Development of voluntary attention of preschoolers in play activities

The mental and physical formation of a child are two interrelated concepts. Mental health is characterized by cognitive functions. Children are very grateful people, and developing attention in preschool children with regular classes gives very good results.

Attention is not an isolated mental function. Working with a child, along with mindfulness training, involves connecting memory, will and other mental processes together. It is advisable to develop these functions in parallel. For example, it is impossible to perceive and reproduce information if memory suffers. But a person cannot remember information if he is inattentive. In turn, attention is impossible without adequate thought processes.

Characteristics of attention

Attention is necessary for a person to be able to respond in a timely manner to changing circumstances in the external environment. In the process of evolution, this phenomenon developed and honed. The constituent components of the process - alertness, vigilance, readiness to act on the first signal - were constantly improved and honed by our ancestors.

In order for attention to develop, it must constantly be reinforced by responses and actions. The muscles that implement the response should be constantly trained.

All cognitive activity of the child, aimed at the object of research, consists of the following factors:

• selective perception of an object;
• comprehension;
• speaking out loud or to oneself;
• imagination;
• switching from one object to another.

In order to train a child’s attention, the object of study must be attractive to him, and there is a desire to do something with it.

Courses for developing attention

Development of memory and attention in a child 5-10 years old

The purpose of the course: to develop the child’s memory and attention so that it is easier for him to study at school, so that he can remember better.

After completing the course, the child will be able to:

1. 2-5 times better to remember texts, faces, numbers, words
2. Learn to remember for a longer period of time
3. The speed of recalling the necessary information will increase

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Super memory in 30 days

Remember the necessary information quickly and for a long time. Wondering how to open a door or wash your hair? I’m sure not, because this is part of our life. Easy and simple exercises for memory training can be made part of your life and done a little during the day. I am sure that you don’t even pay attention to these actions, but attention is one of the main conditions for good memorization. How can you remember something that you didn’t even pay attention to?

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How to improve memory and develop attention

Free practical lesson from advance.

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Speed ​​reading in 30 days

Increase your reading speed by 2-3 times in 30 days. From 150-200 to 300-600 words per minute or from 400 to 800-1200 words per minute. The course uses traditional exercises for the development of speed reading, techniques that speed up brain function, methods for progressively increasing reading speed, the psychology of speed reading and questions from course participants. Suitable for children and adults reading up to 5000 words per minute. The course perfectly develops attention, since you need not only to read the text at high speed, but also to understand and remember it.

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Types of attention

There is a division into the following types of attention:

• arbitrary;
• involuntary;
• post-voluntary;
• sensual;
• intellectual;
• natural;
• socially conditioned.

All these types are interconnected, one flows into another under certain circumstances. To form voluntary attention, it is necessary to include work with will, thinking, and speech in training.

Rules for training voluntary attention

Voluntary attention is a special type; its implementation requires goal setting and volitional efforts. In preschool children, neither one nor the other has yet been developed. Parents should develop all this by teaching their preschoolers to be independent. To properly work on developing voluntary attention at home, it is necessary to follow certain rules:

1. Consistency and systematicity of classes.
2. Working on voluntariness is difficult for young children. To make complex activities attractive to children, you need to start with easy-to-perform exercises, gradually moving on to more complex ones.
3. Training to develop voluntary attention is carried out in two positions:

• Special exercises for the basic properties of attention.
• Special tasks for developing attentiveness and eliminating attention depletion.

Functions, properties of attention

Attention performs the following tasks:

• activation or inhibition of physiological and psychological functions depending on a specific need;
• perception, differentiation of information coming from outside;
• replacement of initial data thanks to associative thinking;
• detection of an irritant, assessment of its danger to the body.

Properties of attention:

• Concentration is the ability to focus on a specific object.
• Distribution over several objects without compromising perception.
• Intensity – the greater the interest in any activity, the higher the intensity of attention.
• Stability is the ability to remain attentive for a long time, to study any issue for a long time.

The amount of information a child can control in his environment demonstrates how much stimuli he can keep in focus. Normally, no more than three objects per 4-5 years. This volume is directly dependent on short-term memory, thinking, and the ability to concentrate.

• Switching ability.
• Ability to resist distractions.

Only that object or action that is interesting to the child at a particular time or provides some of the body’s needs can be a full-fledged object.

How is attention formed in children?

There are several factors that influence the speed of formation of the skill of attention during the learning process. Here are some of them:

• individual pace of learning;
• absence of long pauses in the learning process;
• reliance on active mental activity (application of generalization and comparison tasks, searching for examples and drawing conclusions);
• reliance on existing knowledge and skills;
• accompaniment of intellectual activity with special physical activity;
• absence of external stimuli that attract involuntary attention and distract from the cognitive process (loud remarks, comments, sudden movements, music and conversations);
• clarity and brevity of explanations of adults/conditions of the task that needs to be solved.

