Games and tasks for the development of spatial thinking of a preschooler

Problems and tasks for spatial thinking

To help parents, we have compiled a selection of the most accessible tasks for developing spatial concepts in a child. But this is just the beginning. See the most interesting things below!

Simple tasks “with paper and pen” (4+)

draw shapes from dots (repeating the pattern);
repeat patterns, ornaments and figures consisting of lines;
compare shapes by size and shape;
complete the second (exactly the same, but in a mirror image) half of the picture;
write mathematical dictations;
connect dots by numbers;
redraw figures, making changes (for example, increasing or decreasing the size, adding details) - or from memory;
mirror any pictures, letters, numbers;
draw according to the instructions (“draw a small square in the upper right corner of the sheet”);
go through mazes (“help the hare get to the carrot, but not fall into the paws of the wolf”);
play with frame inserts;
make recognizable objects (cat, house, truck) from geometric shapes of different sizes;
draw drawings and diagrams of various objects;
describe the location of characters and objects in pictures using prepositions (in, above, under, between, at);
make crafts, including three-dimensional ones, that require active measurement and correlation of parts of the whole.

The main thing when choosing is the child’s interest.

A.L. Wenger suggests stimulating children's three-dimensional thinking with the task “The car is driving down the road.”

A road is drawn on a piece of paper: it can be straight and wide (a simple option for “beginners”) or winding and narrow. There is a car drawn at one end of the road, and a house at the other. The child must, without lifting his pencil or pen from the paper, “drive” the car home (draw its trajectory). Instead of a car there may be a butterfly, instead of a house - a flower, and instead of a road - the flight path of a butterfly, depicted in italics.

A.E. Simanovsky came up with the exercise “Hit the circles with a pencil” to develop children’s three-dimensional thinking.

Draw on a piece of paper (or find a template on the Internet and print it out) rows of circles with a diameter of 3 mm (you can make larger circles to start with), arrange them in five rows of 5 circles in a row. The distance between the circles should be the same, for example, 1 cm. The child needs, without lifting his forearms from the table, to place dots in all the circles as accurately and quickly as possible. In this case, specify the “methodology”: either dots need to be placed from left to right in the first line, from right to left in the second, etc.; or have the child put dots from top to bottom in the first column, from bottom to top in the second, etc.

Entertaining online tasks for children from 5 years old

A fun and child-friendly training in three-dimensional thinking - online tasks and games. The author's collection of tasks with answers and explanations will save parents dozens of hours and free them from searching for suitable activities. Visual material will help the child create his own visual images. A nice bonus: voicing tasks helps your child learn to read.

On the LogicLike website there are more than 10 types of spatial tasks for children aged 5-12 years: flat figures, cubes in space, developments, reflections... Start classes!

We have created hundreds of entertaining tasks to develop spatial concepts and train three-dimensional thinking. There are “direct” tasks: compare figures, find a shadow, a reflection, count cubes. And complex tasks that primarily develop logic and intelligence, as well as spatial imagination: chess, sequences, algorithms.

Such tasks ideally combine gaming and educational components. The future first-grader will unconsciously, effortlessly, but with interest, desire and passion for sports, train a vital skill - spatial thinking.

A game for developing self-orientation

"Sun"

The goal of the game is to consolidate the ability to navigate your body, knowledge of where different parts of the face are located. A schematic representation of a human face is required.

The child is offered a model of a human face, where the nose serves as a guide.
You need to lay out the missing parts of the face (lips, eyes, eyebrows) on the model.
Then the child must repeat this task with his eyes closed and say out loud where the parts of the human face are located in relation to each other.

Simple games to develop spatial thinking

Game "Place the cat"

Invite your child to imagine an animal (cat, elephant, cockroach) - let him answer which object this animal will fit into. In a glass? What about the TV box? Maybe into a passing truck?

Game “Put it right!”

Give the child various objects and ask them to place and arrange them, following your instructions: closer (closer than), further (farther than), a little forward, backward, to the left of, etc.

Game "Metamorphoses"

Ask your child to draw a circle behind a square, a triangle in front of a rectangle. You can complicate the task: draw a cylinder in front of the cube or draw a house on the other side, on top, “cut” toy dumbbells in half, etc.

Game "Special Agent on a Mission"

Invite your child to carefully examine the room where he is and remember the surrounding objects. Then ask questions using location words: What color is the table to your left? what object is located directly under the chandelier? This game is even more interesting on the street - there you can already use moving objects.

Game "Drawing on the back"

Draw various figures on the child’s back, then objects - let him try to guess what you are depicting.

