In preschool pedagogy, board games (a variety of educational games) are the means, method and form of training, educating and developing a child. Nelly Kozyreva, a psychologist, has created a series of developing games "Teremok" for children aged 3 to 7 years. The games are based on the plots of author's and folk tales familiar to the target age children. The game set includes cardboard cards illustrating the key scenes of the tales, and additional inserts. The tale subjects are pictured on both sides of each card. There are holes of various geometrical shapes and sizes in the cards. Each hole is in place of one of the characters. The characters themselves are depicted on separate cardboard inserts and their shapes correspond to that of the holes in the cards. The number of inserts is much greater than that of the cards, which makes it possible to choose which of the characters to put on a "vacant place" in order to cover the hole. The accompanying book contains methodical recommendations and description of the basic games with one set of the games: 17 games for children aged 3 to 4 years, 35 games for children aged 4 to 5 years and 44 games for the age group 5 to 7 years.

 

 

The main play principle - matching shape and size - is well known and reminds of some exercises by M.Montessori and games by B.Nikitin. The element of novelty consists in the modification and specific application of this principle to the content of children's favorite tales. In this case, drilling children in distinguishing shape and size acquires vital sense and necessary motivation, becomes interesting to a child.
The games activate the sensor processes and abilities, speech and thinking. They teach children to see spatial, functional, temporal and other connections, dependencies and relations. They stimulate imagination and creative abilities of children. Games are built in the form of a series of intellectual problems of gradually increasing complexity. The solving process gradually involves sensorics, thinking, and speech; it is necessary to show creativity. The content, rules and play actions fully correspond to the age peculiarities of preschoolers.
The games imply joint activity by an adult (teacher, kindergartner, parent) and a child. This is very important because the developing potential of the game will only manifest itself to the full extent under these circumstances. The game also envisages a gradual increase in degree of freedom and exchange of "leader - led player" positions between partners. Undoubtedly, a child can play by himself (the games are based on the principle of autodidactics which is effective in any situation - learning from an adult, self-teaching and mutual teaching).
The game employs the productive ideas of modern theory of sensory education, personality-oriented didactics, psychology and pedagogy of early development of children's abilities.
The methodological guidelines will be helpful in formulating tasks and questions used for creating a training game situation. Those are just the conditions under which children learn spontaneously and develop their abilities. Learning through the game largely corresponds to their age-specific abilities and peculiarities.
The developing board games "Teremok" may be successfully used in the work of kindergartners and in family education.

If you have interest in this program, contact Nelly Kozyreva by the following address: nellydelf@rambler.ru

Other Nelly Kozyreva's project: "Tilting Dolls"