Environmental education of preschool children: goals, objectives, main areas of work

MAGAZINE Preschooler.RF

Main directions of environmental education of preschool children.

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

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

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

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

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

To achieve this goal, the main tasks were identified:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adults received environmental information:

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

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

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

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

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

Literature

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

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Ecological-subcultural practices in environmental education of preschool children.

Ecological-subcultural practices in environmental education of preschool children.

Dunaeva Yulia Alexandrovna

teacher

MBDOU kindergarten "Solnyshko"

Sechenovsky district

Nizhny Novgorod Region

Intensive educational work to develop environmental consciousness among the population begins in kindergarten - in the first link of the system of continuous environmental education.

Preschool childhood is the initial stage of the formation of a person’s personality and his value orientations in the world around him. During this period, a positive attitude towards the man-made world, oneself and the people around him is formed. The basis of environmental education is the formation in a child of a consciously correct attitude towards the natural objects that surround him and with which he becomes acquainted in preschool childhood.

Children's consciously correct attitude towards nature is based on their sensory perception, emotional attitude, knowledge of the characteristics of life, growth and development of individual living beings, some biocenoses, knowledge of adapted dependencies on environmental factors, relationships within natural communities (food connections). The conscious nature of the relationship is manifested in the fact that children themselves can explain the situation or understand the adult’s explanation. They can independently or with the help of an adult identify individual labor actions, understanding the situation and knowing the needs of a living being, which are aimed at preserving and improving the lives of animals and plants.

The process of developing a consciously correct attitude towards nature is accompanied by certain forms of child behavior, which serve as criteria for assessing his environmental education (ecological culture).

Ecological culture is a set of views on nature, a conscious attitude towards it, which is reflected in human behavior and all of his practical activities.

The “repository” of traditional ecological culture is the ecological subculture of children.

To date, various aspects of children's subcultural characteristics are presented in the studies of V.V. Abramenkova, M.A. Kozlovskaya, E.Yu. Kopeikina, E.E. Sapogova, E.O. Smirnova and R.E. Radeva, M.V. Osorina. The meaning and significance of childhood and children's subculture as a socio-historical phenomenon are considered by A. Barkan, M.D. Donaldson, W.T. Kudryavtsev, V.D. Shadrikov and others.

The ecological subculture as a form of existence is described by A.D. Kleshchev, and G.P. Sikorskaya sees the ecological subculture as an educational system complex. The ecological subculture of Childhood and the child’s self-development in it is studied by V.A. Zebzeeva.

The main pedagogical condition contributing to the formation of an ecological subculture of children in the preschool education system is the use of environmental and subcultural practices of Childhood.

Ecological-subcultural practices are situational, autonomous, independent, initiated by adults, peers or the child himself, the acquisition and repetition of various cultural experiences of communication and interaction with nature in various groups, teams, communities and social structures - with adults, peers, younger or older children . This is also the development of positive life experiences of empathy, goodwill, love, friendship, care, assistance to natural objects, as well as the formation of a negative attitude towards manifestations of dissatisfaction, resentment, and rudeness by someone in relation to natural objects.

Ecological and subcultural practices used in preschool educational institutions:

1. Arrangement of the child’s own ecological cultural environment.

2. Information-rich verbal and substantive communication with educators and peers.

3. Practice questioning, the beginning of reflection (ask a question of environmental content and find an answer to it).

4. Practice of knowledge and independent learning.

5. Moral standards for the practice of communication and interaction with nature.

6. Formation of character and self-will (the desire and ability to act for the benefit of nature, despite one’s desires).

7. Habitual participation in environmental activities and work in nature.

8. Cultural space of natural history reading.

9.Ecological creativity.

10. Examination of illustrations, reproductions, albums.

11. Playing music and mastering the elementary foundations of musical culture.

12. Regular listening and free singing of songs about nature.

13. Ecologically oriented physical activity.

14. Collecting.

15. Visiting cultural institutions and cultural events.

16. Television and computer - replacing modern cartoons traditionally loved by children with those that glorify nature and a literate, caring, and thrifty person in relation to nature.

Ecological-subcultural practices involve the inclusion of the child in solving problematic environmental situations of development in order to acquire environmental experience; implementation of the knowledge and experience accumulated by the child in specially organized and non-regulated activities or situations, in the surrounding pedagogical, social or natural environment.

Ecological culture as a quality of personality is formed both in the process of pedagogical interaction and during the spontaneous formation and activity of the individual himself; each of the designated practices will include the child’s initiative and cultural forms created by adults for the child, reflecting signs, symbols, images of nature.

