Goals and objectives of environmental education for preschool children

For many centuries, man behaved as a consumer in relation to nature: he cut down forests, extracted minerals, and engaged in agriculture, without thinking about the future. This has led to a reduction in forest area, depletion of land resources and subsoil.

There comes a turning point in the history of the development of the planet, when a person begins to think about the consequences of his consumer attitude towards the earth. It has become important to educate a new person who can appreciate the scale of the problem.

Environmental education in kindergarten

Already at a young age, the baby begins to interact with peers, with adults, with objects of nature.
The child shows curiosity, asks why questions, and adopts the values ​​and traditions of elders. Ages from 3 to 6 years are the most susceptible. A preschooler learns the experience of adults based on trust in them. From an early age he learns to actively cooperate with nature and empathize with it.

Environmental education starts in the family and continues in the nursery. Each preschool institution draws up its own program for the formation of environmental knowledge, covering the entire educational process, starting with a walk and ending with educational activities.

Problems of environmental education

The main problem in this direction is the low equipment of gardens. Conditions are necessary to create a winter garden and mini-laboratories. To carry out gaming activities, you need didactic materials, maps, manuals, models, toys.

The second problem is the viability of the developed education system. The environmental education program and the entire methodology for environmental education of preschoolers will be implemented in the case when each stage of work and the result of the work are thought out: what we want the student to be like when he enters school.

Criteria for environmental education of older preschoolers

The famous teacher and scientist T. A. Markova believes that the main criteria can be:

• children's goodwill towards all living things;
• degree of interest in living and inanimate nature;
• desire to contact natural entities;
• ability to care for plants and animals.

Ecological culture allows you to live in harmony with the surrounding nature, feel responsible for your steps and understand the consequences of a harmful attitude towards the earth.

Where does the formation of environmental awareness among preschoolers begin in preschool educational institutions?

The first step is to create conditions for this work: a corner of nature with an aquarium, small animals in a group, a small winter garden, a nature museum. A living area can contain birds, fish, reptiles, and small animals.

The guys feed them, clean them, observe them, and study their characteristics. Walks are also important, when children observe and draw conclusions about certain phenomena in living and inanimate nature.

The role of parents in environmental education cannot be belittled. Now families have cats, dogs, parrots, and turtles. There are aquariums and indoor plants. Adults should daily introduce children to the world of nature, to comprehend its secrets, so that from early childhood a feeling of unity with the world around them arises.

Text of the book “Theory and Methods of Environmental Education for Preschool Children”

Practical exercises on the topics of the section

Topic: Objectives and content of environmental education for preschool children

Lesson 1. Environmental education - a new direction in preschool pedagogy

1. Environmental education of preschool children at the present stage.
Relevance and development prospects. 2. Education of initial forms of ecological culture in preschool childhood.

3. Objectives of environmental education for preschool children, ways and means of their implementation.

4. Main aspects and directions of the content of environmental education for preschool children.

Assignments for independent work of students

Describe the main methods of environmental and pedagogical work with preschoolers. To prove the leading role of the teacher in the formation of an environmentally oriented personality in preschool childhood.

Literature

Vinogradova N. F.

Environmental education of children of preschool and primary school age. Environmental education: Concept and methodological approaches / Ed. N. N. Mamedova. – M., 1996.

Glazachev S. N.

Ecological culture. – M., 1997.

Kokueva L.V.

Education of preschool children through familiarization with nature. – M., 2005.

Nikolaeva S. N.

Methods of environmental education of preschool children. (The concept of environmental education for preschool children). – M., 1999.

Novikova G.

Ethical and environmental education // Preschool education. – 2009. – No. 2.

Ryzhova N. A.

About the draft strategy for environmental education in the Russian Federation // Preschool education. – 2001. – No. 6.

Ryzhova N. A.

Environmental education of preschool children from the position of a new paradigm // Preschool education. – 2001 – No. 7.

Environmental education: Concepts and methodological approaches / Responsible. ed. N. M. Mamedov. – M., 1996.

Panov V.I.

Ecological psychology. – M., 2004.

Preparation for the lesson involves:

– definition of the concept of “ecological culture” (essential features, structure, technology of formation);

– studying the characteristics of ecocentric ecological consciousness, explaining the need to develop a new system of relationships between society and nature, abandoning the dominant anthropocentric ecological consciousness;

– substantiation of the relevance of the problem of the formation of initial forms of ecological culture from early childhood;

– mastering the essence, objectives and content of environmental education for preschool children (scientific, value, normative, activity components); conditions of environmental and pedagogical work with children;

– understanding the principles that determine the ways and means of solving the problems of raising an environmentally oriented personality in preschool age;

– explanation of the essence of the axiological approach in environmental education of children, the uniqueness of its implementation in preschool institutions;

– mastering the components of a child’s readiness to interact with nature (characteristics, relationships and interdependence);

– identifying indicators of the formation of ecological culture by the end of preschool age.

Lesson 2. Characteristics of modern environmental education programs for preschoolers

1. Review of domestic and foreign programs for environmental education and upbringing of children.

2. Characteristics of modern proprietary environmental education programs for preschoolers.

Assignments for independent work of students

Analysis, evaluation of modern programs for environmental education, upbringing and development of preschool children.

Literature

Avdeeva N. N., Stepanova G. B.

Life is around us. – Yaroslavl, 2003.

Ashikov V. I., Ashikova S. G.

Seven-flowered. Program and guidelines for cultural and environmental education and development of preschool children. – M., 1998.

Vasyakina-Novikov Zh. L.

Cobweb. Children's environmental education program. – M., 1996.

Ivanova A.I.

Living ecology: Environmental education program for preschool children. – M., 2007.

We. Environmental education program for children. – St. Petersburg, 2000.

Koptseva T. A.

Nature and the artist: Artistic and environmental program in fine arts for preschool educational institutions and educational complexes. – M., 2006.

Nikolaeva S. N.

Review of foreign and domestic programs for environmental education and upbringing of children // Preschool education. – 2002. – No. 7.

Nikolaeva S. N.

Young ecologist. The program and conditions for its implementation in kindergarten. – M., 2002.

Smirnova V.V., Balueva N.I., Parfenova G.N.

Path to nature. Environmental education in kindergarten. Program and lesson notes. – St. Petersburg, 2001.

Solomennikova O. A.

Environmental education in kindergarten: Program and methodological recommendations for it. – M., 2009.

Popova G. I.

The world around us. Materials of a comprehensive program of cultural-ecological education and moral education of children of preschool and primary school age. – M., 1998.

Ryzhova N. A.

Our home is nature. Environmental education program for preschoolers. – M., 1996.

Ryzhova N. A. About environmental education programs for preschoolers // Preschool education. – 2004. – No. 11.

Preparation for the lesson involves:

– independent choice of program from among partial ones (alternative and variable);

– analytical assessment of the program (systematic knowledge, age-specific targeting, personality-oriented interaction with the child, technology for constructing the environmental-educational process, features of the developmental environment, etc.);

– compilation of a detailed description of the program (total volume of the program; reflection in it of the goals and objectives of environmental education for preschool children; structure of the program; content of knowledge, skills and abilities of children, their compliance with the program of natural history knowledge available to children of different ages; completeness of the program, whether it solves sufficiently degrees, environmental and educational objectives; methodological support of the program; conclusions and recommendations for its application);

– forecasting environmental and pedagogical work in the context of the implementation of this educational program.
Topic: Development of elements of environmental consciousness in preschool children
1. Features of the formation of environmental consciousness in preschool childhood.

2. The role of systemic knowledge about natural objects and phenomena in the development of environmental consciousness.

3. Systematic knowledge is the basis for the mental development of preschool children in the process of environmental education.

4. Conditions for the formation of a system of natural history knowledge for preschool children.

Assignments for independent work of students

To characterize the systems of knowledge available at different age stages about objects and phenomena of inanimate nature, plants and animals, seasonal changes and the work of people in nature.

Literature

Zaporozhets A.V.

Selected psychological works. – M., 2006.

Zgurskaya L.

