Home » Misc » Addition for preschool

Addition for preschool


How to Teach Addition for Preschoolers-The Fun Way

Inside: Teaching addition for preschoolers can feel a big job. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much to make learning fun for preschoolers! After reading this post, you’ll know if your preschool has the necessary foundation to begin addition, and some strategies to make learning addition fun!

I watched him study his teddy grahams. My 4-year-old was enjoying his snack, and had split his teddy grahams in two piles. “Mommy, I have 4 here and 5 here. How many do I have?”

We have been working on counting for a long time and he’s doing great. Now, he’s naturally trying to figure out how many he has if he combines two groups of objects.

As a former kindergarten teacher, I know we have to be careful about jumping ahead before he’s ready. Having a strong foundation of number sense is essential as he learns new math skills.

We also don’t want to introduce him to skills that he’s not ready for. Trying to push kids to learn skills before they are ready could create frustration to the point of hating learning. Some children might not be developmentally ready to learn it, and it could even plant a lifelong belief that they are not capable of learning.

At this age, and really at any age, one of the most important goals is that kids are learning through play, and having fun. It is great to challenge them if they are ready for some more rigorous thinking. We have to challenge them carefully, being intentional to protect the wonder and excitement of learning new things.

What Age Should Addition and Subtracton Be Introduced?

Addition is a kindergarten standard, and typically is introduced in the spring of your child’s kindergarten year. If your child has a strong foundation of counting, number sense, and more/less, you can introduce addition by age 4-5.

The ability to add is not a requirement at the beginning of kindergarten, so if your child is in preschool, don’t put too much pressure on your child (or yourself) to learn to add. It’s more important to have a solid foundation before moving on.

What Preschoolers Should Know Before Starting To Learn Addition

There are many foundational skills preschoolers should be confident in before learning addition.

  • Counting
    • Use “junk tubs” which are tiny containers filled with miscellaneous items. Have your child take a handful and count them, sort them, and make a pattern. Put it back and take a new handful. The next day, do the same activity but with a different item. At this age, new items to count are basically a whole new activity.
Junk tubs are simple to make, and can be used for hours and hours of fun and learning!
  • To make your own junk tubs, just collect items around your house that you could put into small containers. Your goal, in the beginning is that their small handful would be less than 20 items. (If you think it will be more than 20, just put 20 items in each tub to start with.)
    • Some ideas are:
      • pom-poms
      • different types of macaroni
      • keys (You know, the ones that you have no idea what they go to anymore)
      • gift cards (which are surprisingly good for sorting)
      • a bag of rocks from the dollar store
      • circle caps from applesauce pouches
      • cubes
      • seashells
      • plastic animals
      • buttons
      • dyed beans
      • dyed pumpkin seeds
  • Count Throughout Your Day
    • Count the number of your child’s steps from their room to the kitchen, as you go down the stairs, to the car, etc.
    • Ask your child to count how many socks came out of the dryer as they are helping with laundry.
    • Have your child count how many of a certain toy they have. (Aim to keep the number less than 20.)
  • One-to-One Counting
    • When a child is first learning to count objects, I always teach them to move each item as they count it instead of just point and count. If they move the item and make a new group, it is easy to tell which items have already been counted and avoid counting the same item twice. One-to-one counting is only saying one number as they move one item. The alternative is counting at a different pace than they are moving items. For example, move one bean while saying “one,” move the second bean while saying “two,” move the third bean while saying “three,” instead of move one bean while saying “one, two, three,” move the second bean while saying “four, five, six,” etc.
  • Cardinality
    • This is understanding the last number you say when you are counting is how many items you have in your set. Sometimes when young children are counting, they think they are “naming” each item. After they are finished counting if you ask them how many they have, they look at you with a confused look on their face as if to say “How should I know?” They think they have given the last item they counted the name of “six” instead of understanding the have a group of six. To practice this, when your child is finished counting a group, simply ask them “How many are here?” When I ask that question, I usually touch the whole group of items the child has just counted so they know I am asking about the entire group.
  • Number Recognition (0-10)
    • My son first started getting interested when I was cooking and would let him press the numbers on the microwave. I would tell him “Press the 5.” He was excited when he started learning what numbers to press when I asked him to. The idea with this is to sneak numbers in whenever an opportunity arises. When we are in an elevator, I tell him what number to press and give him a minute to figure it out. Our van has a large digital clock that he can see from his car seat, so we talk about numbers when we are in the van. We talk about clocks, the numbers on remotes, the numbers on our mailbox. Anywhere you see numbers, point them out and have your child tell you what number they see.
    • We love to play with magnetic numbers on the fridge, foam numbers in the bath, and a puzzles with numbers.
    • Once your child can recognize numbers, have them grab a pile of items from your junk tub, count, and match a number. For instance, if they have a pile of 6 things, they match it with the number 6. Use pre-made numbers at first. This could be numbers you have written on a post-it or index card, or magnetic numbers, foam bathtub numbers, numbers from a puzzle, etc.
  • Greater Than, Less Than
    • The terms “greater than” and “less than” can be confusing…. until you introduce the concept using cookies (or something your child loves) as an illustration. It isn’t necessary to introduce the symbols yet. “There are two piles of cookies, but we have to pick one! Which one do you think he wants? This pile has 10 cookies but my second pile only has one cookie.” Of course, the child will pick the pile with more. Discuss the terms more and less.
    • Use these terms during play. Do you have more red or blue blocks? Do you have more socks or shoes? What about trucks or cars?
  • One More, One Less
    • After your child has mastered counting, you can introduce the idea of “one more” and “one less.” When they have finished counting a group of objects, add one to their pile and ask “How many do you have now?” Often, they will have to recount the entire group. This is ok. Keep working on it until they do not have to count the entire group.
    • Next, repeat the same activity but instead of physically adding an object to their pile, just ask them “What is one more?” “What is one less?”

