Specifics of using didactic games in toddlers
As practice shows, in early preschool age children perceive with interest only tasks that use real objects and specific actions. Tasks that are performed in a familiar environment and situation (for example, hiding a handkerchief behind the back, showing a large cube in a box) usually do not cause difficulties for the children. Therefore, you should initially use just such games when working with children, and only then move on to pictures.
In addition, when using gaming aids, it is necessary to take into account an individual approach - to determine what volume and content of material is available to each specific child. Indeed, in toddlerhood, the development of children is very different due to their psychosomatic health (frequently ill children), character (excessively shy), and characteristics of family upbringing (some are taught by their parents from an early age).
A big role is played by the friendly atmosphere that the teacher must create during the lesson so that the child “opens up” and wants to play the proposed games. At the initial stage, many preschoolers experience natural difficulties and make mistakes - this should not stop the teacher, you need to behave gently and patiently.
The formation of mathematical concepts is especially important if the child has a delay in speech development. The baby will expand his vocabulary and learn words and actions that are important for communicating with people.
The main types of mathematical games for the youngest preschoolers
In the first junior group, not only mathematics classes are used, but also various types of games, one way or another related to mathematical concepts.
Didactic
Didactic games in the nursery group are based on manipulation with objects, they have simple rules and are mostly aimed at sensory development. Let's consider options suitable for this age.
"We're building a house." The game is aimed at developing ideas about color and shape. The teacher shows the children a toy dog and a cat for which they need to build houses. But the dog wants a house made of bricks, and the cat wants a house made of cubes. In a hardware store (a shelf or box with cubes, bricks, balls), the guys choose the necessary materials and build buildings. Animals rejoice and dance merrily. Subsequently, such a game can be complicated - ask the kids to build a house from red cubes for the dog, and from green cubes for the cat, etc.
“Big and small balls” (distinguishing color and size). The teacher gives the children to look at balls of different colors and sizes (large and small), then brings out a large and small doll and says that Katya (big) wants to play with big balls, and Masha (small) with small ones. Preschoolers select toys of the right size. But it turns out that Masha is capricious: she only wants small balls in red, to match the color of her dress. Katya is also angry - she wants blue ones, like her bows on her braids.
Sensory games with clothespins are always popular with kids, as they can help them learn to group objects by color. Any teacher can make such manuals with their own hands. For example, children can be asked to hang their washed clothes on a string to dry: the color of the clothes (made of cardboard) should match the color of the clothespin. Another option is to attach spines to hedgehogs’ backs or attach legs to caterpillars.
Photo gallery: games with clothespins in early preschool age
In order for the caterpillar to walk, you need to build it legs from clothespins.
With the help of ordinary clothespins, kids learn to classify objects by color and reinforce the concept of “many.”
The color of the clothes must match the color of the clothespin
"Who's knocking?" (comparison of the concepts “one-many”). The teacher announces to the children that, for example, a bear or a bunny (toys) will come to visit them. The bear cub always knocks on the door once (“knock”), and the bunny knocks many times (“knock-knock-knock”): the actions are demonstrated. Both toys are put away under the table, the teacher knocks, and the kids must guess who came.
A game character - Mishka - came to the kids
“Find a pair” (combining two identical objects). The doll Katya asks for help finding her things: doll shoes and socks are mixed in front of the children (you can add children's things). The teacher puts one sock and a sandal on Katya’s foot, and the preschoolers must choose a pair to match them. As an option, this game can be played with paper mittens.
Kids learn to pair two identical objects
“A bunny walks around the group” (orientation in space, consolidation of prepositions with spatial meaning). A bunny comes to visit the guys and wants to take a walk around the playroom. He whispers in the teacher's ear where he wants to go or get to. The kids take turns performing actions, for example, putting the bunny on a doll's bed, a high chair, bringing it to the window so that it looks, looking behind the closet, etc.
Moving, physical education, finger gymnastics
In the first younger group, you can play simple outdoor games with kids, where there are no special rules that are difficult to understand at this age. For example, the following options are suitable.
“Don’t touch me.” Children follow each other, walking around objects (balls and cubes). The task is not to hit them and maintain intervals when walking. After the game, the children must answer the questions: what figures did they go around, how many of them (one, many). Subsequently, the task becomes more complicated - flat geometric shapes are used.
