Boris Pavlovich and Lena Alekseevna Nikitin are called by many classics of Russian pedagogy. Using the example of their own large family back in Soviet times, they demonstrated how, by breaking established stereotypes in upbringing, they could help a child turn into an independent, harmoniously developed personality.
People first started talking about the Nikitin family in the late 50s of the 20th century. The village of Bolshevo near Moscow, where the teachers lived, was shocked by the way the young couple raised their children. The local community was surprised by the fact that the Nikitin children, who ran barefoot in the snow and were able to perform dizzying gymnastic exercises, were simply bursting with health and amazed with their intelligence. By the age of three or four, these kids had already mastered reading and the basics of mathematics, enthusiastically played logic games invented by their father, and as soon as they started school, they skipped grades.
It was then, in the 1960-1970s, that the Nikitins laid the foundations of Russian parental pedagogy, which are still used today.
Basic principles of education “in Nikitin’s way”
According to the Nikitins, adults traditionally allow two extremes when communicating with a child. The first is being organized. That is, super-caring care and continuous activities, entertainment, games. The child has no time for independent activities.
The second extreme is the abandonment of the child. This means that communication with the baby comes down only to serving him (feeding, drinking, putting him to sleep). This approach leads to deprivation (psychological starvation), hospitalism (delayed emotional and mental development) and, ultimately, mental retardation.
The Nikitin system is based, first of all, on labor, naturalness, closeness to nature and creativity. The guys are masters of themselves, their actions and routine. Parents do not force them to do anything; they only help them understand complex life and philosophical problems. Adults push, rather than get ahead of children, and enter into dialogue with them. The main task of education, according to the Nikitins, is the maximum development of the creative abilities of a growing person and his preparation for life.
The authors define the basic principles of their method as follows.
Firstly, freedom of creativity for children in their classes. No special training, exercises, lessons. Children exercise as much as they want, combining sports with all other activities.
Secondly, light clothing and a sports environment in the house: sports equipment is part of the daily life of children from early childhood, becoming their natural habitat, along with furniture and other household items.
Thirdly, parental concern for what and how the kids are doing, the participation of adults in children's games, competitions, and in general - in the very lives of children.
Parents should have only one goal: not to interfere with the child’s development, but to help him, not to put pressure on children in accordance with some of their own plans, but to create conditions for their further development, focusing on the children’s well-being and desires.
Lena Alekseevna and Boris Pavlovich did not initially set themselves the goal of teaching their kids everything as early as possible. They noticed that children develop earlier those aspects of intelligence for which appropriate “advanced” conditions have been created. Let's say a child has just begun to speak, and among his toys he already has cubes with letters, a cut alphabet, plastic letters and numbers.
HISTORY OF CREATION
The system appeared in the second half of the 60s of the twentieth century and immediately attracted everyone’s attention, since the Nikitins’ approach differed significantly from the norms and principles that reigned in Soviet didactics. The first publication by teachers was published in 1962, and later the proposed innovations attracted the interest of specialists abroad - in Germany and Japan.
The Nikitin methods were developed by those people for whom the problem of raising children was relevant, because the spouses Lena Alekseevna and Boris Pavlovich had seven of them. They not only offered other parents to get acquainted with their own experience, but also, being professional teachers, actively used their knowledge. The Nikitin children began studying mathematics and writing at the age of 3-4 years. The couple tried to raise their children in conditions as close to natural as possible, paid great attention to hardening, physical activity, and provided the children with complete freedom of movement from birth.
How to make a child want to study?
So, the conditions for development must precede this process. This means they need to be prepared in advance. That is, on the walls of the children's room you need to hang a map of the hemispheres, tables of hundreds and thousands, printed and capital letters, measuring instruments, books. And first impressions can involuntarily arouse a child’s interest in some area of knowledge and even develop certain abilities. Working together or working side by side is an obligatory interest in each other’s work process and its results, and at the same time, it is a reason for conversation and exchange of opinions. Here you should pay attention to one very important point: you should never do for a child what he can handle on his own, and never decide for him what he can decide on his own . In any activity for children, adults should try to encourage creativity without imposing their opinions, and without rushing to be sure to prevent a mistake or immediately point out it. And in case of failure, do not reproach or shame the child. But success must be celebrated and not stingy with praise. The main thing is that adults never remain indifferent to what the children do and how they do it, what they do.
Physical development
Children must be ready to perceive knowledge not only mentally, but also physically. The child’s body is itself an instrument of learning. Not overloaded with unnecessary clothing, not burdened with super-calorie food, it easily and willingly “meets” the demands of mental order. Sports equipment should be part of a child’s life almost from infancy. The Nikitins paid special attention to hardening. And their experience has shown that this is an effective way to protect a child from most colds.
Intellectual games of the Nikitins
Methodology
In addition to the advanced conditions for development discussed above, Nikitin has developed a number of educational games for children of any age.
