Nikitin's games for preschoolers

Content:

Features of educational games for children according to the Nikitins’ method
Which game according to the Nikitins’ method should be offered to children first?
Rules of Nikitin's games
Examples of games using the Nikitins’ method Game “Fold the pattern”
Game "Frames and inserts Montessori"
Game "Monkeys"

Among the variety of pedagogical developments, developmental methods, children's manuals, educational games, the Nikitins' method for children deserves special attention. Not only because it has long-standing, even Soviet roots, has been successfully tested on the children and grandchildren of famous spouses - teachers, and spread by their followers. The Nikitins’ early development method is simple, accessible and used by teachers not only in Russia, but also in many countries around the world.

The seven children of Lena and Boris Nikitin achieved significant success in development and education, being several years ahead of their peers. An interesting technique, intellectual games for children today not only have not lost their relevance, they have become widespread among modern manufacturers of goods for children, they are produced in different versions, modernized, and used in preschool institutions and development centers.

Boris Pavlovich Nikitin (1916 - 1999) called his pedagogical developments “games for the mind”, since in game development activities he put in first place the independent search for creative solutions and stimulation of new achievements in a developing environment, and not the child’s application of an algorithm for a known solution to intellectual problems. tasks. In his opinion, children should learn to find a way out of a gaming situation without instructions from a teacher: this will be the development of intellectual abilities. And this statement, embodied in Nikitin’s educational games for preschoolers, corresponds to the tasks of modern pedagogical science.

Games using Nikitin’s method are not only intended for preschoolers. They can be played by the whole family, company, as well as by schoolchildren and students; they are even used as rehabilitation activities in nursing homes.

Features of educational games for children according to the Nikitins’ method

The help of an adult, a teacher or a parent, is required only at the very beginning, when it is necessary to offer a game to the child, to involve him, to interest him. There is a small psychological moment here - you need to guess the baby’s mood so that it is interesting and comfortable for him to play in a new developmental environment.

Each game consists of several problems; the child must find a solution using figures, parts, pictures, etc.
Tasks can be presented in various forms (drawings, drawings, designs, models, etc.), so they stimulate the knowledge of different ways of transmitting information.
Game tasks should be introduced with increasing difficulty levels.
Game tasks have a different range of difficulties, from simple ones for 2-3 year olds to complex ones for an adult player. Therefore, Nikitin’s games are interesting at any age.
The gradual complication of game tasks stimulates the child’s intellectual development, forcing him to think, move forward, and independently develop in creative search.
An adult should under no circumstances interfere in the child’s play, should not give hints, allowing him to find a solution to the problem situation on his own.
The child should not be required to immediately solve a game problem. He must reach everything on his own, even if it takes a day, a week, a month.
The answer to the game task should be visual, tangible, in the form of a diagram, drawing, model, so that the child himself can be convinced that he is right, in his correct choice of solution.
Educational games should not be limited to the proposed tasks, they can be supplemented, you can come up with your own, new ones, or you can develop more complex or more creative games yourself.
Intellectual games help you find out the limits of your capabilities.

Thus, the goal of educational games according to the Nikitins’ method is to develop various intellectual qualities in children: memory, attention, spatial imagination, the ability to perform logical calculations, search for patterns, the ability to classify, and find their mistakes. While playing, the child learns to be smart, inventive, and develops creative thinking.

Do-it-yourself mathematical didactic game for the younger group

Children's development largely occurs through play. Children 2-3 years old, who are just joining the ranks of preschoolers, begin to spend a lot of time in a group of peers, gaining new knowledge. Do-it-yourself didactic games are especially valuable in preschool educational institutions. This is the warmth and care of a master who puts his soul into each child, as well as the opportunity to give children sensory development and first skills in mathematics and logic. We present to your attention a master class on creating a bright didactic game with a mathematical bias for the younger group of preschool educational institutions, which older preschoolers will also enjoy playing. The process is accompanied by pictures, so it will be easier for you to create.

Do-it-yourself didactic games - mathematics can be interesting

To make a didactic game with your own hands, you first need to prepare and, which is very important, calculate the material.

Let's call it "Harvest" - the guys will be able to put three types of fruit on three different trees, and then collect them in plates, leaving the leaves.

When the kids grow up, they will be able to play this didactic game with a different interest: count which fruits they have collected more or less, and distribute equally to all children.

For preschoolers in kindergarten, it is important not only to play, but also to learn new knowledge. In the didactic game “Let's Harvest,” preschoolers come to the idea of what kind of fruits grow on trees, what exactly these are fruits. They can tell what fruits taste like in each individual case, share their opinions about them, and this is the development of speech. Let's get started!