Introducing the world around us // Preschool education. – 2004. – No. 1.

Kondratyeva N. N.

Contents and structure of the program of systemic knowledge about a living organism for children of senior preschool age // Collection of scientific works of Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute named after. A. I. Herzen. – L., 1987 (k).

Manevtsova L. M.

Formation of systemic knowledge about seasonal changes in the life of animals in children of senior preschool age // Optimization of the educational process in kindergarten. – L., 1985 (k).

Nikolaeva S. N.

Introducing preschoolers to inanimate nature. – M., 2003.

Ostrovskaya G.I.

Formation of ecological consciousness of children of senior preschool age by means of artistic and imaginative exploration of nature: abstract of thesis. diss. Ph.D. ped. Sciences - Ekaterinburg, 1998.

Poddyakov N. N.

Preschooler thinking. – M., 1975.

Freidkin I. S.

Familiarization with the phenomena of inanimate nature // Content and methods of mental education of preschool children / Ed. N. N. Poddyakova. – M., 1980.

Preparation for the lesson involves:

– determination of the essence of environmental consciousness (a form of worldview, a system of views and ideas, a person’s relationship to the world around him, which presupposes the active manifestation of personality, etc.);

– mastering the cognitive mechanisms of environmental consciousness;

– study of the features of the formation of environmental consciousness in preschool age.

– definition of the concepts “systematization”, “systematization”, “system”;

– substantiation of the need to form systematic knowledge about animals and plants as living beings, the unity of the organism and the environment, the seasonal life of nature, the essence of human interaction with the natural world, etc. (mastery of a rational way of cognition, development of mental abilities, systematic thinking, speech, orientation in qualities and properties of objects and phenomena, etc.);

– study of the content, structure and features of the formation in children of a system of knowledge about a living organism and its relationships with the environment, a system of knowledge about seasonal changes and the work of people in nature, a system of knowledge about plant communities, a system of knowledge about inanimate nature;

– mastering the conditions for children to master systemic knowledge about nature.
Topic: The importance of nature in the development of a child’s personality

Lesson 1. Intellectual development of preschool children in the process of environmental education

1. Possibilities of using nature in the mental education of children.

2. Sensory education of preschoolers using nature.

3. Development of observation skills in the process of introducing children to nature.

4. Formation of a cognitive attitude towards nature in preschool childhood.

Assignments for independent work of students

Identify techniques for developing observation skills in preschool children. Select examples that illustrate the features of the teacher’s work on the formation of this personality quality in the process of observations, work in nature, experimentation, games, elementary search activities, etc.

Literature

Wenger L. A.

Perception and learning. – M., 2009.

Wenger L. A., Pilyugina E. Sh., Wenger N. B.

Nurturing a child’s sensory culture. A book for educators. – M., P., 2009.

Bogdanets T.

Ecological knowledge - the first ideas about the world // Preschool education. – 2003. – No. 12.

Zakharevich L. P.

Features of the emergence and development of cognitive interest in seasonal changes in the life of plants in children of senior preschool age: abstract of thesis. diss. Ph.D. ped. Sci. – M., 1970.

Vinogradova N. F.

Mental education of children in the process of becoming familiar with nature. – M, 1982.

Ivanova A.I.

Methodology for organizing environmental observations and experiments in kindergarten. – M., 2003.

Korzakova E. I.

Work in nature // Sensory education in kindergarten / Ed. N. N. Poddyakova, V. N. Avanesova. – M., 1981.

Nikolaeva S. N.

The influence of knowledge reflecting the dependence of living nature on the mental development of children // Content and methods of mental education of preschool children / Ed. N. N. Poddyakova. – M., 1980.

Mental education of preschool children / Ed. N. N. Poddyakova. – M., 1987.

Kharitonova L.

Research activity of a preschooler // Preschool education. – 2001. – No. 7.

Preparation for the lesson involves:

– study of the importance of nature in the intellectual development of a child (formation of specific and generalized knowledge about the world around him, the elementary foundations of worldview, a system of cognitive abilities and skills, cognitive attitude towards nature, sensory culture, development of observation, thinking and speech, mental abilities of a preschooler and other abilities) ;

– characterization of nature as a rich source of sensory development of children (intensive development of sensory processes, improvement of the activity of sensory organs, accumulation of sensory experience, formation of survey actions, development of sensory standards, etc.);

– definition of observation as a quality of an environmentally oriented personality, ways and means of its development in preschool childhood (creating problem situations, focusing attention, conducting observations in a certain sequence, comparing objects and natural phenomena, using research activities, etc.);

– study of the features of the formation of cognitive interest in nature (directions and conditions of its development, influence on the course, result and nature of cognitive activity); substantiation of the importance of developing a cognitive attitude towards nature in preschool children;

– highlighting the most effective methods and techniques of sensory education, development of observation and activation of cognitive activity in the process of environmental education of preschool children.

Lesson 2. Formation of a knowledge system as the basis of environmental consciousness

1. Formation of systemic knowledge about objects and natural phenomena as the basis of environmental consciousness.

2. Systematic knowledge is the basis for the intellectual development of children in the process of environmental education.

3. Conditions for the formation of a system of natural history knowledge in preschool childhood.

Assignments for independent work of students

To characterize the systems of knowledge available at different age stages about objects and phenomena of inanimate nature, plants and animals, seasonal changes and the work of people in nature.

Literature

Arsentieva V. P.

Formation of ideas about biocenosis in children of senior preschool age (using the example of a meadow): abstract of thesis. diss. Ph.D. ped. Sciences - M., 1998.

Gazina O. M.

Introducing preschoolers to the world of animals // Preschool teacher. – 2013. – No. 12.

Gazina O. M.

The world. Educational and methodological manual in 3 parts. – M., 2007, 2008.

Zgurskaya L.

Introducing the world around us // Preschool education. – 2004. – No. 1.

Nikolaeva S. N.

Introducing preschoolers to inanimate nature. – M., 2003.

Petyaeva D. F.

Development of ideas about living nature in preschoolers: abstract. diss. Ph.D. ped. Sciences - M., 1991.

Freidkin I. S.

Familiarization with the phenomena of inanimate nature // Content and methods of mental education of preschool children / Ed. N. N. Poddyakova. – M., 1980.

Khristovskaya T.V.

Familiarization of older preschoolers with changes in nature (based on plant material): abstract of thesis. diss. Ph.D. ped. Sciences - M., 1989.

Preparation for the lesson involves:

– definition of the concepts “systematization”, “systematization”, “system”;

– substantiation of the need to form systematic knowledge about animals and plants as living beings, the unity of the organism and the environment, the seasonal life of nature, the essence of human interaction with the natural world, etc. (mastery of a rational way of cognition, development of mental abilities, systematic thinking, speech, orientation in qualities and properties of objects and phenomena, etc.);

– analysis of a standard program for the upbringing and education of preschool children, aimed at determining the content of natural history knowledge of preschoolers of the junior, middle and senior groups;

– study of the content, structure and features of the formation of knowledge systems in children about a living organism and its relationships with the environment, about seasonal changes and the work of people in nature, about plant communities, about inanimate nature;

– mastering the conditions for children to master systemic knowledge about nature.

Lesson 3. Nurturing value orientations in the process of environmental education of preschool children

1. Nurturing the child’s personality in the process of becoming familiar with nature.

2. Nurturing a careful and caring, humanely active attitude towards all living things in preschool childhood.

3. Nature as a factor in the ecological and aesthetic education of preschool children.

Assignments for independent work of students

To characterize the means of forming a normative and value-based attitude towards nature, nurturing the moral and volitional qualities of an individual in the process of environmental education of children.

Literature

Babaeva V.

Aesthetic education of preschool children. – M., 1982.

Bobyleva L.

Are there “useful” and “harmful” animals? // Preschool education. – 2000. – No. 7.

Bozhovich L. I.

Personality and its formation in childhood. – M., 1968.

Vinogradova N. F.

Education of a moral attitude towards nature in six-year-old preschoolers. – M., 1993.

Zalkind E.

Nature as a means of aesthetic and moral education of children // Preschool education. – 2010. No. 1.