Literature:

1. Zebzeeva, V.A., Moiseeva, L.V. Ecological development of personality in the humanistic paradigm of preschool education: monograph / V.A. Zebzeeva, L.V. Moiseeva; State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education “Ural. state ped. univ." – Ekaterinburg, 2008. – 169 p.

2. Kopeikina, E.Yu. Subculture of childhood: abstract. dis. for the job application scientist step. Ph.D. cultural studies: (24.00.01) / Kopeikina Elena Yurievna. - Nizhny Novgorod, 2000. - 31 p.

3. Krylova, N.B. Cultural practices of childhood and their role in the formation of the child’s cultural idea / N.B. Krylova //New values ​​of education (Identity of childhood). - 2007. - No. 3. — P.79-108.

4. E.V. Mikheeva. Ecological-subcultural practices in environmental education of preschool children. News of the Volgograd State Pedagogical University. – 2009. – No. 6 (40). – С147-150 s.

Methods and techniques of environmental education

Environmental education within the framework of the state educational program is an important part of the overall pedagogical process. As in any process, teachers try to use all the methods and techniques of education available to them.

Visual methods

As they say, it’s better to show once than to tell a hundred times, especially when it comes to children and their relationship with nature. In environmental education, visual methods are:

1. Observation. It is always planned and purposeful. Observation has an object, a goal, and a time frame. The purpose of observation may be the causes of animal behavior, changes, development of living and inanimate objects, establishing and changing the properties, qualities, structure and appearance of the observed object or phenomenon. Observations can be carried out in small groups or the whole class at the same time, within and outside of educational activities. S.N. Nikolaeva, the author and developer of the system of environmental education in preschool educational institutions, pays great attention to observation as one of the most effective methods in this area of ​​education.
2. Illustrative and visual material. Books, illustrations, flashcards, films, videos, photographs and paintings - all this is illustrative material with which the teacher has the opportunity to introduce children to those natural phenomena (objects) that are not available for observation in natural conditions.

Practical methods

Practical methods are necessary to fully integrate children into environmental culture.

1. Modeling. The modeling method is well suited for children in primary and secondary school. It represents the replacement of real objects (phenomena) with the help of diagrams, signs, figures or images. Modeling helps children create a general understanding of the object being studied.
2. Experiences and experiments. Experience in environmental education is observation of the object being studied in conditions specially created for this. The experience must have a purpose and purpose. The course of the experiment must be thought out, as well as technologies and means. The experience itself is logically completed verbally or in writing.
3. Ecological games. Didactic, mobile, board or verbal - a game is an introduction, cognition and consolidation of material. Play, as a method of environmental education, is widely used by kindergarten teachers, since in preschool age play is the leading activity .

The purpose and objectives of environmental education

Verbal methods

By verbal methods we mean conversations, stories, analysis of what we read or saw. Verbal methods are almost always supported by visual ones. A conversation always precedes any game, experiment, or observation. Conversation accompanies any other method.

One of the verbal methods is reading fiction. This can be either special environmental literature recommended by the curriculum, or works of classical writers. Many authors paid attention to the problems of nature, wildlife, and environmental protection.



Diary of industrial practice Environmental practice

Ministry of Education of the Omsk Region
budgetary professional educational institution

Omsk region

"Omsk Pedagogical College No. 1"
DIARY of
industrial practice
Environmental practice
specialty 02/44/04
Special preschool education
Group students

Full name

Head of practice

Full name

Practice base

OMSK 2018
Safety briefing
Environmental training practice

specialty 44.02.04
Special preschool education
Group student

Practice base
№

FULL NAME. student	the date of the	Permission to work	Signature of the person being instructed
1
2

FULL NAME. position of instructing ________________________________________________

(signature) (signature transcript) M.P. organization Information about the practice base

preschool educational institution

Address:

Manager

Senior teacher:

Group teachers
List of children

Blokhina Anya
Grigoriev Kolya
Zhigulskikh Marina
Konstantinov Ilya
York Zhenya
Kornienko Lisa
Menchikova Natasha
Popov Nikita
Lobanov Dima
Sukhanov Misha
Sivkov Dima
Talerov Edik
Tatarnikova Liza
14	Savintsev Vlad
15	Sadykov Farruk
16	Shadrin Alyosha
17	Shuvaeva Olya
18	Gaan Andrey
19	Borisov Zhenya
20	Roor Ira

Individual plan for the student’s daily work

date	Activities	Note
Safety briefing
Getting to know the preschool educational institution
Meeting a group of preschool children
Studying the specifics of a teacher’s work
Monitoring the ecological and developmental environment in the group
Monitoring of the ecological and developmental environment in preschool educational institutions
Monitoring of the ecological and developmental environment at the preschool site
Photo report on the topic of ecological space

Task No. 1 Monitoring the ecological and developmental environment in the group
The following indoor plants grow in the group:

- aloe, crassula. They release phytoncides into the air and help children avoid contracting seasonal colds.