Creative materials

Anything you have can be useful. In total, you need to make three trees, several fruits of three types (for us these will be plums, pears and apples), three plates for them, and also, if desired, leaves. In order for children to develop their sensory skills as best as possible, it is worth making parts from different materials. It could be:

Felt. Do-it-yourself didactic games made from this material are considered one of the best, since it is wear-resistant, has many beautiful colors and is easy to create.
Rubber (or rubberized colored paper).
Cardboard (thin and thick).
Self-adhesive paper.
A box or casket in which you can put parts of a didactic game.
Of course, for the DIY process you will need scissors, a needle, colored threads (preferably floss), and a ruler. We also used green gouache to paint the back of the trees.

Source: https://mojdetskijsad.ru/pedagogam-na-zametku/matematicheskaya-didakticheskaya-igra-dlya-mladshej-gruppy-svoimi-rukami.html

Which game according to the Nikitins’ method should be offered to children first?

If educators have several educational, intellectual “Nikitin’s games” at their disposal, then it is advisable to first deal with each of them yourself in order to find out the contents and level of complexity. You can try playing it yourself to evaluate the range of tasks and the time required. Taking into account the age, temperament and character of the child or group of pupils, the easiest game tasks should be introduced first, moving towards more complex ones. For example, if children have become accustomed to the game “Fold the Pattern,” then periodically after a few days the games “Monkeys,” “Montessori Frames,” “Dots,” “Attention,” and others should be introduced.

Educators may be interested in the question: is it possible to keep a group of children occupied by offering them several different games at once using the Nikitins’ method? Boris Nikitin himself claims that this is possible if at least two of the three games have already been mastered and the students are interested. At the same time, it is undesirable to set aside a certain time for gaming activities - 5, 10 minutes, create a time frame and stop. As long as the child is interested and is not reprimanded, let him solve logical problems and complete the task.

Rules of Nikitin's games

The game should be fun. Every child’s success is a great and common achievement.
The child should be interested in the game, but should not be forced. Moreover, there is no place for offensive remarks here.
Educational creative games require children's independence and adult non-interference. Let the child think for himself, look for his mistakes himself, climbing the ladder of increasingly complex tasks.
To assess the difficulty of the game, before engaging the children, you should play it yourself and time it.
You need to start with easier and simpler tasks, since success at the very beginning is an important condition.
If a child cannot solve a game problem, it is beyond his strength, then it is worth retreating and taking a break. And after a few days, resume classes with an easier game. And it’s even better if the child chooses the game himself according to his capabilities.
If there are several children in the family, then everyone needs to prepare a set. In kindergarten, it is advisable to prepare several sets of games.
The simplest games, which the author of the method recommends teaching first, are “Fold the Pattern” and “Montessori Frames and Inserts.” These games focus on color and shape recognition. At the same time, B.P. Nikitin recommends that adults start keeping a diary of the child’s successes, recording the order in which new games are introduced.
Children become interested in games from time to time, so when interest in activities disappears, they should forget about the game for several days or a month. When interest arises again at the encouragement of adults, success in the game can be much better.
Games according to the Nikitins’ method should be protected, not left with toys, and put away in a visible but inaccessible place for children.
When practicing according to the Nikitins’ method with the youngest children from 1.5 to 3 years old, it is advisable to give the game the form of a fairy tale, come up with a plot, and give the figures, patterns and models names. The imagination and emotions of the teacher play a big role in the process of enthralling children.
Play activities should stimulate the child’s development of individual character traits. Students should be praised more for their achievements and encouraged in case of failures.
Gaming activities should take place in a comfortable and relaxed environment. If fidgety children want to jump for joy or somersault, they should not hold back.
If at the game stage all the patterns have already been folded, all the models have been assembled, then you can come up with new tasks yourself. It will be great if the children themselves begin to write down and sketch new examples of achievements in the diary.
Children of older preschool age can have competitions in solving speed problems. And pupils aged 6–7 years are quite capable of serious competitions with adults. Winning an adult is a great joy for a child.

Do-it-yourself educational games: Tatiana Aleksandrovna Barchan’s toy library

In April, I added to my collection of ideas for educational games made by myself. I was lucky enough to attend an amazing event organized by the “Native Path” website: a game meeting with Tatyana Aleksandrovna Barchan.

She has an unusual story: a biochemist by profession, she worked at a research institute and did not think that she would come up with and create educational games for children with her own hands. But everything turned out differently: Tatyana was asked to work with gifted children 6-7 years old, and this is where her career as a teacher and inventor of educational games began.

Now Tatyana runs the Rebus Center for Education and Creative Development, and is the author of many games that have been recognized by experts as one of the best (quality mark “Child Psychologists Recommend”).

Tatyana Aleksandrovna captivated me with her creativity and elegance of solutions for children’s development in play. I listened to her and realized that 90% of all the ideas I had read on the Internet in recent years were different variations of her games, invented back in the 90s. I wrote several sheets of paper, sketched diagrams and ideas. Now I have found the time and am ready to share some sketches with you.