Are you tired of hearing “It’s TOO HARD!” followed by a meltdown?

Perseverance is the biggest predictor of success, even more than raw talent or aptitude.

Grab a FREE video lesson to teach your kiddo one of the keys to perseverance…which is how we talk to our brain.

They’ll learn what to say when they encounter something difficult, and why it’s so important!

How Do You Explain Addition to a Preschooler?

Use concrete objects (like items from the junk tubs above), make two piles. Move each object to a new (combined) pile while counting. At the end ask your child “How many do you have when you put both groups together?”

Start with numbers that will add up to less than 5. Once your child understands the concept of addition, you can go up to 10.

Don’t worry about writing (or reading) equations when first starting out.

Activities That Teach Addition To Preschoolers

Addition is a big topic to begin teaching your preschooler, but if your child has a solid foundation learning addition will come easily. Start with concrete objects. The more children are able to touch and manipulate toys, the easier it will be for them to learn what they actually are doing by adding.

  • Start with having the child complete sets with numbers up to 5. For example, if you have 3 counters, but want 5 how many more do you need? This can also be explained as “counting on.” In the beginning, always have your child physically do this.
  • After your child is comfortable with making numbers to 5, have them make numbers to 10.
  • Next, you can start working on addition to 5. Don’t worry about introducing the symbols yet. You can either verbally tell them what to add, or they can roll a dice. If you choose to roll a dice, use tape or stickers to cover up the 4, 5, and 6, and draw 1, 2, or 3 dots over them.

When teaching addition to preschoolers, be sure to spend a lot of time on each step before moving on to the next step. At this age, kids very rarely get bored with these activities. Having them do the same activity with different manipulatives feels like a whole new activity.

Even after you think they understand what they are doing, have them keep practicing. It’s important that they have a solid foundation before moving on to the next thing. These basic skills they are learning will be the basis of their math learning for their entire lives.

Dice Addition

Take two dice, and cover the numbers 4, 5, and 6 with stickers. On those stickers draw 1, 2, and 3 dots. Have your child roll both dice. Get physical objects to represent the numbers rolled. If you rolled a 2 and 3, make a pile with 2 objects, and 3 objects.

Count all objects, moving each item to a new (combined) pile as you count. How many do you have altogether?

Any game that uses dice is great practice for subitizing, which is important for more advanced math skills.

