The possibilities of sand therapy in working with children with disabilities (HIA).

Despite the fact that sand therapy has been practiced by specialists in Russia relatively recently, it has already managed to establish itself as an effective method of psycho-correction for children with disabilities. In this article, two forms of sand work will be considered: sandboxing and sand painting on a light tablet. Sand therapy is based on the idea of ​​a close relationship between fine motor skills and the development of the cerebral hemispheres in children. In child development, creativity, using imagination, occupies one of the most important roles. Sand therapy (or as it is also called sandplay) is a type of expressive arts therapy, which is based on the idea of ​​solving various kinds of problems through creativity. Sand therapy in the context of art therapy is a non-verbal form of psychocorrection, where the main emphasis is on creative self-expression. It manifests itself in a symbolic form in the process of creating a creative product - images, worlds, situations built in a certain way in a sandbox or on a light table with sand.

The method is based on a combination of non-verbal (the process of building drawings, cities, worlds, etc.) and verbal expression (a story about a finished composition, writing a story or a fairy tale that reveals the meaning of the composition). Sand therapy is equally successfully used both when working with children and when working with adults. Sand was chosen as the material for manipulations - this is due to its special properties. Sand is a natural material that a child learns to manipulate from a very young age. In every yard there are sandboxes and the kids are happy to tinker in it. The child seems to become spellbound, pours streams into his hands, makes houses, Easter cakes, carries cars, buries treasures and much more. Being a regressive material, sand is capable of penetrating those protective mechanisms that, in conventional therapy, have to be overcome by various, sometimes long-term, methods. This speeds up and facilitates the process of psycho-correction. Modifications of sand therapy can be used in the work of teachers, defectologists, social workers trained in this method.

In any interaction with sand, both hands are used, sometimes simultaneously, due to which there is a beneficial effect on the development of the right and left hemispheres, as well as their interaction. With this approach, the emotional state is harmonized. Fine motor skills are actively developing in children: each element is drawn with a certain finger of a certain hand, small figures encourage children to fully use the entire hand: both palm and fingers. The child learns to control his own hands, calms down, trains attention, imagination, strengthens the nervous system. The fact of a close connection between the development of fine motor skills and speech has long been established. After several sand lessons, children begin to speak more actively, become calmer.

Such classes are very useful for children with disabilities, because often there is a delay in speech, mental development, and cognitive abilities. Thanks to sand therapy, it is possible to overcome reluctance to engage in, negativism, because everything happens in a natural and familiar play environment for the child. Classes are held under musical accompaniment. Typically, this is classical music that stimulates the imagination, helps to relax, and provides additional sensory stimulation (see Appendix for a list). Initially, sandboxes 50x72x8 cm in size were used to work with sand, the bottom of which was painted blue, simulating water and sky, but now, with the development of this type of therapy, specialists are increasingly experimenting with various forms of sandboxes for work. The surface of the light table, on which the drawing takes place, is a wooden table with illumination, that is, the child is surrounded by materials that are as natural and close to his development as possible. The room is darkened so that sand marks and textures are as visible as possible on the backlight. Sand painting is very different from ordinary painting, it does not require special skills and abilities. It is thanks to independent drawings in the sand that the child quickly learns letters and numbers, learns the concepts of "right" and "left", the time concepts of day and night, the seasons. With the help of drawing on the sand, you can develop visual-figurative thinking, perception and memory. Tactile sensitivity develops powerfully. Performing tasks on the sand, the child becomes interested, he tries to do it right, beautifully, accurately and, most importantly, quickly. Thus, the combination of natural materials and unique methods provides great opportunities for correctional and developmental activities, the development of the imagination.