Koptseva T. A.

Nature and the artist: Artistic and environmental program in fine arts for preschool educational institutions and educational complexes. – M., 2006.

Korganova I. V.

Education of a subjective-ethical attitude towards nature in children: abstract. diss. Ph.D. ped. Sci. – M., 2002.

Molodova L.P.

Moral and environmental education of older preschoolers. – M., 1999.

Folk pedagogy in environmental education of preschool children / Comp. S. N. Nikolaeva. – M.: Mozaika-Sintez, 2010.

Plyukhin V.

The theme of ecology in children's fine art // Preschool education. – 2000. – No. 7.

Psychological and pedagogical foundations for the formation of attitudes towards nature // Attitudes of schoolchildren towards nature / Ed. I. D. Zvereva. – M., 1988.

Yasvin V. A.

Psychology of attitude towards nature. – M., 2000.

Preparation for the lesson involves:

– study of the essence of environmental value orientations (act as goals of interaction with nature not only from the point of view of practical, utilitarian value, but also cognitive, aesthetic, moral, economic, regulate the motivation, activity and behavior of the individual, determine the nature of his relationship to nature, etc. ); features of their formation in preschool childhood;

– definition of the content of the concepts “love, careful and caring attitude towards nature” in relation to preschool children; the essence of nurturing this attitude as a component of environmental consciousness (nurturing in preschoolers emotional responsiveness, an aesthetic vision of nature, interest in it; the formation of a caring attitude towards the natural environment, awakening the desire to care for living beings, the formation of the necessary practical skills and abilities for this, etc. );

– mastering the pedagogical conditions for nurturing love, a careful and caring attitude of children towards nature;

– highlighting methods and techniques for ecological and aesthetic education of preschool children (creating conditions for the accumulation of aesthetic impressions and the development of aesthetic feelings, developing the ability to see, understand and evaluate the aesthetic value of natural objects, create beauty with your own hands, etc.).

Final lesson Colloquium on the topic “The importance of nature in the development of a child’s personality.”

Section 2. Technology of forming the foundations of ecological culture in preschool childhood

Modern technologies of environmental education for preschool children imply the use of a set of methods and forms of organizing environmentally oriented activities in nature, creating conditions for the successful implementation of the tasks of raising an environmental culture in preschool childhood. The priority in environmental and pedagogical work are visual and practical methods, including observations, work in nature, games, elementary experiments, modeling, viewing paintings and illustrations, and the use of technical teaching aids. The leading role is given to observation

, which is rightfully considered the main method of environmental education for children, as well as knowledge of nature, the accumulation of emotional and sensory experience of communicating with it, and the formation of a moral position in relation to the world around us. The importance of observation in raising a child was noted by teachers Ya. A. Komensky, I. G. Pestalozzi, J. J. Rousseau, F. Frebel, K. D. Ushinsky, E. N. Vodovozova, E. I. Tikheyeva, A. I. Vasilyeva, E. I. Zalkind, A. K. Matveeva, P. G. Samorukova, G. S. Filippyuk and others.

Observation as a complex cognitive activity is characterized by a certain structure. It is significantly different from perception, since it is always deliberate in nature, organized and directed by an adult or preschooler, and involves the activation of thinking, speech, mental processes, and the development of personal qualities (B. G. Ananyev, L. S. Vygotsky, S. L. Rubinstein and other). Observation must be taught: to develop the ability to accept a cognitive task, to highlight the essential features of objects and phenomena, to follow the intended plan, to use investigative actions, to express the results of what is seen in speech, etc.

Each type of observation requires careful preparation, guidance from the teacher, and compliance with the basic requirements for its implementation. The selection of an object is carried out taking into account the program and the local natural complex. The organization and methodology for guiding observations depends on the age and mental characteristics of the children and the degree of development of their cognitive activity.

Experience

– a special type of observation – is considered in the psychological and pedagogical literature as a teaching method that involves transforming the conditions in which a phenomenon occurs in order to establish or illustrate a certain theoretical position.

The use of experiments in the environmental-educational process makes it possible to maximize cognitive activity, develop the thinking of preschoolers, contributes to the accumulation of concrete imaginative ideas about the world around them, understanding the cause-and-effect relationships of natural phenomena, the development of observation, independence, and initiative of each child (T. V. Zemtsova , I. E. Kulikovskaya, N. K. Postnikova, N. N. Sovgir, I. S. Freidkin and others).

The content of the experiments is determined by the program for preschool institutions and is aimed at identifying the hidden properties of objects and phenomena of inanimate nature, and the characteristics of the vital functions of organisms. In the structure of the experiments, the following stages are conventionally distinguished: preparatory, initial, main and final.

Experimentation can be organized in classes and in everyday life, as short-term or long-term observation. Psychologists N. F. Talyzina, P. Ya. Galperin, N. N. Poddyakov, L. A. Wenger and others pointed out the need to record the results obtained at the intermediate stages of long-term experiments. Experiments are carried out in older groups under the direct supervision of an adult, since children do not yet have sufficient knowledge about natural objects and skills to work with them. In primary and secondary preschool age, search actions are used as teaching methods, aimed at determining a way to solve a cognitive problem and obtain a practical result.

Work

as a method of educating an environmentally oriented personality allows us to solve important pedagogical problems: to develop in children practical skills in caring for plants and animals, interest and a positive attitude towards work, to cultivate love, a careful and caring attitude towards nature, hard work, responsibility, conscientiousness, collectivism, etc. The educational significance of child labor in nature was emphasized by E. I. Korzakova, L. E. Obraztsova, A. G. Tulegenova, V. G. Fokina and others.

Work aimed at satisfying the vital needs of organisms and protecting nature differs significantly from other types of activities of preschool children. This is the only type of productive work available to children, during which they interact with living beings and the well-being of the latter depends on the nature of their actions. The uniqueness of the formation of labor activity in preschool childhood is shown in the research of V.I. Loginova, who substantiated the need to adhere to a certain sequence in labor education: familiarization with the work of adults in nature, labor training for children, independent improvement of skills.

According to the method of organization, the work of preschoolers in nature can be collective (work nearby, common, joint) and individual. The teacher systematically conducts labor classes, involving each child in carrying out assignments, being on duty in a living corner, in a vegetable garden, in a flower garden. The solution of educational tasks is carried out in accordance with the program of the preschool institution, taking into account the age characteristics of children, pedagogical and sanitary-hygienic requirements.

An effective means of environmental education in preschool age is a game

. Particular attention should be paid to games with ready-made material and rules (didactic, active, musical), as well as creative games that promote the assimilation, consolidation, generalization, systematization of knowledge, the formation of the personality of a little person, his moral and volitional qualities, realizing the need to influence the world ( A. K. Bondarenko, V. Ya. Voronova, V. A. Dryazgunova, G. N. Kazaruchik, I. A. Komarova, A. S. Makarevich, O. P. Yanovskaya and others).

Didactic games are a multifaceted and complex phenomenon. This is a teaching method, a form of teaching, an independent play activity, and a means of comprehensive education of children. This game contains an educational task that the child solves in an entertaining way. Compliance with the rules is an indispensable condition for its implementation. Game action is regulated by rules and aimed at achieving results.

All didactic games of natural history and environmental content are divided into games with natural materials (familiarity with color, size, shape, quality of objects, etc.), board-printed and verbal (clarification, expansion, consolidation of knowledge about nature, generalization, classification). When selecting and conducting them, the teacher is guided by the age of the students, the principles of consistency, systematicity, and gradual complication of program material and tasks.

In outdoor games, children most often imitate the habits and lifestyle of animals, and sometimes plants. They often reflect the phenomena of inanimate nature (snowflakes swirling, the sun shining, the force of rain, etc.).

The nature of creative games does not allow them to be used as a method of teaching preschoolers, however, they help to identify the degree of mastery of knowledge and skills, since they reflect the experience and impressions received by children in classes and in everyday life.

