Prishchepenok Natalya Sergeevna,

methodologist of the Municipal educational autonomous institution of additional education for children "Center for the development of creativity of children and youth of the city of Kirov"

Is our child ready for school?, - this question worries, probably, all modern parents of former babies. A little more - and there will be that magical transition into the adult world, the entrance to which is under the sign "School".

And it is not known whose more excitement is present here: whether it is for children or for parents. Modern children are more filled with information than their fathers and mothers at the same age of seven, therefore it is easier for them to enter the new system of information offered by the school. Parents, and especially grandparents, are still products of their era, which at the same time is very good: they are responsible for the collection of their child in the Land of Knowledge.

To reduce the level of anxiety of the older generation (“Ready? Not ready? How will he be there?”), I offer a simple and even fun way to calm everyone and create confidence that you can release your child on a long voyage along the waves of learning. Games! Here's what will help us! The game is a familiar activity for an older preschooler - leading, as psychologists say. Here, on the basis of the game, we will show the child that study is not as scary as it is painted. Moreover, studying can be very interesting! So, all together, playing, and we will gradually move on to the real teaching - in comfort and with enthusiasm!

Are you mentally ready for school? Always ready!

In addition to emotional (motivated “I want to go to school!”) And social (the ability to live and study in a team) readiness, the child must be intellectually prepared for school. If a preschooler knows how to concentrate attention, build logical connections, his memory and hand movements are sufficiently developed, then intellectual readiness is at the level.
In cognitive activity, which is one of the main ones for a student, the leading role is played by cognitive processes: attention, memory, thinking, imagination. All of them are interconnected, and it is difficult to single out one more important than the rest.

Here is an example of memory. Without memory, the operations of thinking will become unfeasible. A good memory greatly facilitates the process of memorizing new material, the child spends less time on homework. A person with a good memory is more literate, as he remembers the correct spelling of words and sentences when reading books.

Arbitrary memory begins to form in a child at the age of five, however, purposeful memorization depends on the type of activity that the child performs. At the same time, the efficiency of memorization increases if the task involves not passive perception, but active performance of mental operations. The most favorable conditions for the formation of arbitrary memory are created in the process of gaming activity. What makes such games especially good is that they can simultaneously serve as a means of developing the quality necessary for a future first grader, and a means of diagnosing whether a child has it.

Memory Games

Let's take a look at some of the games. An adult offers the child to memorize pairs of pictures within 10-15 seconds. Then the pictures are removed, and the child is asked to remember the paired pictures. For memorization, you can use both cards with drawings - concrete or abstract, with images of geometric shapes of different colors and shapes, as well as plot pictures.

Another game exercise: for a minute and a half, the child memorizes the toys on the shelf, then leaves the room or simply turns away, and the adult swaps or removes some of the toys. The child appreciates the changes.

This game is good in that its implementation can be varied. The objects of the game can be real toys or objects - at home or in kindergarten, and in the mobile version of the game (on a trip, in line at the clinic - in a word, in non-stationary conditions), objects can be replaced by their images made on cardboard cards .

Using cards, you can also play in this version of memory development: an adult makes pairs of cards in advance from a color image of an object (and objects should be familiar to children, those that surround them daily) and its schematic image. Then he shows the child a pair (first a color, then a schematic image in each pair) - 3 seconds for each card. Then there are two options: cards with a schematic image are shown in order, and the child is invited to remember and name a paired object. Or vice versa: first show cards with a color image, and the child will remember and name the schematic images. In addition to memory, in the course of using cards with stylized graphic images, children develop associative imagination.

Next game. Take 12 colored cards and lay out any of them on the table in three rows. The child is invited to memorize the pictures, then close their eyes. An adult changes the arrangement of pictures or removes one or two pictures. The child, having opened his eyes, must name what has changed or what has not become. Repeat this task three or four times. Then close all the pictures with a sheet of paper and offer to remember and name the pictures: in any one row from left to right or from right to left; in one of the columns from top to bottom or from bottom to top; name a picture that is in one of the corners, between any other pictures; at different levels relative to other pictures. To complicate the game, you can invite the child to be the leader himself and ask you difficult questions.