Flash Card Addition

Similar to the game above, use flash cards instead of dice. Make a deck of cards with 1, 2, and 3’s. Use a combination of written numbers and dots. Represent the numbers different ways. Write the number 2 on one card, draw 2 flowers, and draw 2 dots. Draw two cards, and make piles of physical objects to represent the numbers rolled. If you rolled a 2 and 1, make a pile with 2 objects, and 1 objects.

Count all objects, moving each item to a new (combined) pile as you count. How many do you have altogether?

Games

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. 

Sum Swamp

This is a fun way to practice beginning addition skills. You race through the swamp, while meeting fun swamp creatures. You will still want to use physical objects when solving addition problems.

Pop! Addition & Subtraction Game

Spin the spinner and keep the gumballs for correct answers. You will still want to use physical objects to solve addition and subtraction problems.

Board Games

One of my favorite ways to practice addition is to add a deck of cards to any board game. Make your own deck of cards, and instead of writing 2+3 on the card, make a group of 2 triangles on the top, and a group of 3 triangles on the bottom. (Make cards for all different combinations up to 5).

When playing your favorite board game, everyone has to draw an addition card before their turn. When your child draws a card, they can count the groups to find out how many altogether. You may even need your child to check your answers to make sure you are adding correctly!

Monster Under the Bed

This game is very popular with kindergarteners! Using an egg carton, cut the lid in half but leave both halves attached. Tape one half down so it can’t be opened. Put 5 buttons or pom-poms in the egg carton and close the whole lid. Shake. Open the lid. If you only see 2 pom-poms, how many are under “the bed?”

This game helps with number combinations. Start with 5, and once your child gets really comfortable with those, increase the number by 1.

Visualize This…

When teaching addition, don’t use the terms “plus” or “equals.” State the equation as “three and two is the same as five.” Eventually you will use those terms but when you are starting out, replacing the word “plus” with “and” better communicates the physical act of what you are doing.

Saying “is the same as” instead of “equals” helps set up the child for future math problems. In school, children are starting to see algebraic problems earlier and earlier. They need to see a math equation more as a balance scale with both sides balancing out. The middle would be an equal sign.

Take Away the Pressure

Kids will not be required to know addition when entering kindergarten. Knowing addition but not having a good foundation will hurt them in the long run. Wait until your child has a strong foundation and is curious enough about numbers to be excited and engaged to learn! Keep it fun and enjoy time playing games together, or simply adding your teddy grahams.

Want More? 

If you liked this, you’ll love: 

13 Genius Dot Stickers Activities That Will Delight Preschoolers

6 Simple Activities To Do With Preschoolers At Home

6 Ways to Teach Subitizing and Strengthen Number Sense

Your Turn 

What are your favorite activities for teaching addition?

Introducing Addition the Hands-On Way

Why introducing addition the hands-on way is EVERYTHING

Math, in the early years, has no business being on paper.

I’m not trying to sound harsh here but the reality is that children are being led down a path of quick, rote memorization at younger and younger ages and we have a whole lot of flashcards, workbooks, and printables to thank for that.

The problem is – the paper path these children are on ends with them coming up short in the long-run.

RELATED: I am NOT a fan of worksheets. Learn why HERE.

They don’t actually know the WHY or HOW behind the math, just the quick and easy way to find the answer. It’s like trying to be a 2D object in a 3D world.

It’s really hard to make connections when you’ve only learned to memorize ways to solve the problem.

RELATED: Learn more about how I teach children in a higher level and with greater understanding in my Playing Preschool Program.

Let’s put our kids on a path of conceptual understanding…

Rather than rushing through math…

Instead of introducing math as something we memorize…

How about we actually teach our children background knowledge, set a foundation, and help them build an understanding of math and what is happening.

Let’s build their conceptual understanding

And let’s do this with hands-on learning especially when we are introducing new concepts and even more especially, when we are introducing these concepts to young children.

Conceptual understanding is crucial and a pillar to build mathematical understanding on.

How does introducing addition happen hands-on?

If we want, we can quickly teach a child to memorize math facts.

They can learn to rapidly recall was 2 + 2 is… BUT do they actually KNOW what’s happening when 2 + 2 =4?

