. Conversation “My Family”
— children talk about their family.
4. Exercise “Freeze”
see
lesson 3
5. Exercise “Humpty Dumpty”
see
lesson 2
6. Farewell.
LESSON 9
1. Greeting.
2. Game "My Friends"
- children take turns hitting the ball on the floor and call out 5 names of their friends.
3. Game “Bag of Whims”
- children drive away whims and stubbornness by hitting the bag with their fists.
4. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Dandelions” – children make movements to the corresponding text.
5. Pantomime exercise “Mood”
- children, using facial expressions and gestures, depict the mood of the dandelion and their own.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 10
1. Greeting.
2. Game “My Best Friend”
— the children take turns talking about their best friend.
3. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Lumberjacks”
— children chop wood.
4. Finger game “By the campfire”
- children say the text and make the appropriate movements.
5. Psycho-gymnastics game “Sparks”
-children scatter sparks around the room, throw them up; At a signal from an adult, they make sparks or lie down on the carpet.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 11
1. Greeting.
2. Psycho-gymnastics game “Race Car”
— children take turns pretending to be the engine and brakes of a racing car.
3. Game “Owl and Mice”
- children depict an eagle owl and mice.
4. Finger game “Mice in the Forest”
- children say the text and make the appropriate movements.
5. Relaxation exercise “Sleep”
— children lie on the carpet with their eyes closed and relax to the music.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 12
1. Greeting.
2. Game “Who’s missing?”
- children guess who is hiding under the sheet.
3. Game “Nesmeyanki”
- The driver must make other children laugh.
4. Exercise - psycho-gymnastics “Lemon juice”
- children depict how they make sweet juice from sour juice.
5. Game “Humpty - chat”
see
lesson 1 .
6. Farewell.
LESSON 13
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “What can I do”
— children take turns talking with the ball in their hands about their skills.
3. Exercise - psycho-gymnastics - children pretend to play musical instruments.
4. Game “Naughty Minute”
- see
lesson 1
5. Exercise “Sounds”
- see
lesson 3
6. Farewell.
LESSON 14
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “Good News Program”
— children take turns talking about any good event.
3. Game “Finish the sentence”
- children take turns finishing a sentence started by an adult.
4. Game "Dexterous ball"
- children move around the room in pairs, holding the ball with their foreheads.
5. Exercise “Sounds”
see
lesson 3 .
6. Farewell.
LESSON 15
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “what gift do I dream about”
— the children take turns talking about what gift they dream of.
3. Exercise “Kolobok”
— the children take turns asking Kolobok a question.
4. Exercise “Animal Choir”
- children make sounds at a signal from an adult in accordance with the picture of the animal.
5. Relaxation exercise “Freeze”
- children dance to cheerful music, and lie down on the carpet to the sounds of the forest.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 16
1. Exercise “Good News Program”
- see
lesson 13 .
2. Game “Faulty Engine”
- children in pairs portray a faulty train
(blindfolded)
and an assistant who takes the train to the station through obstacles.
3. Game “Obedient Beep”
- the children hum in accordance with the pictures: the forest is loud, the city is quiet, the moon is whispering.
4. Exercise “Repeat the movements”
- children repeat the movements of the adults.
5. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Tree”
- children make movements to the text.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 17
1. Greeting.
2. Game “gift to a friend”
— children take turns holding a ball in their hands and giving each other a gift.
3. Game "King"
- children - servants carry out the king's orders.
4. Game “Forbidden Movement” - children repeat all the movements after an adult. When a movement is prohibited, everyone claps.
5. Exercise - psycho-gymnastics “Tree”
- see
lesson 15 .
6. Farewell.
LESSON 18
1. Greeting.
2. Game "Steam Engine"
- children depict a train with carriages going to the Magic Kingdom.
3. Conversation “My Cherished Desire”
— children talk about evil and good wizards and take turns talking about their wishes.
4. Game “Inhabitants of the Magic Kingdom”
— children pretend to be the inhabitants of a magical kingdom to the music.
5. Exercise – relaxation “Fairytale music”
— children lie on the carpet and listen to fairy-tale music.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 19
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “Repeat - change”
-children repeat the movements of the adult in reverse order.
3. Exercise “Fairytale box”
- children compose a fairy tale based on objects from the box
(children guess the fairy tale)
.
4. Relaxation exercise “Fairytale music”
- see
lesson 17 .
5. Farewell.
LESSON 20
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “Good News Program”
see
lesson 13 .
3. Game “Forbidden Word”
— the adult asks the children questions, and they answer, avoiding the forbidden word.
4. Game "Trap"
- children are caught by
a “trap” (searching with their eyes closed)
.
5. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Snowman”
- children depict a snowman in accordance with the text.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 21
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “Secret number”
– children count from 1-6. Do not call the number 4, but make any non-repetitive movement.
3. Game "Roulette"
- children, holding hands,
“wrap themselves in a roll”
without releasing their hands.
4. Pantomime exercise “Live Pictures”
- children take turns pantomiming the animals drawn on the cards, others guess.
6. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Snowman”
see
lesson 19 .
7. Farewell.
LESSON 22
1. Greeting.
2. Finger game “Cabbage”
- children perform finger movements in accordance with the text.
3. Game “Don’t Yawn – Answer”
- children, catching a ball, name a word that matches the general word
(furniture-chair)
.
4. Exercise “Once Upon a Time”
- the children take turns saying what the boy was afraid of, what a terrible dream the boy had, what the children are afraid of.
5. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Snowflakes”
- children make movements in accordance with the text.
6. Farewell.
LESSON 23
1. Greeting.
2. Game “What has changed?”
- The driver guesses which of the children has swapped places.
3. Conversation on the fairy tale “Flower - Seven Flowers”
- Children listen to stories and talk.
4. Exercise “Humpty - chat”
see
lesson 1 .
5. Farewell.
LESSON 24
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “Good News Program”
see
lesson 13 .
3. Listening to the fairy tale “The Little Flower of Seven Flowers”
.
4. Game "Blind Man's Bluff"
- The driver catches the children with his eyes closed.
5. Farewell.
LESSON 25
1. Greeting.
2. Pantomime game “Zoo”
— children take turns pretending to be zoo animals.
3. Game “Doctor Aibolit”
— the driving Doctor Aibolit and his assistant treat animal children.
4. Listening to the fairy tale “Doctor Aibolit”
— children listen to a fairy tale and talk about it.
5. Farewell.
LESSON 26
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise – game “Circus”
-children pretend to be circus performers.
3. Exercise “Tiger in a cage”
- the driver depicts a tiger in a cage (in a hoop, other children are little tiger cubs.
4. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Sleeping Tiger Cubs”
- children make movements in accordance with the text.
5. Farewell.
LESSON 26
1. Greetings.
2. Exercise “Good News Program”
see
lesson 13 .
3. Exercise-psycho-gymnastics “Journey”
-children perform movements in accordance with the text.
4. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “Monument”
— children take turns standing on a chair and depict a monument.
5. Farewell.
LESSON 28
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “What are people afraid of?”
— children with a ball in their hands name their own or other people’s fears.
3. Exercise “Finish the sentence”
- the children take turns passing the ball and finishing the sentence:
“I’m scared when...”
.
4. Exercise “Fruits of the same tree”
- children
“pluck”
in turn black fruits - fears and yellow fruits - courageous actions and talk about them.
5. Listening to the fairy tale “The Frog is a Rescuer”
6. Farewell.
LESSON 29
1. Exercise - psycho-gymnastics “Tree”
see
lesson 15 .
2. Listening to the fairy tale “The Rescue Frog”
.
3. Drawing (craft)
“Little Frog”
- children draw a frog from a fairy tale.
4. Exercise “Applause”
- the children take turns climbing onto a chair, hitting themselves on the chest with their hands and saying:
“I am brave!”
5. Farewell.
LESSON 30
1. Greeting.
2. Game “Cheerful Bunny”
- children take turns standing on a chair and reciting a poem or singing a song.
3. Psycho-gymnastics exercise “Airflight”
-children make appropriate movements to the text.
4. Exercise “Applause”
- children, at a signal from an adult, shout and clap loudly, quietly and in a whisper.
5. Farewell.
LESSON 31
1. Greeting.
2. Game "Mousetrap"
- The mouse driver must break out of the circle of children by any means.
2. Exercise “Fight of heroes”
— children hit each other with inflatable batons.
3. Game “Flies or doesn’t fly”
-children, in accordance with the named object, spread their arms to the sides and fly or stand still.
4. Exercise - psycho-gymnastics “Snowman”
see
lesson 19 .
5. Farewell.
LESSON 32
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise “Kind word”
— children say kind words to each other.
3. Exercise “Spiderweb”
- children, holding a thread from a ball in their hands, say what they don’t like, passing the ball to a neighbor.
4. Exercise - psycho-gymnastics “Good and Evil”
— children take turns portraying good and evil animals.
5. Farewell.
LESSON 33
1. Greeting.
2. Exercise – psycho-gymnastics “How are you living?”
- children say words with appropriate movements.
3. Game “Wonderful bag”
- children identify the toy in the bag by touch.
4. Exercise “Applause”
— the children take turns climbing onto a chair, hitting themselves on the chest with their hands and saying:
“I’m the best, the best
!”
5. Farewell.
