Features of the development of attention in preschoolers

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Every parent thinks about the proper development of the child. It is especially important to develop children of kindergarten age, because their psyche is just beginning to take shape, and all the instilled skills and habits are fixed for life. And influence the fate of the child. During this period of life, children need not only to be taught to read and write, but also to instill in them communication skills, teach them to think correctly. Not the last place should be occupied by the development of attention in preschoolers.

What is attention?

When exercising with a child, attention is paid not only to the physiological area, but also to the formation of the psyche. With the development of attention in preschoolers, worthy results can be seen already in the second or third week of regular classes.

What is attention? Why is it so important to develop it? Attention is called the ability of consciousness to focus on something specific, while distracting from everything else.

Attention can be directed to an object in the outside world or to one's own thoughts, feelings and experiences. It helps to master intellectual activity, to master new subjects. Improves school performance.

Attention includes things likelike:

• Concentration. This is the ability of a person to focus for a certain time on some object or task.
• Volume. The ability to focus on multiple objects at the same time. Children usually focus on two or three objects at the same time by the age of three.
• Switchability. It is characterized by the speed of moving attention from one object to another. Correlates with human willpower.
• Distributable. The ability to distribute attention between several objects, areas of activity at the same time.

Attention should be constantly trained, only then the child will be able to perceive the object selectively. Develop the habit of correctly and quickly switching from one subject to another. During concentration, the baby comprehends the object, its properties, connects the imagination. Thinks he can do something with the chosen object.

Preschool age is a period when a child is happy to learn everything new. The development of auditory attention in preschoolers, as well as visual attention, is a process that the baby is perceived with joy and easily absorbed.

Mindfulness exercises include the following areas:

• memory management;
• attention distribution skills;
• ability to concentrate;
• development and improvement of mindfulness.

Often the development of attention in preschoolers occurs in a playful way and children usually like it. But if the child does not like the activity, thenshould not be forced. It is necessary to wait out the time and work out in a few hours or the next day.

Types of attention

Attention is of two kinds - involuntary and voluntary.

The first type involves the commission of spontaneous acts. There is no volitional effort and no prior conscious intention. This type of attention occurs against the background of internal and external stimuli. These include a sharp or unpleasant odor, bright lighting, strong sound. Internal factors that cause involuntary attention are the feelings and needs of a person, the interests of the individual.

Arbitrary attention is social. It begins to take shape under the influence of adults. The development of voluntary attention of preschoolers is associated with the implementation of certain goals that a parent or educator sets for the child. As they grow up, children begin to set goals for themselves on their own, making a strong-willed effort for this. Therefore, it is important to devote enough time to the development of attention in preschoolers. This will have a positive impact on their future fate and help them study at school.

Attention disorder

Definitely time should be given to the development of attention in preschoolers. Otherwise, its violation may occur, which leads to a decrease in psychological stability and concentration.

Children with impaired attention learn poorly, do not know how to think and concentrate. Poor orientation on the street. unable to act according toinstructions and do not perceive speech by ear. For such a child, words have no informative value. Disturbed attention entails a syndrome of its complete absence.

What threatens a child with inattention? First of all, impaired attention causes overwork, social alienation, stress and depression. Inattention provokes scandals in the family, difficult recovery from illness. Kids with a lack of attention, more than others, are prone to spring hypovitaminosis, colds. As a rule, such children are little in the fresh air and eat poorly.

Another reduced attention does not allow to follow the ongoing events. The thoughts of such children jump from one object to another, missing the pure awareness of what is happening. Children with this level of attention perform new exercises hard and constantly return to old, already mastered activities. Such a child is unable to concentrate. He quickly loses interest in everything.

Treatment of children with reduced attention should be carried out by a specialist. Prescribe medication. To say what means of developing the attention of preschoolers should be resorted to in this case. Sometimes it doesn't even take much effort. Even attention exercises for preschoolers can sometimes correct this situation.

Symptoms of inattention

When do parents start to be anxious and realize that the development of a preschooler's attention should be given more time? This moment comes when adults see thatthe baby does not know how to generally focus on several objects. The child is constantly distracted, it is difficult for him to gather and sit still. The inability to concentrate on a particular object or activity also speaks of a lack of mindfulness. Inattention is also indicated by poor switchability from one kind of hobby to another. Questions also arise when a child cannot perform several activities at the same time, cannot concentrate at the request of an adult and is distracted.