We need to go BEYOND memorizing and take these concepts to a deeper level, to a level that will actually benefit our kids and help them learn (truly learn) the skills before them.

Here’s how to introduce addition…

I like to introduce addition using the concept of “joining”.

The word “addition” is big and clunking and has little meaning to a child.

But “joining” and “to join”, those are words a kiddo can get behind.

So we ditch addition and call this joining:

“Today, we are going to JOIN two groups.”

Remember: these are GROUPS that we are joining together. When we talk about 2 + 2, we are talking about a group of two joining a group of two. This concept is often skipped or lost in the rush to worksheets and flashcards.

Start by joining small groups together

We don’t need to start off with giant groups and huge numbers. Small, manageable numbers work the best when introducing addition.

When in doubt, SHOW IT.

When we are introducing addition like this we want to show everything. Every last part of this concept needs to be shown.

I begin with three plates for introducing addition

Grab 3 plates, some small toys / counters, and a deck of playing cards (just numbers 2-6).

Remember: time is on your side so take plenty of it. There’s no prize for learning first.

Here are the steps I took:

  1. On the first paper plate, put one card (number).
  2. Repeat for the second plate.
  3. STOP AND TALK: Ok, so we are going to COMBINE / JOIN a group of ___ with a group of ___. First, let’s show each group with our counters.
  4. Place counters ON EACH PLATE to show to concrete representation of the number we are talking about. Count each plate thoroughly.
  5. Then take BOTH PLATES and dump ALL the counters onto the third plate.
  6. I say this: “We just took our group of ___ and our group of ___. Let’s see what we combined to make!”
  7. Count the plate.
  8. Restate what happened “Whoa! So if you have a group of ____ and you join it with a group of ____, you’ll end up with a giant group of ____?! That’s amazing!”

And then we shampoo it: wash, rinse, REPEAT.

We played this same exact scenario over and over again. My daughter set it up at least 10 times.

At the end, did she have her math facts memorized? NO.

Could she suddenly recall number sentences? NO.

Did she have an understanding that when you combine two numbers together they make a bigger one? YES.

And that’s the goal.

The goal is NOT to be quickest at addition at this age. The goal is to learn WHAT addition is and what happens WHEN we join numbers together.

We have got to ditch the paper…

It’s time to move our kids off screens, off paper, off workbooks and back into hands-on math.

We can’t expect a child to learn the complex concepts of addition by simply memorizing an answer.

We are raising 3-Dimensional children and we need to educate them as such.

They deserve to understand the concept … and to understand it WELL before they memorize the procedures. This might even be years before…

How have you been introducing addition?

 

Program "STEM education for children of preschool and primary school age"

Explanatory note

The proposed program "STEM-EDUCATION OF PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN" is a partial modular program of preschool education aimed at developing intellectual abilities in the process of cognitive activity and involvement in scientific and technical creativity.

The program can also be successfully used in extracurricular activities within the framework of the main educational program of primary general education, and each of its sections - an educational module - can be used as an independent unit in the system of additional education.

The Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”, the federal state educational standard for preschool education, the state program of the Russian Federation “Development of Education” for 2018-2025 and the “Strategy for the Development of Education until 2025” set new targets for the development of the education system in the Russian Federation: creation mechanisms for its sustainable development, ensuring compliance with the challenges of the 21st century, the requirements of the innovative development of the economy, the modern needs of society and every citizen.

One of the trends in the development of modern education is its socio-cultural modernization. The focus of the methodology of socio-cultural construction of education as the leading social activity of society is the formation of civic identity, the formation of civil society, the strengthening of Russian statehood; development of individuality and competitiveness of the individual in a constantly changing world.

The concept of modern education is based on humanistic principles of education, which are based on the theory of "child-centrism" - the absolute value of childhood, when the idea of ​​childhood should be at the center of any government decisions and political programs.

Hence the special status of preschool and primary levels of education, since it is during this period that the fundamental components of the formation of the child's personality and the foundations of cognitive development are laid.