Game "Fly"

It is played by two people, plus one “observer”. The players imagine - and the observer draws - the playing field: a grid measuring 9 squares in length and 9 in width. You need to mentally place a fly in the upper left corner. Players take turns making moves, moving the fly to different squares, and the observer marks these moves on the playing field. When the observer stops the game, each player names the square in which, in his opinion, the fly is located. The one who names correctly wins.

Game "Route of Movement"

Draw a complex map of city streets (or just take a map). Explain to the child that he is a policeman who went from point A (show him on the diagram) to point B (also show him). The child must drive along the route, naming each turn. In this version of the game, the active words will be “right” and “left”. Then “change the role”: now the child is a dispatcher who tracks the trajectory on the map. The words “up” and “down” should appear in the route description.

Game "Magic bag"

Place various figures in a small bag - preferably stereometric ones (cube, ball, etc.), but you can also play ones (pyramids, nesting dolls, etc.). Invite your child to guess what is in the bag by touch.

Article:

Game "What's on the right"
Children sit along the edge of the carpet. There are 5-6 toys on all sides of the carpet.

Option 1. The teacher asks the children to remember where their right hand is. Then one of the children is asked to stand in the center on the carpet and name which toys are located to the right of him. In this case, each subsequent child is turned in a different direction compared to the previous one.

Option 2. The teacher or one of the children names the toys located in the same row and asks the child in the center of the carpet to name which side they are on.

Option 3. The teacher asks one of the children to stand so that the toys sitting on one side of the carpet (names them) are to his right.

Game "On the Raft"

Children stand on the carpet at the same distance from each other. Everyone stands on an imaginary raft. The teacher asks the children individual questions, while constantly asking them to change direction. For example, Petya, who is standing on your left; Masha, who is standing behind you; Seryozha, who is standing in front of you; everyone turned to the left; Tanya, who is standing to your left, etc.

Game "Bell"

All the children sit on the carpet, one of them is the driver, he closes his eyes. The presenter (teacher) moves away in some direction and rings the bell. The one who drives must name where the ringing is coming from. If he names correctly, he becomes the leader.

Game "Say the other way around"

This game can be played with all children, or with 1-2. The teacher names spatial landmarks, and the child who received the ball or other name names a landmark that has the opposite meaning. For example, left - right, top - bottom, etc.

Game "Shop"

Two children or two subgroups of children can take part in this game. They sit opposite each other, separated by a screen. Each has the same set of pictures (products, toys, stationery, clothes) and a card simulating a store shelf. One child lays out pictures on his card and names the location of each of them. Another child tries to reproduce everything exactly according to the instructions. Then, by removing the screen, children can compare both “stores.”

Games to develop children’s skills to occupy a certain spatial position according to a given condition (from themselves, from an object).

Game "Guess where..."

The teacher invites the children to stand in a circle on the carpet and see what objects or which of the children are on the left, right, behind, or in front of them. For each correct answer, the child receives a chip. At the end of the game, the number of chips received by each child is calculated.

Game "Ships"

All children sit along one side of the carpet, on which there are stools (in the form of inverted containers) at the same distance from each other: 3-4 rows of 3 pieces. in every row. These are “islands” in the sea, and each of the children will take turns being a “ship”. Someone lives on each island (a toy or card with an image of an animal is hidden under a stool). The child chooses who he will go to, and the teacher gives directions, indicating the location of the starting point. Having reached the desired “island”, the child lifts the stool to make sure that the task is completed correctly.

Option 1: the teacher gives step-by-step directions for movement. For example, go forward two islands, turn left, go through another island, turn right, go through another island - search.

Option 2: the teacher gives a reference point for the location of the “island” relative to the others. For example, this “island” is blue, located on the left, and in front of it is a white “island”.

Option 3: the teacher gives the child a diagram of the location of the “islands” and gives instructions on the diagram, after which the child tries to find the desired “island” on the carpet. For example, in the diagram (3x3) the required “island” is at the top right, etc.

Game "Where I Sit"

It is rational to play this game before class in order to seat the children in certain places. All the children gather on the carpet. There are upside-down cards on the tables (this could be a child’s personal badge, a paired picture, etc.). The teacher gives everyone instructions according to which the child must find his place, and the card will give him the opportunity to check the correctness of his choice. For example, Marina, go to the table that is located in front of the door, to the left of the window. Sit at this table on the right. Misha, go to the table that stands between the teacher’s desk and the closet, face the window, sit on the left, etc.

