If you have children, nieces, nephews or grandchildren, you certainly understand how difficult it is to keep children occupied with something interesting. Until recently, they spent most of the day at school, but due to quarantine, children are at home, which adds various worries to you.
What can you do to keep your children occupied so that this period of time continues to be interesting and exciting for them? We have prepared several options for you to have a good time: be sure to read this article to the end to choose what will be most relevant for your child.
Diary of plant observations
“Those who have access to a plot of land or a garden have endless possibilities,” says Michael Holland, an ecologist and author of a book on creative outdoor activities. In what sense? He responds, “You have access to simple and educational activities that can be done in the comfort of your own home.”
To keep children occupied with something educational, encourage them to take old envelopes, scrap paper, and a postcard to make their own nature journal or garden scrapbook. You can choose a beautiful cover by cutting the cardboard box.
What to consider in an album like this? Children can record their observations of plants and wildlife, as well as create nature-based art, keep a journal of growing seeds, and record other notes about the environment.
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Calendars for observing the growth and development of living beings
The second type of graphic modeling is the creation of a calendar of observations of the growth and development of a plant or animal. It is much easier to record changes in growing plants than changes in young animals. This is explained by the fact that the latter have behavior and therefore, during growth and development, acquire not only new external features, but also new aspects of behavior.
Creating a model of mammal development using hamsters as an example is an interesting process for children, which is best done with the help of ready-made pictures. This is especially important in the first ten days after the birth of small hamsters due to their hidden lifestyle and the impossibility of monitoring the nest. In this case, the pictures complement and illustrate the teacher’s story about what is happening in the house, what the hamsters look and grow, and how the mother takes care of them.
The set of pictures includes the following points:
1) 2-3 newborn cubs lie in the nest;
2) the mother lies in the nest, the cubs suckle her;
3) hamsters of a week old (have begun to cover themselves with hair, open their eyes, stand on their legs) are in the nest;
4) two-week-old babies began to leave the house, but the mother drags them into the nest, worries, and protects them;
5) three-week-old hamsters try to eat food themselves and explore the nearest space;
6) four-week-old hamsters run after each other, climb onto a house, into a wheel, fight, and play.
Modeling the growth and development of hamsters can be done on 4 pages of landscape-sized white construction paper, each of which corresponds to one week of animal development. At the bottom of the 2-4th pages is a “week” strip, which children paint in the appropriate colors or make an appliqué of colored squares. The rest of the page is filled with ready-made pictures depicting small animals (their condition and behavior are age appropriate). Pictures can be inserted into the slots or temporarily attached in some other way. The result is a calendar of growth and development of cubs, which is essentially a model that reflects, with the help of pictures, the morphofunctional changes of the animal organism during the process of ontogenesis.
Modeling of plant growth and development is also carried out using drawings. This could be a calendar for observing the growth of radishes or cucumbers. In all age groups, once a week you can record (draw on separate pages) onions sprouting in jars. The graphic model will be especially interesting if several bulbs germinate under different conditions of a specially created experimental situation and a multi-colored time strip is depicted on each page - “week”. All drawings are made using two cardboard stencils - a jar and an onion. Children are happy to trace them, draw roots and greenery, i.e. easily reproduce nature. Such a model in the form of a calendar of observations of growing onions can be created with both younger and older preschool children. Over time, the onion is eaten, the jar with the onion is disposed of, but the model remains - it can be examined many times both in free time and in special classes.
A calendar that records the growth of a vegetable crop (for example, a rapidly growing radish) in open ground looks somewhat different. On each page of such a calendar, in addition to the image of the plant itself, there are parameters: the time (“week”) during which the plant changes; conditions under which crop growth occurs (weather combined with care work). Thus, modeling the growth and development of radishes means daily coloring the day of the week and recording the weather, marking labor operations with icons on the days they were performed, weekly inspection and drawing of the plant with all its new features. Such a calendar is a full-fledged graphic model of ecological content: it clearly presents the morphofunctional changes of a plant in relation to its habitat. A neatly and correctly filled out, brightly colored calendar becomes a good demonstration tool used in a wide variety of educational options and work with children. The calendar can be viewed in autumn and winter, when radishes are not growing, in spring - when they are just preparing to sow them. In general, the calendar is interesting for children to look at, because they themselves drew, worked and harvested, and then ate radish salad.