I would especially like to note the role of sand therapy in the correction of cognitive skills in children with disabilities. Working in a sandbox with small figures gives many opportunities for: - developing memory. Example: a specialist puts 4 to 7 figures in front of a child, depending on the age and level of development, then the child closes his eyes, at this time the specialist hides a figure, the child opens his eyes and names the missing figure, takes it out of the sand. The exercise can be made more difficult by hiding several figures. - development of attention. Example: on a light table, draws a shirt with a torn off button and a number of buttons of different sizes next to it. The child must understand by the buttons on the clothes which one is suitable and connect it with a shirt with a finger. - perception. Example: pour various colored objects into the sandbox, mix them. The child must find and put each item in a bucket of the corresponding color. - thinking. Example: playing "3 extra" or "4 extra". We draw 3 or 4 objects on the table, united by one feature, and one object that is different from the rest. The child must say which item is different and why. Further, the child himself leads according to the same principle. - imagination. Example: we give the child a simple instruction "Build your own world." This method is projective, and often such buildings are an additional diagnostic of intra-family relationships, and also replenishes the topics of work with parents. Sand therapy classes are effective in children's development, especially among children with disabilities, but they get tired quite quickly, sand absorbs a lot of strength. Therefore, it is recommended to practice for 40 minutes 2 times a week, alternating between a sandbox and a light table.

APPENDIX

List of works:

1) P. I. Tchaikovsky. Music from the ballet The Nutcracker. 2) A. L. Vivaldi. Seasons. 3) P. I. Tchaikovsky. Seasons. 4) W. A. ​​Mozart. Symphonies and Serenades. 5) W. Schumann. Sonatas and plays. 6) L. Beethoven. Moonlight Sonata. 7) N. Paganini. Capriccio. 8) M. Mrvitsa. Croatian rhapsody. 9) J. S. Bach. Arias. 10) R. Wagner. Flight of the Valkyrie. 11) P. I. Tchaikovsky. Music from the ballet "Swan Lake". 12) C. Debussy. Moonlight. 13) A. Corelli. Symphonies and Sonatas.

References: 1) Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T. D., Grabenko T. M. Miracles in the sand. Workshop on sand therapy. . - St. Petersburg: "Rech", 2007. 2) Kiseleva M. V. Art therapy in working with children. - St. Petersburg: "Rech", 2008. 3) Sakovich N.A. Games in the sand. Bridge games. - St. Petersburg: "Rech", 2008. 4) Steinhardt L. Jungian sand psychotherapy. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001.

State Budgetary Institution Rehabilitation Center for Children and Adolescents with Disabilities in Neftekamsk, Republic of Bashkortostan

PROJECT
Developed by social teacher Chusovitina T.P.

EXPLANATORY NOTE
Playing with sand as a way of development and self-therapy of a child has been known since ancient times. The pliability of sand awakens the desire to create a miniature picture of the world out of it. A person acts in the sandbox as a creator - one life story changes another, following the laws of being: everything comes and everything goes, there is nothing that would be irreparably destroyed, just the old turns into something different, new. With repeated experience of this sensation, a person reaches a state of mental balance.
Playing with sand is a natural and accessible form of activity for every child. A child, especially with special developmental needs, often cannot express his feelings, fears in words, and here games with sand come to his aid. Playing the situations that excited him with the help of toy figures, creating a picture of his own world from sand, the child is freed from tension. And most importantly, he gains invaluable experience in the symbolic resolution of many life situations, because in a real fairy tale everything ends well!
Sand often acts like a magnet on children. Their hands themselves, unconsciously, begin to pour and sift sand, build tunnels, mountains, dig holes. And if you add various toys to this, then the baby has his own world, where he invents and fantasizes, and, at the same time, learns to work and achieve goals.
One way or another, observations and experience show that playing in the sand has a positive effect on the emotional well-being of children and adults, this makes it an excellent tool for "taking care of the soul" - this is how the term "psychotherapy" is translated.
Wet sand allows you to sculpt grandiose figures without small details, but very expressive in silhouette. Sand can be used to make not only palaces, but also cars, ships, various figurines - sculptures, decorating them with pebbles, shells, colored beads.

What is the principle behind the creation of a sand game?
For many people, putting thought into words is difficult, especially for children. But there is still a language of facial expressions, gestures, capable of subtly expressing sensations or feelings. Or - in the drawing, plasticine, the hand, as it were, builds bridges between the inner and outer worlds. Then the inner image becomes visible in the outer creation. This principle is the basis of the sand therapy system. As you know, children play sand with pleasure, because such games are saturated with different emotions: delight, surprise, excitement, joy ... This makes it possible to use sand games for development, enrichment of the child's emotional experience, for the prevention and correction of his mental states .
Sand passes water, therefore, according to parapsychologists, it also absorbs the negative energy of a person, stabilizes his emotional state.