Game "Let's change"

Children stand on the carpet at the same distance from each other. The teacher gives instructions on how to move in space to one of the children to find a certain place in space according to given landmarks. For example, Sasha, stand so that there is a wall to your right, and Polina is in front of you. If Sasha found the place correctly, then the child standing in this place stands in Sasha’s place.

Games to develop children's skills to determine in words the position of one or another object in relation to another.

Game "What has changed?"

In front of the children, there are toys on the table in 2 (3) rows, 3 (4) in each row. The presenter invites all children to look and remember the location of the toys. Then the children close their eyes.

Option 1: the presenter removes some toy and asks to name it and the place where it was. For example, Drakosha, who was below between the puppy and the parrot, disappeared.

Option 2: the presenter swaps two toys and asks them to name the place where they were originally. For example, the pig sat at the bottom left, and the mouse was at the top between the puppy and the calf.

The role of the leader can be either a teacher or a child.

Game "Housewarming"

In this game, children use wall shelves for toys in the form of houses and small toys (animals). Each of the children in turn must “populate” the house according to the given instructions. For example, at the bottom of the apartment we got: a mouse, a kid goat and a monkey, with the kid goat on the left, and the monkey between the mouse and the kid, etc.

It is advisable to play this game with a small subgroup of children (2-3 people). At first, the teacher acts as the leader; in the future, it is necessary to involve children - this will help consolidate and expand their active vocabulary.

Games to develop the ability to navigate in motion.

Game “Where will you go and what will you find”

Before the game, all children sit in a semicircle in front of the shelves with toys. One of the children turns to face all the children, but does not see where the teacher hid the toy. The facilitator then gives instructions to that child. For example, take 2 steps forward, 3 steps left, 1 more step forward, look on the bottom shelf. At first, the teacher acts as the leader, then it can be the child who has correctly followed the instructions.

Game "Find the magnet"

There are various magnets on the magnetic board in front of the children. Each of them makes a guess as to which magnet he will look for with his eyes closed (blindfolded). Children take turns going to the board to find “their” magnet, while the other children give clues where to look. For example, higher, higher, even higher, to the left, a little down.

Game "Synchronized swimming"

Children stand on the carpet at the same distance from each other. The teacher gives instructions on how to move in space to all children at the same time, sometimes changing their direction relative to each other. For example, everyone took a step forward, a step to the right, two steps to the left, turned to the right, took a step back, etc.

Game "New gait"

This game can be played with 1-2 children during a walk. We agree that now we are not like other people, but in a special way. For example, two steps forward, one step to the right, or one step back, two steps forward. As the game becomes more complex, the child must not only control his “gait”, but also turn his body so as to achieve a certain goal.

Games to develop the ability to navigate on a plane (orientation on a sheet of paper, i.e. in two-dimensional space).

Game "Name the neighbors"

To do this, use a sheet of paper on which images of various objects are randomly located.

Option 1: the teacher asks to find an image of some object and determine:

- what is shown to the right of it,

- what is drawn underneath,

- what is located at the top right of a given object, etc.

Option 2: the teacher asks to name or show the object(s) that are located:

- in the upper right corner,

- along the underside of the sheet,

- in the center of the sheet, etc.

Game "Harry Potter's Labyrinth".

The teacher gives each child a sheet on which a labyrinth is drawn and the beginning of the path is indicated by an arrow. Children are then asked to help find the way to the cup by following the instructions and then checking to see if they were followed correctly. First, the sheet with the labyrinth must be positioned so that the entrance to it is on the left (right, above, below), then follow it (draw a line) until it turns, turn in the right direction according to the instructions. For example, the entrance to the labyrinth is below, go up, left, up, right, down. Having reached the end, the children can check themselves: the teacher drew the same route with a marker on the film, placing it on his sheet, the child sees whether he has completed the entire path correctly.

Game "Geometric dictation"

In front of the children is a sheet of paper and a set of geometric shapes. The teacher gives instructions, and the children must follow at a fast pace. For example, put a red square in the upper left corner, a yellow circle in the center of the sheet, etc. After completing the task, children can check whether they completed it correctly:

option 1: the teacher has prepared in advance a sheet with drawn geometric figures according to the dictation;

option 2: one of the children (under the supervision of the teacher) does the work on a magnetic board, which can then be turned to all children.

Game "I'm driving a car."

In front of each child is a sheet of paper (A3) and a small car.

Option 1. Children, listening to the teacher’s instructions, move the car in the right direction. For example, in the lower right corner of the sheet there is a garage, from there we will go along the bottom side of the sheet to school. It is in the lower left corner, and after school we will go to the zoo, which is in the upper right corner, etc.