Methods for assessing attention

To assess functions, there are special individual and group tests and techniques. The most common ones include:

1. A technique for finding the beginning and end of lines in a drawing.
2. To assess distribution, switching, stability, and fatigue, a technique is used in which children are given the task of marking different figures in a certain way, for example, a triangle with a dot, a square with a tick, etc. The time to complete the diagnosis is 2 minutes.
3. In parallel, short-term memory is assessed. To do this, the child is given multi-colored pictures, asked to look for objects and arrange these images in a given sequence. And then they ask where this or that thing originally lay.

When carrying out diagnostic procedures, the child’s desire to participate in them is very important.

Features of voluntary attention

For preschool age, the most important thing is purposefulness of attention. It is determined by the tasks that a person begins to set for himself in a particular activity. This is also the organized nature of the activity, when a preschooler expresses a desire to pay attention to a specific subject.

The child consciously sets goals and activates the mental processes necessary to achieve them. He begins to maintain his attention over a long period of time and defines activities by tasks or plan through which he expresses his intentions.

Reasons determining voluntary attention:

• The interests of the child that motivate him to participate in this activity;
• The concept of duty and obligation, which claims the need to perform a certain type of activity as efficiently as possible;
• Formation of voluntary attention, reflecting the orientation of the interests of the individual and denoting his personal and volitional qualities.

Already A.A. Ukhtomsky wrote that involuntary attention is “managed” (managed) by objects in the external world, and the “master” of voluntary attention is the personality of an adult or child.

Violations attention

Depending on which form of inattention predominates, the following types of attention disorders are spoken of:

1. Decreased stability and concentration impede cognitive activity and lead to disruption of thought processes and learning difficulties.
2. Reducing volume is a quantitative indicator that allows you to concentrate on several distinctive properties of an object at the same time and navigate the street.
3. A significant impairment is the inability to perceive information by ear and follow verbal instructions. This disorder indicates that a person does not perceive speech as a carrier of information.
4. Complete lack of attention.

Borderline states occurring with impaired attention:

• overwork;
• stress;
• spring hypovitaminosis;
• social neglect;
• scandals in the family;
• asthenia after illness;
• irregular stay in the fresh air, poor nutrition.

Pathological conditions characterized by decreased attention:

1. In manic states, an acceleration of associative processes is observed; patients do not track events that may occur around them due to the fact that they do not have time to concentrate on them: a fluttering consciousness is observed.
2. With epilepsy, inertia of thinking is observed, patients get stuck in unimportant details and cannot cover all the necessary details of the object. The main distinguishing feature of the epileptic type is florid phrases, viscosity of thinking, unnecessary complications.
3. The consequences of traumatic brain injury and neuroinfection are manifested by interrelated disturbances of attention, decreased intelligence and other functions.
4. Mental retardation is characterized by difficulty switching from one task to another. When posing a new problem, children slip into the old, already familiar solution, and cannot follow the instructions received, synthesize information, or draw conclusions. There is a narrowing of the range of interests. In these patients it is impossible to develop a voluntary type of attention.
5. One of the first symptoms of schizophrenia is a violation of active attention, which leads to a disruption of cognitive activity, snatching out minor details from events happening around. The child cannot focus on the designated object. He instantly switches and loses interest in what is happening.

The above pathological conditions must be diagnosed by a specialist doctor. When there is a violation, it is worth seeking a consultation, conducting a diagnostic search and following the instructions received. Often, with this type of disorder, it is enough to regularly engage in sequential exercises in the development of attention in children, following certain stages.

Exercises to develop a child's attention

It is very important to develop a child’s attention at any age, especially from one to seven years; all future success will depend on how attentive your child is.

Teach your child to pay attention to something specific; it’s not difficult, you just need to put in a little effort. We offer you several interesting games that will help your child notice new, unknown things around him. Learning in the form of a game is fun for a child, but at the same time training attention, which will be useful to him in the future.

First exercise. Name what you see

Talk to your child constantly, the more he listens to you, the more he will concentrate on what you are telling him. On the street, show him what colorful leaves, what a tall house, what a big hill, what little birds. The child is interested in all this and develops it. Then you can take one thing, for example, a green leaf from a tree and examine it carefully. What leaf, from what tree, what color is the leaf, what size, and so on.

Second exercise. Do and tell

Teach your child to concentrate on any simple activity, such as drawing. Explain to the child out loud what he must do, correct him, pronounce every movement of the child. Communicate more with your child and comment out loud on his actions.

Teach your child to perform all actions sequentially. Gradually, the child will learn to do everything consistently on his own.

Third exercise. Find the item

The game, find the object, is well suited for developing attention. Look at some object in the room, for example a pyramid, describe it to the child so that he understands what you are describing and says what it is. For example, this item is tall, it has many details, describe their color and size, and so on.