GEF DO assumes the formation of cognitive interests and actions of preschoolers in various types of activities, and the primary education standard provides recognition of the decisive role of the content of education, ways of organizing educational activities and interaction of participants in the educational process to achieve the goals of personal, social and cognitive development of younger students.

Thus, at the present stage of development of education for children of preschool and primary school age, the emphasis is shifted to the development of the personality of the child in all its diversity: curiosity, purposefulness, independence, responsibility, creativity, ensuring successful socialization of the younger generation, increasing the competitiveness of the individual and, as a result , society and the state.

Modern education is more and more focused on the formation of key personal competencies, that is, skills directly related to the experience of their application in practical activities, which allow students to achieve results in uncertain, problematic situations, to solve problems independently or in cooperation with others, are aimed to improve the skills to operate with knowledge, to develop the intellectual abilities of children.

Currently, there is a wide variety of interpretations of the terms "intelligence" and "intellectual abilities" (G. Gardner, M. A. Kholodnaya, N. N. Moiseev). The most common is the concept of intelligence as "the ability to carry out the process of cognition and to effectively solve problems, the ability to plan, organize and control one's actions to achieve the goal."

Essential for understanding the intellect and intellectual abilities are such personality traits as the desire for new knowledge and deep understanding of everything that aroused interest; the ability to use existing experience and separate the main from the secondary; logic, criticality, breadth and creativity of thinking; the ability to generalize, abstract and find patterns; learnability.

In the modern world, the problem of becoming a creative person who is able to independently replenish knowledge, extract useful things, and realize their own goals and values ​​in life is very urgent. This can be achieved through cognitive research activities, since the child's need for new experiences underlies the emergence and development of inexhaustible research activity aimed at understanding the world around. In the presented program, the emphasis is placed on cognitive research activities, which are aimed at obtaining new and objective knowledge.

One of the significant areas of cognitive research activity is children's scientific and technical creativity, and one of the most innovative areas in this area is educational robotics, which combines classical approaches to studying the basics of technology and information modeling, programming, and information technology.

The comprehensive program "Development of educational robotics and continuous IT education in the Russian Federation" (No. 172-R of 01.10.2014) defined a number of tasks focused on preschool and primary levels of education. Among them:

  • popularization of educational robotics and scientific and technical creativity as forms of leisure activities for students of preschool, general and additional education organizations;
  • technical equipment of organizations of preschool, general and additional education of children, implementing programs to study the basics of robotics, mechatronics, IT and scientific and technical creativity of youth;
  • improvement of the system of self-study in the implementation of programs of preschool, general and additional education for children;
  • improving the efficiency of using interactive technologies and modern technical teaching aids;
  • improvement of the mechanisms of public-private partnership in the system of preschool, general and additional education.

These tasks are designed to develop in a child such structural elements of information competence as the formation of information processing processes; formation of motivational motives and value orientations; understanding of the principles of operation, capabilities and limitations of technical devices designed for automated search and processing of information; communication skills, the ability to communicate; ability to analyze their own activities.

The essence of scientific and technical creativity lies in the application of scientific achievements to create technical products that meet specified requirements. The basic method of technical creativity is design, that is, the creation of a new one from a set of already existing, ready-made elements, although recently elements of design activity have been introduced into technical creativity.

There is a technological revolution going on right now. High-tech products and innovative technologies are becoming an integral part of modern society. If in developed countries there are many regional and national projects to attract children to scientific and technical creativity, to increase its attractiveness and status, then in our country with the disappearance of the system of circles of young technicians, modellers and designers, children's technical creativity has declined. At present, the system of technical creativity of children of preschool and primary school age is being revived, taking into account the requirements of the time. There are investments in the creation of children's technology parks. New state educational standards require the introduction of modern technologies in the educational process. However, the designation of the problem does not say anything about how exactly the technical creativity of preschoolers and younger schoolchildren should develop.

An attempt to develop intellectual abilities in regulated classes in kindergarten and lessons in elementary school is ineffective, since higher levels of competencies require independence, responsibility in solving non-standard tasks, which is poorly achievable within the traditional model of education. Only a fundamentally new construction of the educational environment, an integral part of which is the developing object-spatial environment, can answer this challenge.