The fundamental idea of ​​sand therapy is formulated as follows: "Playing with sand provides the child with the opportunity to get rid of psychological trauma by transferring outside, to the plane of the sandbox, fantasies and forming a sense of connection and control over their inner urges. Establishing a connection with unconscious urges, especially with the archetype of the self, and their expression in symbolic form greatly facilitate the healthy functioning of the psyche.
The goal of sand therapy is not to change and remake the child, not to teach him some special behavioral skills, but to enable the child to be himself.
The tasks of sand therapy are consistent with the child's inner desire for self-actualization. In this sand therapy is focused on helping a small child:
- develop a more positive self-concept;

Become more responsible in your actions and deeds;

Develop a greater capacity for self-acceptance;

Rely more on yourself;

Get a sense of control;

Develop sensitivity to the process of overcoming difficulties;

Develop self-esteem and gain confidence in yourself.

The therapeutic effect of playing with sand was first noticed by the Swiss psychologist and philosopher Carl Gustav Jung. It would seem that everything is very simple - the child builds something out of sand, destroys the creations he created without regret, and builds again. But it is this simple action that holds a unique secret - there is nothing that would be irreparably destroyed - the new always comes to replace the old. By repeatedly living this secret, the baby reaches a state of balance, anxiety and fear go away. Another important psychotherapeutic property of sand is the ability to change the plot, events, relationships. Since the game takes place in the context of a fairy-tale world, the child is given the opportunity to change the situation that is uncomfortable for him. He learns to overcome difficulties on his own.
Playing with sand is a natural and accessible form of activity for every child. A child often cannot express his feelings, fears in words, and here sand games come to his aid. Playing the situations that excited him with the help of toy figures, creating a picture of his own world from sand, the child is freed from tension. And most importantly, he gains invaluable experience in the symbolic resolution of many life situations, because in a real fairy tale everything ends well.

The observations of psychologists show that it is the first joint games of children in the sandbox that can clearly show parents the features of the behavior and development of their children. Parents see that the child becomes overly aggressive or timid in dealing with peers - this may be an occasion to think about the education system.
Sand games are diverse: educational games provide the process of teaching reading, writing, counting, and literacy; cognitive games enable children to learn about the diversity of the world around them, about the history of their city, country, etc.; projective games will open the potential of the child, develop his creativity and imagination.
Sand games:
- develop tactile-kinetic sensitivity and fine motor skills of hands;
- relieve muscle tension;
- help the child feel protected, in a comfortable environment for him;
- develop activity, expand the life experience transmitted by the teacher in a form close to the child (the principle of information availability);
- stabilize emotional states, absorbing negative energy;
- allow the child to correlate games with real life, comprehend what is happening, find ways to solve a problem situation;
- overcome the “bad artist” complex by creating artistic compositions from sand using ready-made figures;
- develop creative (creative) actions, find non-standard solutions leading to a successful result;
- improve visual-spatial orientation, speech capabilities;
- contribute to the expansion of vocabulary;
- help to master the skills of sound-syllabic analysis and synthesis;
- allow to develop phonemic hearing and perception;
- contribute to the development of coherent speech, lexical and grammatical representations;
- help in learning letters, mastering reading and writing skills.