The essence of modeling

consists in reproducing the properties, structure and functions of an object of cognition on a specially created or selected substitute model. By studying the world around us through modeling, with the help of models, N. I. Vetrova, K. V. Nazarenko, I. S. Fredkin and other scientists believed, children expand their knowledge about the characteristic features of objects and natural phenomena, learn to find signs in them that are significant for upcoming activities, they master ecological connections, dependencies, techniques of abstraction and generalization.

An analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature shows the presence of a significant number of studies where various kinds of substitutes for real natural objects are used when teaching preschoolers (L. S. Ignatkina, L. M. Manevtsova, N. N. Kondratyeva, S. N. Nikolaeva, T. V Khristovskaya and others). Depending on the purpose and objectives in the ecological-pedagogical process, subject, subject-schematic, graphic and abstract models are used. Teaching children to model is carried out in the following sequence: describing a new object using a ready-made, previously learned model, comparing objects with each other (first two, then three or more), exercising in modeling features that are essential or significant for the upcoming activity, guiding the creation of models of elementary concepts.

Illustrative material

and
technical teaching aids
help to concretize, consolidate, generalize and systematize previously acquired knowledge, give ideas about long-term processes in nature, human environmental activities, understand the essence of natural phenomena, introduce objects that are inaccessible to direct perception, develop an aesthetic vision of nature, enrich aesthetic impressions and feelings. When introducing children to nature, artistic and didactic paintings, reproductions, book graphics, photographs, postcards, models, videos and films, transparencies, slides, etc. are used. Illustrative material and TSO are selected taking into account the content of educational work, age, requirements for clarity and are used in various types of environmentally oriented activities of preschoolers.

The group of verbal methods of environmental education in preschool childhood consists of a conversation, a teacher’s story and reading a natural history book

. When addressing them, one should remember the importance of combining words with clarity, taking into account children’s ability to understand speech, concentrate on what is perceived, and the presence of vivid, specific ideas about the phenomenon or fact that will be the subject of discussion, clarification, and systematization.

Ecological fairy tale

- one of the new genres of literature for preschoolers. It introduces in a fascinating way the creatures inhabiting planet Earth, teaches us to understand their needs and relationships, reveals the secrets of complex phenomena and miraculous transformations in nature, cultivates value orientations, develops interest in the environment, the desire to learn its secrets, and participate in exciting trips into nature. At the same time, the fairy tale combines science and magic.

Teaching methods in their various combinations are used in various organizational forms.

Scientific research and best practices from educators show that classes

are one of the main forms of environmental education for preschool children. They are diverse in content and the role assigned to them in the process of understanding the natural world. In some classes, initial ideas are formed, in others they are enriched, deepened, and consolidated. The final classes are devoted to identifying the essential and characteristic features of objects or natural phenomena, and on this basis generalizing and systematizing the acquired knowledge. Activities that involve active practical activities of children are also highlighted: work, games with natural objects, experimentation. Integrated classes are also relevant, allowing them to comprehensively solve a number of important pedagogical problems and achieve maximum results.

In environmental classes, the principles of science, accessibility, educational and developmental education are implemented, not only educational, but also educational tasks are solved. The choice of methods depends on the nature of the tasks, the age capabilities of preschoolers, and the characteristics of the natural object being studied. The uniqueness of the organization and conduct of these classes in different age groups is manifested, first of all, in the content of the material being mastered, the structure of the lesson, the use of a set of teaching methods and techniques, the degree of activity and independence of the children.

Excursion -

an effective means of educating and teaching preschool children, which promotes the harmonious development of the individual (K. D. Ushinsky, E. N. Vodovozova, T. A. Kulikova, M. V. Luchich, E. I. Tikheyeva and others). The excursion provides excellent opportunities to get acquainted with the richness of colors, shapes, smells, sounds of nature, teaches you to navigate the area, observe, and find examples of the relationship between organisms and the environment. Children accumulate generalized ideas about the seasonal life of nature (cyclicality and characteristic signs of the seasons, the dynamics of phenomena, the conditionality of changes in the life of plants and animals by changes in inanimate nature, the adaptation of organisms to changing conditions, the work of people in nature, etc.), and an effective love for one’s native is cultivated. edge, the desire to take care of living beings, protect their habitats, and behave correctly in nature.

Conditions for environmental education

The formation of knowledge and skills in ecology requires compliance with certain conditions in preschool institutions. The process itself involves nurturing the ecological culture of children of senior preschool age using the following approaches:

• integrated approach, i.e. implementation of the process of environmental education through various types of activities: musical, theatrical, artistic, physical, gaming, labor;
• organization of an ecological and developmental environment in kindergarten;
• use of the surrounding nature as the development of ecological culture;
• implementation of monitoring to identify the level of environmental education of preschool children.

CHILDHOOD GUIDE

Methodological recommendations “Environmental education of preschool children”

Varentsova Natalya Aleksandrovna, teacher of MBDOU No. 103, Nizhny Novgorod

Relevance of environmental education for preschool children High-quality environmental education for children is currently very relevant. This is due to the fact that the environmental situation on the planet and in our country leaves much to be desired. Many environmental problems: thinning of the ozone shell, climate change, depletion of the natural soil layer, decreasing supplies of drinking water and natural resources, high concentrations of pollutants in the air - this is mainly the result of the lack of proper interaction between man and nature. Also, these problems are associated with the process of education of the population - its insufficiency and complete absence have given rise to a consumer attitude towards nature. The only way out of this situation is to acquire an ecological culture. And it is necessary to begin to instill this culture in children of preschool age. This has important social significance for the whole society! In addition, a significant part of the adult population - educators, parents, teachers - will be involved in this process, which is important for the overall greening of consciousness and thinking.

What constitutes the essence of environmental education The basis of environmental education is the leading ideas of ecology adapted for preschool age: the organism and the environment, the community of organisms and the environment, man and the environment. “Organism and environment” - the interaction of an individual organism with its habitat: the functioning of an ecosystem - a community of living organisms living in the same territory (having the same type of habitat) and interacting with each other. Both concepts, in the form of specific examples from the immediate environment of a preschool child, can be presented to him and become the basis for a developing view of nature and relationships with it. “Man and environment” - the interaction of man with nature - the second, extremely important aspect of ecology, which has become the basis of rapidly developing industries - social ecology, human ecology - cannot remain aloof from the knowledge of the modern child. Specific examples of human use of natural resources and the consequences of this impact on nature and human health can be adopted by preschool pedagogy in order to form an initial position on this issue in children. The purpose and objectives of environmental education for preschool children The goal is the formation of the beginnings of ecological culture - the basic components of personality, allowing in the future to successfully appropriate in the aggregate the practical and spiritual experience of interaction between humanity and nature, which will ensure its survival and development. The objectives are the tasks of creating and implementing an educational model that achieves an effect - obvious manifestations of the principles of environmental culture in children preparing to enter school. They boil down to the following: - creating an atmosphere in the teaching staff of the importance of environmental problems and the priority of environmental education; — creation in a preschool institution of conditions that ensure the pedagogical process of environmental education; — systematic training of teachers: mastering the methods of environmental education, improving environmental propaganda among parents; — carrying out systematic work with children within the framework of one or another technology, its constant improvement; - identifying the level of ecological culture - real achievements in the intellectual, emotional, behavioral spheres of the child’s personality in its interaction with nature, objects, people and self-assessments.

The formation of the principles of ecological culture is the formation of a consciously correct attitude directly towards nature itself in all its diversity, towards the people who protect and create it, as well as towards the people who create material or spiritual values ​​based on its wealth. It is also an attitude towards oneself as a part of nature, an understanding of the value of life and health and their dependence on the state of the environment. The peculiarity of the formation of the principles of ecological culture is that the elements of ecological culture are formed on the basis of the interaction of children under the guidance of adults with the objective-natural world that surrounds them: plants, animals (communities of living organisms), their habitat, objects made by people from natural materials origin.

Contents of environmental education. What is it? The content of environmental education includes two aspects: the transfer of environmental knowledge and its transformation into attitude . Knowledge is an obligatory component of the process of forming the principles of ecological culture, and attitude is its final product. Truly ecological knowledge forms the conscious nature of the relationship and gives rise to environmental consciousness.