“Day and Night” (prerequisites for mastering time concepts). At the teacher’s “Day” signal, the kids walk, run, and jump; at the “Night” signal, they need to sit down and freeze (“fall asleep”). At the end of the game, the teacher asks when people sleep and what the children do during the day.
"Find your house." Geometric shapes - houses - are laid out on the floor (for example, girls have squares, and boys have circles). Children go out for a walk in the clearing: collect imaginary flowers, jump over streams, etc. At the signal “Rain,” you need to quickly hide in the house and stand on your geometric figure.
Some physical education exercises, for example, “Bunny,” are aimed at developing orientation in space relative to one’s body.
Table: physical education
| Bunny, bunny, where is your tail? | claps |
| - Here, here, here! | hands behind your back |
| Bunny, bunny, where is your nose? | claps |
| - Here, here, here! | show your nose |
| Bunny, bunny, where are the paws? | claps |
| - Here, here, here! | show hands |
| Bunny, bunny, where are the ears? | claps |
| - Here, here, here! | show ears |
The finger game “Met” will help you understand the concept of “two” (or “pair”). In addition, such activities train fine motor skills, which has a beneficial effect on speech development.
Table: finger game “Met”
| Two kittens met: “Meow - meow.” Two puppies: “Aw - aw.” Two foals: “I-go-go” | For each phrase, connect the same fingers of the left and right hands, one at a time, starting with the little finger. |
| Two calves, two bulls: “Moo.” Look at the horns! | show “horns”, simultaneously straightening your index fingers and little fingers. |
The finger game “Hedgehog” reinforces the concept of set.
Table: finger game “Hedgehog”
| The hedgehog stomped along the path and carried mushrooms in a basket. To count the mushrooms, you need to count your fingers. . | Children bend their fingers in turn, first on their left hand, then on their right hand. At the end of the exercise, their hands should be clenched into fists. |
Many finger games have mathematical content
Classes in the first junior group are filled with a variety of game techniques and materials to reinforce sensory standards: color, size, shape. Children spend most of the lesson in motion, moving freely and completing tasks at will. You should not ensure that all children in the subgroup complete the tasks without exception; it is better to transfer the development of a skill or concept to individual activities during a walk or in the afternoon.
Table: examples of GCD notes in mathematics for children 2–3 years old
| Author and topic of the lesson | Progress of the lesson |
| Evdokimova I.S. "Unexpected Guest" | The teacher tells the kids a story about the mouse Peak, who loved to sing and did not like to study. So he didn't know anything. There is a knock on the door and the mouse Peak appears: the teacher brings a toy to each child and calls his name. The baby must name his own in response. The mouse wants to build himself a house from yellow bricks, but cannot select them from the building material (Peak takes a brick of a different color). The teacher offers to help the hero - each child takes a yellow brick. The teacher asks for the name of the part, its color and quantity (one). The teacher praises the children. The mouse brought the children a game - a box of beads. Kids name their color and shape (blue and round). Each child is asked to take one bead and roll it with their fingers. The teacher thanks Peak for the interesting game and asks the kids to teach him to dance. Music is playing and children are dancing. |
| Quoted from: https://www.maam.ru/detskijsad/konspekt-zanjatija-po-matematike-v-jaselnoi-grupe-obrazovatelnaja-situacija-neozhidanyi-gost.html | |
| "High Low" | The teacher invites the kids to pet the toy bunny, which is on the top shelf of the closet. The children try to reach him, but to no avail. The teacher asks the children why they cannot do this, seeking the answer “high.” Then it is suggested to pet the squirrel, which is located just below. The guys manage to do it. And the teddy bear sits on the bottom shelf - and it is very convenient for preschoolers to stroke its furry back. The teacher gets the children to say that the toy is low. It turns out that the bear cub brought the children posts to indicate which of the toys is located low and which is high. The kids, together with the teacher, arrange the columns according to height. Then the same thing is repeated with pyramids of different heights. The bunny brings the kids a magical album with pictures of the same bunnies. The children look at it and, at the request of the teacher, find animals with long and short pants. Squirrel invites the children to play - launch paper airplanes and see how high or low they fly. |
| Sharudilova O. Yu. “One is many” | The teacher invites the children to go on a journey on an improvised train. Children, holding each other, make a circle around the carpet and end up in a garden of flowers. Red, yellow and blue flowers are laid out on the carpet. It turns out they love to dance. A game is played: kids dance along with the flowers to the music, and when it ends, they lower them to the “ground.” As the game progresses, the teacher asks the children the color of their flowers. Butterflies also flew into the garden with red, blue and yellow wings. Children take and help each one sit on a flower of the same color. The teacher draws the children's attention to the fact that butterflies are not the same - there are big and small. Then the teacher says that the wind blew and asks the kids to hide the butterflies in a box. Attention is drawn to their number (each child brought one butterfly, and together there are many of them). Then the kids are asked to bring red flowers first, then blue and finally yellow. The children again form a train and go back to kindergarten to tell everyone what they saw in the forest clearing. |
| Quoted from: https://www.maam.ru/detskijsad/konspekt-zanjatija-po-matematike-v-pervoi-mladshei-grupe-odin-mnogo.html |
Senior group
Preschoolers aged 5-6 years old, while playing, learn to sort objects according to physical parameters, determine size and distance using only vision. Didactic games improve visual perception, help expand individual vocabulary, and develop attentiveness and thinking ability.