No specific educational program is imposed on the child. He is immersed in the world of the game, in which he is free to choose his field of activity. No one explains the new rules to the child, he simply gets involved in the game with the help of a fairy tale, imitating his elders, participating in group games. As a rule, the active participation of adults or older siblings is required at first, but then the child can study independently. So naturally, the baby performs a number of tasks that gradually become more complicated. At the same time, you cannot give any hints to the baby. He must be given the opportunity to think for himself. If the child cannot cope with the task, you need to return to easy, already mastered tasks, or temporarily leave this game. If it is noticeable that the baby has reached the ceiling of his capabilities or has lost interest in the game, it is better to postpone it for a while. This technique allows the child to independently seek solutions to problems unknown to him, to create new things, that is, it leads to the development of his creative abilities.
Features of the Nikitin Games
The main difference is the versatility of games and limitless scope for creativity. They can interest and captivate all family members. Games teach children, moving from simple to more difficult tasks, to get joy and satisfaction from mental activity, to think, sometimes torment, but always achieve the goal.
Each game is a set of problems that the child solves with the help of cubes, bricks, squares, and parts of a mechanical designer. Tasks are presented to the child in various forms: in the form of a model, a flat drawing, an isometric drawing, a drawing, written or oral instructions, and thus introduce him to different ways of transmitting information. The tasks are arranged from simple to complex.
There are several levels of difficulty, from accessible to a two- or three-year-old to beyond the capabilities of the average adult, so the games can excite interest for many years. And the gradual increase in the difficulty of tasks allows the child to improve independently, that is, to develop creative abilities.
When using Nikitin’s educational games in classes with a child, you should adhere to certain principles.
- You cannot explain to a child the method and procedure for solving problems, and you cannot suggest it with a word, a gesture, or a look. By implementing the decision practically, the baby learns to take everything necessary from the surrounding reality on his own.
- You cannot demand and ensure that the child solves the problem on the first try. He may not have matured yet, and you need to wait a day, a week, a month or even more.
- The solution to the problem appears before the child in the form of a drawing, pattern or structure made of cubes, bricks, construction kit parts, that is, visible and tangible things. This allows the child to check the accuracy of the task himself.
- Most educational games are not limited to the proposed tasks, but allow children and parents to create new options and even invent new games, that is, engage in creative activities.
So, the main feature of Nikitin’s educational games is that they managed to combine one of the basic principles of learning - from simple to complex - with a very important condition for creative activity - doing everything independently.
The educational games developed by Boris Nikitin are described in his book, which is called “Intellectual Games”. Here are just a few examples of the most popular ones.
A little about the creation of the system by Boris and Elena Nikitin
Boris and Lena Nikitin created the method in the process of raising their own children, of whom there were seven born in the family. Since the system began back in 1957, it is difficult to imagine what kind of public censure its authors had to face, who, despite Soviet principles, raised their children according to their own rules.
Much of what the Nikitins were innovators in does not surprise anyone today: natural childbirth, immediate breastfeeding, feeding on demand. The sight of children running in their underwear in the snow provoked a sea of criticism, even despite the facts that spoke in favor of such upbringing: children’s good health, high level of intelligence, development ahead of their peers for several years. But the Soviet Union was known for the fact that any action that went beyond the norms and boundaries was doomed to condemnation by society, no matter how weighty the arguments were for the person committing it. The authors deserve enormous respect for such innovation alone.
The principle on which the entire methodology is based: do not interfere, but help the child develop.
The Nikitin system includes the early development of a child’s abilities at the intellectual and physical levels
Boris Nikitin put forward the theory that any abilities in a child can be pushed to development if done in time. And he considered the most appropriate time to start classes with a baby not even the infant period, but the perinatal period. According to this theory, human abilities that do not receive an impetus for development at the right time inevitably fade away and cannot be developed in the future.
And if these abilities (intellectual and other) are not activated early, then later they will “die out” - as unnecessary...
B. Nikitin
https://nikitiny.ru/intellektualnoe_razvitie
Developing his idea, the author criticized the public educational system.
At school, not a single teacher would think of assigning a problem without first explaining how to solve it. This means that at school the child will encounter almost no tasks that can advance him in the development of his creative abilities, and he has less and less free time, until by the time he reaches high school there is none left at all.(…)
From the standpoint of the new hypothesis, the fact of the mass “production” of lagging behind and second-year students in orphanages, in orphanages and in “week-long” kindergartens is also completely explainable. Here, good supervision of the child and a particularly firm daily routine are of greatest importance, in which the baby does not need to solve new problems (...)
B. Nikitin
https://nikitiny.ru/NUVERS
Yes, this confirms that an education system built in this way does not accustom a person to the main thing - to learn and learn, to ask questions and find answers to them, but has a detrimental effect on abilities and basic development. As a result, there is not only creative degradation, but also personal degradation.
Factors contributing to early development (according to the system)
The Nikitins believed that natural development is the best option for a child, but in most modern families it is artificially inhibited. In such cases, it is not the needs of the baby that are taken as the basis, but the stereotypical thinking of adults. Parents believe that they know when the baby is supposed to master this or that skill, and they forbid him to perform some actions under the pretext of “it’s too early,” while, on the contrary, they impose others because they are sure that “it’s already time.”
It is still common to encounter parents, and more often grandparents, who panic if a four-month-old baby tries to assume an upright position. According to the norms, a child should sit independently at the age of six months. The Nikitins did not follow this approach, giving children the opportunity to develop ahead of established standards.
The authors of the system identified the following main factors contributing to early development.