What is the content of economic knowledge available to preschoolers? The study of the laws of nature can begin in preschool childhood as part of environmental education. The possibility and success of this process has been proven by numerous psychological and pedagogical domestic studies. In this case, the content of ecological knowledge covers the following range: 1. The connection of plant and animal organisms with their environment, morphofunctional adaptability to it; connection with the environment in the process of growth and development. 2. The diversity of living organisms, their ecological unity; communities of living organisms. 3. Man as a living being, his habitat, ensuring health and normal functioning. 4. Use of natural resources in human economic activity, environmental pollution; protection and restoration of natural resources.

What methods are particularly significant in environmental education? How do they differ from traditional methods of preschool pedagogy? We can distinguish five groups of methods, the integrated use of which leads to an increase in the level of environmental education of children and the development of the environmental orientation of their personality. 1. The joint activity of the teacher and children to create and maintain the necessary living conditions for living beings is the main method of environmental education for children. It is aimed at developing their practical skills and abilities. Tracking objects—the results of cultivation—allows you to correct developing skills and ensures their conscious nature. The green area of ​​the kindergarten allows you to organize year-round maintenance and cultivation of plants and animals. Good results in environmental education are achieved when this method is combined with experimentation and modeling activities. Caring for things, practical participation in their repair and renovation also contribute to the development of the necessary practical skills in children. 2. Observation is a method of sensory knowledge of nature. Provides direct contact with nature, living objects, and the environment. 3. Organization of long-term observations (cycles) is a condition for a thorough knowledge of the relationship of plants and animals with their environment, their morphofunctional adaptability. Observation is the main way of forming specific (sensory) ideas about nature in preschoolers, the basis of imaginative thinking. 4. The modeling method occupies a significant place in the environmental education system. Working with nature calendars, perceiving works of art created by professionals (art paintings, musical and literary works), folk crafts that reflect the motives of nature - make it possible to clarify, consolidate and expand children’s ideas obtained through direct contact with nature. 5. The verbal-literary method is distinguished as an independent method due to the great specificity of speech activity. The word in one form or another accompanies any activity; in environmental education it can perform important functions. In the form of dialogue (conversation, discussion), there is a constant expansion and adjustment of specific ideas about nature and the activities of people in it. Through a “monologue” (the teacher’s story, reading books), children are initiated into new areas of knowledge. The third form of speech education is very important - conducting a conversation with children constructed in a certain logic, in which an understanding of the connections in nature, the dependence of the life of a living object and the environment is formed, and an awareness of the patterns of phenomena occurs. With the help of such a conversation, preschoolers reach a new (generalized) level of understanding of natural phenomena. This is the beginning of the formation of environmental thinking, environmental consciousness. These methods differ from traditional methods of preschool pedagogy in that these are not just methods of introducing children to nature, but methods of environmental education.

Working with families on environmental education The family and preschool are two important institutions for the socialization of children. Their educational functions are different, but their interaction is necessary for the comprehensive development of the child. Working with parents on environmental education for preschool children is one of the components of the work of a preschool institution. Only by relying on the family, only through joint efforts can we solve the main task - raising an environmentally literate person. When working with parents on environmental education for children, it is necessary to use both traditional forms (parent meetings, consultations, conversations, conferences) and non-traditional ones (business games, pedagogical services bureau, direct telephone, round table, discussions). But all these forms must be based on a pedagogy of cooperation. The work should be carried out in two directions : 1) teacher - parent; 2) teacher - child - parent. Before planning your work, you need to understand who you will be working with (the educational level of the parents, the psychological state of the family, its microclimate).

Areas of work with parents 1. Environmental information. The most significant information for adults is the following: - data on the environmental situation in their city, kindergarten district, residential area, park where they relax, summer cottage; — information about the dependence of the child’s health on the quality of the environment; — rules of conduct in extreme conditions (adverse environmental situations, disasters); - home ecology; — growing environmentally friendly crops; — indoor, medicinal, food plants; — choosing environmentally friendly places for walking with children and outdoor recreation; - Pets, their maintenance in the house and their importance for the child; — development of the child as an individual in the process of environmental education; - information from the child himself about activities in kindergarten. Adults receive environmental information at parent-teacher meetings, on joint trips with children, while visiting an environmental room, a living corner, or the territory of a kindergarten. Thus, parents of many kindergartens show great interest in the data of their “Ecological Passports,” especially in the “Ecological Situation” section. The problem of “child health - environment” is closely related to the problem of environmental safety. Issues of environmental education can be included in the program of consultations for parents expecting a child, and in the programs of consultation centers that help parents prepare their child for entering kindergarten, and short-term groups. 2. Joint activities with children: - during joint hikes and excursions, the environment itself makes parents interested in various issues of natural science and ecology, especially since children constantly ask questions;
— participation in environmental holidays and in preparation for them; — joint care of animals and plants: actively involving children in caring for pets and instilling responsibility for their life and health. The kindergarten needs to show the role of animals and indoor plants in raising a child, and recommend that parents purchase, if possible, a living creature. Another direction is to attract adults to a corner of nature. Sometimes parents send their pet to a kindergarten for a while, take the inhabitants of the corner to their home for the summer, help purchase animals, create conditions for them; — collecting collections of natural materials, stamps, postcards, calendars, badges for the environmental room, exhibits for the nature museum. It is very important for a child that dad and mom support his interests. - exhibitions of joint drawings, models, crafts from waste materials, photographs (for example, on the topics “My family on the river”, “My family in the country”, “Me and nature”, “Our pets”); — assistance in equipping an environmental room, a corner of nature, a laboratory, a library; — environmental actions (cleaning the territory of a kindergarten, park, house, planting trees, decorating feeders) Formation of an environmental culture among preschoolers Environmental education of preschoolers according to the Federal State Educational Standard A handwritten book as a didactic guide for the ecological and aesthetic development of preschoolers Socio-economic education of preschoolers >

System of work on education of ecological culture of preschool children

Forms of environmental education

Classes

The main form of environmental education in kindergarten is an activity. On them, children’s intuitive ideas are transformed, deepened, and expanded. The process of environmental education of preschoolers takes place in several types of classes:

1. During the initial orientation classes, children get acquainted with plants and animals, their habitat and growth, and living conditions. This refers to those objects of nature that cannot be observed around you. The teacher talks about plants and animals, shows their appearance, introduces them to the manners, habits of animals, and the characteristics of plant growth. Paintings, videos, conversation, reading excerpts from works of art, for example, stories by V. Bianchi, are used as visual aids. Introductory classes are held in all groups.
2. In-depth cognitive classes are designed to form preschoolers' understanding of the connections between plants and animals, the relationship between plant growth and the weather conditions of a certain area, the dependence of animals on environmental factors, the adaptability of animals, reptiles, and birds to natural conditions. The means of visualization here can be demonstration of models of natural complexes, targeted conversation, and primitive experiments.
3. In general-type classes, knowledge is systematized, a unified picture of a particular natural environment is formed, conclusions are drawn about the relationship of flora and fauna, climatic conditions, and soil. For example, general lessons on the topics “Autumn”, “Winter”, “Spring”, “Summer”.
4. Classes of a complex nature are based on the interaction of different types of activities: creative, gaming, artistic. They often extend beyond one activity. Alternating between playing and drawing, reading and watching does not tire preschoolers. If this happens, physical exercises or physical exercises come to the rescue.

Excursions

This is one of the most interesting forms of work. The advantage of the excursion is that preschoolers can directly contemplate the inhabitants of a zoo, park, meadow, or square. They can listen to birds singing, smell flowers, stroke animals and reptiles, examine their appearance, observe their behavior and nutrition. These are nature excursions.

You can take your children on excursions to agricultural enterprises: greenhouses, orchards, greenhouses, vegetable gardens. Such trips are organized to get acquainted with the work of people at different enterprises. Conducting excursions requires a lot of preparation: the teacher needs to familiarize himself with the method of conducting it, think through the main stages, types of activities, techniques that may be of interest to preschool children.