Relay "Apples and Flowers"
For the game, prepare sets of two images: apples and flowers. Each set should include several pictures of different sizes: large, medium, small. Divide the players into two teams: call the first “Bee”, its members will collect flowers, the second - “Caterpillar”, its players will get apples. Place a bunch of pictures on the table. Place two tables at the other end of the room, on which participants will place pictures in a row in ascending order of size.
The players line up in two rows. At a signal, they take turns running up to the table, grabbing a flower or an apple, depending on the name of the team, running to their table, and placing a picture on it. Large pictures should be on the left side, medium ones in the center, small ones on the right. The game ends when all the pictures have been distributed. The team that manages to distribute the images first and correctly wins.
Honey for bears
For the game, prepare 3 boxes, in each place place an image of a pot of honey of different sizes. Give players 3 pots of appropriate sizes.
Ask the children to remember the fairy tale “The Three Bears”, ask what these animals like to feast on. Invite the students to send 3 parcels of honey to the bear family: for dad, mom and cub. Children carefully look at the pictures of the pots in the boxes and in their own, identifying the matches. Then the pots are distributed into boxes.
Let's plant flowers
The game is competitive. Place images of large and small flowers mixed on the table. Make two semblances of beds on the floor.
Tell the players that the flowers urgently need to be transplanted into the beds so that they do not wither. Children look at the images and note the difference in size. Two people play: one transplants small flowers, the second – large ones. Children quickly transfer pictures from the table to improvised beds. The player who moves the flowers faster and more accurately wins.
Counting steps
Explain to students that distance can be calculated in steps. Ask one child to slowly, without changing the width of his step, walk from one corner of the room to the opposite. The rest count the steps and write them down on the board. Then another preschooler does the same. It is important to choose a child who is taller than the previous one. The result should be fewer steps. Explain to the children that the taller a person is, the longer his legs are, the fewer steps he needs to cover the distance.
Card index of FEMP games used in the second junior group
Games with mathematical content offered in the second junior group become more complex. They perform a specific task or combine several tasks.
- Compiling groups of objects, obtaining equality, selecting objects according to some criterion (reinforce the concept of quantity, magnitude).
- Distinguishing geometric shapes.
- For orientation in space (optionally - on a plane).
- Reinforcing temporary concepts (parts of the day).
Children of the fourth year of life, without prompting from the teacher, decide what to do in their free time. Therefore, the mathematics corner in the group becomes more saturated with various aids, in particular, more board and printed games appear.
In the second younger group, board and printed games are already appropriate
The rules of outdoor games are becoming more complicated, and numbers are introduced into finger gymnastics, which children involuntarily remember.
Educational
The catalog of didactic games in mathematics in the second junior group is quite voluminous. In early preschool age, games are popular, the essence of which is to compare the shapes of objects and objects with geometric figures. This is, for example, “Geometric Lotto”, “Find an object of the same shape”.
Kids also love to make beautiful ornaments from geometric shapes and decorate objects with them. This is the game “Make a pattern on a mitten”: preschoolers are offered mittens with a variety of patterns of geometric shapes. The children’s task is to decorate the second one in the same way to make a pair.