- The child is given great freedom of action. There is no compulsion to study as such. Children study and practice as much as they want.
- The physical development of a child is no less important than his education. It is important to have a sports corner, hardening, and no restrictions on playing sports.
- The indispensable participation of adults in children's activities: games, competitions, creative processes. A child needs to feel his parents’ concern for his successes, but at the same time he should not feel pressure and specific requirements for his abilities.
Physical development is as important for a child as intellectual development
Pros and cons of the technique
Despite all the controversial issues that may arise in the process of studying the Nikitin system, practice shows that there are undoubted advantages of it. Even methods such as hardening, which still seems radical to many, give consistent results.
- Children raised according to the Nikitins' method are distinguished by good health and endurance.
- Development occurs much earlier, and the mental abilities of children are not limited by a given program, as can be observed in children raised according to standard principles. A way of thinking is formed that solves problems, both mathematical and everyday.
- Living conditions, everyday life - everything is arranged and distributed in such a way that it is easy for parents and children to fulfill their responsibilities and no one feels overloaded.
Frames and inserts
This game is accessible to the little ones. It consists of 16 frames with inserts in the form of geometric shapes: circle, square, triangle, ellipse (oval), rectangle and so on. A better place to start is by showing the inserts. Take a circle, an oval, a square, an equilateral triangle and, naming them, show them to the baby. In this case, it is better not to hold them in your hands, but to lay them out on a plain surface (not on a colored tablecloth or carpet, but at least on a sheet of paper). Having shown one figure at a time, you can give them to the baby for independent actions - let him look at them and play. It would be appropriate to offer him a box or jar in which he can put all this and then pour it back. Gradually, the little one will get to know all 16 figures in the set. If you start with a small number of figures, you can attract the baby to play starting from 10-12 months. When the child grows up, you can complicate the tasks: trace the outlines of the figures with a pencil, first along the frames, then along the inserts (this is more difficult), make a double outline, shade the resulting image, draw figures on the count (three circles, two squares), create plot drawings ( herringbone of three isosceles triangles).
Nikitin system for preschoolers
The preschoolers raised by the authors of the system were at a developmental level of at least second grade. By the age of about five, kids were solving mathematical equations and reading, without their parents teaching them much of what the children could do. The younger ones learned some skills from the older ones, and learned some on their own. This is precisely the essence of education according to Nikitin: the child should not be given knowledge, but should be encouraged to obtain it himself .
You can agree with the Nikitins’ method or not, but you cannot ignore the facts: children who are raised according to this method are superior to their peers in everything.
The intellectual development of preschool children is best carried out in a playful way
Nuances of the Nikitin system for preschoolers
- Sport. It is mandatory to have a sports complex in the house with various difficulty levels. Not interfering with activities, but helping with them.
- Early learning. Reading and counting are available to children much earlier than is commonly assumed. It is necessary to have the necessary materials in the house: the alphabet, abacus, geographical maps. All this should be at the child’s disposal at any time.
- Teaching children by children. If there is more than one child in a family (or the methodology is taken as the main one in a preschool educational institution), then the older children teach the younger ones what they themselves already know. As practice shows, they can be even better teachers than adults.
- The time spent attending general school is kept to a minimum. The option of studying externally is practiced.
- Labor training. There is a place in the house where children can make and invent from scrap materials. The tools must be real. Safety precautions are best learned through practice. These conditions are observed from infancy.
- An example set by adults. The task of the parent (educator) in this case is to convey to the child passion for the activity in which he is engaged. The adult acts as a guru and master of his craft.
- Involving the child in the creative process. Anything can serve as a creative activity: any handicraft, drawing, modeling.
- Involvement in housework. A child, even a very small one, has clear responsibilities. They must correspond to gender, age, and physical development. The requirements for the quality of the work done are as high as if it was done by adults. Labor is rewarded.
- Respect for the child and his opinion. It manifests itself not only in words, but also in deeds. The attitude towards the baby should not be as a fool, but as a person, albeit a small one.
- Focus on developing thinking. The child is given problems without an explanation for their solution. He learns not to perform actions according to a given pattern, but to independently obtain knowledge. Figuratively speaking, there is no need to force the child to learn the law of universal attraction, but to give him the opportunity to act as Newton himself and discover it.
- Planning time for work, rest and training. The process of learning new things should be the same norm as eating and resting without a break for holidays and weekends. But time needs to be distributed in such a way that the child does not get tired and does not feel overloaded.
- Brainstorm. Collective problem solving without restrictions or criticism.
- Hardening. As for children, it involves light clothing and playing in the fresh air.
- Mind games. They were developed by Boris Nikitin, have a large number of difficulty levels and contribute to the intellectual development of children, but will also be interesting for many adults.
If the child does not cope with the game task assigned to him right away, then you need to try later, but do not try to prompt and help. This rule applies to all Nikitin games.