- Chlorophytum crested. It perfectly absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and is well suited for rooms with a large number of people.

- fuchsia, begonia. These plants have distinct flowers, stems and leaves. Thanks to this, kids will be able to study their structure.

- Kalanchoe

- gloxinia

- Crassula

- coleus, hypostes with multi-colored leaves. These plants are quite bright, and children will be interested in watching their growth, which helps develop their powers of observation.

The plants correspond to the program the group is working on.

The plants are well-groomed, fuchsia, begonia and gloxinia are blooming.

There are no animals in the corner of nature, because... A number of children have allergies.

In spring, onions are sprouted in a corner of nature.

Plant care items:

2 basins, rags according to the number of children, aprons according to the number of children, dry brushes, watering cans, sprayers, a mole toy.

From the very beginning, the teacher must teach children to finish what they have started and put things in order. Some students consider the work finished as soon as the main task is completed (the plant is replanted or watered, dry leaves are cut off), and they forget about cleaning or lose interest in the final stage of the activity. Such children are not scolded or forced to clean up after themselves. It is better to ask those who are willing to help, clean and put the equipment in its place.

However, you should pay attention to those children who strive to restore order after work in a corner of nature, praise them for their neatness, love of cleanliness, and give them as an example to others: “Look, guys, how Olya and Alyosha tried! Not only did they plant the flowers, but they also cleaned everything clean and didn’t leave a speck. Our new flowers will be so pleased to live on a clean shelf, in order and comfort. They also thank Olya and Alyosha and nod their leaves.” Soon, maintaining order and cleanliness in a corner of nature will become an exciting activity for all the children.

Calendars and observation diaries

No less important tasks of organizing a corner of nature are:

Improving ideas about the seasons, seasonal changes in living and inanimate nature, months, parts of the day.

Formation of concepts about the connections between living and inanimate nature.

Development of observation, curiosity, cognitive activity of children.

Such an important element of a corner of nature as an observation calendar serves to solve these problems. The main type of observation in nature in the older group is weather observation. Consequently, on a bright information stand, such as the observation calendar in the senior group, the main place is given to displaying the weather condition.

Weather observation is carried out after a morning reception or during an afternoon walk. To determine the state of the weather, children must know its characteristics well and use the appropriate terms: “Sunny, rainy, cloudy, cloudy, etc.” Returning to the group, the students enter the results of their observations into the calendar, using simplified images (sun, cloud, cloud with raindrops, snowflake).

To record daily observations, the teacher lines the album sheet into as many parts as there are days in the month, and signs the name of the month and indicates the numbers. Children draw a specific icon in the desired cell or paste a pre-prepared picture. To help children better navigate the days of the week and find them faster, the same day in different weeks is marked with the same color.

A variant of the calendar is possible, in which data is entered not for a month, but for a week, indicating its days with a conventional color, and the wind, rain, air temperature - with signs (cloud, tree, man).

The weather observation calendar should contain many symbols that children draw themselves or with the help of a teacher, consolidating their knowledge about weather phenomena

In addition to observing the weather, observations of objects of living and inanimate nature are carried out, the results of which are also recorded in the calendar. To do this, several small windows are placed on the calendar, and the teacher prepares a set of pictures for each season, which the children will display as they see this or that phenomenon during a walk.

For autumn, these could be: a bunch of rowan berries, a chestnut in a prickly peel, a puddle, large thunderclouds, golden leaves; in winter: a snow-covered tree, a bullfinch, a snowdrift, sparrows at the feeder. It is quite possible that during a walk the child will see a natural phenomenon that is not in the picture: a rainbow, a rare bird (oriole, jay) or will be interested in moss on a tree trunk or vegetables in the garden. In this case, the children’s interest needs to be supported and consolidated by asking them to draw what they saw after the walk.