Pupils of the second junior group must place on the second mitten the same pattern of figures as on the first
“Collect beads for the doll.” The child is offered a thread and three-dimensional geometric shapes with a hole inside. Alternating the figures in a given sequence, the baby assembles a beautiful decoration for the doll.
An exciting game guide will help children remember shapes, primary colors and is very useful for the development of fine motor skills
This game has variations:
- lay out beads from identical figures of different colors;
- from different figures of the same color;
- from two different figures of different colors;
A simpler version of the game is beads, which are laid out from flat figures on a sheet of paper with a drawn thread.
Children aged 3–4 years old enjoy playing “Wonderful Bag”: the teacher names a geometric figure, and the children (one by one) find the same one in the bag by touch. By the way, you can use Dienesh blocks for such activities.
“Zoo” reinforces the concepts of “one” and “many.” The teacher informs the children that many new animals have been brought to the zoo (shows figurines), and leads the children to the idea that the animals cannot all be together. They need to be distributed into different cells (paper boxes). Each child takes one animal and transports it by car into a cage. All this activity is accompanied by questions to the teachers: how many animals, how many cars, how many cages.
Fix Your Car teaches you to classify objects based on their color and size. The teacher invites the kids to turn into auto mechanics and change the wheels on cars. But you need to be careful: a larger car must have larger wheels and vice versa.
For each car you need to choose wheels of the appropriate color and size.
Movable
In the second junior group, various outdoor games are held, organized according to the principle “Find your house.” However, each time, in order to arouse the interest of preschoolers, the teacher offers a new plot: “Cat and Mice”, “Birds and the Cat”, “Sparrows and a Car”, etc. The goal of the game is to occupy your hole, nest, garage (their number corresponds to the number of children ).
“Where did the mouse hide” develops orientation in space. The teacher shows a toy mouse that really wants to play with the kids. The kids close their eyes, and the mouse ends up under the table, on the closet, etc. The task of preschoolers is to find it, always commenting on the location of the toy with the words: above, below, near, etc.
“Mirror” (also aimed at developing orientation in space). The teacher tells the children that they are turning into a mirror and must repeat all its movements. At first, the movements are simple - raise your arm or leg, touch your ear, etc., and then they become more complex: raise your arm and leg at the same time, jump and clap your hands.
“Giants and Dwarfs” reinforces the concept of size. The kids walk around the room at a normal pace. At the teacher’s signal “Dwarfs!” their steps become short, “Giants!” - very long.
A similar game can be supplemented with speech development. Children sit in a circle, the teacher rolls a ball one by one, begins a phrase, and the child must finish it:
- boots are long, and boots... (short)
- The T-shirt has short sleeves, and the shirt... (long).
- the knee socks are long, and the socks... (short).
- the shorts are short and the trousers... (long).
- the dress is long, and the skirt... (short).
- the coat is long, and the jacket... (short).
Physical education and finger games
It is good to alternate calm didactic games in class with physical education exercises and finger exercises, which also reflect mathematical concepts. During physical education, children can strengthen their spatial orientation skills.