Search activity

Primary search activities are organized for older preschoolers. In the course of joint work, a problematic question is formulated that requires searching for an answer: why do birds fly south? Why is the snow melting? Why are the leaves falling?

The search activity represents either a heuristic conversation, an observation, or an experiment.

MAGAZINE Preschooler.RF

At the main stage of social development, the issue of environmental education becomes particularly acute. In this regard, it is necessary to pay more attention to the environmental education of children from the first years of life, since it is during this period that the child develops his first worldview - he receives emotional impressions about nature and society, accumulates ideas about different forms of life, the basis of environmental thinking is formed, consciousness and culture.

During this period, the foundations for interaction with nature are laid; with the help of adults, the child begins to recognize it as a common value for all people. Wildlife has long been recognized in pedagogy as one of the most important factors in the education and upbringing of preschool children.

Communicating with it, studying its objects and phenomena, preschool children gradually comprehend the world in which they live: they discover the amazing diversity of flora and fauna, realize the role of nature in human life, the value of its knowledge, experience moral and aesthetic feelings and experiences that motivate them take care of the preservation and enhancement of natural resources.

The severity of modern environmental problems has confronted pedagogical theory and practice with the task of educating the younger generation in the spirit of a careful, responsible attitude towards nature, capable of solving issues of rational environmental management, protection and renewal of natural resources. In order for these requirements to become the norm of behavior for every person, it is necessary to purposefully cultivate a sense of responsibility for the state of the environment from childhood.

The goal of our work is to form ideas in preschool children about the flora and fauna of the natural world of their native land in connection with their habitat, environmental behavior in nature and respect for it.

To achieve this goal, the main tasks were identified:

• deepen and expand environmental knowledge
• instill basic environmental skills and abilities - behavioral, cognitive
• develop cognitive, creative, social activity of preschool children during environmental activities
• to form (nurture) feelings of respect for nature.

All work on environmental education was carried out in two directions: in direct educational activities and in everyday life. The knowledge, skills and abilities acquired by the children were consolidated every day in kindergarten and at home.

From the age of 3-4, children’s attention was drawn to some of the most striking noticeable phenomena and events characteristic of different times of the year. We gave the children information little by little, using games and fun. To consolidate, the same objects and phenomena were repeated several times.

In the second younger group, the children were involved in active participation in caring for indoor plants: watering, wiping the leaves. Each child gradually became familiar with material on caring for plants so as not to harm them. With the onset of winter, we fed the birds on the site. We made feeders together with our parents and placed them close to the window so that the children could watch the birds every day.

In older preschool age, they were involved in subject-transforming activities in nature. They were taught to intelligently use nature, work, conserve natural resources, and acquire practical experience in relation to the natural environment. As a result, the children developed practical knowledge, personal experience of influencing the environment and saving wealth, enriching cognitive interests, and the need for activity in the natural environment.

Based on the leading didactic principles and analysis of the interests and inclinations of preschoolers, various forms of environmental education were used

1. mass;
2. group;
3. individual.

Mass forms included environmental festivals, role-playing games, and work on the site.

Group forms included excursions, hiking trips to study nature, and environmental workshops.

Individual forms of observing animals and plants, making crafts, drawing, modeling.

For each observation, a small amount of information was selected. Ideas about objects and natural phenomena were formed in preschoolers gradually, in the process of repeated “meetings” with them. In each subsequent observation, they recalled, clarified, consolidated and specified, and expanded the received ideas. In organizing observations, they thought through the system and their interrelationship, which ensured that children understood the processes and phenomena that they observed. Observation stimulated the children's interest and their cognitive activity.

Along with observations, visual illustrative material was widely used, which helped to consolidate and clarify children’s ideas obtained during direct observations. With their help, preschoolers formed ideas about objects and natural phenomena that are currently impossible to observe, children became familiar with ongoing phenomena in nature (seasonal changes), and information of natural history content and nature was generalized and systematized.

Play played a major role in introducing preschoolers to nature. Plot-role-playing games assumed the presence of natural history, environmental and environmental content and the existence of certain knowledge: “Trip to an exhibition” , “Expedition to Africa” , “Journey to the sea” .

We selected a variety of didactic games with environmental content: “Wild - domestic” , “Poisonous and safe plant” , “Where, whose house?” , “What is harmful and beneficial for nature (water)?” , “Dangerous - not dangerous” , “Choose edible mushrooms, berries” , “Let's pack a backpack for the road” , etc.

Used object games using natural materials (pine cones, pebbles, shells, etc.) contributed to the development of the child’s thinking. For example, objects can be classified according to different characteristics (color, size, shape). It is important that children also participate in collecting natural materials.

They played intellectual games - “KVN” , “What? Where? When?" , “Brain - Ring” , the children were delighted not only with the game, but also with the preparation for the game itself.

Particular attention requires the creation of conditions for independent environmental play, research activities and modeling. In a corner of nature, we created a collection of natural waste materials for making crafts.

The most important form of working with children is work in nature. This type of activity, like no other, contributed to the formation in preschoolers of an awareness of the correct attitude towards nature. In the process of working, the children had the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice, acquire new ones, and clearly see the existence of various relationships in nature (plants, animals and the environment). They developed the necessary care skills and a sense of responsibility for a living organism.

Positive emotions were evoked in children during drawing classes, applique work, modeling and design, performing performances on natural history themes, reading fiction - all this contributed to the formation of a consciously correct attitude towards nature in preschoolers and attracted them to environmental activities.

Environmental education of preschool children can be considered as a process aimed at developing an environmental culture for all family members. Environmental education (enlightenment) of parents is one of the extremely important and at the same time one of the most difficult areas of work of a preschool institution. One of the primary tasks is to involve adult family members (even grandparents to a greater extent than busy dads and moms) in working together. The preschool age of a child is a period when many of them themselves strive for contact and cooperation with teachers, which is very important for environmental education. The family as an environment for personality formation has a huge influence on the formation of the child’s foundations of an ecological worldview. The foundation of moral education is also laid in the family and specifically during early childhood.

Adults received environmental information:

• at parent meetings
• during a visit to the kindergarten territory
• from consultations for parents
• in joint activities with children.

In addition to traditional forms of work and preschool education and family, we actively use innovative forms and methods of work:

1. Round table “Ways to implement the system of environmental education in kindergarten” ;
2. Thematic exhibitions: photo exhibition “Pets” , exhibition of drawings “Don’t be late, save the planet!” ;
3. Family meetings with an environmental focus: “Together along our ecological path” , “Plant a tree” ;
4. Family talent competition: “Miracle - Vegetables” , “Save the Christmas Tree” , “Bird’s Canteen” .

Working with parents should be a gradual and ongoing process, and the environmental information we offer to parents is personally meaningful to them. The joint activity of an adult and a child contributed to cooperation, emotional and psychological rapprochement between the child and the adult.

Thus, based on all of the above, we can conclude that when organizing work with preschool children, it is necessary to focus on the age-related, individual and differentiated characteristics of children. It is also necessary to properly organize interaction with the family so that the work on environmental education continues at home.

Literature

1. Kulikovskaya, I. E. Children's experimentation [Text] / I. E. Kulikovskaya, N. N. Sovgir. – M.: Publishing House of the Pedagogical Society of Russia, 2011. _ P.79.
2. Makhaneva, M. D. Ecology in kindergarten and primary school. Methodological manual [Text] / M. D. Makhaneva. - M.: TC Sfera, 2010. - P. 171.
3. Nikolaeva, S. N. Methods of environmental education of preschool children [Text] / S. N. Nikolaeva. – M., 2009. – P. 57.

Methods and techniques of environmental education

The methodology of environmental education for preschool children involves 3 groups of methods:

1. Visual: looking at pictures, modeling, watching films, observations.
2. Practical: games, experiments, physical labor.
3. Verbal: story, reading.

Visual methods

The formation of adequate ideas about the environment is possible by using visual aids in the classroom. Keeping weather calendars, getting acquainted with the paintings of famous landscape artists, watching documentaries about forests, meadows, and mountains expands and deepens preschoolers’ understanding of nature, and consolidates knowledge about the interaction of representatives of living and inanimate nature.