Organization of winter feeding. Bird watching calendar
Winter feeding of birds is one of the important conservation and environmentally significant activities, the correct organization of which a kindergarten can provide real assistance in preserving their species diversity. Feeding birds is a simple, but pedagogically appropriate and educationally highly effective activity in which children of all age groups can participate. Birds go hungry in winter: daylight hours are short, food is scarce, and energy costs are difficult to replenish. It is especially difficult for them in severe frosts: from the cold, but mainly from hunger.
When organizing winter feeding of birds, the teacher does the following:
— Starts feeding (in central Russia) at the end of October - beginning of November (at this time, wintering birds approach human dwellings in search of food).
— On the territory of the kindergarten, several stationary wooden feeders are hung at a considerable distance from each other (not near the playgrounds) - at the rate of one for 2-3 groups. They can be hung on second floor windows or in places where they will be clearly visible from the windows.
— Teachers teach children to collect bread crumbs and leftover dry cereals in a special jar with a lid, regularly place food, and seeds of wild herbs collected in the warm season on feeders. Groups attached to one feeder, after feeding the birds for a week, replace each other and monitor it so that there are no breaks.
A clear organization of feeding birds at the beginning of winter is of great importance: the birds get used to the feeding place - tits, pigeons, flocks of sparrows stay close to the site, regularly appear near the feeders, and wait for people on the branches of nearby trees and bushes. After the New Year, the cycle of observations of wintering birds begins. At the same time, observations are recorded in a special calendar for one to two weeks. This calendar, like others, is a model. It has three gradually increasing complexity modifications: for younger and middle age, for senior and preparatory school groups.
The calendar for younger preschoolers, as well as the upper part of the calendar for the older group, are filled with cards with drawings of wintering birds. Observations are recorded in this way every day anew and do not leave graphic “traces”. The lower part of the calendar of the senior group and the entire calendar of the preparatory group for school are filled out differently: every day, colored “checkmarks” (symbolic designation of birds) are placed in the stripes of the corresponding day.
Calendars differ not only in the way they record observations, but also in their content. The volume of simulated content for older preschoolers is much larger: a time parameter is introduced (days of the week), various features of bird behavior are recorded (who is waiting for food, who eats on the feeder and who is under it, who flies over the site and watches the birds' dinner). In the calendar of the preparatory school group, you can record the weather and composition of food (external conditions), against which the birds visit the feeding site.
The main content of the calendars of all age groups (and the only one for the younger ones) is the composition of the birds. Filling out the calendar once every two weeks at the height of winter feeding allows children to get acquainted with the diversity of wintering birds, the characteristics of their appearance and behavior.
Entering the calendar three times in the school preparatory group - at the very beginning of feeding (end of October), at its height (January) and at the end of March - makes it possible to trace the dynamics of changes in the composition of birds associated with their autumn-spring migrations: in the fall you can still see wild ducks, see the flight of cranes, in March - record the arrival of rooks and ducks in the calendar. Thus, the oldest preschoolers will create a more detailed graphic model of the life of birds in the cold season than in the previous group.
Own experience
A weed is a plant growing in the “wrong” place, which means that any plant can be a weed. Weed seeds can lie dormant for years, waiting for the perfect conditions to suddenly emerge. Help your child experience this experiment firsthand.
You will need some garden soil (not store bought) and a 2 liter clear plastic bottle. Fill a quarter of the bottle with soil. If it is dry, moisten it slightly with a little water. Place the vessel in a cool, bright place and wait a little.
You may find that although the soil does not appear to contain seeds, some plants will grow from the soil. Doing all this will be a very interesting activity for your child.
Focus on small details
Another useful life hack: make a kind of collage out of plants. Use paper and double-sided tape. As you work outdoors, glue small objects found in your garden or outdoors. These can be feathers, leaves, seeds, small sticks, petals, stones or shells. The beauty of this activity is that it really helps us focus on the small details around us.
Value diversity
How to help a child appreciate the huge number of plants around us? Ask the question: “How many plants did you see throughout the day?” and write down each new flower in your notebook.