All children's drawings are placed in the windows of the calendar and next to it, even if they do not turn out very similar. Firstly, little creators will remember and appreciate that their works were not left without attention, and secondly, in the drawings of children of the sixth year of life, what is important is not the similarity to the original, but the desire to share what they see with others. In order to develop in pupils a desire to observe the weather and keep a calendar, all children are assigned to draw symbols in the calendar windows in turn, and not just those who are good at drawing.

Among the many ready-made nature calendars for kindergartens, it is better to choose one that provides space for pupils’ drawings

In addition to observing the weather and natural objects on a walk, the older group of the kindergarten observes birds (which ones flew to the feeder or to the window on winter days), the growth of onions, peas or oats in the garden on the window. Such observations last no longer than two to three months, but their results are recorded in a diary, album or notebook, which are then stored in a corner of nature.

Equipment for educational and experimental activities

The study of nature and knowledge of its secrets is closely connected with experimental, experimental and research activities. To stimulate the cognitive activity of children, the nature corner should be equipped with equipment and materials for experimentation and experiments. First of all, these are simple and at the same time entertaining subjects, combining which in pairs, the teacher will give the child both an exciting activity and food for thought:

Magnet and aluminum, copper, iron objects (safe for children). Why don’t they all attract, although they ring if you knock them against each other?

Magnifying glass and fabric, paper, leather, fur in small scraps. What does their surface look like when magnified? Which material is most similar to our palms, in what way, and why?

Cocktail straws and feathers, ping-pong balls, napkins, pebbles, coins. Why do some roll or fly away if you blow on them? The stone falls loudly, but the feather falls silently. You can throw a stone far, but you cannot throw a ball from a napkin. Why?

A bowl of water and paper boats, strips of paper, napkins, coins, stones. Some swim, others drown. What happens to the feather? With a ping pong ball? Children are able to make a correct guess based on their experience and will experience great joy when their guess is confirmed.

Usually, materials for experiments and experimentation are located next to a corner of nature, because observations in nature and experimentation are closely related

In addition to the above, in a corner of nature there may be the following objects and objects of natural origin:

sand, clay;

sugar and salt (they are not tasted, but their solubility in water is studied);

chestnuts, acorns, cones;

wood trimmings, sawdust in tightly closed containers;

tea, coffee (to consider whether they dissolve in water, whether they color it, and conduct a conversation based on the children’s experience);

cereals, flour;

plants' seeds.

At different times of the year, seasonal, replaceable objects are introduced into a corner of nature:

bouquet of autumn leaves;

basket with vegetables or fruits;

bunches of rowan (it should be emphasized in a conversation with the kids that after the rowan “stays” with them, it will be given to feed the birds and the berries will not be wasted);

spruce or pine branch;

model (craft) of a bullfinch on a branch;

snowman model;

clearing with snowdrops (craft) and so on.

In a corner of nature there may also be a fairy-tale hero who will give children tasks, ask riddles, and help with advice.

Didactic games and manuals

Like any developmental area in a kindergarten group, a corner of nature is impossible without a variety of educational and educational games. These are games on natural history and environmental topics, which are designed to consolidate and deepen children’s ideas:

About wild and domestic animals, the peculiarities of their behavior, habits, differences and similarities (a wolf is similar to a dog in appearance, but a dog is a man’s friend, helps him, protects him, and a wolf is a wild animal, lives in the forest, is dangerous for humans).

About the flora of the immediate environment (trees, herbs, shrubs).

About the ecosystems “forest”, “meadow”, “garden”, their features.

About representatives of the animal world: insects, amphibians, reptiles.

About plants and animals of different climatic zones (Arctic, Antarctic, desert, jungle).

About the connections between seasonal changes in nature and changes in people's lives.

About the influence of natural factors (fresh air, sun, water) on human health, about the use of nature’s gifts by man.

About the nature of space, celestial bodies, human space exploration.

So that knowledge on these topics can constantly be improved and developed in individual and group work with children, in the corner of nature it is necessary to have board and printed games: “In the garden and in the garden”, “Who lives where, what benefits does it bring?”, “Little friends” human (about beneficial insects)”, “Ecological chamomile”, “Ecological sunshine”, “We are traveling”, “Which branch are these babies from?”, “Build a chain”, “Friends of nature”, etc.