You can play sand not only on the street - you can arrange a mini-sandbox at home, in kindergarten, in the classroom.
General conditions for organizing sand therapy.
A large waterproof box is used as a sandbox. Its traditional size in centimeters is 50 x 70 x 8 cm (where 50 x 70 is the size of the field, and 8 is the depth). It is believed that this size of the sandbox corresponds to the volume of the field of visual perception. The traditional sandbox size is for individual work. For group work, it is recommended to use a sandbox measuring 100 x 140 x 8 cm.
Material. The traditional and preferred material is wood. In the practice of working with sand, plastic boxes are more often used, but the sand does not “breathe” in them.
Color. The traditional sandbox combines the natural color of wood and blue. The bottom and sides (with the exception of the upper plane of the boards of the sides) are painted blue. Thus, the bottom symbolizes water, and the sides - the sky. Blue color has a calming effect on a person. In addition, the "blue" sandbox filled with sand is a miniature model of our planet in human perception. If funds and office space allow, you can experiment with multi-colored sandboxes, when the bottom and sides are painted in one or more colors.
Now it can be one-third or half filled with clean (washed and sifted), sand calcined in the oven. The sand used needs to be changed or cleaned from time to time. Cleaning is done at least once a month. Sand must be removed from the sandbox, sieved, washed and calcined.
To organize sand games, a large set of miniature objects and toys will be needed, which together symbolize the world. In classical sand therapy, there is the following classification of objects used in the process of creating sand paintings. For example:
land animals (domestic, wild, prehistoric);
flying animals (wild, domestic, prehistoric);
inhabitants of the water world (various fish, mammals, mollusks, crabs);
dwellings with furniture (houses, palaces, castles, other buildings, furniture of different eras, cultures and purposes);
household utensils (dishes, household items, table decorations);
trees and other plants (flowers, grass, shrubs, greenery, etc.);
celestial objects (sun, moon, stars, rainbow, clouds);
vehicles (land, water, air transport for civil and military purposes, fantastic vehicles);
objects of the human environment (fences, fences, bridges, gates, road signs);
objects of the landscape and natural activity of the Earth (volcanoes, mountains);
accessories (beads, masks, fabrics, buttons, buckles, jewelry, etc.);
natural objects (crystals, stones, shells, pieces of wood, metal, seeds, feathers, glass polished with water, etc.);
fantastic objects and cartoon characters, fantasy, werewolf figurines;
villains (evil characters of cartoons, myths, fairy tales).
So, everything that is found in the outside world can take its rightful place in the collection. If any figurines-images are not enough for classes, they can be molded from plasticine, clay, dough, or cut out of paper.
The collection of figurines is located on the shelves. If there is not enough space on the shelves to accommodate the entire collection, then transparent boxes can also be used.