You will likely find that by evening the total number of plants can reach several dozen. Emphasize the uniqueness of each creation: this way you will seriously attract the child to this task.
Observing the growth and development of living beings
During the school year, teachers and children grow various plants, and often the offspring of some animals. This provides favorable conditions for conducting interesting observations of particular ecological significance. The relationship of a living being with its environment in the process of its ontogenetic (individual) development throughout the period of growing up is not the same - it changes significantly at different stages of its growth and development. This circumstance makes it possible for the teacher to trace these phenomena with children using the examples of some plants and animals.
Observations of plant growth In winter and spring, all age groups create a vegetable garden in the window, teachers grow onions, garlic, flower seedlings, as well as greens to feed the inhabitants of the corner of nature. In spring and summer, it is possible to grow garden crops on the kindergarten site. Any of the options is suitable for carefully tracing the growth and development of one annual crop - the successive stages of ontogenesis and the corresponding environmental conditions.
The most suitable for this purpose are plants that have large seeds: garden or ornamental beans, peas, nasturtium, cucumber, corn, sunflower, etc. Large seeds of these plants quickly and visibly change at the first stage - the germination stage. They swell, increase in size, their skin bursts, and a thick white sprout (root) appears. All this happens within a few days and always under certain external conditions - the presence of moisture and heat. Nutrients are present in the cotyledons themselves, the seed germinates due to their consumption.
The second stage of development is the stage of vegetative growth, during which the green mass grows intensively: stem and leaves. During this period of development, the whole complex of environmental factors is necessary: moisture, nutrients, light, heat, air. The next two stages of ontogenesis are the stages of flowering and fruiting, i.e. the appearance of new plant organs - first flowers, and then seeds or fruits with seeds. During this time, many plants need more water and nutrients (often very specific ones) than before. That is why they are watered and fed with fertilizers more often. Thus, using the example of one or two plants, one can trace their successive changes, significant and very noticeable transformations in their appearance in connection with changing living conditions.
With children of senior preschool age, it is advisable to trace the growth and development of one plant from seed to seed. The most suitable crop for this purpose is cucumber. It has a number of advantages over other crops: large seeds that germinate when soaked; clearly visible modifications of the above-ground part of the plant - rapidly growing green mass, large leaves of a distinct shape, beautiful and large flowers, tasty fruits; the ability to grow both on site and indoors (which is especially valuable). There is only one drawback - the entire period of growth and development from seed to cucumber is quite long.
To grow a cucumber indoors and get a harvest, you must meet the following conditions: take early-ripening seed varieties suitable for indoor soil; create a “warm bed” in a large container; start growing when the daylight hours are already long enough; grow no more than 2-3 plants in this bed.
Consecutive observations of a cucumber constitute a cycle, the content of which is changes in a growing and developing plant in relation to its habitat. The specifics of such a cycle are the following points: the optimal time interval between observations (in the case of a cucumber - two weeks) and the mandatory recording in the calendar of both the plant itself and the conditions under which it grows. Considering that the content of observations is always the same (state of the plant, changes in its appearance), their construction can be the same, i.e. include the same set of questions.
For example, each observation of a cucumber could follow the following pattern. o What's in front of you? o Two weeks have passed - has the cucumber changed? o What has changed - stems, leaves or something else? What have they become? o Why did the plant change? o What conditions did the cucumber grow under at this time?
At each stage of plant development, the teacher draws the children’s attention to the appearance of new organs in the plant and to the need to change the conditions of its living environment (more watering, spraying, fertilizing, etc.) than before.
The cycle of observations of growth and development can be built on the example of other plants: radish (growing quickly, but the root crop is in the ground, it is not visible), tomato (an interesting plant, but has small seeds, a long development period and complex agricultural technology). The most affordable way is to grow greens from a bulb in a glass jar. In this case, observations are made of the growth of roots and leaves. However, there are no clear transformations (stages of development) in the appearance of the plant, since the changes reflect only the process of its growth. The same applies to the living environment of the bulb - it does not change, water, light, heat remain constant. It does not need to be fed: the green feathers receive nutrients from the bulb itself, which makes it seem to “lose weight.” This feature of growing onions turns out to be an advantage - all stages of its growth are easy to draw.