Several children can take part in the next game. Take 4 cards, each with a different shape. The leader in turn, for 10 seconds, shows the cards to the children. After showing each of the four cards, the children draw the rows of figures they saw on paper. For each correctly drawn card, the child receives 1 point. Whoever has the most points wins.

And another test game. She needs four sets of cards, two in each set, on which objects of the same type are drawn, arranged differently, with the addition of other objects. For example, cards with clothes: on the first - a hat, cap, panama; on the second, the hats are swapped and a dress is added. Show the child one of the memory cards, then remove it. Next, show a paired map and ask them to name which items have changed their location, which have disappeared, or which have been added. Additional tasks for this game: name the items on the card in one word; determine which item is superfluous, for example, in our example, a dress will be superfluous - it is not a headdress.

Pay attention!

Probably, there is no such person in the world who would never worry about the lack of attention - for himself or for his child. And the parents of schoolchildren are simply sure: attention is the basis of a good study!

The attention of a child is such an interesting thing that does not exist on its own, outside of its actions. There is only one means of its development - activities that should encourage the child to develop volitional efforts that underlie voluntary attention. You can't just tell a child to be more attentive. He is focused only until his interest fades. Therefore, in the process of an interesting game, children can remain attentive for a long time.

Games for the development of attention can be as follows: correctly arrange objects in the cells of rows according to a given pattern; find ten differences in two identical drawings at first glance; find identical pairs among four pairs of images with minimal differences. Thanks to the purposeful guidance of adults during the game, children should develop observation skills that allow them to notice a greater number of different objects, their details and characteristics in a short time. In the process of studying with the use of such games, the ability for voluntary attention in children is intensively developed.

Movement is not only life, but also the mind

The poetic phrase that a person's talent is at their fingertips is not really a metaphor. Indeed, the cerebral hemispheres are closely connected with the nerve endings in the hands and fingers. The development of the brain occurs, among other things, under the influence of kinetic impulses from the hands, so a child with a high level of development of fine motor skills is able to reason logically, his memory, attention, and coherent speech develop faster.

Game techniques for the development of hand movements also contribute to the formation of accuracy, concentration, and perseverance. Game moments are especially good for the presence of a certain intrigue that captivates the child during the task. For example:

- draw the second half of the object, circle the objects point by point, starting from the point, without lifting your hand;

- perform actions (4 cells up, 4 cells to the right, 2 cells down, 4 cells to the left) to get drawings - and determine what happened in the end;

- color only those geometric figures drawn next to the object, of which this object consists; draw geometric shapes that objects look like;

- make all items the same by adding the missing details; continue the row, drawing in the cells, having previously caught the regularity of the arrangement of the figures.

Always attracted, and the brain starts to work even faster. Intelligence develops both indirectly and directly. Meaningful memorization and reproduction of motor actions, the ability to independently make a decision are provided.

With the help of games for the development of hand movements, one can develop both spatial imagination, and orientation in space, and vocabulary, giving the child the task of drawing objects in certain places on the sheet: in the center, in the upper left corner, in the lower right corner, between, etc. It turns out literally: the development of man is in his hands! Only a small person must be helped by big ones, parents and teachers.

“He who cannot speak will not make a career”

This phrase of Napoleon should make the parents of future schoolchildren think: have they done everything to ensure that the future career of their child gets a good start in elementary school? Even if we do not yet know who our child will be professionally. We know for sure that the right speech will be useful to him, whoever he becomes.

But that's in the future. And today he must build his speech so clearly that the words do not interfere, but, on the contrary, help to line up in the correct perspective thoughts.

Readiness for school is inextricably linked with the level of development of speech. Adults must definitely evaluate: whether the child clearly pronounces the words; can he name and designate the main objects around him, is he able to participate in a general conversation, is it easy for him to answer questions from adults, tell a story, describe an incident that happened to him, can he explain what various things are for, can he use prepositions, is correct whether the speech of the child in terms of grammar? In case of an insufficient level of development of the child's speech, do not scold him, you need to ... play with him!