Nikitin games and their descriptions - table
| Name of the game | Description |
| Fold the pattern | The essence of this game is to create patterns from 16 identical cubes, each face of which is painted in a different color. Some of the sides are bicolor (diagonally painted in two different colors). There are several difficulty options:
The game develops thinking skills, the ability to analyze and combine. It can be offered to children as young as one year old. |
| Cubes for everyone | This game has 7 figures, each of which consists of several cubes. They are similar to the well-known Tetris, but not on a plane, but in space. “Cubes for Everyone” teaches you to think in three-dimensional images and take into account not just one possible side, but several options when solving a problem. They are suitable for children aged two years and older. |
| Fractions | The game consists of 12 circles, each of which is divided into a different number of equal parts and colored in its own color. They are in a special box. The child's task is to open it, pour out the contents, and then put all the circles first on the surface and then into the box. This game gives a clear understanding of what fractions are, how one whole is divided into several parts. Practice shows that children are able to assimilate such information at the age of 3-4 years, therefore, there is no point in delaying its acquisition until the third grade. |
| Hundreds Table | This is a fairly simple game, but not an easy one. It looks like a table where numbers from 1 to 100 are arranged in columns and rows of 10 each. Each row is marked with a certain number of black dots. The game teaches children to quickly memorize numbers, and then quickly add numbers in different rows, solve problems of varying complexity, and subsequently come up with new ones. |
| Watch | The game looks like a watch made from scrap materials. She teaches kids to determine the correct time, calculate the number of minutes and seconds in different time intervals. |
| Dots | This game was designed as a math test. It consists of 44 squares of four colors:
The game comes with tasks of varying complexity that develop logical thinking and teach the child to count quickly. |
| Unicube | This game consists of 27 cubes, the edges of which are painted in a certain way in different colors. It is very functional, and the tasks offered are divided into many levels of difficulty. The game will be useful for a child because it will teach him to think in several directions at once, develop modeling skills and teach him to cope with difficult tasks. Unicube is recommended for children aged two years and older. |
| Fold a square | This game is essentially puzzle-like. But you need to fold not a picture, but squares that are cut into unequal parts of various shapes and painted in different colors. There are 24 of them in total. This game can be offered to children as young as one year old. The game makes you realize that from parts, sometimes bizarre shapes, you can put together one whole. Teaches you to classify objects by color. |
Educational games developed by the Nikitins - photo gallery
The game gives a visual understanding of what fractions are, how one whole is divided into several parts
“Cubes for Everyone” teaches you to think in three-dimensional images and take into account not just one possible side when solving a problem, but several options at once.
Folding patterns develops thinking skills, the ability to analyze and combine
Dots develop logical thinking and teach children to count quickly
Nikitin's watches teach kids to navigate time
Unicube will teach your child to think in several directions at once, develop modeling skills and teach him to cope with difficult tasks.
“Fold a square” makes you realize that parts, sometimes of a bizarre shape, can be put together into one whole, and teaches you to classify objects by color.
Fold the pattern
This game consists of 16 wooden cubes with an edge measuring 3 cm, where each side has a certain color. The cubes must be placed in a wooden or cardboard box (its presence is required). Nikitin advises starting to play with them at the age of one and a half years. In the beginning (especially with the little ones), you just need to sit down next to your child and look at the cubes together: “Look, how beautiful the cubes are!” So I took 4 cubes: one, two, three, four. Look, this is the blue side, and this is the yellow side. What a beautiful blue runner I made! Let's take the bunny, see how he likes to jump on it? And now the path has become multi-colored: blue, yellow, blue, yellow.” Perhaps the baby is no longer listening and is looking around. This means that the acquaintance with the cubes should have been completed a few minutes earlier. The game should not bore the child. And one more thing: like any other, it is advisable to store it in a place where the baby can see it, but cannot get it out himself. When the baby has a desire to play, he can say or point to the box if he does not yet know how to talk. These cubes promote “the development of spatial imagination, accuracy, attention, graphic abilities, the ability to analyze, synthesize and combine.”
DIY Nikitin cubes
Nikitin's cubes are most widespread. Such seemingly simple, but in practice very interesting games are designed for children of different ages and can be exciting for adults as well. They are quite expensive in stores, but they are easy to make with your own hands.
Fold the pattern
You can make such a game yourself. To do this you will need 16 wooden cubes of the same size. They must be clean, dry and free from roughness. They need to be painted or covered with colored paper. The sides should look like this:
- white edge (front);
- yellow (back);
- blue (right);
- red (left);
- diagonally yellow-blue (top);
- diagonally red and white (bottom).
You need to color the cubes of the “Fold the Pattern” game in such a way that the diagonals are perfectly clear
From the cubes you need to put together pictures according to given patterns, of which there are a very large number. Such patterns can resemble geometric shapes, people, or animals.
Sample pictures for the game “Fold the Pattern” - photo gallery
Snowflake pattern
Pattern "Grandfather"
Yellow-blue Christmas trees
Pattern "Rhombuses"
Tricolor pattern
Hourglass pattern
Review of cubes “Fold the pattern” - video
Cubes for everyone
This game is also easy to make. All you need is 27 cubes, which will later be glued into the various shapes shown in the photo. In order for the toy to turn out correctly, they must be the same.
By gluing 27 cubes according to the above examples, you will receive the “Cubes for Everyone” toy.
The essence of the game is simple: from figures you need to assemble other figures according to given patterns, and then invent new ones. But, despite the fact that everything looks simple and resembles Tetris, as a rule, it can be difficult to perform even for adults.