Option 2. The teacher starts the game, the children take turns coming up with and pronouncing the next landmark.

Game "Kaleidoscope"

To play, children are invited to draw an ornament or stick on ready-made shapes (geometric shapes, cut-out pictures) and talk about their work. To do this, it would be rational to give the teacher a topic for work. For example, “Bookmark”, “Rug”, “Patchwork Quilt”, “Easter Egg”, “Picture Frame” and others.

Games - physical exercises aimed at developing spatial perception

Game "Monkeys"

At the initial stages, the game is played without taking into account the mirror image of body parts. Children need to, repeating all the actions after the teacher, show and name parts of the face and head.

Game "Confusion"

Children are asked to close their left eye with their right hand; with your left hand show your right ear and right leg; reach with your left hand to your right toe, and with your right hand to your left heel, etc.

Game "Bug's Journey"

Listen carefully and draw how the beetle moves: one cell up, one to the right, one down, one to the right, one up.

Game "I'm a Robot!"

The game teaches the child to listen carefully to the adult’s commands.

Game "Find the treasure"

The purpose of the game is to teach the child to navigate in space, turn right or left

Games for developing orientation “on oneself”

"Sun"

Goal: to consolidate knowledge about the location of parts of the face, the ability to navigate one’s own body.

Equipment: schematic representation of a person’s face.

Content: the children are offered a schematic image of a person’s face with a landmark (nose). It is proposed to lay out parts of the face (eyes, eyebrows, lips) on it. Then the child closes his eyes and performs this task again, saying where all the parts of the face are located in relation to each other.

"Sculptor"

Goal: to teach children to take into account the relativity of spatial relationships in accordance with the position of oneself and the reference point during orientation, without anyone’s help to determine spatial directions in these situations.

Equipment: model of the Pinocchio toy.

Contents: the children are offered a model of the Pinocchio toy. Pinocchio will show movements, and the guys will try to repeat everything exactly after him.

"Controller"

Goal: to consolidate spatial orientation skills in the process of correlation

children of paired opposite directions of their own body with the directions of the person standing opposite.

Equipment: red and green tickets, hoops

Contents: the child (controller) is located in front of other participants in the game - passengers who have red and green tickets. Behind the “controller” on the right and left sides are placed hoops indicating buses. “Passengers” with red tickets are directed by the “controller” to the left bus, and with green tickets to the right one.

Orientation games in closed and open spaces

"Hide and Seek"

Goal: development of attention, reaction speed, ability to navigate in open space.

Equipment: -

Contents: All players are divided into two teams, led by captains. It is determined by lot who will hide and who will search. For the game, a place is set (tree, wall, door, etc.) - a “city” where the players must run. Those who must hide are taken away by the team captain, shows them places to hide, and he himself returns to the team, which must look for those hiding. The captain walks around, shouting all the time: “We are... (names location)!” This helps his team navigate: stay in cover or run to conquer the “city”. If those who are searching notice at least one of the hidden people, they loudly call his name and place of hiding, and they themselves run in a group to the “city”. The team that runs to the “city” before the other gets a point. The team that is hiding can run up and conquer the “city” even before the location of the opponents is revealed or after they have been seen.

"The Road to School"

Goal: to develop the ability to navigate in open space, develop memory, and the ability to draw up a path diagram.

Equipment: sheet of paper, pencil.

Contents: The child remembers and tells where on the way to kindergarten he saw the school, what was near it, in which direction to go to it, where to make a turn, etc. Then the child draws up a diagram of the way to school.

"Running to the River"

Goal: development of speed, ability to navigate in open space, strengthening of body muscles.

Equipment: chalk, stones.

Contents: Draw a line that denotes the shore and a rectangle that denotes the river. Stones are placed in the “river”. Players line up along the “shore”. At the driver’s signal, the players run to the “river”, take out a stone “from the bottom” and, running back, give the stone to the driver. The game is competitive in nature.

"Rider"

Goal: to develop attention, the ability to navigate in space, consistency in movements.

Contents: The players are divided into pairs: one is the “horse”, the other is the “rider”. The “horse” player stretches his arms back and down, the “rider” player takes his hands. On command, in this position, the pairs must run to the finish line. The winner of the pair then competes against the winner of the other pair.

Games for orientation in space with a reference point “from yourself” and “from objects”

"Who can name it correctly"

Goal: to stimulate the ability to determine spatial relationships between oneself and surrounding objects.