Cicero said: "Eloquence is something that is more difficult than it seems, and is born from a lot of knowledge and efforts." Of course, he is right, but we are also right when we want our children to want to learn to speak correctly. And this means that they need to be interested in this. First of all, the game. Agree that diligence in the game will give much more results.

Game tasks should go from simple to more complex: from compiling a logical coherent story based on cards that need to be decomposed into a sequence of actions, to writing stories based on pictures with complex plot images. Bring a moment of competition into the game: for each correctly and efficiently completed task, you can give tokens for children, for example, in the form of stars. In this way, children will get closer to becoming real "star speakers".

Tasks can be, for example, the following:

- using cards with images of objects, animals, name them diminutively; distribute by birth; change words by numbers;

- make sentences on the pictures;

- look at the picture, listen or read the words that match it and make up a story from the picture using these words;

- consider 4 plot pictures depicting heroes in a sequence of actions familiar to the child, arrange the pictures in the correct sequence and make up a story based on them;

- consider a genre picture and make sentences with words, highlighting and naming prepositions in sentences;

- take pictures with objects that have opposite characteristics (sour lemon - sweet candy, a brave lion - a cowardly hare, a wide bed - a narrow bench, etc.) and name these antonyms.

Literacy is essential for everyone who wants to be successful. People with a rich vocabulary and correct, figurative speech are more likely to succeed in everything, because others perceive such a person as more intelligent and competent. Literacy can be formed by learning the alphabet. Then the ability to recognize the place of a sound in a word is acquired, to isolate the sounds necessary for further learning to read. From the correct understanding of such concepts as sound, syllable, word, sentence, children move on to the conscious compilation of coherent statements of various types - narrative, description, reasoning; from simple words, children - to compiling logical chains using cards with images.

So, for example, one of the games - "Couples" - also develops logic and cause-and-effect thinking. Adding cards with objects related in meaning to the plot to the plot pictures will be the basis for compiling stories. With this game, you can begin to bring the child to a new level of thinking - heuristic, using the method that Gianni Rodari called "Fantasy Bean". If you offer a child two cards with objects drawn on them that are absolutely unrelated in meaning (for example, an ax and an umbrella, a duck and a house), then the brain will try to find a connection between these objects, and the child will develop creative imagination. A more complex version of this method is the “Fantasy Polynomial”, when three words are already taken that are not related in meaning (for example, acorn, pike, castle).

To paraphrase the statement of a well-known expert in the field of oratory Frank Snell, I would like to say: do not allow teachers to draw a false picture of his abilities through your child's speech defects. Make the child's speech work for him.

The world around us

In order not to lose yourself in this world, you need to know a lot about it. Especially for a beginner student. This knowledge is also necessary for the development of independence, because now your child is no longer just a baby, but a student who must be well oriented in the surrounding reality, himself (!) should not be late anywhere, and in general - literally and figuratively - not get lost in this the world!

What can be done to increase the qualitative and quantitative volume of the child's knowledge about the surrounding reality? Of course, play with it!

For example: make 12 small cards with plots belonging to different seasons, and one large field with four sectors “signed” with symbols of different seasons (winter - snowflake, summer - sun, etc.). The task for the child is to guess what season the small cards with plots belong to and decompose them into the corresponding seasonal sectors on a large field. As an additional task, you can ask the child to tell about their favorite season.

Your grown-up baby must now be guided in time so as not to be late for school. But hours are different. Teach the future student to understand them. On small cards, write the time in numbers, like on an electronic clock. Take a watch with hands (or make it playful but moving). Task: use the arrows on the clock to set the time written on the cards. Also, the task can be performed in a mirror: an adult sets the time on the clock with arrows, the child finds the same time among the cards.

For the next task, you need to make 18 cards with images of trees, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, flowers, fruits of trees - flora objects. On a large field, place pictures on which there are objects that unite all these representatives into groups: a forest, vegetable beds, a basket of mushrooms, a bouquet of flowers, a fruit-bearing garden, jars of berry jam. Task: identify groups of plants and arrange small cards in accordance with them. Name a few more plants of each group.