Fourth exercise. Let's look at each other

The exercise let's look at each other develops the child's attention well; it is very simple, interesting and fun. Your child will enjoy playing this game. Give your child the opportunity to look at you carefully for a few seconds. Then he turns away and tells you everything he remembers about you. For example, hair color, description of your face, what you are wearing, what color, and so on. If the child could not tell much, do not scold him, play this game again. Studying you, the second time the child will be more attentive than the first time.

You can even play this game in reverse, look at your child, turn away and describe what you remember. Your child will draw conclusions about what you said and what he missed. You can talk through these conclusions while delving into the details together.

Fifth exercise. Disturb me

Interesting exercise, disturb me. Here you can play together - dad, mom and child. The role of the father is to ask different questions to the child, for example, what color is the cube, does the car have wheels, where is the ball, what is your name, and so on. The child must answer questions quickly.

The mother's role is to distract the child when he answers questions. If your child was able to answer the questions without getting distracted, reward him. Next time he will try even better.

This game can be played by two people, for example, a child recites a poem or retells a fairy tale, and you distract him.

Sixth exercise. Be careful

Recently, very often children's books offer exercises for memory development.

For example, a picture is drawn, the child looks and remembers what is depicted on it. After two or three minutes the book closes and the child must tell what he remembers. This is a simple task, but it trains your memory well.

For adults, you can also use this exercise only in a more complex form.

For example, you have a carpet on the floor in your room. Look carefully at the pattern depicted on the carpet and remember it. You can look at it for two or three minutes. Then look away from the carpet and try to tell what you remember. Next time you can look at some painting or sculpture and talk about it. Each subsequent lesson you should reduce the memorization time.

Seventh exercise. Try to remember

You can develop observation, attention and visual memory in different ways. Let's consider one of them.

For example, for children, let's take five different objects. It could be a pencil, a pen, a colored eraser, a ball, or a jump rope. Let the children look at all these items, then put them in a dark bag. The guys must take turns telling what they remember.

This exercise can also be used for adults.

For example, let's take more, seven or ten items. It could be a spoon, a mug, a glass holder, a medal, a beautiful stone, and so on. All these objects need to be carefully examined for two or three minutes. Then put it in a dark bag and try to tell what you remember.

With each subsequent lesson, the memorization time must be reduced. In the same way, you can develop your memory in everyday life. For example, look at the prices in the store and try to remember them. Try to remember and compare prices for the same product in different stores.

Eighth exercise. Developing imagination

This is an exercise to develop your imagination. Look at what's around you at home and try to come up with a funny story. Children can easily cope with this exercise because they are great inventors.

For example, a cat settled in our house - Koshakych. He likes to sleep on the sofa - sofa. One day he dozed off and snoring appeared - snoring. And so on, you can continue this story, or you can come up with your own. Don't be afraid to fantasize, come up with whatever you want.

Ninth exercise. Focus your attention

Place your watch in front of the TV when an interesting cartoon or fairy tale is on. Place the child in front of the TV, now for two minutes the child should look at the second hand without turning his gaze to the TV screen.

Tenth exercise. Give me an answer quickly

This exercise is performed by two people. Play this game with your child. You should ask your child questions on any topic and of varying complexity. The child must answer clearly and quickly.

For example:

1. The most prickly flower? (Cactus)
2. How many oceans are there in the world? (Arctic, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian)
3. How many ears does a hare have? (Two)
4. Permissive traffic light color? (Green)
5. Which flower has seven colors? (Flower - seven flowers)

Psychologists have proven that positive emotions influence the development of skills and abilities. Let your child learn new things with joy, so that he has a good, upbeat mood. Increase his cognitive activity in the form of a game. After all, the spirit of competition appears in the game, and by mastering this feeling, your child learns something faster and acquires new knowledge and skills.

Parents have a huge influence in the lives of their children; much depends on them in the upbringing and education of the child. Understand and educate your child so that his future life will be successful.

Attention training techniques

There are different approaches and patterns for training mindfulness in childhood and adulthood. It is strongly recommended to create conditions for comfortable learning, a preliminary explanation of upcoming classes, a positive emotional tone, and confidential communication.

Stages of attention development in children:

1. During the first year of life, children have only involuntary attentiveness.
2. By the beginning of the second year of life, research activity gradually improves - these are the beginnings of focused attention.
3. From the second to third years, children can follow verbal instructions, purposefully looking for the named object with their eyes.
4. At 4-5 years old, a child is able to follow confusing instructions. He gradually develops purposeful fixation and can firmly maintain attention not only on an object, but also analyze its properties and relationship with environmental factors.
5. At the age of five to six, voluntary function is improved at one's own request and under the control of self-instructions. This is clearly visible in games.
6. At the age of seven, volitional attention has already been formed. Its volume and stability will improve for the rest of your life.

Educational games, of which there are a great many, have a good effect. A distinctive feature of these manipulations is that children easily learn things that are colored with positive emotions and involve alternating mental and physical activity.