Therefore, the purpose of this partial modular educational program "STEM education of children of preschool and primary school age" is to develop the intellectual abilities of children of preschool and primary school age by means of STEM education.

If you decipher this abbreviation, you get the following: S - science, T - technology, E - engineering, M - mathematics: natural sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics.

That is why today the STEM system is developing as one of the main trends. STEM education is based on the application of an interdisciplinary and applied approach, as well as the integration of all four disciplines into a single scheme.

From the address of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on March 1, 2018: “Today, knowledge, technology, and competencies are the most important competitive advantage. This is the key to a real breakthrough, to improving the quality of life. In the shortest possible time, we need to develop an advanced legislative framework, remove all barriers to the development and widespread use of robotics, artificial intelligence, unmanned vehicles, e-commerce, and big data processing technologies.” These words actualize STEM education and emphasize its advantages, namely:

  1. An integrated approach to solving modern problems based on the interpenetration of various areas of natural sciences, engineering creativity, mathematics, digital technologies, etc. This integration is based on the project method based on cognitive and artistic search and having a specific real product in as a result of activity.
  2. Adaptation of children, starting from preschool age, to the modern educational environment at all levels of education. In the context of the continuity of all levels of the educational system of the Russian Federation, all components of the educational environment - content, technology, subject-spatial content, material and technical support - are successive in the logic of age-related opportunities and content complication.
  3. The development of intellectual abilities in the process of cognitive research activities and involvement in scientific and technical creativity is aimed at developing not only competencies specific to these types of activities, but also a comfortable sense of self in the modern world, creating conditions for a high quality of life in the future.
  4. The development of critical thinking is seen as a three-stage process aimed at the formation of:
  • skills to obtain the necessary information;
  • skills to analyze it;
  • skills to apply the received information in practice.
  1. The formation of teamwork skills in synthesis with the individualization of education lies in the ability to:
  • combine individual intelligent algorithms to achieve common goals;
  • negotiate, ask questions correctly, argue with logically substantiated facts, etc.,

that is, it forms a culture of discussion and the skill of "sublimated conclusion". The overall positive result forms self-confidence and a sense of teamwork efficiency.

In addition, in the process of collective activity, a value attitude is brought up both to the process and to the results of labor, both of the general and of each participant.

  1. Primary propaedeutics of a number of professions and specialties of the 21st century, including: specialists in the field of information technology, including information security, who are able to work with a large amount of operational information; analysts, engineers and operators of electronic computing systems; specialists of engineering industries; specialists in the field of robotics, automation, nuclear physics, radiochemistry, safety and non-proliferation of nuclear materials; military professions where technical knowledge from different areas is required.
  2. Development of interest in technical creativity. STEM education is designed to revive the system of sections and circles of "young technicians", based on the natural interest of children in technical design and modeling.

It is important that these types of activities are based on the child's research experience acquired in kindergarten, so that the natural-science picture of the world is formed on the basis of a system-activity approach and is based on knowledge gained experimentally.

In this program, the child explores the world around him through play and experimentation with objects of animate and inanimate nature. Methodological materials provide a link between living beings and robots, motivating the child to move from the game and children's experiment through design and exciting technical and artistic creativity to the design and creation of robots - models resembling objects of the living world. The basics of programming and the use of sensors lead the child to desire to endow these creatures with sight, hearing and logic. This is a very exciting process that can become a motivational core until graduation and getting your favorite specialty: engineer, programmer, designer, scientist.

STEM thus becomes an addition to the compulsory part of the main educational program (BEP). In the main educational program for preschoolers, especially in the part developed by the participants in educational relations, the demanded content is mobile and dynamically implemented, which meets the interests and priorities of the modern preschooler.

STEM programs for elementary school students are focused on increasing their interest in regular lessons, where they receive basic knowledge from various fields of science and technology. In extracurricular activities, students apply the knowledge they have already acquired and supplement it with the skills obtained in experimental practice.

  1. Formation of the foundations of security, both one's own (in the process of interaction with the outside world) and the security of the environment, which directly depends on human activity, understanding technocratic risks, the impact of technological development on the environment and the state of the planet as a whole. Particularly relevant is the question of the possible impact of robotization on the fate of mankind.
  2. Creation of conditions for the identification and further support of gifted children with extraordinary thinking and showing special abilities and desire for scientific and technical creativity.