Observation makes it possible to understand the relationship between animals and plants, their adaptability to the conditions of the natural environment. It develops imaginative thinking and increases interest in observed objects. Examples of topics in the younger group: acquaintance with the bird, its appearance, its feeding, behavior; in the older group: the bird’s living conditions, its hearing, rest, sleep.

Modeling models of a forest, meadow, lake, field can become a common project for children, teachers and parents. Joint activities will strengthen the positive outlook of project participants.

Practical methods

In older preschool age, children begin to show curiosity, and in this period such practical methods as primitive experience and experiment are effective.

It is interesting to conduct small experiments with water, sand, clay, stone. All these materials make up the natural landscape. Teachers suggest freezing water, giving it different colors, comparing the strength of wood and stone, and watching how sand and clay pass water. These are small experiments that arouse the interest of a five-year-old child.

Verbal methods

Here everything depends on the teacher’s ability to talk interestingly about the life of plants and animals. Diction, intonation, and tone of voice also play a big role in awakening children’s interest in the life around them. The story may be accompanied by a conversation between the teacher and the children.

Reading passages from educational and fiction literature develops the imagination, enhances mental activity, generates curiosity, gives rise to curiosity, and a desire to understand the natural world.

Goals and objectives of environmental education for preschoolers

The formulation of the goals and objectives of education largely determines its content. Therefore, it is very important when determining the goals and objectives of the author’s program to analyze the points of view of different specialists. In addition, when engaged in environmental education of preschool children, we must imagine what goals and objectives the authors of programs for other levels of the system of continuous environmental education set for themselves.

As rightly noted by I.D. Zverev, until now “there is no unambiguous and acceptable definition of the main goal of environmental education.” This issue is especially relevant for environmental education of preschoolers as a new direction in pedagogy. This author proposes to consider environmental education as “a continuous process of training, education and personal development, aimed at forming a system of knowledge and skills, value orientations, moral, ethical and aesthetic relations that ensure the individual’s environmental responsibility for the condition and improvement of the socio-natural environment.” He emphasizes that the pedagogical tasks of environmental education relate to: learning (mastering knowledge about the relationship between nature, society and man; developing practical skills to solve environmental problems); education (value orientations, motives, needs, attitudes toward active environmental protection); development (ability to analyze environmental situations; evaluate the aesthetic state of the environment).

G.A. Yagodin has repeatedly pointed out the ideological nature of environmental education, since it “should develop the individual’s worldview to the level at which he is able to take responsibility for solving issues that are vital for his population and all biodiversity in general.” From these positions, this author has identified a number of tasks in the field of environmental education, among which, in our opinion, the following are applicable to preschoolers: developing ethics in relation to the environment, educating citizens who understand the connections of humanity with the entire world around us.

The goal of environmental education is also “the formation of a responsible attitude towards nature” (N.F. Mamedov, I.T. Suravegina), “focus on the individual and the creation of conditions for its development and harmonization” (V.M. Nazarenko). Definition of environmental education, its goals and objectives D.N. Kavtaradze connects it with the problem of security: “Environmental education is the basis of national security; it is aimed at ensuring the long-term interests of society by disseminating common values ​​and instilling social norms in the field of interaction between people and their environment.”

Along with the term “ecological education,” the term “ecological culture” is actively used in literature (including preschool literature). In some cases it is used as a synonym for the first, in others the formation of an environmental culture is considered as its ultimate goal, as an indicator of the level of environmental consciousness. (Note that the term “formation of environmental consciousness” in relation to preschoolers should be used extremely carefully!)

The concept of general environmental education states that “ecological culture is based on the spiritual and practical experience of past and present generations, and also takes into account the forecasts of experts on changes in the ecological quality of the environment in the coming third millennium.” N.F. Mamedov considers the system of environmental education as the main means of forming an environmental culture, and environmental culture itself as a new way of connecting man with nature, reconciling with it on the basis of a deeper knowledge of it. N.S. Dezhnikova believes that “the counterpoint to the education of ecological culture... is the formation of such an idea of ​​the place and role of man in relationships with the environment, in which neither man is opposed to nature, nor nature to man, but their existence is perceived in unity and inextricable connection with each other” . N.F. Vinokurova emphasizes that in ecological culture “all spheres of a person’s consciousness are integrated: cognitive (cognitive), affective (emotional-value) and psychomotor.” I.D. Zverev O. V.A. Lewin suggests that “ecological culture is the ability of people to use their environmental knowledge and skills in practical activities.” People who have not developed an environmental culture may have the necessary knowledge, but not be guided by it. A person’s ecological culture includes his environmental awareness and environmental behavior.

Among specialists in the field of environmental education in primary schools, there is also no consensus regarding the definition of its goals, objectives, or the choice of methodology and forms of organization. Environmental education in primary school is implemented mainly through natural science subjects. The first subjects to be introduced in the elementary grades were “Natural history” (Z.A. Klepinina, L.F. Melchakov) and “Acquaintance with the surrounding world.” Currently, a number of other courses have been developed for primary schools, including elements of environmental content: “Natural history”, “The world around us” (1-3), (1-4) A.A. Pleshakova (the same author proposed an elective course “Ecology”), “The World Around us” (1-4)

N.F. Vinogradova, I.V. Potapova, G.G. Ivchenkova, “Natural Science” N.Ya. Dmitrieva, I.P. Tovpinets, “The World and Man” (1-5) A.A. Vakhrusheva, “Man and the Environment” L.P. Simonova-Saleeva, “The world around us” (1-4) L.V. Tarasova, “The world around us” O.T. Poglazovoy, V.D. Shilina, “Discovering the world for ourselves” by I.V. Tsvetkova (formation of ecological culture of junior schoolchildren through environmental projects) and others. Many of these courses are integrated.

L.P. Simonova-Saleeva believes that the leading idea when selecting content for elementary school may be the idea of ​​the integrity of the surrounding world, the inextricable connection of man and society with nature. The content of the course “Man and the Environment” developed by the author organically presents the natural scientific and social aspects of understanding the environment. Meaningful lines, according to L.P. Simonova-Saleeva are: biosphere - global ecosystem; elementary ecosystems; man and humanity in the Earth's ecosystems. The author also identifies the following as the content lines of environmental education in primary school: man is a natural being and a member of society; the diversity of the natural and sociocultural environment of man; ecological interactions of living organisms with the environment; labor and human behavior in the environment. At the initial stage of education, this author proposes to introduce children to objects created by human labor, to the environment of populated areas, which will show the role of labor in transforming the natural environment. The content of environmental education in primary school includes materials from various areas of ecology, but children are of particular interest, as L.P. believes. Simonov-Saleev, brings up material about the relationship of living organisms with the environment. The section on the ecology of biological systems provides the greatest opportunities for considering this problem.

A.A. Pleshakov considers the goal of his courses to be the formation of a unified picture of the world in junior schoolchildren; education of a humane and socially active personality, capable of environmental thinking, caring for the riches of nature and society. The leading ideas here are: consideration of the world in unity, in interaction, in interdependence; unity of nature and society; contradiction in the system “nature and society”, ways to resolve it; the multifaceted value of nature; preservation of the diversity of nature, its protection.

A.E. Tikhonova suggests that the core idea of ​​environmental education in primary school is the implementation of the relationship between man and nature through work. Along with it, the author also points out other leading ideas: “nature is a single whole”, “man is part of living nature”, “there are interdependencies between the components of nature”, “the natural environment depends on the change of seasons”, “the natural environment depends on economic activity of man and society." N.Ya. Dmitrieva, I.P. Tovpinets (course “Natural Science”), the goal of the program is to develop in younger schoolchildren a holistic understanding of nature in all its diversity. The main ideas of the course: seasonal phenomena, the diversity of living nature, the dependence between its parts, the relationships of plants, animals and humans, the connections of living and inanimate nature. Employees of the laboratory for the development of environmental education IOSO RAS (St. Petersburg) specified the goal of environmental education in primary school as follows: the formation in children of a scientific-cognitive, emotional-moral, practical-active attitude towards the environment and their health based on the unity of sensory and rational knowledge of the natural and social environment of man.