Table 1

Environmentally themed games for children

Game name and equipment	Tasks	Progress of the game
Ecological sunshine. A poster with a picture of a sun with pockets in the center and at the ends of its rays. Subject pictures: 3–4 “central” and 6 depending on the meaning. Envelopes (bags).	To form in children an idea of ​​the relationships between living and inanimate nature, to improve the ability to express their opinions, and to cultivate environmentally appropriate behavior.	The teacher places the poster so that it is at eye level with the children and is clearly visible to everyone. He takes out the “central” picture from the bag and places it in the center of the sun. - Children, who is shown in the picture? (Cow). A cow is a very useful animal, but how is it useful? (It gives a lot of milk, from which delicious vitamin-rich, healthy products are made). What natural phenomena help a cow produce milk? Let's tell you. From another bag (envelope), the teacher or child, one by one, takes out and places in the pockets at the ends of the rays of the sun pictures depicting objects of nature, the children explain how this or that is connected with the cow (Dandelions and clover are the food that the cow eats to give milk . Bees pollinate the flowers that the cow eats. Stones - a warm cowshed is built from stones, etc.)
Build a chain. Cards depicting a natural phenomenon, a living object (initial), a chain of arrows, 2-3 empty windows leading to another object (final). Subject pictures.	To consolidate knowledge of the relationship between natural phenomena, the world of animals and plants, develop coherent speech, the ability to construct sentences, cultivate interest in the natural world, love for animals and plants.	Children are given cards that depict an animal, plant, or natural phenomenon, and are asked to consider what happened in the beginning and what happened later. When the child describes his card, he is asked to take out 2-3 more pictures from the envelope, related in meaning to his card, put them in the windows and describe what happened to the hero. For example, on the card in the first window there is a gray bunny, and in the last - a white one. The child says: “At first the bunny was gray, and then he became white and changed his fur coat.” Taking out pictures from the envelope depicting snowfall, a fox, a gray bunny hiding under a bush, the child builds a chain and explains: “In the fall, the bunny was wearing a gray fur coat, but snow fell and everything turned white. The fox is looking for a bunny and wants to catch it. The bunny in his gray fur coat is afraid to go out into the snow. But nature gave him a white fur coat to hide in the snow from the wolf and the fox.”
"Find a home for animals." Large cards with images of meadows, forests, fields, gardens. Subject pictures depicting plants and animal inhabitants of these natural zones.	To consolidate knowledge about plants and animals of the forest, meadow, garden, field. Develop cognitive interest and understanding of the ecosystems of the immediate environment. Cultivate love for native nature.	The game is played on the lotto principle. Children are given large cards and asked to look carefully and name what is depicted on them. The presenter takes out object pictures from a bag or envelope and shows them to the children, and the one who recognizes the “inhabitant” of his ecosystem takes the card for himself. If the child makes a mistake and none of the children know the correct answer, there is no need to focus attention on the mistake; they put the card aside and repeat the actions with it when the envelope (bag) is empty.

Visual aids are of great importance in the development of children: posters, plot paintings, series of paintings about nature. Children of the older group, unlike younger ones, can absorb images in photographs well, so colorful, surprising and joyful photos of the miraculous treasures of our planet can also be found in a corner of nature.

Excellent visual aids are folders that the teacher designed himself or with the help of colleagues and parents: “Our summer”, “Collecting the harvest”, “What grows and who lives in our park?”, “Know your native land”.

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Environmental education

Now about the concept of “ecological education”. In the pedagogical literature one can find many definitions of the concept “education”. Therefore, in order to avoid discrepancies, let us remember that in the law “On Education in the Russian Federation” (2014), education is considered as a single process of upbringing and training.

In this case, environmental education includes environmental education and environmental training.

By environmental education we mean the formation in children of environmental ideas, corresponding skills, and methods of action; by environmental education we mean the formation and development of environmental emotional-value relationships.

In other modern sources, including those related to preschool education [6], the concept of “education” includes development along with training and upbringing.

Taking into account the above, environmental education can be defined as the process of training, education and development of a person (child) in the field of his relationship with the natural environment .

(Here it is necessary to note that many teachers adhere to old terminological concepts and in their development of educational activities distinguish the goals of education, the goals of upbringing and the goals of development, which in the light of the above is logically incorrect: the goals of education already include the implementation of educational goals and development goals.)

The goal of environmental education is the formation of an environmental culture. The concept of “ecological culture” is multifaceted. It includes, in particular, the presence of environmental consciousness and ecological thinking in a person. Neither one nor the other can be formed in preschoolers. Therefore, when working with them, we can only talk about the prerequisites or the beginning of the formation of an ecological culture.