The game has several difficulty levels:
- KV-1 series - main units;
- KV-2 series - figures that can be assembled from two main blocks;
- KV-3 series - figures that can be assembled from three main blocks;
- KV-4 series - figures that can be assembled from four main blocks;
- KV-5 series - figures that can be assembled from five main blocks;
- KV-6 series - figures that can be assembled from six main blocks;
- KV-7 series - figures that can be assembled from all seven main blocks.
Schemes for the game “Cubes for everyone” - photo gallery
The KV-2 series is the simplest, you can simply train on it
The KV-7 series is one of the most difficult in the game Cubes for everyone One of the tasks is to assemble a full-fledged cube from all the parts
KV-3 - tasks of medium difficulty level
KV-4 figures need to be folded from four blocks
KV-4 figures need to be folded out of five blocks
KV-4 figures need to be folded from six blocks
Unicube
To make a Unicube, like the previous toy, you will need 27 cubes of the same size, but you don’t need to glue anything here. All you have to do is simply paint the edges in the correct colors.
Instructions for the Unicube toy - photo gallery
Unicube in a box, and the first simple tasks
All tasks for the game are divided into different difficulty levels
Those tasks that seem simple, in practice, can turn out to be one of the most difficult
Such tasks can be interesting even for teenagers and children
At its core, the Unicube resembles a Rubik's Cube, but there are many more options for the tasks
Unicube and Cubes for everyone - video
Fold a square
The technology for creating the game is very simple. You need to make 24 squares measuring 80x80 mm from cardboard and multi-colored paper and cut them along the lines as shown in the figure.
A children's game that resembles puzzles and develops logical thinking
Fold a square
This game originated from a puzzle in which several pieces of various shapes were required to form a square. This was a rather difficult puzzle, so Nikitin decided to do a series of simpler tasks. The result is a game for children aged two years and older. It has three difficulty levels. Each contains 12 multi-colored squares. All 12 squares are located on plywood the size of a landscape sheet and seem to be inserted into windows. For children 2 years old and younger, you need to leave 4 of the simplest squares. Let it be a whole square, a square of two rectangles, of two triangles and - cut into two parts along a broken line. Now you can start playing with your child. The parts need to either be arranged into piles (each with parts of the same color), or shown how two halves make a whole square. Then the child is given the opportunity to act on his own. Gradually, the baby will master this level and move on to a more complex one. According to Nikitin, this game promotes the development of color perception, the assimilation of the relationship between the whole and the part, the formation of logical thinking and the ability to break a complex problem into several simple ones.
BASIC BENEFITS
The Nikitin spouses’ method involved the comprehensive development of physical strength and endurance, intelligence and creative potential, and therefore included a large number of benefits.
- The wall bars, jump rope, turnstiles, and balls helped the child train his body.
- Cubes, development boards, and puzzles helped improve logical thinking and creativity.
The constructor is also actively used. Working with the benefits is simple - the child is given a specific task that he must complete.
Fractions
The age range for starting this game varies, from 3 to 5 years. It is a set of three plywood pieces the size of a landscape sheet. Each of them has 4 circles. They all have the same size but different colors. The first circle is whole, the second is cut into two equal parts, the third into three, and so on, up to 12 “slices”. At first, only the first plywood with four circles is left for the game. With their help, you can repeat colors, count the inserted pieces, and compare them with each other. With their help, you can repeat the colors, count the inserted pieces, and compare them with each other. In this way, the child becomes familiar with mathematical terminology. You can try making a multi-colored circle. It is very interesting to build a ladder: at the bottom there is a whole circle, then half, then a third. With its help, you can clearly understand why one second is greater than one third.
Unicube
These are universal cubes that introduce the baby to the world of three-dimensional space. The development of spatial thinking will allow the child in the future to master drawing, stereometry, and descriptive geometry. The game teaches clarity, attentiveness, precision, accuracy.
"Unicube" consists of 27 small wooden cubes. The faces of each cube are painted in such a way (three colors in total) that this combination of faces is rare, if not unique. That is why it is so difficult to complete tasks according to the proposed schemes. Nikitin offers 60 tasks for the “unicube”. The author performed the first of them with children aged 1.5-3 years, and the most complex ones are not accessible to all adults.
Their daughter Anna Ermakova spoke about the Nikitins’ method
fold the patternmaterial (preparatory group)
“Fold the pattern” group in the preparatory school group “Thumbelina”
Vasilyeva O.I
Karamova A.R.
Focus: Knowledge of the surrounding world and the development of spatial imagination, intelligence and logical thinking, counting skills and graphic abilities, color perception, the ability to analyze, synthesize and combine, teaching children classification skills, varying color and shape, creating new images; fostering neatness, attention, accuracy, perseverance and determination.
Goal: Formation of cognitive activity in children with the help of B. Nikitin’s game “Fold the Pattern”; implementation of modern requirements for the organization of the educational process in preschool educational institutions; creating conditions conducive to the activation and improvement of the cognitive sphere and orientation activities.
Tasks:
1. Educational:
— to promote the solid assimilation of educational material by preschoolers;
- develop spatial imagination, intelligence and logical thinking, counting skills and graphic abilities, color perception, the ability to analyze, synthesize and combine,
- teaching children classification skills, varying colors and shapes, creating new images.