Partial transfer of classes to the sandbox gives a greater educational and educational effect than standard forms of education. Firstly, the desire of the child to learn something new, to experiment and work independently increases. Secondly, tactile sensitivity develops in the sandbox as the basis of "manual intelligence". Thirdly, in games with sand, all cognitive functions (perception, attention, memory, thinking) develop more harmoniously and intensively, and most importantly for us - speech and motor skills. Fourthly, the subject-play activity is being improved, which contributes to the development of the role-playing game and the child's communication skills.
Based on the methods of working in the pedagogical sandbox, the teacher can make the traditional methodology for expanding vocabulary, developing coherent speech, developing phonemic hearing and perception in older preschool children more interesting, exciting, and more productive.
Before you start playing with sand, you need to talk to the children about the rules of playing in the sandbox. A poem by T. M. Grabenko will help with this:
There are no harmful children in the country -
After all, they have no place in the sand!
Here you can not bite, fight
And throw sand in your eyes!
Do not destroy foreign countries!
Sand is a peaceful country.
You can build and wonder
You can do a lot:
Mountains, rivers and seas,
To have life around.
Children, understand me?
Or should it be repeated?
To remember and be friends!
Getting Started with Sand. Put your palms on the sand and tell him about your feelings: “I am pleased. I feel the warmth (coolness) of the sand. When I move my hands, I feel small grains of sand. What do you feel? Let the child try to talk about how he feels. Make prints of palms, fists, edges of the palms, creating patterns (sun, flower, etc.); "Walk" on the sand with each finger in turn. These simple exercises are of tremendous importance for the development of the child's psyche. They stabilize the emotional state of the baby, teach him to listen to himself and pronounce his feelings. And this contributes to the development of speech, voluntary attention and memory, which is very important for children with speech disorders. But the main thing is that the child receives the first experience of introspection, learns to understand himself and others.
TYPES OF CLASSES
1. "Sensitive palms" (according to T.D. Zinkevich - Evstigneeva)
- Put your hands on the sand, close your eyes, feel what it is like.
- Open your eyes, tell me what you felt (children's answers).
Do the same with your palms turned to the other side. Tell me about your feelings.
2. Slide on the surface of the sand like a snake or like a car.
3. Walk your palms like an elephant, like a little baby elephant, like a fast bunny.
4. Leave prints of palms, cams, edges of the palms.
5. Create patterns and drawings - a sun, a butterfly, the letter A or a whole word.
6. "Walk" with each finger of the right and left hands alternately.
7. Sift the sand through your fingers or with a pinch, sow a path from sand with a contrasting texture.
8. Arrange stones and natural materials of different structure and size on the sand in a special logical order.
9. Guide the figurine along the labyrinth sand paths.
10. Count the pebbles and solve a math problem in the sand.
11. Lay out a geometric figure with chips.
12. Sift sand through a sieve, draw a pattern with a brush or stick, sift sand through a funnel system, etc.
13. You can "play" on the surface of the sand, like a piano or computer keyboard.
14. The sandbox can be used to find animals, objects, a certain letter made of plastic and buried among others in the sand (a variation of the game "Magic Bag").
15. Sculpt letters from sand, raking it with the edges of the palms.
16. Turn the letters "L" into "A", "H" into "T", "O" into "I", etc.
17. Find the letters hidden in the sand and make syllables out of them, a word.
You can write words in the sand in printed and written letters, first with your finger, then with a stick, holding it like a pen. Sand allows you to keep the child working longer. It is easier to fix mistakes on sand than on paper. This allows the child to feel successful.
18. Game "My city". The speech therapist gives the task to choose figures whose names contain a given sound, and build a city using these figures. Then you can make an oral story about this city and its inhabitants.
19. "Whose footprint is this?" On wet sand, traces of the palm or foot from shoes or wheels of a toy car easily remain. Let the kid try to guess where whose print is?
20. Sand application. Apply glue to the cardboard pattern and sprinkle with sand. Shake off the excess, and you get a wonderful picture. Sand can be painted with paints and dried.
21. "Archaeology". Bury a toy (the child does not know which one). During the excavation, the child must guess from the opening parts what is hidden. Bury 2-3 items. Let the kid dig out one of them and try to determine by touch what it is.
22. "Paths of sand." Show your child how to pick up dry sand in a handful and slowly pour it out, creating various shapes, such as paths (to the house of a bunny or a bear cub).
23. You can dig in and dig out letters, numbers, geometric shapes - so it will be easier for the child to remember them.
24. The game "Name the sound" (according to N.V. Durova). The teacher invites the children to dig small holes in the sand for the ball. Then he pushes the ball into the child's hole and calls the word, intonation highlighting the consonant sound. The child names the highlighted sound and rolls the ball back into the teacher's hole. Then the task is given to another child, and so on. Words: s-s-som, su-m-m-mka, for-r-r-rya, ku-s-s-juice, stu-l-l-l, ru-ch-ch-chka, red- n-n-n, ball-f-f-f, roof-sh-sh-shka, d-d-house.
25. The game "Find a friend" (according to N.V. Durova). The teacher takes out pictures from the box (butterfly, cow, frog, rooster, bear) and distributes them to the children.
- Make houses for these animals, their brothers will come to visit them soon. (Children perform.) Then the teacher takes out the following pictures from the box (squirrel, whale, peacock, horse, mouse).
- How can we find out where, whose brother? To do this, let's pronounce the names of animals and highlight the first sound in these words. - whale - [k "] - he will go to visit the cow, the first sound in this word is [k]; [k] and [k"] are brothers.
Children take turns calling those who are shown in the pictures, highlight the first sound and select a pair. Conclusion: How do these pairs of sounds differ? (Hard - soft).
26. Exercise "Sand rain" (according to N. Kuzub) The teacher slowly and then quickly pours sand from his fist into the sandbox, then onto his palm. Children repeat. Then the children close their eyes in turn, put their palm on the sand with their fingers apart, the adult pours sand on any finger, and the child names this finger.
27. The game "Who was it?" (according to R.G. Golubeva). The teacher takes out toys from the box: a cow, a tiger, a bee, a snake, a hedgehog. Each of them is assigned a certain sound: a cow - hums "mmm", a tiger - growls "rrrr", a bee - buzzes "zhzhzh", a snake - hisses "shhhh" , hedgehog - snorts "fff". The teacher pronounces a sound for a long time and invites the children to determine who it was. The one who correctly names the animal receives this toy.
28. The game "Echo". The teacher pronounces the syllables, and the children repeat them in turn, and for each correctly performed repetition, the child is invited to take any toy for the subsequent game in the sand.
- ta-ka-pa - pa-ka-ta - ha-ba-da - po-bo-po - poo-boo-poo
With the selected toys, children play sand hide and seek: one child closes his eyes, and the rest hide his toys in the sand.
29. The game "Which is different?" (according to R.G. Golubeva) The sand man pronounces a series of syllables (well, well, but, sva-ska-sva, sa-sha-sa, zu-su-su, we-mi-we) and invites children to determine which syllable is different from other syllables.
30. Exercise "Sand wind" (breathing). Toddlers learn to breathe through a tube without dragging sand into it. Older children can be offered to first say a pleasant wish to their friends, give a wish to the sand country, "blowing it into the sand", you can also blow out depressions, pits on the surface of the sand. For these games, you can use disposable straws for a cocktail.
When exhaling, the child easily blows on his palms with sand, blowing it into the sandbox.
31. Exercise "Unusual traces".
"Cubs are coming" - the child presses the sand with fists and palms with force.
"Jumping hares" - the child hits the surface of the sand with his fingertips, moving in different directions.
"Snakes are crawling" - the child makes the surface of the sand wavy (in different directions) with relaxed / tense fingers.
"Spider bugs are running" - the child moves all his fingers, imitating the movement of insects (you can completely immerse your hands in the sand, meeting hands with each other under the sand - "bugs say hello").