DIY educational games

1) Box with tracks for a magnet . The point is that for the game you need two magnets: one larger, it is hidden under the boxes (on the other side), the second is smaller, it will walk across the playing field. We move the small magnet with the help of a large one, which is not visible. Wonderful miracle for kids.

We take a small candy box as a “playing field” (so that it is comfortable for the child to hold in his hands), add a path, obstacles, and other elements. As a variant of the game situation: the car is driving on business, you need to stop at a gas station (which element), then across the bridge to a car wash (next element), etc.

2) A bone for the dog. You need several boxes, different in size, covered with different colored paper. There is a dog who is looking for a bone (we can easily change it to a character that you have at home).

We hide the bone in one of the boxes and give a hint: “the bone is in the box between blue and red” or “in the box above the yellow one.” For older children, it can be more difficult: “not in red, but above blue.”

Aerobatics - let the child hide the bone and ask such a puzzle for you.

3) A simple thermometer model . Everything ingenious is simple! A rectangle cut out of cardboard, numbers signed, a regular elastic band inserted, part of the elastic band painted over. If you pull the rubber band on the other side, the temperature on the thermometer rises; if you pull it in the other direction, it drops.

4) Another look at puzzles for kids: cut not a rectangular picture, but a circle into sectors. It is more difficult to assemble such a mosaic on one side, but easier on the other. In any case, a useful variety for training attention and thinking.

5) Children's library . We take 12 identical boxes, make them the same color, stick a number on the spine and a picture on the cover. By the way, the old calendar can be used as a source of numbers for this and other benefits. All books are stored in a large box for 12 books. There are a lot of options for games with such a library. You can develop speech by guessing from the picture on the cover what this book is about, what the plot is, what the story is. You can train the number series: collect books in order, find which book is missing, put it in reverse order, ask for the “next to the fifth” book, etc. As soon as I find suitable boxes, I will definitely make such a “library” for us.

6) Lotto for the difference between flat and three-dimensional figures. To do this, you will need sheets for filling and the actual volumetric figures. Tatyana made them herself from a special modeling mass.

The players’ task is to determine what shape the object pulled out of the bag resembles (a button is a circle, a ball is a ball, etc.).

It is very useful to pass all geometric concepts through your hands, to feel them in the literal sense of the word.

7) Comparison problems. Tatyana suggests interpreting the “more” and “less” signs as an arrow, which always points to the little one, to the baby, and recommends starting with pairs: mother and baby.

I really like this positive “arrow” because it is usually supposed to represent a crocodile that eats those who are smaller. First we play with a full-fledged arrow: from mother-baby we move on to the number of objects, then to numbers.

Then the arrow “loses” the stick and the “more”/”less” sign remains in its familiar form. Then we continue to play with cards with the usual sign.

Game "Capricious buyer" . We officially allow kids to be naughty???? To play you need many different figures of different colors. These are goods in a store where a capricious buyer comes.

On his card it is indicated what he wants to buy, but something like this: not red, not round, but square. It is necessary to remove those cards that the buyer does not like and leave only those that meet the criteria.

In this way, kids learn the basics of set theory without noticing it themselves.

I showed you only a small part of the games that we discussed at the game library (only those where I have photos). It is clear with what care and love for children all the benefits are made.

In addition to ideas for developmental aids, Tatyana generously shared her gaming experience, tips on organizing games, making durable toys (her own creations passed through the hands of many children over several years), features of mastering mathematics, reading, and pedagogical tricks.

Tatyana is an amazingly enthusiastic person; after the game library, all the participants came out with sparkling eyes and full shopping bags, because In addition to homemade games, there are already many “ready-to-play” games. I am absolutely delighted with some of the acquisitions, Pasha too ????

Examples of games using the Nikitins' method

Game "Fold the pattern"

This game comes with 16 cubes of the same size. The standard is 3 x 3 x 3 cm. In this case, the faces of each cube are painted in 4 colors, and two of the 6 faces (opposite) are painted in different colors diagonally. Thus, only 4 colors are involved.

You can make different patterns from the cubes, choosing colors in any order.

By rearranging the cubes, you can create a large number of options for paintings, patterns, schemes, coming up with names for them.

In this game there are three standard tasks: to create a similar pattern according to a given (drawn) pattern, then to create (sketch) a pattern using the pattern folded with cubes, and the third is to come up with new patterns from 9 or 16 cubes.

Schemes - tasks on ready-made cards for the game can be selected in full size so that they can be covered with cubes.

With toddlers, you can play “Fold the Pattern” by first using 4 cubes, making one-color pictures, then gradually introducing the next cubes, making the pattern more complex. You can offer to create a simple pattern yourself and come up with a name for it.