2. Educational:
— Contribute to the education of a self-developing and self-realizing personality;
— education of accuracy, attention, precision, perseverance and determination.
3. Developmental:
— Develop children's creative thinking, perception, attention, memory
— Promote the practical application of skills and abilities acquired in the lesson.
4. Corrective:
— Formation of cognitive activity in preschoolers.
Description of the game by B. Nikitin “Fold the pattern.”
The game consists of 16 identical cubes. All 6 faces of each cube are colored differently in 4 colors. This allows you to create 1-, 2-, 3- and even 4-color patterns from them in a huge number of options. These patterns resemble the contours of various objects and paintings, which children like to give names to. When playing with blocks, children perform 3 types of tasks.
First, they learn to put together exactly the same pattern from cubes using task patterns. Then they set the opposite task: looking at the cubes, draw the pattern that they form. And finally, the third thing is to come up with new patterns from 9 or 16 cubes, which are not yet in the book, i.e. perform creative work.
Using a different number of cubes and different coloring of the cubes not only in color, but also in shape (squares and triangles), you can change the difficulty of tasks in an unusually wide range.
This game well develops children's ability to analyze and synthesize, these important mental operations used in almost all intellectual activities, and the ability to combine, necessary for design work.
| Lesson topic, games used | Lesson objectives | Contents (tasks for children) with sketches of samples | materials to class | Preliminary work |
| 1. Multi-colored paths “Fold the pattern” cubes | 1.Teach yourself, lay out the paths according to the sample, in accordance with the chosen color. 2.Fix the account within 3. Learn to compare the number of cubes in each track and the number of tracks (equally, 4 each, the same number) 4.Teach carefully how to use cubes and put them in a box after playing. 5. Develop creative imagination in the selection of comparisons (what it looks like). | 1. Lay out the paths for the animals according to the model. 2.Compare the length of the tracks. 3. Count how many cubes are in the red carpet and how many are in the blue one. 4.What can you say about the number of cubes in the red and blue carpet? 5.Make one long, striped one from two paths. 6. Think about what the striped path looks like (like a fence, a train, a scarf...) | Nikitin’s “make a pattern” cubes (1 set per child) task cards (4 multi-colored paths of 4 cubes each) 4 toys of different colors (blue, red, yellow, white) | Laying out tasks for the game by overlaying them on the picture. Recounting various items within 4. Comparison of long and short strips. Playing with cubes, looking at cubes with different colored sides. |
| 2.Rug for “ladybug”. Two tracks Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1. Laying out tracks from memory. 2. Learn to lay out the “mat” according to the pattern. 3.Secure the score within 4 4. Reinforcement of concepts: top, bottom, right, left. 5. Automation of the sound “Zh” in onomatopoeia | 1.Remember what you laid out in the last lesson and lay out the tracks yourself. 2. Lay out a mat for the “ladybug”. 3. Count how many cubes are in the mat, how many red, blue, yellow, white cubes. 4. Game with a “ladybug” for orientation in space. | Cubes “fold the pattern” box for each child Sample cards "ladybug" by number children | Game for attention “What has changed” (for orientation in space) The game “Who is on your right, who is on your left.” Counting various objects within 4 Examination of the image and toy - ladybug. Sound imitation games “How a beetle hums.” |
| 3. “Multi-colored scarves, striped flags and stools for matryoshka dolls” “fold the pattern” cubes | 1.Continue to teach children to lay out the task according to the model. 2. Continue to teach how to compare the number of cubes: 2 each, equally, the same number. 3. Introduce children to the composition of the number 2 and 2 – 4 4.Develop independence and creativity in choosing colors and tasks. | 1.Fold a handkerchief, flag, and stool for the nesting doll according to the pattern. 2. Count how many yellow cubes are in the handkerchief, how many white ones. How many cubes are there in a handkerchief? 3. How many red and how many blue cubes are there in the flag, what can you say about their number? 4. For those who succeeded, suggest posting the task in a different color (not like in the picture) | Cubes “fold the pattern” box for each child Matryoshka Task cards | Comparison of the number of items (2 each) Examination of various geometric patterns of scarves and flags. |
| 4. “A trip to a mysterious city on a carpet airplane.” Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1. Laying out familiar patterns from memory (mat, handkerchief, flag) 2.Development of imagination (laying out familiar patterns of other colors). 3. Consolidation of counting skills within 4. 4. Strengthen the ability to compare objects (houses made of cubes) by height. 5.Ability to create joint work (carpet pattern). 6. The ability to perform actions with cubes in accordance with verbal instructions (we build a one-story, three-story and four-story house), laying out the cubes from bottom to top. | 1. Remember what patterns we learned to lay out from cubes, and lay out the ones that you liked best. 2.Now let's put your patterns all together. Look what a beautiful carpet we made. 3.Build a blue house with 3 floors, a white house with 1 floor, and a red house with 4 floors. 4.Put a circle on the white house, a triangle on the blue, and a square on the red. 5. Think and tell me, who can live in a house with a round roof, with a square roof, with a triangular roof? 6.Tell me which house is the lowest? How many floors does it have? Which house is the tallest? How many floors does it have? 7.Place the houses in a row from lowest to highest. | “Fold the pattern” cubes, one box per child Circle, square and triangle 1 pc. for everyone Images of round, square, triangular objects | Laying out already familiar patterns, but in different colors Construction of high and low towers, recalculation of cubes. Individual work with children who did not cope with the task in class Comparison of the height of surrounding objects: houses, trees, tables, toys. |