Causes of absent-minded behavior and solutions

Often parents are faced with the fact that an 8-year-old child is distracted and inattentive, what to do about it? Being too active causes many problems at school. It will take him too long to master the entire training program. This must be fought. The first step is to find out the reason for this behavior. There are several aspects to look at:

• Character is of particular importance. If he has always been leisurely and inactive, then it will be difficult for him to quickly switch from one task to another. He will often have his head in the clouds, forgetting the purpose of being in class. On the contrary, a choleric child who is too active will try to do many things at the same time without completing any of them.
• An inattentive child may be due to a weakened body, a previous illness, or a developing cold. It may be worth getting tested and checking your hemoglobin level in your blood and blood pressure.
• Sometimes absent-mindedness manifests itself in periods, and the rest of the time the child is quite attentive and diligent. This occurs due to little interest in any subject. Or maybe it’s just difficult for him and he needs help figuring it out.

Distracted attention

Methods for developing attention

Various memory exercises will help your child develop attention. They can be presented in the form of pictures or numbers. Studying simultaneously performed movements helps to distract the talker. For example, rotating your arms in opposite directions: one above your head, the other on your stomach. Or drawing shapes with both hands at the same time (for example, a circle and a rectangle). A group of children are happily involved in such an entertaining and fun process.

Additional Information! Olga Mashtal’s book “The Best Methods for Developing Attention in Children” will be very useful for studying such exercises. It contains 1000 tasks, tests, educational games, text and numerical exercises. It contains tasks for all younger ages, and adults will also enjoy it.

Book by Olga Mashtal “The best methods for developing attention in children”

Games for developing auditory attention

To eliminate inattention, it is necessary to develop not only thinking, but also other aspects, such as hearing and vision.

Here are some games aimed at developing auditory attention:

• “Listen to words” - children are quickly called a series of words, having previously been warned that they must clap their hands or stamp their feet when they hear a word that means an animal (for example, goat or bear). As soon as the children begin to succeed, you can complicate the task by combining several actions: jump at the word that denotes a person (girl) and stomp at the word that denotes the time of day (day).
• “Top-clap” - the adult says different phrases, and the child must clap if it is correct or stomp if it is incorrect. Anyone who is not attentive in class will initially begin to confuse these actions.
• “On the table, under the table, knock” - in this game you need to give the child a task (jump, stand on a chair, raise your right hand, walk along the wall, etc.). At the same time, the parent also performs these actions, but then you begin to confuse the child, saying one task and performing another. A preschooler must learn to do what he is told. The same game can be played by pointing to an object and naming it.
• “Find a pair” - you need to select several pairs of objects (socks, identical buttons, ribbons, plastic spoons) and give the child the task of sorting them into pairs. The older the child, the more pairs there are.

Environmental education classes for preschoolers

Games for developing visual attention

Similar games can be played to concentrate visual attention. This could be remembering all the items on the table and then putting one of them away. A good way to match items by color or picture: a white cloud matches a white blouse. An older child can draw pictures in detail.

Important! Visual perception is most developed in preschool age. Younger children will be restless. You should not force them to do tasks using this method.

At the same time, the eyes are the sense organ that is used most often by a person, and its development is very important for the development of a child, as if he were in preschool or adolescence.

Concentration of attention

Accustoming to order and accuracy will also help to overcome hyperactivity and develop increased concentration. In addition, it is worth discussing with your child the importance of developing such useful qualities as observation, searching for errors and shortcomings in work. Teach him to compare the results with how difficult it was at the beginning.

Assiduous and focused child

Here are some more ways to improve your concentration:

• Didactic games - children are immersed in certain situations, from which they independently find a way out, with the correct advice from their elders.
• Logical tasks - children independently learn to interpret certain events and draw the right conclusions.
• Increasing your resourcefulness skills helps you pay more attention to details.
• At an older age, a good way is to practice multiplying large numbers by each other in your head.

Board and online games

It's no secret that children now spend too much time on the computer and smartphone. This only makes them more distracted. But here, too, you can increase the degree of involvement by offering your child educational online games. Many exercises already known to us have long been transferred to applications on the phone. This includes speed reading, anagrams, the same searches for numbers and letters in the table, tags, various comparisons and much more. All you have to do is switch the child from harmful games to useful ones.

Passion for gadgets

Another good option for increasing perseverance and concentration is board games. Chess, checkers, and various team games help not only increase concentration, but also develop memory.

Lesson methods

Starting from 4-5 years, a phase of imaginary psychological well-being, or calm, begins. Now the child becomes obedient and flexible, learns with pleasure, and his enthusiasm for studying the world around him increases.

When developing attention in children 4-5 years old, it is necessary to rely on the child’s desire for independence during this period of time.