Pupils of senior preschool age can have exciting competitions in the game “Fold the Pattern”. If you divide them into several teams and distribute a set of cubes, then the children will be happy to wait for a new task from the leader and put together patterns according to the diagram. And the teacher can summarize the results in a table, which team added faster, which was more correct, and which came up with more new patterns.

B.P. Nikitin invites adults to pay attention to one very important point: just as we take out a box of cubes, carefully lay them out or noisily dump them all at once, so children will either carefully collect the cubes after playing or scatter them around the room. Handling objects is stored in children's memory; children tend to imitate adults in everything.

By playing “Fold the Pattern,” kids learn to think independently, control and evaluate themselves, and see their own mistakes.

Game "Frames and inserts Montessori"

The basis of this game is mainly the pedagogical developments of the Italian teacher M. Montessori. B.P. Nikitin only slightly changed the completeness and conditions. Game tasks introduce preschoolers to geometric shapes, prepare children's hands for writing, and develop logical thinking.

The game set consists of square plates - frames measuring 10 x 10 cm and about 2 mm thick. Each frame has a hole in the center into which an insert of the corresponding geometric shape and suitable size is inserted, but differing in color.

Here is a list of figures:

Circle
Square
Equilateral triangle
Ellipse
Rectangle
Rhombus
Trapezoid
A quadrilateral with irregular sides and one right angle
Parallelogram
Isosceles triangle
Hexagon
Five pointed star
Right isosceles triangle
Pentagon
Irregular hexagon
Scalene triangle.

During the game, the frame with the corresponding insert must be named according to the shape of the figure (rhombus, star, circle, etc.).

The number of frames and game tasks for each game are prepared in accordance with the age and capabilities of the children.

Task options:

Find inserts and insert into frames
Trace the outlines of the figures (along the frame, along the insert)
Color the figures with colored pencils
Outline the figures with a double outline
Create an ornament from figurines
Guess the figure by touch
Insert the inserts into the frames with the eyes closed
Arrange frames and figures - inserts according to properties.

Game "Monkeys"

This wonderful game is based on children's ability to imitate. Children often copy the behavior of adults, thereby adopting habits, ways of handling objects, and emotions. Young preschoolers have very developed qualities such as attention, observation of adults, and the ability to imitate. These qualities change with age. The game "Monkeys" allows you to evaluate how attentive a child is, or whether this quality is fading.

The game is designed for children from 2 to 3 years old. Children need to be seated at a table so that they can hide their hands under it. The presenter begins the game with a short introduction - a fairy tale: a little monkey was sitting in the room, she was bored, she saw a boy, first hid from him, and then began to repeat all the movements after him and she really liked it. Now all the children - the monkeys - repeat the movements after the boy - the leader (teacher). For the kids, you need to prepare identical wooden blocks or bricks and distribute 2 pieces to each. You can borrow them from any gaming kit. The presenter raises his hands from behind the table and puts his bricks in a certain composition, places them on the edges, in a tower, in the letter “T”, in any way. Children - monkeys must repeat the composition exactly - exactly - from their blocks. In this case, the leader must perform the movements demonstratively slowly, sometimes a little faster, noisily or quietly, but very emotionally, verbally encouraging the monkeys. Having finished the composition, they begin the next one. Having hidden their hands under the table, then taking out the figures, the monkeys again repeat after the leader and build a new composition.

As a result, children develop attention and learn to repeat the actions of the leader. You can complicate the game by introducing new figures, including different colors.

The list of Nikitin games and puzzles is quite large. All of them are aimed at developing logical thinking, memory, attention, and creative imagination. Children's talents need to be developed from an early age, creating a creative environment and engaging the child with intellectual games. Lena and Boris Nikitin think so. And all teachers agree with them on this.

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DIY educational games

It would seem that now you can buy almost any toys.

Why reinvent the wheel and engage in amateur activities? But games made by mother’s hands always enjoy special love from the baby, and even if they turn out not quite perfect, they are certainly original and with a considerable share of mother’s warmth and love. Plus, in the current uncertain economic climate, homemade toys can help you save some money to buy something more worthwhile, like children's books.

I admit that I do not belong to the category of handicraft mothers, rather the opposite. But with the birth of my daughter, the situation suddenly changed: I wanted to create something (or at least try to do it), tinker, invent. As it turned out, this requires a minimum of time and material costs, and the child’s enthusiastic reaction is the most pleasant reward.

Tactile bags

To make them you will need some colorful scraps and various fillings: cereals, beans, pebbles, rustling polyethylene, cotton wool, salt, small coins, etc. It is advisable to choose fabric of bright colors and different textures. You can also sew two-color bags.

Just cut out squares from the fabric, for example, 8x8 cm + 0.5 cm for allowances on each side. Sew the bags, leaving a small hole, turn them inside out, fill them with stuffing and sew up the hole. The baby will be interested in exploring rustling, ringing, crispy bright toys.