| 5. “Flower Glade” “fold the pattern” cubes | 1. Learn to lay out a ladder, a flower, a saw according to a pattern. 2. Consolidation of counting skills within 4. 3. Strengthen the ability to navigate in space. 4. Stimulate the desire to show independence in choosing materials according to color, modifying the palette of the proposed sample. | 1. Count how many steps there are in the ladder, take the same number of cubes. 2. Count out the same number of cubes for how many petals a flower has. Place a flower of a different color. 3. Look at the picture where the saw is drawn. How are the cubes colored? How many of these cubes should you take? 4.Look where the blue corner is pointing and where the white corner is facing? Place the cube the same way as in the picture. 5. For those who managed to offer to build another ladder | “Fold the pattern” cubes, a box for each child Task cards (ladder, flower, saw) | Arranging flowers from geometric shapes. Looking at pictures depicting flowers, saws, ladders. Counting items up to 4 by touch (under a scarf) Recalculation of the number of trees and shrubs on the site. |
| 6. “Fantasy”’s journey to a flower meadow. Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1.Laying out from memory (flower, lake). 2. Learn to lay out a butterfly and a fish. 3. Strengthening numeracy skills within 4. 4.Develop imagination (encourage children to complete tasks using cubes of other colors) 5. Strengthen the ability to navigate in space (right, left). 6.Continue to develop creative imagination of what it looks like (a glass, a bow...). | 1. Lay out the flowers that grow in the clearing. 2.Look what butterfly flew to our clearing. Let's make her girlfriends out of cubes. Look and count how many and what kind of cubes you need to take. 3.Near the “Fantasy” clearing I saw a lake, look what it is. Lay it out from the cubes. 4.Beautiful fish swim in the lake. Let's put them together from cubes. Look at the picture, from which cube we will lay out the body, from which tail? 5. Carefully turn the fish and butterfly, see what they look like now, who have they turned into? | “Fold the pattern” cubes, a box for each child Monkey toy Task cards (fish, butterfly) | Looking at pictures of butterflies and fish Watching fish in an aquarium Independently laying out tasks from cubes “fold the pattern” according to task cards. |
| 7. The house where “Fantasy” lives Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1. Learn to lay out a house, a Christmas tree, a flashlight. 2. Consolidation of counting skills within 4 (counting cubes). 3. Strengthen the ability to navigate in space (upper left corner, upper right corner, lower left, lower right corner). 4. Strengthen the ability to compare objects (Christmas trees) by height. 5.Develop imagination (laying out patterns in other colors, inventing your own patterns). | 1. This is the house where “Fantasy” lives, let’s build it out of cubes. 2. “Fantasy” lives in the forest, fir trees grow near his house. Let's make Christmas trees of different heights from the cubes. 3. Let's count how many large triangles there are in the tallest tree and how many in the shortest one. 4. It gets dark in the evening, and “Fantasy” hung lanterns on the Christmas trees near the house. Let's put together the same lanterns from the cubes as in the picture. 5. Invite children who have completed the task to put out a multi-colored flashlight. | “Fold the pattern” cubes, one box per child Monkey toy Task cards (house, Christmas tree, lanterns) | Looking at pictures of a house, a Christmas tree and lanterns. Comparison of various objects, toys by height. Construction of towers and houses of different heights. Laying out houses, Christmas trees, lanterns from geometric shapes (triangles and squares). |
| 8. “Fantasy Fishing” Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1. Learn to lay out the boat and hook. 2. Laying out fish, lake and house from memory. 3. Develop imagination (learn to come up with short stories). 4.Develop coherent speech in children. | 1. Lay out the house in which “Fantasy” lives. 2. Not far from the house there is a lake. Let's put it out there. 3. “Fantasy” goes fishing and needs a boat. Let's lay out a boat for him the same as in the picture. 4.In order to fish, you need a fishing rod with a hook. Lay out the hook for the fishing rod as in the picture. 5.Put out the fish that you caught in the “Fantasy” lake. 6. Come up with a story about how “Fantasy” went fishing. | “Fold the pattern” cubes per child Task cards (boat, hook) | Looking at pictures of a boat and a hook. Making up short stories based on pictures. Individual work with children who missed classes due to illness and other reasons. Independent games with cubes “fold the pattern” using task cards. |
| 9. Scarf for “Fantasy” Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1. Development of memory, thinking, imagination (laying out from memory, using other colors, making your own patterns). 2.Teach to be neat and careful with toys (do not break cardboard cubes, put the cubes away in a box after playing). 3. Strengthen the ability to compare lengths. | 1. “Fantasy” is cold, he doesn’t have a scarf, let’s help him. Fold the patterns we made in class and come up with your own patterns. 2.Connect your striped patterns. How long was your scarf? Does Sasha have a short scarf or a long one? What about Dasha? 3. Let's combine all your scarves into one big one. What kind of scarf did we get? | “Fold the pattern” cubes, one box per child Monkey toy | Looking at patterns on scarves Games with cubes “fold the pattern” at the request of children Comparing strips by length Constructions from building material of long and short paths. |