You can also finish playing with sand with verses:
Look at our palms -
They have become wiser!
Thank you, our dear sand,
You helped us all to grow up (to grow wiser)!

The use of sand therapy gives positive results:
 children's interest in classes increases significantly;
 the child feels more successful;
 there is no place for monotony and boredom in the classroom;
the child expands the range of subject-play actions;
 the level of social orientation of children increases in the classroom.

How should a specialist practicing sand handling behave?
There are three rules for a specialist.
Attachment to a child. The sand picture created by the child contains rich information about his inner world and current state. To understand the child and his problems, to feel the rhythm of the sand painting, to feel the unique figurative structure of the painting - all this is included in the concept of attachment.
Sincere interest, intrigue with events and plots unfolding in the sandbox. Considering the picture of the child, the specialist, as it were, combines two hypostases. On the one hand, this is an inquisitive open traveler who is extremely interested in what is happening in the world that the child created. On the other hand, this is a sage who seeks to find the truth.
Strict adherence to professional and universal ethics. This rule is at the same time a prerequisite for any kind of professional assistance to a person. The teacher cannot, in the presence of the child, without asking, remove the figures from the sandbox, rebuild the picture or express a value judgment. The inner world of a person is extremely fragile, and only strict observance of the ethical code and high professionalism of a specialist can protect a child from psychological trauma.

Literature
1. Grabenko T.M., Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D. Miracles in the sand Sand play therapy. - St. Petersburg: Institute of Special Pedagogy and Psychology, 1998, - 50 p.
2. Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D. The path to magic. – St. Petersburg, 1998.
3. Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D., Nisnevich L.A. How to help a "special" child. A book for teachers and parents. - St. Petersburg, "Childhood-press", 2001.
4. Grabenko T.M. , Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D. Workshop on sand therapy, St. Petersburg, "Rech", 2002.
5. El G. A man playing in the sand. Dynamic Sand Therapy. - St. Petersburg, "Rech", 2007.
6. Kataeva A.A., Strebeleva E.A. Didactic games and exercises in teaching mentally retarded preschoolers. The book for the teacher. - M., 1993.
7. Internet resources.

The use of sand play therapy in working with children with disabilities.

“The best toy for a child is the one that he can make change in different ways; for children, the best toy is a pile of sand.”

K. D. Ushinsky

Is there such a children's game that can harmonize the picture of the world, put a barrier on the path of cruelty, give a sense of the diversity of nature, relieve internal conflicts and fears, reveal the concepts of good and evil?

Yes, there is such a game!

All generations of the human race have amused themselves with it, because there is nothing in the world simpler and more accessible, more convenient and diverse, more alive and more voluminous thansand game .

Playing with sand as a way of development and self-therapy of a child has been known since ancient times. The pliability of sand awakens the desire to create a miniature picture of the world out of it. A person acts in the sandbox as a creator - one life story changes another, following the law of being: everything comes and goes, there is nothing that would be irreparably destroyed, just the old turns into something different, new. With repeated experience of this sensation, a person reaches a state of mental balance.