In preschool pedagogy, there is also no consensus yet on the goals, objectives and terminology of environmental education.

Authors of programs and manuals for working with preschoolers most often use the terms “ecological education” and “ecological culture.” The term “environmental education” has come into use among preschool teachers only in recent years and is usually used as a synonym for the term “environmental education.” This is due to a number of reasons. In the previous period, the term “preschool education” was used in relation to preschoolers, implying both the education and upbringing of the child. Accordingly, the term “ecological education” arose. At the same time, in the system of continuous environmental education, as already noted, the term “environmental education” is used as an integral concept, including upbringing, training, and development. As a result, some semantic contradiction arose in the use of the terms in question at different age levels of the system. However, in recent years, the concepts of “preschool education”, “educational space of a kindergarten”, “educational programs” have appeared in preschool pedagogy, and kindergartens themselves have been officially renamed preschool educational institutions. In this regard, and also due to the fact that the preschool level is an integral part of the system of continuous environmental education, it seems to us possible to use the term “environmental education of preschoolers.” At the same time, at different levels of the system, education and training can play different roles (for example, for preschoolers, education is more important than education). In addition to these terms, you can also find in the literature the expression “environmental education”, which is more widespread in foreign countries.

The authors of programs and manuals offer a variety of formulations of the goals and objectives of environmental education for preschool children: “education of the principles of ecological culture” (S.N. Nikolaeva), the formation of a certain level of conscious attitude expressed in behavior, attitude towards nature, people, oneself, place in life.” (N.A. Solomonova), a responsible attitude towards nature (A.V. Koroleva), instilling in a child the need to preserve and improve nature, developing his creative potential (N.E. Orlikhina), “forming in children a consciousness corresponding to this problem "(G. Filippova). E.F. Terentyeva suggests that “ecological education of preschool children can be considered as a process of developing a consciously correct attitude towards the surrounding nature.” S.N. Nikolaeva notes that the formation of the principles of ecological culture “is the formation of a consciously correct attitude towards nature in all its diversity, towards the people who protect it and create material and spiritual values ​​based on its wealth.” G. Filippova considers the task of environmental education, first of all, to be “the formation in a child of an attitude towards living things, which should be based on his deep sensory-emotional experience, which has biological and sociocultural sources,” which, in our opinion, somewhat narrows the meaning of environmental education: speech should be about not only living nature, but about nature and even the environment as a whole.

The point of view of T.V. is somewhat different from the formulations of these authors. Potapova. This author gives a set of goals for a child’s education in the field of the environment, including: developing his confidence in his environment; the formation of basic knowledge about the differences between living and inanimate nature and ideas about the role of human mental and physical labor in its transformation; basic skills of non-destructive communication with wild nature and creations of the mind and hands of man; values, foundations for what follows, understanding of human rights and his ethical responsibility. In the collective work under the leadership of the same author, the goal of the program is to prepare children for the environmentally conscious perception of the phenomena of the surrounding world and environmentally literate behavior in it necessary for a full life in the 21st century.

Summarizing the various definitions, goals, and objectives of environmental education, it should be noted that the most often referred to are environmental culture (without specifying this term in relation to the preschool level), environmental consciousness, the formation of behavioral motivation, caring attitude and love for nature. The tasks usually include developing the ability to care for plants, animals, and follow the rules of behavior in nature.

By environmental education of preschoolers, we understand the continuous process of teaching, upbringing and development of a child, aimed at the formation of his environmental culture, which is manifested in an emotionally positive attitude towards nature, the environment, a responsible attitude towards one’s health and the state of the environment, and compliance with certain moral norms, in the system of value orientations. A set of interrelated tasks in the field of education, upbringing and development of a child, in our opinion, includes:

· formation of a system of elementary scientific environmental knowledge that is understandable to a preschool child (primarily as a means of developing a consciously correct attitude towards nature); development of cognitive interest in the natural world; formation of initial skills and habits of environmentally literate behavior that is safe for nature and for the child himself;

· fostering a humane, emotionally positive, careful, caring attitude towards the natural world and the environment in general; developing a sense of empathy for natural objects;

· formation of skills and abilities to observe natural objects and phenomena;

· formation of an initial system of value orientations (perception of oneself as a part of nature, the relationship between man and nature, the intrinsic value and diversity of meanings of nature, the value of communication with nature);

· mastering basic norms of behavior in relation to nature, developing skills for rational environmental management in everyday life;

· developing the ability and desire to preserve nature and, if necessary, provide assistance to it (care for living objects), as well as skills in basic environmental activities in the immediate environment;

· formation of basic skills to foresee the consequences of some of their actions in relation to the environment.

Effective environmental education through play activities

Through the game, the understanding of the life of plants and animals gained during excursions and direct contact with the inhabitants of the meadow, forest, and pond is consolidated.

Ecological game technology:

1. Selecting a topic from the program.
2. Determining the purpose and conditions of the game.
3. Thinking through the stages of the game.
4. Distribution of roles.
5. Getting to know the rules.

The method of teaching such games depends on the characteristics of the preschooler’s age. There are different types of games: subject, board, verbal, creative. When creating creative game situations, you can use fairy-tale characters.

For example, Little Red Riding Hood goes to her grandmother through the forest and can meet its different inhabitants and collect leaves of forest trees. Toys are important for games: dolls, fish, animals. They should be aesthetic, bright, realistic. In this case, the game stimulates the activity of children and increases their emotional mood.

Ecology

The key component of the concept of “ecology” is “interaction”, “connection”. Initially, since the time of E. Haeckel, who first introduced this term in 1864, and for a long time after that, ecology designated the field of knowledge about the connections of living organisms - plants, animals, their communities - with the environment, i.e. it was a section biology. Later, this concept began to expand to include humans.

At the present stage, ecology can be defined as a science that examines the relationship of living organisms, including humans, and their communities with the environment.

At the same time, the environment can be understood as both the natural environment and the environment as a whole (natural, social, material). In the first case, we talk about ecology in a narrow sense, in the second - in a broad sense.

In environmental education of children, as a rule, they are limited to ecology in the narrow sense, i.e. consider the relationship between man and the natural environment. And this is correct, otherwise the objects to which children’s attitudes are formed become blurred, and there are too many of them. And the environmental problem itself arose precisely because the natural environment began to be destroyed as a result of human activity.

So, the concept of “ecology” includes two components: nature as biological objects, as the natural environment and the connections between them. Consequently, preparing a preschooler for subsequent full mastery of ecology includes:

• a) the formation in children of ideas about objects of environmental interaction - objects of nature, and first of all about plants and animals (and this is natural science);
• b) the formation of ideas about connections, without yet dividing them into natural, environmental or other connections.

The study of relationships (cause and effect) in preschool education is currently receiving the necessary attention, but this is not always connected with environmental education. Whereas in the educational system “School 2100” this area of ​​work is directly tied to it. As the authors of the textbook “Hello, World!” note, they begin environmental education with the idea formulated by ecologist Barry Commoner: “everything is connected to everything” [1]. And this is the beginning of the formation of an appropriate universal educational action, defined in the Federal State Educational Standard for primary education as “identifying cause-and-effect relationships.”

However, there is an aspect in the Federal State Educational Standard for Education that is directly related to environmental education. One of the tasks there is formulated as follows: “development of emotional and value perception... of the natural world.” This task is implemented within the framework of environmental education, since the formation and development of emotional and value relations towards nature belong to the sphere of environmental education. And an emotional-value attitude is possible if children have ideas (knowledge) about nature as something valuable, i.e. elements of environmental education should also be present here.

Creating a favorable ecological environment

The process will be successful when a favorable, positive ecological environment is created around the child.

The presence of experimental plots in the garden, an ecological trail, a winter garden, an aquarium, and a living corner makes it possible to increase the efficiency of all forms and methods of work in this area.

There should be no unfoundedness. Children need to see everything in person, touch it, smell it, stroke it. Then the common efforts of educators and parents will bring results.