| 10. Snowflakes on the window. Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1.Continue to teach how to lay out an image according to the task card. 2.Develop fantasy and imagination (inventing and laying out your own snowflakes, using cubes of other colors). 3. Strengthen counting skills in the range from 5 to 9. | 1. “Fantasy” drew snowflakes that he saw on the window. Lay out snowflakes from your cubes, which ones you like. Lay out snowflakes using cubes of other colors. 2. Count how many cubes are in your snowflake. 3.Create and post your snowflakes. “Fantasy” places symbol cards on hoops and asks children to find the house where their figure lives. Children with figures in their hands move away from the hoops and close their eyes. “Fantasy” rearranges the cards, the children look for their home. The game is repeated 3 times. | “Fold the pattern” cubes, one box per child Toy "Fantasy" Task cards (snowflakes). | Drawing snowflakes. Looking at snowflakes while walking. Recounting items within 10. |
| 11. “Fantasy” welcomes spring. Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1. Learn to lay out a bird and icicles in a pattern. 2. Strengthen the ability to compare objects (“icicles”) by length. 3. Consolidation of counting skills within 5. 4. Continue to teach how to compare the number of cubes 4 and 5 (which is more, less). 5.Laying out the boat from memory. 6. Encourage children, when completing the task, to use cubes of other colors and add their own elements. | Spring is coming, there are puddles everywhere. "Fantasy" doesn't know what to play on the street. 1.Let's build a boat for him out of cubes. Where can you launch a boat? 2. Let's lay out a puddle for the boat, just like we laid out the lake. 3. Birds from warm countries will soon begin to arrive. Let's put a bird on the picture for "Fantasy". Design your own bird. 4. The snow outside is melting, icicles appear on the roofs. Let's put them together from cubes (long and short). 5. Count how many cubes are in a long icicle and how many are in a short one. Where is more, where is less? Which number is greater, which is less? | “Fold the pattern” cubes, one box per child Toy "Fantasy" Task cards (bird and icicles) | Looking at icicles. Looking at pictures of birds flying from warm regions. Launching boats in a puddle. Bird watching outside while walking. Conversations about spring. Counting and comparing the number of objects from 4 to 5. |
| 12.Snowdrops Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1. Learn to lay out various flowers from cubes according to a pattern. 2.Laying out a white flower from memory. 3. Consolidation of counting skills within 5. 4. Continue learning to compare the number of cubes (petals). 5.Develop visual attention. 6.Develop imagination and imagination (use cubes of a different color and come up with your own patterns). | “Fantasy” walked through the forest and saw a lot of beautiful snowdrops, he photographed them and sent us the photos. 1.Let's lay out our snowdrop (a flower made from white cubes). 2.Now let’s lay out the flower that “Fantasy” saw. 3.How many cubes did you need? 4.Which flower has more cubes? 5.How many petals are there in each flower? Are they the same number? 5. For those children who have completed all the tasks, offer a more difficult task. | “Fold the pattern” cubes, one box per child Task cards Letter from "Fantasy" | Looking at different colors in pictures. Arranging flowers from geometric shapes. Games with cubes “fold the pattern” using cards - tasks at the request of the children. |
| 13. Travel through the spring forest. Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1.Laying out the bird and flowers from memory. 2. Strengthen the ability to compare the length and width (of streams). 3. Strengthen the ability to compare the number of cubes by applying (more, less by 1). 4. Consolidation of counting skills within 8. 5.Develop imagination (using cubes of other colors, inventing your own patterns, using more cubes). | "Fantasy" goes on a journey through the forest. Let's go with him. 1.Look at the streams. Lay out a stream of 5 blue cubes. 2.Fold a yellow stream of 4 cubes. Which stream is longer, which is shorter? 3.Fold 1 more yellow stream of the same length. Move the yellow streams closer to each other so that you get 1 wide stream. 4.Which stream was narrow and which was wide? 5.Which stream required more cubes? How many? 6. “Fantasy” saw birds in the forest. Lay out the birds he saw. 7.Look at the forest, there are a lot of flowers. Let's lay them out from cubes. | “Fold the pattern” cubes, one box per child Toy "Fantasy" | Comparison of the length and width of strips, branches, ribbons, paths. Recounting items from 1 to 8 Looking at pictures with streams and birds. Reading stories about spring. |
| 14. Treasure Cubes “fold the pattern” | 1. Making patterns from memory. 2.Develop imagination, imagination (drawing patterns based on ideas). 3. Teach children to give a positive assessment of a friend’s work. 4. Learn to lay out a shovel according to a pattern. | Guys, we are going in search of treasure. We begin excavations. To dig up the treasure, we need a shovel. Let's lay it out from cubes. Close your eyes and imagine that you have found something interesting. 1. Post what you found. 2.Tell a friend what you found. 3.Take a look and tell us whose find you like and why. | “Fold the pattern” cubes, one box per child | Games-activities with cubes “fold the pattern”. Independent games with cubes “fold the pattern” |