There is such a thing as an "attention crisis". It implies the ability of a child to perceive oral speech not completely, but in parts, after a certain period of time. As a rule, the child is focused only for the first 15 minutes. Then the child's brain is switched off for 2-3 minutes. The next batch of information is already perceived for 12 minutes, that is, three minutes less, then another “crisis of attention” sets in. Then comes the third "crisis", the final one. After ten minutes, the child's brain completely ceases to perceive oral speech. He feels tired and sleepy.

During classes, this feature of some children should be taken into account, and at the moments when the brain stops perceiving information, the child should be switched to another activity. Arrange a physical education session, joke, help the baby relieve stress and relax.

Stages of attention development

There is a special approach to the development of the attention of a preschool child. Classes should take place in a comfortable environment. It is better for the child to tell the content of the upcoming exercises. The kid should have a positive attitude and tune in to confidential communication.

The development of attention in a child goes through several stages:

• In the first year of life, babies develop only involuntary attention.
• In the second year, the baby begins to study the outside world more intensively, explores everything around. It is during this period of life that the first rudiments of voluntary attention are laid.
• From the third year of life, children are able to follow simple instructions. They look with their eyes for the object they need.
• At the fourth and fifth year of life, the child is able to act on verbal instructions. Can purposefully search for an object. Able to analyze the properties of an object. Establish his connection with the outside world.
• At the age of five or six, a child begins to improve his desires. For their execution, he develops certain instructions.
• At the age of seven, volitional desire is fully formed. The amount of information, the ability to concentrate and the stability of attention will change and improve as they grow up.

When developing the attention of a preschool child, one should use special games and exercises that are aimed at improving this area of the human psyche. So that the child does not get bored with classes, physical and mental exercises should alternate.

Development of attention in preschoolers

Features of the development of attention in children are that the child in this period of life becomes obedient. Happy learningand explores the outside world. Strives for independence. These kids should be allowed to do things for themselves. Learn to get things done. Allow the child to express their desires and thoughts. At this point, it is important to help the baby create his own world on paper or with the help of a constructor. Thus, the child learns to respond correctly, empathize and understand people.

The development of voluntary attention of older preschoolers is the opportunity to participate in role-playing games. It can be scenes from various fairy tales. Games in the hospital, shop or war. The main thing is to help the baby draw up an action plan, distribute roles in the game. Learn to communicate properly. It is in such games that the baby learns to concentrate his attention.

When creating math activities for children, it should be taken into account that a preschooler is already familiar with simple geometric shapes, is able to arrange numbers up to ten in the right order, knows how to distinguish a large object from a small one and compare the number of objects.

Logic classes should teach you to focus on a specific object. This may be a search for differences between two pictures, picking up a simple puzzle or a designer according to a model. You can offer the baby to summarize objects according to similar characteristics, retell a fairy tale, list the names of cities and countries, characterize a certain fruit or vegetable. The main thing is that the lesson is interesting and able to captivate the child for 10 minutes.

Developing the attention of a preschooler: games and exercises

Each age of the child has its ownnuances. When developing attention in older preschoolers, it should be taken into account that children at this age speak well and are able to build sentences. They feel intonation, perceive music, reproduce various movements, and also sculpt, draw, glue, do crafts, help with housework with pleasure.

With the development of attention in preschoolers, outdoor games should also be involved. Useful morning exercises, "bouncers" and other ball games. They teach you to focus on several stimuli at once.

Active physical exercises for the development of attention in older preschoolers can be as follows, these are:

• Imitation. Here the children are arranged in a circle. The leader is in the center and says certain words. For example, at the word "bunny" children should jump, etc.
• Ear-nose. A certain part of the body is named, and the children must grab the mentioned organ.
• Onlookers. Children go in a circle. As soon as the pop is heard, they must roll over, and the one who gape is out.

Classes should be calm, without excessive activity. Children should not push each other and move quickly to avoid bruising and injury.

Exercise to develop attention in preschoolers can also take place according to the proposed schemes below:

• "What's gone?" Before the child put several objects and give time to study them. Then they ask the baby to turn away and remove one toy. The preschooler must name the missing item.
• "Find a toy." You need to hide the toy, and then explain where it is. And the child, relying on the verbal description, must find the hidden thing.
• "Differences". The kid is shown two similar pictures and asked to find the differences.
• "Days of the week". The days of the week are named at a fast pace, and when the weekend is mentioned, the child should clap their hands.
• Circle the picture. It follows from the points to draw an image. The kid must connect the dots with a continuous line so that you get a picture.