Principles and models of environmental education

In the theory of environmental education, the principle of interdisciplinarity was one of the first to be formulated, which involves the formation of environmental knowledge, skills, and relationships in the process of studying all or almost all academic disciplines. In relation to preschool education, this principle directs teachers to implement environmental education within the framework of all educational areas named in the Federal State Educational Standard.

Currently, three models of environmental education : single-subject, multi-subject and mixed.

• The one-subject model is implemented within the framework of a special environmental course (in preschool education this is “Young Ecologist”, etc.) or an integrated environmental discipline.
• The multi-subject model is implemented by saturating all or almost all academic disciplines with environmental material.
• The mixed model involves the study of environmental issues in each academic subject and holistically in a special subject (subjects).

Obviously, a mixed model is most effective.

Ecological approach in the education of preschool children

The content of environmental education for preschoolers includes knowledge related to one or another section of scientific ecology. For example, in the approximate main program “World of Discovery” it is assumed that the formation of primary ideas that in nature everything is interconnected, and man is part of nature, as well as the interconnections and interactions of living organisms with their environment [4].

However, much greater opportunities for the environmental education of children are not the actual environmental content of programs or classes, but the implementation by the teacher of an environmental approach in education.

An ecological approach is understood as the inclusion of environmental aspects in most issues discussed with children, the correlation of the objects being studied with a person, his behavior, and activities. S.N. Nikolaeva includes an “ecological approach” in the definition of the concept of “ecological education of preschool children”: “... this is an introduction to nature, which is based on an ecological approach, when the pedagogical process is based on the fundamental ideas and concepts of ecology” [2].

In the same work, S.N. Nikolaeva has sections “Ecological approach to understanding diversity in living nature”, “Ecological approach in streamlining ideas about diversity in living nature”. It is clear that the use of the ecological approach is not limited to this alone.

Almost any natural science and sometimes social science issue under consideration can also include an environmental component. For example, when studying a plant, not only its appearance or structure is considered, but also the influence of environmental factors on its growth and development: moisture, light, heat. When studying natural areas, not only the peculiarities of climate, flora and fauna are discussed, but also questions of adaptation of organisms to environmental conditions (for example: why does the dwarf birch have a shallow root system, a low curved trunk? Why is a bear living in an icy desert white? etc. .P.).

Age-related characteristics of preschoolers’ attitudes toward nature

They must be taken into account in children's education. After birth, the child is unable to identify himself and his environment. Even J. Piaget established that the main feature of a preschooler’s attitude to the world is egocentrism. The child does not clearly differentiate his self and the world around him, the subjective and the objective, and transfers his own motives to the real connections between the phenomena of the world. The result is anthropomorphism, i.e. endowing objects and phenomena of the surrounding world with properties inherent in the child himself. This feature of perception is largely preserved in younger schoolchildren, and partly in adults.

And after the child begins to realize the difference between his Self and the surrounding objects and phenomena, for some time he still does not divide the environment into natural, man-made and social. Children transfer relationships in the world of people to relationships in the world of nature and in the world of things. This is manifested in personification. Personification is the endowment of objects and natural phenomena with qualities and properties of a certain type of person: for example, a fox with cunning, a hare with cowardice. Such relationships largely persist among younger schoolchildren, often later.

In the early stages of a child’s development, the teacher supports the anthropomorphization of nature, encourages empathy with animals and plants: “don’t touch the kitten - it hurts just like you,” “don’t break the branches - it hurts the plant.”

An example of a game situation: the teacher turns to the children with a proposal to respond to the received telegram.

“We are the first green, and for this we are broken. Everyone who doesn’t care about the forest breaks it. We are even afraid to be the first to bloom in the forest. So what's so good about it? They'll break it anyway. Help us! It really hurts when you get broken! Very! Your green friends: Willow, Bird Cherry, Forest Lilac.” (According to V. Bianchi. “Telegrams from the Forest.”)

When working with older preschoolers, environmental information begins to be introduced into the content of a game built on the humanization of nature. Here is an example of a game situation similar to the one described above.

The teacher reads a telegram from the forest.

"I need help! Urgent! The beetles came out, climbed the trees, chewed everything. In winter they sat in the ground - they hid two meters deep, and now they attacked the trees. I work for two people, but I still can’t cope: there are a lot of them. Need urgent help! Pass this on to the kids. Urgently. Your Woodpecker."

Here children already get an idea of ​​the relationship between birds and insects, and the ecological role of the woodpecker.

The mentioned features of children's perception of natural objects (humanization, personification) provide an opportunity for the integration of environmental education itself and moral education.