Table: physical education
| One day a gray goat came into the garden to eat. | The index fingers are straightened, the fingers are pressed to the forehead. Let's go forward. |
| I looked around - there was food here and there. | We turn in one direction or the other. |
| There is grass under the hooves, | Lowering the chin |
| And above your head there is foliage. | Raise your chin up. |
| Bend over and eat the cabbage | We lean down. |
| And at the top there are big pears | We stand on our toes and stretch up. |
| Cucumbers grow behind | Let's turn back. |
| There are bushes growing ahead. | Let's turn back. |
| On the left is a young onion, on the right is a young zucchini | Half turns left, right. |
| Here - a hundred berries, there - two hundred | Tilts to the right, left. |
| The goat is spinning in place. | Let's spin. |
| And while he was choosing, the Dog drove him into the barn. | We bow our heads and run away from the dog. |
Table: finger game “Toys” (consolidating counting skills)
| On a large sofa, Katina's dolls are sitting in a row: | They clap their hands alternately. |
| Two bears, Pinocchio and cheerful Cipollino, and a kitten and a baby elephant. | Bend all fingers one by one. |
| One two three four five. | Extend your fingers one by one. |
| We help our Katya We collect toys. | They alternately clap their hands and knock with their fists. |
Table: finger game “Worms”
| One, two, three, four, five, the worms went for a walk. | Palms lie on your knees or on the table. By bending our fingers, we pull our palm towards us (movement of a crawling caterpillar), and walk along the table with our index and middle fingers (the remaining fingers are pressed towards our palm). |
| Suddenly a crow runs up | We fold our fingers into a pinch. |
| She nods her head | We swing them up and down. |
| Croaks: “Here comes dinner!” | Open your palm, moving your thumb down and the rest up. |
| Lo and behold, there are no worms! | We clench our fists, pressing them to our chest. |
Table: finger game "Dishes"
| One two three four, | Alternate between clapping your hands and banging your fists against each other. |
| We washed the dishes: | One palm slides over the other in a circle. |
| A teapot, a cup, a ladle, a spoon and a large ladle. We washed the dishes | Bend your fingers, starting with the thumb. |
| We just broke the cup, the ladle also fell apart, the nose of the teapot was knocked off. We broke the spoon a little | Extend your fingers one at a time, starting with the thumb. |
| This is how we helped mom! | Bump your fists together, clap your hands. |
Classes with children aged 3–4 years last longer than in a nursery, and children can already spend some time at the tables, completing the teacher’s assignments.
Didactic games for size in the middle group
Preschoolers aged 3-4 years continue to consolidate the skill of comparing objects by size, identifying different and identical objects, and learning to creatively depict things of different sizes. Games in the middle age group develop concentration, imagination, train the accuracy of visual perception, cultivate a caring attitude towards things, responsibility, perseverance, and the ability to perform independent and collective work.
The Tale of Little Red Riding Hood
For the game, prepare images of grandma’s house, a wolf and Little Red Riding Hood according to the number of players, and also distribute two ribbons to the students: a short red one and a long blue one.
Invite the children to remember the fairy tale by Charles Perrault. Little Red Riding Hood went to her grandmother, who lived on the edge of the forest, but got lost in the forest. She discovered two paths. One is short, but on it a hungry wolf is waiting for the girl. The second path is longer, but it is safe. Ask the students to help Little Red Riding Hood choose the right path. To do this you need to measure the ribbons.
Children connect the ribbons, see which one is longer, and draw a conclusion: the girl must follow the blue path to safely get to her grandmother. Next, the players make up the correct composition: they place a house on the table, two ribbons are brought to it, an image of a girl is placed on the blue one, and a wolf is placed on the red one. After completing the task, children should comment on why they composed the plot composition this way.
Bridge
To play, prepare 4 dice, long and short sticks.
Invite the students to build a bridge so they can walk along it into the forest to pick mushrooms. The cubes are the supporting elements of the structure; children place sticks on them. The game task is to choose sticks that will fit securely on the “bridge supports”; they must also be equal in length.
When the children build a toy bridge, explain to them that this stick is not suitable because it is too long and protrudes beyond the boundaries of the cube, the other is too short and does not correspond to the distance between the cubes, the third differs significantly in length from the rest. First, kindergarteners build a bridge under the guidance of a teacher, then complete the task independently.
The doll is going to visit
Game for girls. To carry it out, prepare a doll with long hair, short and long ribbons.
Tell the girls that the doll is going to the party. She needs to get her hair done with fancy ribbons. But the ribbons in the box were mixed up. Before you start styling your hair, you need to arrange the ribbons according to size: put the long ones in one direction, and the short ones in the other. When the girls complete the task, invite them to comb the doll’s hair and decorate its hair with ribbons.
Didactic game “Size of objects”
For the game, make cards depicting household objects, objects of living and inanimate nature, prepare long, medium and short sticks.
Explain to the students that different objects can be laid out schematically from sticks of different sizes, and demonstrate how this is done. For example, lay out a house. Children choose the cards they like and try to make the image shown in the picture out of sticks. After completing the task, they tell you which sticks they used.
Harvesting
Cut out cardboard apples of different sizes for the game: large, medium, small. The difference in diameter between them should be approximately 1 cm. Make a cardboard tree and hang the apples. Prepare three boxes of different sizes.
Explain to the players that the harvest needs to be distributed into boxes according to size. Take turns calling the children, give them the task of picking an apple of a certain size, choosing the right box, and putting the harvest in it.