Equipment: -

Contents: In the game, the child shows his right hand and says what is on the right, and then he is asked to close his eyes and turn around in one place several times. Then open your eyes, show your right hand again and name what

which is to the right of it. Thus, work is carried out with the left hand.

“Which of the children is standing close and which is far away?”

Goal: to consolidate the ability to navigate in space with a reference point “from oneself.”

Equipment: -

Content: children line up on the carpet at different distances from the leader. The leader determines which of the children is closer to him and who is further away.

"Goalkeeper"

Goal: strengthening the child’s orientation skills relative to himself, developing reaction speed and accuracy of movement.

Equipment: ball

Contents: An adult throws a ball to a child, while simultaneously warning the child where the ball should go. The child must make a goalie movement in the given direction.

Child: I’m called a goalkeeper for a reason: I will always catch the ball.

Educator: One, two, three - There’s a ball on the right (left, straight), look!

Games for spatial orientation using intact analyzers

"Auto racing"

Goal: to teach children to use their hearing to determine the directions of moving objects and to designate these directions in speech using appropriate spatial terms.

Equipment: 2 cars of different colors, sizes, control methods (regular and inertial), dark blindfold.

Contents: the child is offered 2 cars. The child, looking at them, notes the color, size, sound made during movement. Then the children close their eyes and are asked to use their intact analyzer (hearing) to determine and say in which direction the car is now moving away from you, what color and size it is.

"Blind Man's Bluff with a Bell"

Goal: to teach children to determine the directions of moving objects using their hearing.

Equipment: dark blindfold, bell.

Content: a driver is selected from among the children. The driving child is given a dark bandage. The rest of the children have a bell that they can pass on to each other. A child with a bell rings them while moving. The driver follows the sound, trying to hit the one with the bell.

Games for spatial orientation while moving

"Find toys"

Goal: to teach children to move in space, maintaining and changing direction in accordance with the instructions of the teacher, taking into account the landmark, to use spatial terminology in speech.

Equipment: various toys

Content: Children are informed that all the toys are hidden. To find them you need to carefully listen to the “hints” (instructions) and follow them. After finding the toy, the child tells in which direction he walked, which direction he turned, where he found the toy.

"Scout"

Goal: to strengthen children’s ability to navigate the space of the kindergarten while moving, to teach them to plan their route, and to develop memory.

Equipment: sheet of paper, pencil

Contents: The child is given instructions: “You are a scout. You need to get to the secret facility (nurse’s office, speech therapist’s office, psychologist’s office, kitchen), remember your path and everything you see along the way, and return back to the headquarters (group).” Returning to the group, the child tells where he walked (ascended or descended the stairs, walked along the corridor), what objects he encountered on his way, what was to his right, to his left. Subsequently, with my help, the child draws the route of his journey.

"Jump-jump"

Goal: development of attentiveness, navigation skills, strengthening the muscles of the legs.

Equipment: chalk

Contents: A circle with a diameter of 15-25 m is drawn on the playground, and inside it there are small circles with a diameter of 30-35 cm for each participant in the game. The driver stands in the center of the large circle. The driver says: “Jump!” After this word, the players quickly change places (in circles), jumping on one leg. The driver tries to take the place of one of the players, also jumping on one leg. The one who is left without a place becomes the driver.

Games for orientation in microspace

"Artist"

Goal: ability to navigate on a plane, consolidate the ability to understand spatial terminology.

Equipment: picture - background, subject pictures.

Contents: We tell the child: Imagine that you are an artist, and I am your assistant. Now we will create a picture. I will tell you the place and the image that you will have to draw in this place. The child completes the teacher’s assignment and then changes roles with him.

"Magic chest"

Goal: to consolidate navigation skills in microspace, to activate the words “above”, “below”, “right”, “left” in children’s speech.

Equipment: “chest”, small toys

Content: the child is invited to examine and examine several objects or toys. Then the child closes his eyes, and the teacher places these toys on 2 shelves of the chest. The child inserts his hands into the “sleeves” and, examining the same objects already inside the chest, tells where they are.

"Colorful Journey"

Goal: to consolidate the ability to navigate on a kind of sheet with a large square, develops imagination.

Equipment: playing field, small toy.

Contents: the child is provided with a playing field consisting of cells of different colors. A toy is placed on the first square, which will now go on a journey. The teacher sets the direction of movement of the toy with the commands: 1 cell up, two to the right, stop! Where did your hero end up? The child sees the color of the cell on which his toy has stopped and, in accordance with the color, comes up with the location of his hero. (For example: a blue cell may indicate that the hero has arrived at the sea, green - in a forest clearing, yellow - on a sandy beach, etc.).