We must allow him to do some things on his own and strive to ensure that he completes the task he has begun. Now is the time to give you the opportunity to express your desires and express your thoughts. An attempt to establish rules that are convenient for him will teach the child to react correctly, understand, and empathize with people.

When helping children create their own world from their fantasies on paper or from a construction set, it is necessary to strive for them to explain their goals and objectives in words and talk about heroes from their world. In this way, the formation and development of attention and speech occurs in children 4-5 years old. The person becomes the main character, the main character and achieves the attention he lacks.

At this age, there is a desire to make friends, make new acquaintances, and communicate in a team with others like yourself. Features of the development of attention in preschool children are that the child should be given the opportunity to take part in role-playing games, for example, in a hospital, a store, a war, or act out episodes of favorite fairy tales. The ability to plan sequential actions, distribute roles in the game, learn to communicate, and concentrate attention are perfectly trained in this situation.

All the shortcomings in upbringing and communication defects that the child had at this time are transformed into bad habits, negative traits in behavior.

Mathematical games should take into account that children at this age are capable of the following actions:

• distinguish oval, square, rectangle, etc.;
• arrange the first ten digits in the desired sequence;
• compare - less, more, distinguish the number of objects.

Logic tasks usually include the following techniques:

• determine the differences between two pictures;
• build a constructor from a sample;
• put together puzzles of 4-5 parts;
• 7-10 minutes to do something interesting to him, without diverting his attention;
• generalize objects based on similar characteristics, select words that have opposite meanings, memorize phrases;
• know the names of professions and countries;
• retell your favorite fairy tales;
• describe various fruits, berries, vegetables;
• name insects, tell about them;
• see incorrectly drawn figures.

Parents and teachers must understand that a child can do something interesting for him for a long time. Therefore, a person must be warned in advance about the end of the game. It is important to be interested in children’s opinions, answer “why” questions and provide the opportunity to choose the answers themselves.

Development of voluntary attention of preschoolers in play activities

Author: Glazova Yana Alekseevna

Article: Glazova Y.A. Development of voluntary attention of preschool children in play activities

The problem of attention is considered one of the most important and complex problems in psychology. The development of the entire system of psychological knowledge, both fundamental and applied, depends on its solution.

The significance of attention in human life, its determining role in the selection of the contents of conscious experience, memorization and learning are obvious. It is also difficult to doubt the need for a comprehensive and detailed study of its phenomena.

In contrast to such cognitive processes as thinking, memory, perception, attention does not have its own special content; it appears, as it were, within these processes and is inseparable from them. Attention characterizes the dynamics of mental processes. Thus, this mental process is a condition for the successful implementation of any activity, both external and internal, and its product is its high-quality implementation. The main condition for the development of voluntary attention in preschool children can be play as the child’s main activity. In preschool age, play is of utmost importance in the life of a small child: play for them is study, play for them is work, play for them is a serious form of education. The game accustoms him to observation, to following certain rules, and disciplines his will. Play for preschoolers is a way of learning about the world around them. In the game, the child acquires new knowledge, skills and abilities.

Voluntary attention is one of the most important characteristics of children’s cognitive activity. Along with thinking, perception, memory, and imagination, voluntary attention is the most important acquisition of personality at this stage of ontogenesis. It is associated with the formation of volitional qualities in the child and is in close interaction with the general mental development of the child.

There are several approaches to understanding voluntariness. The first of them distinguishes between voluntary and volitional actions. Volitional actions, according to researchers of the first approach (G.S. Kostyuk, V.I. Asnin), “occur in a situation of restructuring stereotypes, in the presence of difficulties.”

Voluntary behavior, the authors believe, can be formed through the targeted development of the volitional sphere. These researchers understand by will the aspirations, desires, goals, decisions of a person, his conscious, purposeful actions, actions, his perseverance, determination, endurance and other qualities. Will is one of the ways of conscious regulation of activity and behavior, the ability acquired by a person to consciously set goals, make decisions and subordinate his actions and actions to them.

The third point of view on the mechanism of occurrence of voluntary behavior belongs to A.R. Luria and A.V. Zaporozhets. Researchers believe that preschoolers subordinate their behavior not to words, but to situational circumstances. Those. In order for the child to be guided in his actions by verbal instructions, it is necessary to create special conditions.

The formation of arbitrariness of behavior in preschool age goes from the “pre-situational” freedom of children to the appearance of barriers and effort, and then, in older preschool age, to the acquisition of “above-situational” freedom. These data suggest that the psychological mechanism for the development of voluntariness, and in particular voluntary attention, is the gradual “volition” of behavior, the consistent penetration of will into children’s behavior, leading through the child’s use of effort to gain freedom in action.

Involuntary attention reaches a high level of development in preschool age. The emergence of new interests and participation in new activities force the child to focus on aspects of reality that previously went unnoticed.

The preschooler's attention span and ability to engage in a particular task or subject for a long time increases. Preschoolers can spend hours playing some interesting game, drawing or designing.