Games from the series "Complete the row" and "What is superfluous?". This task also requires cards with images that make up logical series. The task is to remove an extra item from a row, saying on what basis it is superfluous, or, conversely, to supplement the row.

A task related to the world of fauna. Prepare pairs of cards with images of animals: two each of wildlife, domestic animals, birds, fish, insects, etc. Shuffle cards. The child must sort all the cards into pairs and explain why his decision was just that.

These games teach the child to make a mental transition from the individual to the general, which is called generalization, to highlight the essential features of the concept being studied. Children develop the ability to draw conclusions from facts or phenomena.

To sum up the results of our gaming mini-diagnostics, you can reflect the answers of the children in a special table. For each task completed without errors, the child receives three points. If the task is completed with the help of an adult, then there will be two points. If the task is not completed to the end, then one point is given. The scores are then summed up and divided by the number of tasks offered. Bottom line: three points - your child has a high level of memory development, you can improve further. Two points - the average level of development, you can work out additionally. One point - mandatory additional classes are required.

Mathematics is the queen of thinking

Despite the fact that in preparing a child for school, each of the thought processes has its own place, they all closely interact with each other. Without attention it is impossible to memorize new material. Without memory, the operations of thinking will become unfeasible. And for the development of thinking - it is useful to do mathematics. Lomonosov also said that mathematics should be taught later, that it puts the mind in order. And one of the largest humanist educators, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, believed that counting and calculations are the basis of order in the head. By the way, he was the first to express the idea of ​​the need for a parallel and harmonious development of all the inclinations of the human personality and pointed out the importance of developmental education.

So how to develop with the help of this queen of sciences a child who is not yet familiar with her? The game comes to the rescue again! We draw a poster with numbers from 1 to 20, made in different fonts and in different sizes and colors. Task: count from 1 to 20 in order, then from 20 to 1. Count from 7 to 13, from 9 to 3, etc.

We select or draw pictures on which you can count something: balloons, a fir tree with cones, a rowan leaf, a ladybug, a bow with arrows, an aquarium with fish, a flower bed, etc. Then we ask the child to determine what can be counted in these pictures, and count accordingly, laying out small cards with numbers near each picture. You can add an element of competition to this game if you take a few pictures and offer them to several participants - who will quickly and correctly count everything that is possible in this picture.

We draw numbers from 5 to 10 on the poster, drawing two squares under each number. Task: using small cards to determine the composition of the numbers 5,6,7,8,9,10.

Using a ruler, determine the length, width, height of various objects surrounding the child.

Create a “plot” for a task from improvised materials or choose a suitable picture with such a plot. Task for the child: come up with a problem and solve it with the help of specially made cards with numbers and mathematical signs.

Draw on cards or pick up images of various objects with outlines similar to various geometric shapes: a mobile phone (rectangle), a picture in a square frame (square), a round clock, a plate (circle), etc. On other cards, depict these geometric shapes. Task: Arrange cards with figures in accordance with the images of objects.

The game solves a lot of problems!

Such fun mathematics will help the child not only in the development of elementary mathematical concepts, but also in the development of speech and creative thinking, in mastering the world around him, since any developmental work aimed primarily at improving a separate process will also affect the level of functioning of the cognitive sphere of the child in in general. That is why teachers and psychologists recommend preparing for school with a child in a comprehensive manner, in a system, and not from time to time. The help of a caring adult is very important here, who will notice in time those moments that should be “pulled up” so that the child goes to school ready for a new round of development.

If adults have very little time, if there is no way to prepare dozens of cards with pictures and tasks, then you can use what manufacturers of educational games offer. The main thing is to choose the training material that was prepared with the participation of methodologists and teachers, and meets modern Federal State Educational Standards. These requirements are carefully observed at the enterprise of one of the Russian manufacturers of educational games, OJSC Raduga. Among the five hundred games there is such a special series - Is the child ready for school? In this series, games to develop memory, attention, motor skills, literacy, speech, ideas about the world around. They can be used both as diagnostic material and directly for the development of the child. Or you can just play and get the joy of communication and joint activities. The main thing is not to forget about the game in everyday life, because the game solves many problems!