"Butterfly"

Goal: to consolidate the ability to navigate on a microplane, to arouse interest in reading, to consolidate reading skills.

Equipment: field with letters.

Content: the child is offered a field with letters. There is a butterfly in the center of the field. The child is told: The butterfly loves to eat sweet nectar, flying from flower to flower. Today the butterfly invited you to play. Not ordinary flowers grow in her favorite meadow. Each one has a letter on it. If you follow her flight and together with her collect letters from flowers, you will find out what word she wished for. Next, the teacher sets the direction of movement of the butterfly, and the child collects letters from the flowers, lays them out on the table and reads the resulting word. Then the teacher changes roles with the child. Now the child sets the direction of movement, and the teacher completes this task. The letters can be changed depending on the hidden word.

"Journey through the ABCs"

Goal: to consolidate the ability to navigate on a microplane, to form images of letters and words.

Equipment: playing field with letters

Contents: we say to the child: Today you and I will go on a journey through a magical land where riddles live, and the alphabet will help you solve them. If you collect all the letters correctly, you will be able to find out the answer. The teacher asks a riddle, and then the direction of movement along the playing field is given. The child acts in accordance with the instructions and makes up a word - a guess.

"Find a place"

Goal: to develop the ability to determine the upper and lower edge of the plane, its left and right sides, and find the middle in the plane.

Equipment: colored ribbons, toys.

Contents: a rectangle is marked on the carpet using colored tapes

of such a size that the child can move around comfortably. Children are given the task: arrange the toys according to the teacher’s instructions. For example, put the ball in the far left corner, the car in the middle,

bear - in the near right corner, etc.

Orientation games using diagrams and route plans, space plans

"Address Bureau"

Goal: to learn to navigate on a city map, to place objects on the plan in accordance with the location of real objects.

Equipment: city map, photographs of attractions.

Content: children place photographs of attractions on a city map from memory.

"Astronomers"

Goal: to consolidate the ability to orient according to a diagram, orientate on a microplane (flannelograph).

Equipment: flannelgraph, constellation diagrams, stars, caps.

Contents: the teacher tells the children: Tonight there was a strong wind and blew almost all the stars from the sky. The moon in the sky became very sad alone, and she asked us to help her. Now you and I will put on our magic caps and become astronomers. The moon gave me a photograph of the sky before the wind blew away the stars and photographs of the constellations that were located here. Now you need to make constellations from the photographs and return them to our sky. As the children work, the teacher tells you legends about the constellations that the children post.

“Help Dunno lay out his school supplies”

Goal: to consolidate the ability to navigate in space using a picture - a plan, in microspace, to correlate a schematic image of an object with a real one

Equipment: picture - plan, educational supplies.

Contents: children are offered a picture - a plan with a schematic representation of educational supplies. Children arrange real school supplies according to the plan.

“Where is Masha?”

Goal: to consolidate the ability to correlate real space with the plan.

Equipment: plan

Contents: The teacher tells the children: The doll Masha is lost. Here's a map of her journey. Let's find Masha and help her return home.

Three-dimensional, three-dimensional, imaginative thinking, spatial imagination

We tried to sort out the differences in concepts a little. However, if everything is clear with theory, you can immediately move on to practice.

Spatial (three-dimensional, three-dimensional) thinking is a process in which a person is aware of the spatial characteristics of an object (size, shape, relationship of components and location) and mentally performs actions with this object (for example, moving or transforming it).

Three-dimensional thinking uses information that comes from the senses, processes it, actively using memory and logic. It is directly related to imaginative thinking, because both types use visualization - the skill of “drawing a picture in your mind.” Imagination helps us put forward spatial hypotheses.

What to develop - three-dimensional thinking or imagination?

The difference is in the details. The “picture” of three-dimensional thinking is extremely reliable. The “product” of figurative thinking is often imaginary, distorted, perceived through the prism of one’s own experience, or emotionally charged (for example, if you like an object, it appears more attractive in the imagination).

Spatial thinking is closely related to imagination: we use it when we mentally change, rotate, and move three-dimensional models of objects in space. We do not see these transformations - but we fantasize about them. By developing three-dimensional thinking in a child, parents thereby stimulate and give impetus to the imagination, including creative ones.

Humans are naturally gifted with three-dimensional thinking, but some of us are better at it than others. According to scientists, this is partly due to heredity, but sometimes due to the lack of appropriate experience and “training”. You can start practicing literally from 3-5 years old, but you need to focus on the age stages of development of spatial thinking.

Types of spatial orientation

in the body diagram,
in space,
on surface.