Note that these advantages provide amplification of child development, “a necessary condition for the versatile upbringing of a child” (AV Zaporozhets). The significance of the richness of opportunities in the early stages of child development is especially great. This is a means of overcoming his one-sidedness, revealing inclinations and abilities. In accordance with the theory of A. V. Zaporozhets, the STEM education program involves the maximum enrichment of specific forms of children's activities: games, cognitive research, design, artistic and aesthetic, and also provides the opportunity for children to communicate productively with each other, with teachers and parents for a full-fledged development of the intellectual abilities of each child.

This partial modular program "STEM-EDUCATION OF PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN" determines the content and organization of the educational process for preschool children in the studio-circle, and junior school - in extracurricular activities. This content can also supplement the mandatory part of the main general education program.

Structural partial modular program "STEM-EDUCATION OF PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN" is presented in the integration of educational modules indicated in the diagram.

Implementation of educational modules in the priority activities of children of preschool and primary school age

  • Game.
  • Design.
  • Cognitive and research activities.
  • Educational activities.
  • Various types of artistic and creative activities.
  • Mastering XX technologies! century (elements of programming and digital technologies).

Each module is aimed at solving specific tasks, which, when integrated, ensure the implementation of the goals of STEM education: the development of intellectual abilities in the process of cognitive research activities and the involvement of preschool and primary school children in scientific and technical creativity.

The Program provides conditions for the development of intellectual abilities in accordance with the age and individual characteristics of the child. Starting with sensory perception through visual-figurative and verbal-logical thinking (“F. Froebel’s didactic system”, “Mathematical development”, “Experimenting with animate and inanimate nature”), the prerequisites are created for the scientific and technical creativity of children, during which they receive and apply the knowledge of algorithmization, design and programming and conduct project activities (“LEGO-construction”, “Animation studio “I create the world”, “Robotics”).

The activity of an adult is aimed at making the child accept the general scheme of action, feel the connection between educational modules, the meaning of each link in the general system of action, the hierarchy of secondary and main goals. In this case, the child acquires the ability to act "in the mind", which is the most important condition for the development of intellectual abilities.

The content of each module is divided into two parts: for preschool children and for younger students. Within each part, the content is differentiated, taking into account the specifics of the educational module and the age of the pupils.

Achievement of the set goals is carried out in activities specific for children of this age, such as playing, designing, cognitive and research activities (including scientific and technical creativity), various types of artistic and creative activities (design, creating cartoons, etc.) . These types of activities organically include the development of technologies of the XXI century (elements of programming and digital technologies).

Read full program...

how to create floor games for preschoolers

Floor games are a great addition to a pedagogical program. They support the natural desire of children to move, allow you to test knowledge on the topic studied and improve relationships in the group. It is not difficult to make a floor game, and most importantly, you can do it together with children, which will help develop initiative and independence in them. Alena Kondrashova, teacher of the Krasnoyarsk kindergarten No. 17, finalist of the “Educator of the Year of Russia” contest, participant in the L. S. Vygotsky contest, resident of the “University of Childhood” community, tells about how to invent such games correctly and what is needed for this. author of the collection "Outdoor games and tasks for children".

Alena Kondrashova created her first team outdoor game in 2019, and since then this activity has become a part of her senior group's schedule. One day, Alena noticed how eagerly children play Tic-Tac-Toe on the street, and decided to move this game to the garden, but with changes: she enlarged the playing field and added a little didactics - jumping over the squares, the child opened a card with a picture of a bad or a good deed, voiced it and removed it if the deed seemed unworthy to him. The game helped to consolidate the studied material, and revealed a great interest of children in outdoor games. It became clear that a square field can be filled with any didactic content and catch two birds with one stone: to encourage the desire of children to move, but at the same time direct energy in the right direction.