The organization of educational work is of decisive importance in the development of involuntary attention. By introducing the preschooler to the surrounding reality, encouraging him to actively display this reality in his games, activities, and visual arts, the teacher arouses interest in new objects and phenomena, forcing the child to involuntarily focus his attention on them.

If involuntary attention reaches a high stage of development in preschool children, then voluntary attention is just beginning to form in them.

Carrying out instructions from adults, carrying out some responsibilities in kindergarten and at home, taking part in group games, a preschooler is increasingly faced with conditions where he has to pay attention to what is necessary to carry out the intended task, which corresponds to the verbal instructions of an adult or the requirements of the children's group. . Thus, new living conditions, specially organized by parents and educators, lead to the formation of voluntary attention.

F. Schiller believed that “play arose for pleasure... Only by playing can one become a person.” Thorndike stated: “Play is an hereditary instinct.” Bucher: “Game is a form of excess energy.” Kant: “Play is a disinterested activity... An activity in itself.”

The Swiss scientist K. Gross considered games to be the original school of behavior [39, 106]. For him, no matter what external or internal factors motivate the games, their meaning is precisely to become a school of life for children. This approach is simple and wise. The game is objectively a primary spontaneous school, the apparent chaos of which provides the child with the opportunity to become familiar with the traditions of behavior of the people around him. Nature, as it were, specially provided higher animals and humans with a long period of childhood, so that, while playing, they developed vital organs and functions.

The founder of psychoanalysis 3. Freud developed the idea of ​​the compensatory nature of play, connecting it with the unconscious mechanisms of the psyche. The first function of the game, according to Freud, is the symbolic realization of unconscious drives, which provides cleansing and healing of the psyche. The second function of the game is related to the fact that traumatic situations, which are the source of neurosis, are resolved and removed.

In modern languages, the concept of game is also extremely polysemantic. The prominent game theorist Huizinga defines this concept with the following formula: “Game is a voluntary action or activity performed within established boundaries of place and time according to voluntarily accepted but absolutely obligatory rules with a purpose contained in itself, accompanied by a feeling of tension and joy, as well as consciousness “another existence” than “everyday life” [68,10]. Huizinga's ideas have not lost their relevance. The scientist, with his book “Man Playing,” proves that human creativity is a moment of play as a moment of truth. Considering play action in different historical layers, Huizenga comes to the most important generalizations: play is a necessary way of social life, the objective basis of our existence].

The brilliant researcher of the game D.B. Elkonin believes that the game organizes activity with the help of cult symbols and, therefore, teaches one to navigate cultural phenomena and helps to use them appropriately. Special studies have established that the first needs of a child are social. D.B. Elkonin writes: “The world of a child is, first of all, an adult as the most important part of the reality surrounding the child, part of the world of adults.” This means that the game is social in nature and immediate saturation and is projected to reflect the world of adults.

Through play, a child enters the world of adults, masters spiritual values, and assimilates previous social experience. We can consider that in the game the child receives for the first time a lesson in collective thinking. This circumstance is of fundamental importance if we take into account that the child’s future is connected with socially useful work, the most important quality of which is the joint, collective solution of problems aimed at achieving a common goal.

So, the game performs essential functions in the formation of the child’s personality. It reflects and develops the knowledge and skills acquired in classes at preschool educational institutions, and establishes the rules of behavior that children are taught to follow in life. Play acts as the main leading type of children's activity and as the most important condition for social education. The game develops the mental abilities necessary for every child, the level of development of which, of course, affects the process of schooling. That is why it is necessary to pay special attention to the play activities of older preschoolers.

When we talk about play as the leading activity of a preschooler, we mainly mean joint role-playing play. Other types of games - outdoor, didactic, construction - although widely used in preschool education, serve to implement private educational tasks.

To develop voluntary attention, it is necessary to arouse in the child emotional interest in his activities, which becomes possible when using, first of all, the leading activity of a preschooler - games. It is still difficult for children to concentrate on monotonous and unattractive activities, while in the process of emotionally charged play they can remain attentive for quite a long time.

In the game, the basic elements of volitional action are formed: the child sets a goal, makes a decision, outlines a plan of action, executes it, shows a certain effort in overcoming obstacles, and evaluates the result of his action.

Voluntary regulation of behavior consists in subordinating the child’s behavior to the task, that is, in his ability to concentrate on what the adult suggested, on attempts to actively solve the problem, on overcoming everything that is not related to the main activity. Arbitrariness, in turn, provides a sufficient level of gaming motivation.

Insufficient voluntary attention - the child finds it difficult to concentrate attention on demand.

Such deficiencies cannot be eliminated by fragmentary “attention exercises” included in the process of working with a child and require specially organized work to overcome them.

The main change in attention in preschool age is that children aged 6-7 years first begin to manage their attention, consciously direct it to certain objects, phenomena, and stay on them, using certain means for this, i.e. so-called voluntary attention arises.