The principle of "sand therapy" was proposed by K.G. Jung, a Swiss psychotherapist, he first recommended the use of sand in order to diagnose and correct the emotional state of children. Later, G.M. Grabenko and G.D. Zinkevich-Evstigneeva proposed a system of sand games for fairy tale therapy, calling it correctional and educational.

Sand attracts little "builders" with its unusual structure and new sensations that they experience when touching the sand. Sand often acts like a magnet on children. Before they know what they are doing, their hands begin to sift sand, build castles, and so on. And if you add various toys to this, then the child has his own world, where he invents and fantasizes, and at the same time, learnswork and achieve goals .

In modern society, the problem of raising and educating children with developmental disabilities is increasingly emerging. In our school there are children with mental retardation, speech development, autistics, downs, etc. Such children are characterized by a decrease in cognitive activity, the poverty of the stock of information about the world around them, which leads to the fact that schoolchildren do not acquire many of the most elementary knowledge and ideas. with them the mostit is important to use non-traditional forms of work .

To date, there are quite a lot of methods of non-traditional influence (game, fairy tale, laughter, art, clay, wax, crystal therapy, etc.). A very interesting and effective pedagogical technology issand play therapy .

"Sand Therapy" - one of the techniques that allows you to reveal the individuality of each child, resolve his psychological difficulties, develop the ability to realize his desires and the possibility of their realization. With correctly set goals, such play activities have an important therapeutic educational and educational value. Playing with sand, the child has a sense of security, as the sand world is a world under control.

Playing in the sand is one of the natural activities of a child. That is why you can use the sandbox in developing and teaching activities. Building sand pictures, inventing various stories, we pass on our knowledge and life experience, events and laws of the world around us in the most organic form for a child. At the same time, we also heal our own Soul, strengthening our Inner Child.

A great contribution to the development of "sand therapy" was made by domestic teachers - the St. Petersburg Institute of Special Pedagogy and Psychology, who are the authors of a number of books on this topic - Grabenko T. M., Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T. D. “Miracles in the sand. Sand play therapy”, Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D., Grabenko T.M. "Games in fairy tale therapy", Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D., Nisnevich L.A. "How to help a "special" child", Grabenko T. M., Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T. D. "Miracles in the sand: Workshop on sand therapy."

The technology of sand therapy is multifunctional, it allows you to simultaneously solve the problems of correction, and the main task of speech development. The child himself solves the problems of self-expression, self-awareness and develops self-esteem, learns to work in a team.

Playing in the sand with figures is especially fruitful when working with children who cannot express their feelings in any way. Children with low self-esteem, increased anxiety and shyness usually willingly choose figures and switch their attention. Children with unstable attention are very expressive, the game gives them rich kinesthetic sensations.

All games using sand therapy are divided intothree directions :

Educational games.

Such games are aimed at developing tactile-kinesthetic sensitivity and fine motor skills of the hands. And most importantly, the child talks about his feelings, thereby spontaneously developing his speech, vocabulary, perception
different rates of speech, pitch and strength of the voice, we work on breathing. There is a development of attention and memory, phonemic hearing. The main thing is learning to read and write.

Educational games.

With their help, we help to learn the versatility of our world. Games for acquaintance with the outside world (what is next to us: animals, insects, seas, transport, etc.)

Projective games.

Aimed at the correction and development of the child.

In the process of conducting sand psychotherapy, three stages of playing with sand are distinguished: chaos, struggle and conflict resolution.

At the stage of chaosthe child grabs a lot of toys, randomly arranges them on a sand sheet, often mixes them with sand. Such actions reflect the presence of anxiety, fear, confusion, insufficiently positive internal dynamics. Through "chaos" there is a gradual "living" of the psycho-emotional state and liberation from it. Repeated repetition of a traumatic situation allows you to change the emotional attitude towards it. The "chaos" stage can take from one to several sessions. You can see how the number of figures used decreases from picture to picture and a plot appears.

The "fight" stagecan be observed in difficult children. Internal conflicts are unconsciously transferred to the sand sheet: aggression, resentment, anxiety, ailments, real conflict relationships, etc. Creatures in the sandbox kill each other, there is a fight, war, heavy confrontation. After a while, a hero or forces may appear that restore order and restore justice.