Body schema orientation can be taught early. The simplest technique is “show your eyes, ears” and so on - already at an early age.

At 3-4 years old, you can learn with your baby not only the body diagram, but also some spatial orientation skills. The simplest ones are “top-bottom”, “front-behind” and, less obvious, “right-left”.

A four- to five-year-old preschooler masters the ability to navigate by correlating objects and sides of the body: at the top is where the head is, at the bottom is where the legs are. The child himself is the starting point. Therefore, it is useful to firmly learn the right and left sides of the body with your baby.

If it is difficult for a student to remember this, then it is necessary to create some kind of “anchors”.

Games for spatial orientation while in motion

"Find toys"

The game aims to teach children to move in space, while changing or maintaining the direction of movement, taking into account a landmark or at the direction of the teacher, while simultaneously pronouncing spatial terms. The game will require several different toys.

The teacher announces to the children that all the toys are hidden somewhere, and in order to find them, they should carefully listen to the prompts and follow them.
Having discovered the toy, the child must tell where he went, where and how many times he turned, and where he finally found the toy.

"Scout"

The goal of the game is to strengthen the child’s ability to navigate when moving in the space of the kindergarten, develop his memory and teach him to plan his route. To play you will need a sheet of paper with a pencil.

The child is instructed that he is now a “scout” who needs to get to a “secret facility” (kitchen, psychologist’s office, speech therapist, nurse), remember well his route and everything he saw along the way, and then return back to “headquarters”.
Returning to the group, the “scout” tells where he passed (walked along the corridor, went down or up the stairs), what happened on his way to the right or left of him.
Then the child, with the help of the teacher, draws his route.

Games for orientation in microspace

"Colorful Journey"

The game should strengthen the skill of orientation on a checkered sheet and develop imagination. It will require a small toy and a playing field.

The child is offered a playing field divided into multi-colored cells.
The toy is placed on the first square, from where it will go on a journey.
The teacher determines the direction of movement of the toy using commands such as: “Two cells up, one to the right, stop! Where is the toy now?
The child, seeing on what color square the toy is located, in accordance with this color says what area the hero is in (for example, blue cell - sea, green - forest clearing, yellow - desert).

"Artist"

The goal of the game is to teach the child to navigate on a plane and consolidate his understanding of spatial terminology. The game will require subject pictures and a picture as a background.

It is explained to the child that at the moment he is an artist, and the teacher is his assistant.
It is necessary to create a picture.
The “assistant” will tell the “artist” the place in the picture where this or that image will need to be made.
After completing this task, the child changes roles with the teacher.

"Butterfly"

The game strengthens the ability to orientate on a microplane, arouses interest in reading and strengthens reading skills. Requires a letter field.

There is a butterfly in the center of the playing field.
It is explained to the baby: “The butterfly loves sweet nectar and flies from flower to flower. And today she invites you to the game. Unusual flowers with letters grew in her clearing. You need to follow the flight of the butterfly and collect letters from the flowers, so you will find out the word she wished for.”
Then the teacher indicates the direction of flight of the butterfly, and the child collects the letters from the flowers and lays them out on the table in a row, and at the end reads the resulting word.
After this, the teacher and the child change roles: the child sets the direction of movement, and the teacher completes the task.
Depending on the hidden word, you can change the letters.

"Journey through the ABCs"

The goal of the game is to consolidate the ability to navigate on a microplane and form images of words and letters. To play you will need a playing field with letters.

Before the game, the child is explained that now he will go on a journey to a magical land of mysteries, which the alphabet will help him solve.
To find out the answer, the child will have to correctly collect all the letters.
Next, the teacher asks a riddle and sets the direction of movement along the playing field.
Following the instructions, the child makes up a guess word from the letters.

"Magic chest"

The game strengthens the child’s navigation skills in microspace and activates the use of the terms “right”, “left”, “above”, “below” in speech. To play you will need a chest with small toys.

The baby should carefully examine several toys, then close his eyes, while the teacher lays out the toys on two shelves of the chest.
The child lowers his sleeves and examines the toys inside the chest through them, describing where they are located.

Games for orientation in space, where reference points can be objects or the player himself

“Which child stands closer and which one is further away?”

The goal of the game is to strengthen the ability to navigate, using yourself as a reference point. Place the children on the carpet at different distances from the leader, and the leader must determine who stands further from him and who is closer.

"Who can name it correctly"

The goal of the game is to train the ability to determine spatial relationships between oneself and objects around.