Six golden rules

After the improved Tic-Tac-Toe, Alena began to invent the following games, and in the process she determined seven important rules for herself that will become the key to an interesting and useful game:

  1. The game is for kids, not for adults.
    To arouse interest in children, do not make the game too hard, as well as too easy.
  2. For children - entertainment, for the teacher - a tool.
    The game is not just for fun. And if this is entertainment for children, then the teacher must formulate the goal that he wants to achieve with this activity, for example, to consolidate educational material or develop the logical thinking of kids.
  3. "Squares" - a universal playing field.
    For an introduction to floor games, the universal playing field "Squares" is great: a rectangle made up of 24 squares. The recommended size is 1.4 by 2.8 meters to make it easier for children to move around. You can create a playing field yourself, for example, draw squares with electrical tape on the floor, or you can use ready-made material, for example, a banner canvas.
  4. Play is movement.
    Think about what the child should do: remove the pictures, twist the hoop, jump with the ball. Children love movement, and they will get bored standing still.
  5. Rules are the basis of order.
    Think and clearly explain to the children what can and cannot be done during the game. This will make it easier to control the process and achieve didactic goals.
  6. Everything is good in moderation.
    So that children do not get bored with games, it is optimal to play them no more than two or three times a week. The exception is gaming activity during morning exercises: it is part of the exercise cycle and takes only a few minutes.

Alena came up with a whole series of outdoor games that were included in her collection "Outdoor games and tasks for children", and shared with us five activities that can be easily done with kids.

5 Kindergarten Floor Games

1. Clean Up

Arrange didactic materials with a picture of something or someone in the squares of the playing field. In each row there should be pictures generalized by one feature, and one card that does not fit the general feature. For example, three depict fruits and one depicts a vegetable. The players take turns jumping into squares with an extra image, raise a card and explain why they chose this particular object.

Benefits of the game:

  • reinforces general concepts;
  • develops logical thinking;
  • helps overcome shyness;
  • gives active physical activity.

2. “Picture”

Lay cards with pictures of something or someone face down so that participants cannot see their content. The players take turns jumping into squares with a card, open it, but keep it a secret from the rest, and with the help of facial expressions and gestures show the depicted object.

Benefits of the game:

  • helps to overcome shyness;
  • develops imagination, memory and artistry;
  • gives active physical activity.

3. "Repeat after me"

A game that can be used at physical minutes and home sports. The first player moves around the playing field, showing the movement in the square, the rest repeat after him. He can come up with movements himself or open pre-folded cards with exercises. To conduct a physical minute, it is better to use a shortened version of the square field - for example, 12 squares.

Benefits of the game:

  • helps to overcome shyness;
  • gives active physical activity;
  • develops imagination, memory and artistry;
  • develops respect and attention to the actions of the participants.

4. "Journey by Numbers"

The game "Journey by Numbers" will help children remember the score, call numbers in forward and reverse order and understand their meaning. Lay out the cards with the image of numbers and come up with your own or make a route together with the children in advance: for example, 1-2-3-4-5 or 2-2-4-3-1. The proposed route, children can walk and jump, on one foot or two, on toes and in other ways that come to mind. The game is suitable for older preschool children.

Benefits of the game:

  • develops logical thinking and attention;
  • gives active physical activity;
  • helps overcome shyness;
  • develops respect and attention to the actions of the participants.

5. A game that the children will invent themselves

Most of all, children love games that they have invented themselves. For Alena, this is the game “Don’t step on the burst balloon”: during the week, on a large banner sheet, each child drew his own balloon, among them there were whole and burst ones. The conditions of the game were simple: walk across the field and not step on the bursting ball.

The task of the teacher, notes Alena, is to complicate the game: for example, one child goes blindfolded, and the rest of the children guide him. This is how communication skills and orientation in space develop, because for a successful passage you need to clearly know where is right and where is left. Another useful condition: we jump only on balls of a certain color or only on one leg. So, depending on the task set by the teacher and the initiative of the children, the game adapts to any needs.

Benefits of the game:

  • develops creative imagination;
  • gives active physical activity;
  • develops respect and attention to the partner's actions;
  • develops orientation in space and dexterity.

You can download layouts of playing fields, get acquainted with the author's methodological developments and watch video master classes on outdoor games on Alena Kondrashova's website.

Learn more