Classes with children to develop attention

Developing the attention of preschoolers should be fun. Exercise should be fun and enjoyable for the baby. The following activities may be interesting for children:

• The task is to draw a city, a road, a house, a bunny, etc. If the child does not like to draw, then you can ask to make a plasticine figure. Some children enjoy gluing or cutting.
• For this task, any sheet from an old book or newspaper will do. In it, you need to ask the child to cross out a certain letter. For example, the letter "a" or "e". Over time, the task can be made more difficult by asking one letter to be crossed out and the other underlined.
• You can develop an action plan with your child for the lesson and follow it clearly. Let's say a child will first draw, then sculpt, and then work around the house.
• Attention develops the search for errors in pictures. For example, you can draw apples on a spruce, and cones on an apple tree.
• You can place several objects in front of the child. Then cover them, and the child must reproduce from memory the things that lay in front of him. It is believed that if a preschooler names 6-7 items, then this is already good.
• Location of items. Lay out several objects on the table, the child will study them. Then you should ask the baby to close his eyes. You need to change the order of things. The child must reproduce from memory the previous arrangement of objects.
• Helps to concentrate on memorizing a verse when the sound stimulus is turned on. For example, when the TV is on.
• "Make no mistake." An adult pronounces a set of words, and the child must clap his hands when voicing certain objects. For example, when naming vegetables, vehicles or clothes.
• A "digital" table gives a good learning result. Numbers from 1 to 10 or 20 are randomly placed on a piece of paper. The child counts in order, pointing to the numbers.
• "Top clap". When pronouncing the correct phrases, the child stomps, if he hears the wrong one, then he clap.
• When listening to a fairy tale, an adult knocks several times on the hammer. The child must count how many times he heard the knock of the hammer.
• The child follows the adult repeats the movements. Manipulations that the baby should not perform are determined in advance. As soon as the kid repeats the forbidden movement, he lost.

You need to allocate time for the development of memory and attention of a preschooler, otherwise at school the child will encounter difficulties in mastering new subjects, will not be diligent andwill be difficult to learn.

Breathing exercises

Breath control exercises are just as important for developing preschool attention as anything else. What are these exercises for? First of all, in order to adjust the rhythm of breathing and improve self-control functions. Breathing exercises to help develop mindfulness are as follows:

• "Balloon". To do this, you need to relax your stomach. After that, the child is invited to inhale and inflate the stomach, simulating the presence of a ball in the stomach. Do the exercise several times.
• Alternate inhalation of air. Closing the right nostril, they begin to breathe with the left and, conversely, closing the left nostril, they breathe with the right. This exercise stimulates the cerebral hemispheres.
• Alternating inhalation and exhalation of air through the nose. This exercise is similar to the previous one and differs from it in that you need to inhale air through one nostril and exhale through the other.
• Inhalation of air with closed and open eyes. When performing this exercise, when inhaling, the child should open his eyes, while exhaling, close them. After several repetitions, inhale with closed eyes, exhale with open eyes.

These exercises, like the previous ones, are aimed at developing voluntary attention in preschoolers. The main thing is to perform them regularly, then the result will not be long in coming.

Rules for developing mindfulness

There are many methods aimed at developing attention in preschoolers, and when mastering them, several of the sameprinciples:

• Gradual. Do not start classes immediately with complex exercises. Graduality is good here, and it is worth sticking to the principle of "from simple to complex".
• Memorizing the rules. The kid must not only follow the verbal requirements of adults, but also memorize the rules himself. Keep them in mind so that in the future he can complete the task on his own, without the control of adults.
• Control your actions. The child during classes must monitor and control their actions. Build an algorithm for completing the task. Be able to create a sequence of your steps in your head and voice them out loud. The kid must learn to follow the instructions.
• No violence. You shouldn't force your child to work. If the baby is not in the mood, then you should work out with him at another time. If a child does not like some exercise, then you should replace it with another. The main thing is that the child enjoys the activities.

Parents should devote a lot of time to the development of attention, memory and thinking in preschoolers. Then the school will bring joy to the child, and learning will be easy, and overcoming difficulties in obtaining knowledge will not cause negative emotions.