The child must raise his right hand and list the objects to his right.
Then he must close his eyes, turn around in one place several times and open his eyes again.
After this, raise your right hand again and list the objects on the right.
The same thing is repeated with the left hand.

"Goalkeeper"

The game is aimed at strengthening the baby’s orientation skills relative to himself, developing precision of movement and speed of reaction. To play you will need a ball.

The adult must throw the ball to the child and at the same time warn him about the direction of throwing the ball.
The child's task is to make a goalkeeper's throw and catch the flying ball.
A child may say: “It’s not for nothing that I’m called a goalkeeper, I will always catch the ball!”
The teacher’s saying: “One, two, three - there’s a ball on the right (left, top), look!”

Games for spatial orientation using the hearing organs

"Blind Man's Bluff with a Bell"

The purpose of this game is also to teach the child to determine the direction of movement of an object using hearing. To play you will need a bell and a dark blindfold.

Choose a driver from a group of children and tie a dark blindfold over his eyes.
The rest of the children need to be given a bell that they can pass on to each other.
A child with a bell makes sounds with it when moving.
The driver follows the sound, trying to catch or touch the owner of the bell.

"Auto racing"

The goal of the game is to teach children to use their hearing to determine the direction of movement of objects, and to correctly name these directions orally, using appropriate spatial terms. To play, you will need 2 toy cars of different sizes, colors and control methods (inertial and regular) and a dark blindfold for the child.

Two cars are placed in front of the baby.
He must study them - note the size, color, sound made when moving.
After this, the baby is blindfolded and asked to use his hearing to understand in which direction the car went from him and describe its size and color.

Speech game for mastering prepositions for, before, between “Guess what it is.”

Place 15-20 different objects or toys on the table. Invite your child to play riddles and guesses. Say that you will wish for some thing on the table, and the child will guess it.

I will give sample riddles and dialogues with the baby, and you will come up with your own (with your set of objects and toys).

“It lies behind the table lamp” (there are three toys behind the table lamp). The child can try to guess: “Is this a mouse?” Say, “No. My answer is at the table lamp in front of the book. "A! These are glasses!” the child guesses.
Next, invite your child to ask you a riddle and turn away so as not to see how he rearranges the objects on the table. Turn to the table and try to guess, helping the baby with leading questions. For example, a child asks you: “This is where the colors are.” Clarify: “There are a lot of objects next to the paints. Maybe it's before the paints? Here?" “No,” the baby shouts, “it’s not in front, it’s in the back.” "A! Behind the colors. Mmmm, there are several items in there. What did you wish for? Ahhh! It’s between a pencil and a pen, right?” “Yes,” the kid agrees. “So it’s a machine!” “Exactly, I guessed right,” your three-year-old rejoices, proud that he thought of such a difficult problem.
Repeat the game with different toys and objects.
The game should always be stopped when the baby asks to continue playing. Then he will be happy to join in next time. If you play until the child gets tired, then satiety with the game will set in, and the child will refuse to play it in the future.
The game can also be played on a walk with shells, leaves, pebbles, twigs and the child’s toys.
In this game, gradually and imperceptibly in an interesting activity, your baby will learn to navigate in space and correctly indicate the location of objects with words.

Games for orientation in open or enclosed spaces

"Running to the River"

The goal of the game is to develop the ability to navigate in open space, strengthen muscles and develop speed. To play you will need stones and chalk.

On the ground you need to draw a rectangle, which will mean “river” and a straight line – “bank”.
Place stones on the “bottom of the river”.
Line up the players along the “shore”.
The driver gives a signal, and the players rush to the “river”, where they pick up the stone “from the bottom” and run back, passing the stone to the driver.
There is a competitive motive in the game.

"Hide and Seek"

The goal of the game is to train attention, the ability to navigate in open space, and speed of reaction.

All players are divided into two teams with a captain in each of them.
The lot determines who will search and who will hide.
To play the game you need to select a “city” (wall, door, tree) where the players should run.
The captain of the hiding team takes his players to their “cache” and returns to the detective team.
He walks around and constantly shouts “We are... (names a place),” helping his team navigate: continue to sit in cover or run to capture the “city.”
The team that arrives in the “city” before the other earns a point.
A hiding team can start running into the city either before it is discovered by an opponent, or after it has already been discovered.

"The Road to School"

The goal of the game is to develop the ability to orientate in open space, the ability to map out a path and develop memory. The game requires a pencil and a piece of paper.

The child must remember and tell where he saw the school on the way to kindergarten, what is located near it, in which direction to go to it, how many and what turns to make, etc.
After this, he must draw up a map of the road to school.