Observations of animal growth and development
A series of observations of the growth and development of animals can be built on the example of those inhabitants of a kindergarten who produce offspring. These include birds (canaries, budgies), mammals (hamsters, white rats, guinea pigs), and viviparous fish. Each of these animals has its own distinct specificity, resulting from the biological characteristics of the species, therefore the cycles of observations of the growth and development of young individuals differ significantly from each other.
The most effective are observations of canaries: these are calm birds, their nests are open - you can always see what is happening in them, the period of incubation of eggs is short, the chicks hatch almost simultaneously. The observation cycle includes the following points.
Arrangement of the nest by both parents, i.e. preparing conditions for future offspring; The bird’s habitat at this time is enriched with building material, additional food (mineral nutrition is of particular importance, in particular egg shells, which are necessary for the formation of a hard shell of the egg),
The laying of eggs, inside of which there are living embryos, their incubation is the first visible stage of bird development, which is carried out in certain conditions: on soft bedding, in heple, which is provided by the nest and the parents sitting on the eggs, thanks to the nutrients present in the protein.
Hatched chicks are the second stage of ontogenesis; the chicks are absolutely not ready for independent life, and their survival depends entirely on the environment-forming behavior of their parents: feeding, heating and protection; in external conditions, “baby” food is added, which parents feed their yellow-mouthed babies.
Fledgling chicks are the third stage of development, characterized by mixed living conditions: parental care continues and independent behavior begins - searching for food, spatial orientation; learning to fly and other independent living skills.
Sexually mature young birds (the final stage of development) - they are almost no different from their parents and are able to breed offspring themselves; their living conditions are the same as those of adult birds.
The stages of development of parrots are the same, but the process of growing up occurs differently: the hatching of the chicks is extended over time, the initial development is hidden from children, since the nest is in a nest box. Nevertheless, observations are quite possible, they are only organized somewhat differently.
In mammals, development occurs differently: the first stage of ontogenesis is intrauterine, and external conditions are normal, the female eats only a little more than usual, and people must handle her with care.
The next stage is the newborn. This period is characterized by two development options. In some species (for example, guinea pigs), the cubs are born mature (sighted, with fur, and quickly begin to move independently). In others (for example, golden hamsters) - immature, helpless, (blind, naked, inactive). In both cases, the mother is the main environment-forming factor - she feeds the cubs with milk, warms, protects and protects them. In the first case, this period is shorter, since mature cubs acquire skills of independent behavior much faster. In the second case, the newborn period is longer and, as a rule, proceeds secretly (in a hole, in a house) until the cubs begin to see clearly, become covered with hair and begin to crawl out of the nest. External conditions at this time improve: the female is fed abundantly and variedly, given water so that she can produce milk and, most importantly, the family is not disturbed. Sometimes the annoying attention of people turns into a disaster: the female eats her offspring.
The next period in the development of mammals is juvenile; the grown-up cubs play a lot under the supervision of their parents and actively learn the skills of adult behavior. External conditions remain the same: adult animals, as before, take care of the babies, feed them, and take care of them. Unlike the previous period, you can communicate and play with the cubs.
The final stage of ontogenesis is sexual maturity and fully independent behavior. Thus, a series of observations of the growth and development of animals using the example of an ornamental bird or a furry animal allows us to show children an interesting ecological aspect: the hundred days of development of an animal organism and its relationship with a changing habitat. This cycle of observations has a special educational significance: the teacher teaches preschoolers to handle the offspring of animals with great attention, care and caution, teaches them to create a favorable environment for them, and to take into account the fragility of young life.
Control questions
1. What is a “weekly method” for introducing a preschooler to seasonal natural phenomena? What is its specificity?
2. What parameters of living and inanimate nature does the teacher observe with children every month? How do observation techniques change throughout the week?
3. Why is it necessary to observe the growth and development of plants and animals? What is the ecological significance of these observations?
4. What stages of development does an annual plant go through? How is the monitoring cycle organized and carried out?
5. What stages of development do animals go through: birds, mammals? What is the ecological meaning of observing them?
6. What educational significance do children’s observations of developing living beings have?
Assignment Make a series of observations of the family of any animal - write the number, name and purpose of each observation