Table: examples of notes for a game lesson in mathematics for children 3–4 years old
| Author and theme of GCD | Contents of the lesson |
| Azhbulatova M.A. "Triangle" | Preschoolers sit on the carpet, and the teacher tells them a fairy tale about a circle and a square, who once went out for a walk. At the same time, children are shown paper figures with arms, legs, eyes, etc. (the square is square, the circle is round), and they highlight their distinctive features. Then the figures met the Triangle and were surprised that it did not look like them (preschoolers examine the triangle, highlighting its distinctive features). Then the guys find similarities between the figures. The teacher invites the kids to build two houses from squares and triangles on a magnetic board. On the roof of the houses there are numbers 1 and 2: they indicate the number of residents (their role is played by circles). Two children are called: they populate the houses with tenants. Similar work is offered locally (each child has a set of figures). Physical education is conducted (children perform movements according to the text.
At the end of the lesson, the teacher invites the children to tell the guests a fairy tale: the teacher begins the phrase, and the preschoolers finish it, based on the picture:
The lesson is summed up and the children share their impressions. |
| Belova T. “In search of Mashenka” (game activity using Dienesh blocks) | The teacher asks the children if they like the cartoon “Masha and the Bear”. It turns out that Misha sent a message asking for help - the wolves stole Masha, and he doesn’t know how to find her. Children, of course, want to help the heroes. The teacher suggests going into the forest on a train of chairs. Each of them has a geometric figure glued to it, and the tickets are Dienesh blocks. To take a seat, you need to find a chair with the same figure. The locomotive sets off. The children's attention is drawn to the little house with the crying bunny. In front of the tower are three hoops with locks (each lock is three figures that differ in some way, for example, two red triangles and a circle). It was the evil fox who locked the hare crowbar and ran away. To open the locks, you need to find an extra piece in each group. The children successfully complete the task, and the bunny, in gratitude, reports that the wolves took Masha across the river. We need to build a bridge. To do this, you can only use Dienesha blocks that are blue. The guys build a bridge and end up with the wolves. It turns out that they want Masha to bake them a cake. But she doesn't know how to decorate it. Preschoolers are offered patterns of patterns from Dienesh blocks. Kids name the shapes that make up the patterns and begin to complete an individual task. The wolves release Masha. A song from the cartoon plays, and the children, along with the heroine, return to kindergarten by train. Quoted from: https://www.maam.ru/detskijsad/konspekt-zanjatija-po-matematike-vo-vtoroi-mladshei-grupe-igrovoe-zanjatie-s-blokami-denesha-v-poiskah-mashenki.html |
Teaching mathematical concepts in the first and second junior groups is inextricably linked with the gaming component. After all, games are a fun and exciting alternative to the same type of tasks with similar visual material. The first successes inspire children, awakening interest in mathematics. And this subject, in turn, contributes to raising children as thinking people who can draw conclusions, correctly assess the situation and make decisions independently.
Preparatory
In the preparatory group, 6-7 year old kindergarteners prepare for school; the games become more complex and have a more educational focus. Children learn not only to distinguish objects by size, but to count them, arrange them in ascending and descending order, alternate, while explaining their decision in detail. Games develop attentiveness, memory, intelligence, cultivate observation, perseverance, and perseverance.
Find the differences
Prepare two similar plot pictures for the game. In general, they should be the same, but several objects depicted on them should differ in some physical parameter: height, thickness, length. The task of preschoolers is to find the differences.
Making beads
To play, cut out circles of different sizes and colors from thick paper, and prepare a long rope.
Invite the children to make beads that they would like to see on their mother's neck. Students must arrange circles on the rope in an original way. It is important to suggest the idea of alternation: beads on which the circles are placed not randomly, but in a certain order, look more beautiful. At the end of the game, children choose the winner who has the most beautiful decoration.
What happens?
The presenter names the definition, and the players take turns recalling the objects that relate to it. For the correct answer the player receives a point. The winner is the one who collects the most points. For example:
- it can be long... a dress, a river, a snake, a rope;
- It can be deep... sea, well, pit, cave;
- It can be tall... a house, a mountain, a person, a giraffe.
Similarly for other definitions: thick, wide, narrow, short.