Age-related features of the development of voluntary attention in older preschoolers are the comparative weakness of voluntary attention and its low stability. Children do not yet know how to concentrate on a task for a long time, especially if it is uninteresting and monotonous; their attention is easily distracted. The possibilities of volitional regulation of attention and its management in older preschool age are very limited. Educators and parents are faced with the most difficult task - to think through the special work of organizing children’s attention, otherwise it will be at the mercy of surrounding things and random coincidences.

The development of voluntary attention is the most important task of preschool education. In the future, it will ensure the child’s success in school, help him follow the teacher’s instructions and control himself.

Voluntary attention is formed due to the fact that adults include the child in new activities such as games according to the rules, construction, etc., and with the help of certain means they direct and organize his attention. When introducing the child to these types of activities, adults organize his attention using verbal instructions. The child is directed to the need to perform given actions, taking into account certain circumstances.

One of the main means of developing voluntary attention is play, which acts as the main leading type of children's activity and as the most important condition for public education. A special role in the formation of voluntary attention is played by games with rules, which, in addition to increasing the level of development of the basic qualities of voluntary attention, contribute to the education in children of strong-willed character traits, activity, independence and determination.

Sources:

Barmashova E. Game mosaic: a program of classes for developing attention in preschool children [Text] / Elena Barmashova // School psychologist. - 2005. - No. 5. - P. 8-14.

Baskakova I.L. Attention of a preschooler, methods of its study and development. Studying the attention of schoolchildren [Text] / I.L. Baskakova. - M.: Publishing house "Institute of Practical Psychology", Voronezh-NPO "MODEK", 1995. - 64 p.

Preschooler's game [Text] / L.A.
Abrahamyan, T.V. Antonova, L.V. Artemova and others; Ed. S.L. Novoselova.— M.: Prosveshchenie, 1989.— 286 p.: ill.— (Book of a kindergarten teacher). Attached files: comments powered by HyperComments

Senior preschoolers

During this period of time, when developing attention in children of senior preschool age, it is necessary to take into account that the child already has full command of the language, pronounces words correctly, and constructs sentences.

He is subject to small and large movements, generalizing words, intonation, and perception of works of art and music. Children at this age enjoy the following pastimes:

• paint;
• sculpt from clay, plasticine;
• cut out;
• glue;
• make crafts, applications;
• help at home.

Methods to help hyperactive and inattentive children

Problems with unstable attention appear already from the cradle. But parents attach great importance to this only in older preschool age and primary school. Inattentive, hyperactive children do not perceive information well, do not want to learn, do not sit in one place for a long time, become lethargic, tired, and do not listen to our requests.

Hyperactive child

Here are some more signs of external manifestations of hyperactivity and attention deficit:

• constant fussiness, the child is constantly on the move;
• these movements are impulsive;
• increased talkativeness;
• aggression and frequent conflicts may appear;
• constant mood swings and high irritability;
• the child may refuse to play with everyone;
• low self-esteem and dissatisfaction with oneself appears;
• The child cannot concentrate on one thing and is constantly distracted.

Important! When correcting attention, you need to combine several methods and approach the problem comprehensively, correcting not only the child’s behavior, but also the attitude of his close circle, parents, and teachers.

First of all, specialists provide consultations to parents on how to train their child’s memory and attention. After the necessary examination and observation, appropriate correction methods are selected, which include the following:

• Teaching new behavior to all family members.
• Correction of the psychological microclimate.
• Choosing a suitable place to study with your child.
• Adjusting your daily routine.
• In a team, selection of the best environment.
• Constant motivation of the child.
• Techniques for reducing negative behavior.
• Selection of an individual behavioral program.
• Gentle correction of behavior in a playful and relaxed manner.
• If necessary, additional adjustments with medications.

To achieve results, a child must be surrounded by care and attention, feel the love of loved ones and the desire to help and not harm.

Features of the development of younger schoolchildren

When analyzing the development of attention in children of primary school age, it is necessary to take into account that at the age of 7-8 a turning point in life occurs. This is a time of reassessment of values: old motives are replaced by new thoughts and aspirations. It is important to base attention training on the fact that play gradually ceases to be the child’s main activity. Personal development depends on the results of his studies and recognition among peers.

The moment has come when the child thinks before doing something, hides his emotions and experiences, and a loss of childish spontaneity occurs. When developing attention, the emerging sense of responsibility in children of primary school age is involved. Everything that happens around leaves an imprint on his entire future life. The functions of higher nervous activity at this age become voluntary and meaningful.