At the stage of "conflict resolution"one can observe more prosperous pictures: peace, tranquility, a return to natural activities.

So, K.G. Jung claimed that the process of "playing in the sand" releases blocked energy and "activates the self-healing possibilities inherent in the human psyche."

Basic principles of playing on the sand:

1. Creating a natural stimulating environment in which the child feels comfortable and protected, showing creative activity.

For this, tasks are selected that correspond to the capabilities of the child; instructions for games are formulated in a fairy-tale form; a negative assessment of his actions, ideas, results is excluded, fantasy and creativity are encouraged.

2. "Revival" of abstract symbols: letters, numbers, geometric shapes, etc.

The implementation of this principle makes it possible to form and strengthen the positive motivation for classes and the personal interest of the child in what is happening.

3. Real "living", playing all kinds of situations together with the heroes of fairy-tale games.

On the basis of this principle, the mutual transition of the imaginary into the real and vice versa is carried out. For example, being in the role of the Princess's Savior, the child not only offers a way out of the situation, but actually plays it out in the sand with the help of miniature figures. So, he "in practice" is convinced of the correctness or fallacy of the chosen path.

Games in the sand country:

Games for the development of tactile-kinesthetic sensitivity and fine motor skills of the hands. We get tactile sensations through the skin: "hot - cold", "dry - wet", "hard - soft", "smooth - sharp".

Commonly used are games that offer ETC. Zinkevich-Evstegneeva and T.M. Grabenko in "Workshop on Creative Therapy":
- slide your palms on the surface of the sand, performing zigzag and circular movements (like cars, snakes, sleds, etc.);
- perform the same movements, placing the palm on the edge;
- “walk” with your palms along the laid tracks, leaving your marks on them;
- create all sorts of bizarre patterns on the surface of the sand with the prints of palms, fists, knuckles of the hands, the edges of the palms;
- “walk” on the sand separately with each finger of the right and left hands in turn (first only with the index fingers, then with the middle, ring, thumb and finally little fingers).
You can "play" on the surface of the sand, like on a piano or computer keyboard. At the same time, not only the fingers move, but also the hands, making soft up and down movements.

The sandbox can be used to find a specific letter made of plastic and buried among others in the sand (a variation of the Magic Bag game).

Games for the development of diaphragmatic breathing:

"LEVEL THE ROAD"

From the children's car, the teacher makes a shallow groove in the sand, the child levels the road in front of the car with an air jet;

"WHAT'S UNDER THE SAND?"

The picture is covered with a thin layer of sand. Blowing sand, the child opens the image.

"YAMKA"

The child, following the rules of breathing, takes in air through the nose, inflating the stomach and slowly, smoothly, with a long stream blows a hole in the sand.

"HELP THE HARE"

Three or four depressions are made in the sand - “footprints” leading to a toy hare. There is a fox nearby. It is necessary to “cover up” all traces so that the fox does not find the hare.

"ROAD TO A FRIEND"

Two toys are placed on the sand. It is necessary to form a path on the sand from one toy to another with a long smooth stream.

"SECRET"

A toy or a small object is buried shallowly in the sand. It is necessary by blowing sand to discover the hidden.

The use of sand therapy has many positive aspects:

. the child’s desire to learn something new, experiment and work independently is significantly enhanced;

. in the sandbox, tactile sensitivity develops powerfully as the basis of "manual intelligence";

. in games with sand, all cognitive functions (perception, attention, memory, thinking), as well as speech and motor skills, develop more harmoniously and intensively;

. the subject-play activity is improved, which contributes to the development of the role-playing game and the child's communication skills;

. sand, like water, absorbs negative energy, which is especially important when working with "special" children.

Thus, the relevance of using sand games is determined, firstly, by solving speech problems; secondly, the development of coherent speech; thirdly, the development of fine motor skills of the hand; fourthly, the correction of the mental processes of children with ONR and ZPR.

The sandbox is an excellent medium for establishing contact with the child. Teachers get the opportunity to see the inner world of the child at the moment. Through sand games, tasks such as the development of communication skills are easily solved, i.e. the ability to communicate normally.