But external stimuli are still a strong distraction, so it is advisable to perform the following training exercises:

1. Forbidden letter or word: the rules are spelled out in advance that you cannot pronounce any letter or word in response to any question.
2. Cities and countries, when they name the capitals of countries or continue the names of cities after hearing the last letter of the previous word.
3. Training memory and attention - 10-15 objects are laid out on the table in a certain sequence and give the child the opportunity to remember where everything is. After this, you can swap no more than 3 items. Children enjoy finding changes in the arrangement of objects.
4. Playing with lines where you need to trace the beginning and end without using a pencil. To enhance interest, an animal is depicted at one end of the line, and a house at the other. The children are intently looking for the animal's way to the house.
5. To develop stability, inanimate objects are listed and periodically an animal or flower is among them. At this moment the child should clap his hands. This is a fun game for several kids.
6. Finding the difference in pictures is one of the most favorite games among children. From time to time, the images will have to be made more complex, which will increase the effectiveness of learning.
7. The task of finishing or coloring the other half of the picture perfectly trains perseverance, attentiveness, and fine motor skills of the hand.

There are a large number of exercises. It is necessary to remember that you need to alternate tasks so that the learning process is always interesting: encourage the desire to learn, teach consistent purposeful actions, strive to bring the work started to its logical conclusion, and always clean up the workplace or play area after yourself.

Training the muscles of the whole body, outdoor games, and morning exercises are also an integral part of mindfulness classes. Mobile “bouncers” with a ball provide an opportunity to have fun, move, and concentrate on several external stimuli.

Tests and methods for diagnosing attention

There are many tests to determine attentiveness. You can use them selectively or use several methods at once.

Note! Your child will show the best results in the first 15 minutes. Then his attention will begin to decline and become distracted. Therefore, you should not spend a lot of time on this.

It is worth understanding that a child of preschool and school age will not do anything according to orders. Therefore, the test should be carried out in a relaxed playful manner.

Mindfulness exercises

Currently, it is worth taking a closer look at two types of diagnostics:

• Munsterberg test for attention;
• Bourdon test for attention.

Study of selectivity of attention according to Münsterberg

Most often, this test is carried out to determine the child’s preparation for school education, during the transition from primary to secondary school, to study the complexity of learning and to identify the professional orientation of students. Münsterberg's attention method is a set of letters written without spaces, without highlighting, in the same font and style. The student is asked to find a certain number of words, spending as little time as possible on it.

The Münsterberg test for perception and attention helps to qualitatively solve a problem during which a model of a certain activity is created. In this case, the child must concentrate on the necessary object, realize it, and find it, despite the interference around him.

Munsterberg test

The author invented this method at the beginning of the twentieth century and it has been effectively used for several decades.

Correction test or Bourdon test

When conducting this test, you are also given a form on which an arbitrary number of letters are written in several rows. The test taker is given the task of crossing out certain letters, prepositions or syllables. You may be given the task to cross out one letter and underline another. It checks the distribution of attention. In this case, the student must stop on command (for example, every 60 seconds) and count the number of crossed out letters or syllables.

Finger painting for children in kindergarten

The result of the study is checked by the number of uncrossed letters, time used or characters viewed. In this way, the following types of attention are checked:

• Concentration.
• Sustainability.
• Switchability.

Using existing formulas, scores are calculated that serve to assess the attentiveness of the subject.

Bourdon test

What is attention?

Attention is a certain psychological process, a person’s ability to concentrate on a necessary action. A child’s success at school largely depends on how well it is developed, so it is very important to start working in preschool age, to create conditions for involuntary attention to develop into a voluntary, volitional ability to concentrate. And the best thing parents can do is to develop the ability to concentrate through play.

The following characteristics of this process can be distinguished.

• Volume. That is, the amount of information that a child can retain in his mind.
• Concentration. A child’s ability to concentrate on something specific.
• Sustainability. The time period during which it is possible to maintain concentration.
• Distribution. The ability to divide attention into several simultaneously occurring processes.
• Switchability. The ability to quickly transfer concentration from one action to another.

The task of parents is to work with their children so productively that they form and develop all these characteristics.

Attention is one of the processes of the cognitive, that is, cognitive, sphere of a person - along with memory, thinking, perception and imagination. Without concentration, it is impossible to obtain new information in the required volume and remember it, so this process can be confidently called the first stage of cognition. Then, with the help of memory, a person accumulates acquired information. Only with the necessary level of attention will a child be able to learn cognitive processes such as reading, writing, and learning in the future.

Concentration standards

Concentration of attention refers to the period of time during which a person is able to maintain concentration on one action. In children, it can have a different duration depending on age, but even the number of years lived is not a fundamental factor. The norm depends on the individual characteristics of the baby. The table shows specific indicators.

Indicators can be either increased or decreased, because attention, like the body and brain, can be trained with special exercises. Regular classes with a preschooler will give parents and the child a good mood, and will also be very useful for improving the ability to concentrate on something and maintain this concentration. It is necessary to develop it so that the child becomes more observant and can easily detect any small details or subtle signs. All this will further help in the learning process, since attention is closely related to memorization.