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Relevance (context) of the article. The analysis of the sources shows the effect of the P. Ya. Galperin’s theory of step-by-step development of intellectual activity. Relevance of the study is evident both at the level of fundamental general psychological mechanisms of intellectual processes, and at the level of educational technology development. P. Ya. Galperin’s theory has found its usage in developing methods for correctional and educational work in teaching children with disabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to show relevance of P. Ya. Galperin’s theory implementation, when developing methods in correctional education to form intellectual activity in preschoolers with intellectual disabilities.

Description of the research. The thesis reveals gradual development of intellectual activity in preschoolers with intellectual disabilities. There is an author’s method of forming intellectual activity in preschool children with intellectual disabilities. This method is presented on the example of actions of assigning the subject to the standard of form and direct quantitative counting. It is used in preparing children for school. This study is implemented in the educational field Intellectual Development. It is possible to use this method in the future to ensure preschool education of children with intellectual disabilities.

Findings. The research studied formation of a perceptive ability to match a particular object’s properties with the set standards of form and the ability to make direct quantitative calculations when using the method based on P. Ya. Galperin’s theory. The study revealed that, though the tasks at each stage of learning were getting more and more complicated, the intellectual activity acquirement was progressing. This is shown through preschoolers with intellectual impairments being more independent from an adult’s help and being able to shift to a more ‘reduced’ action according to P. Ya. Galperin. The distinguished gradual development of intellectual activity (first shifting from conceiving the task to acquiring the intellectual action in the tangible and physical way, second shifting to handling the observed objects without motor actions involved, finally shifting to prospective planning of the action) has proven to be effective when assisting a child in forming various intellectual actions, such as objective figure modeling, objects size-ranking, comparison, qualitative division, etc.

Conclusion. The method of forming intellectual skills in preschoolers with intellectual disabilities, built on the principle of gradual development of intellectual activity can be widely used in correctional, developmental and educational work. This study is possible to go beyond the actual intellectual development and be used in other educational areas of preschool education of this group of children.

Vygotsky theory of higher mental functions formed the basis of understanding of the abilities and means of development. Abilities develop in childhood, providing “entry” in the culture and successful acquisition of different activities throughout life. Development of Vygotsky’s ideas formed understanding of the mechanisms leading to the formation of abilities in preschool childhood through the mastery and use of child preschool imagery tools. The following mental abilities and tools that promote development were identified: sensory (means – sensory etalons), intellectual (means – graphic-shaped models), creative (means – images) and symbolic (means – symbols). The use of imagery means for development of these types of abilities helps the child to deal with complex cognitive and creative tasks with a little help from an adult, i.e. extends the zone of proximal development. Adult acts as both a carrier of culture and as a partner of the child in various activities (educational, play, graphic etc.). Such approach to education and training not only provides intellectual and creative, but also personal and social development of preschool child.

Background. During the older preschool age, a child develops a pronounced arbitrariness of such mental processes as thinking, memory, attention, behavior is established, the emotional sphere becomes more complex, and creative abilities are manifested that determine the degree of the child’s readiness for the increasing demands of schooling. Due to the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard for the integration of physical and intellectual and creative development of preschoolers, motor and creative activity is becoming a key factor in the formation of cognitive abilities, imagination and emotional intelligence. Particular attention is paid to the structural components of development: motor imagination, memory, attention, and coordination skills, but the role of outdoor games in the socialization of older preschoolers remains insufficiently studied.

Objective. The purpose of the study was to develop the content and use of new forms of physical education for older preschoolers, mainly aimed at developing the intellectual and creative sphere of the children’s personality, substantiating and evaluating their effectiveness, and studying the relationship between the development of the motor and intellectual and creative spheres of preschool children’s personality during classes.

Sample. The experiment involved 237 older preschoolers from five kindergartens in Irkutsk.

Methods. The study used various methods, such as structured analysis of outdoor games, questionnaires, observation, testing, pedagogical experiment and statistical processing of the data obtained. The effectiveness of new forms of physical education activities was assessed using diagnostic techniques based on level assessment: “Memorization of Motor Action” (V.R. Kuzekevich), “ Dynamic Practice Test “ (A.R. Luria), “Sun in the Room” (V.B. Sinelnikov, V.T. Kudryavtsev), “Tree of Desires” (V.S. Yurkevich).

Results. We have identified and supplemented the organizational forms of physical education and health classes in preschool educational institutions, supported them with methodological tools and tested in practice. It was found that the systematic use of educational outdoor games, obstacle courses, motor attractions and creative tasks contributes to a significant increase in the level of memory, imagination and independent movement control. The introduction of non-standard equipment and game plots intensified the cognitive activity of children and stimulated the development of motor creativity.

Conclusions. The results of the assessment of the level of formation of the intellectual and creative sphere of older preschoolers allow us to assert that the use of a wide range of motor and game organizational forms in the process of designing physical education can significantly increase efficiency. The results have practical value for developing programs in preschool educational institutions that combine physical activity with cognitive and creative development.

Background. The relevance of the study is determined, on the one hand, by the significance of the problem of parent-child play interaction as an important aspect of family education, and on the other hand, by the insufficiency of its studies in the modern conditions of rapidly occurring profound changes in society, affecting the family microenvironment.

Objectives. 1) To identify and analyze the characteristics of play interaction between senior preschoolers with their parents, taking into account the possibilities of using digital devices. 2) To study the influence of the frequency of joint computer games in a family setting on the intellectual and creative development of children.

Sample. The study involved 180 preschoolers aged 6-7 years (Mage = 6.8, SD = 0.34; 88 boys, 92 girls), as well as their parents, mainly mothers. All preschoolers and their parents were the residents of Moscow. Most children (92.78%) attended preschool educational institutions.

Methods. A survey of parents was conducted. To diagnose children’s development, the following methods were used: a test method for diagnosing intellectual abilities (MEDIS); structured observation and expert assessments of children’s participation in a game lesson to reveal creative and intellectual potential. Methods of qualitative and quantitative data analysis were used (Jamovi 1.6.23 statistical package).

Results. In most families, play interaction between modern senior preschoolers and parents is implemented both in the form of traditional games (board, outdoor, role-playing, etc.) and computer games. However, the frequency of their use varies. In general, traditional games are chosen more often than computer games. At the same time, mothers are more likely to play traditional games with their children than fathers. When using gadgets, the opposite trend is observed: fathers are more likely than mothers to play computer games with their children. Preschoolers who rarely played computer games with their moms or dads had higher intellectual test scores.

Conclusions. The results of the study allow us to expand scientific understanding of the play interactions between modern senior preschoolers and parents. The need for psychological and pedagogical support for parents in choosing and organizing joint games with children is highlighted. The data obtained can be used in the development of recommendations to parents on the creation of a developing family microenvironment, in particular, on its digitalization.

Background. The process of intellectual ontogenetic development and the ways for its evaluation have been studied by many prominent psychologists Piaget (1973), Wallon (1942), Zaporozhets (1986), Galperin (1998). However, there are few works which consider the zone of proximate development (Vygotsky, 1983) during evaluation of intellectual development in children.

Objective. The present study is an attempt of elaboration and application of such procedure to children who live in different social and economic conditions.

Sampling. The study took place in Mexico. 1120 school children of both sexes from different levels of living (rural, suburban, lower urban and higher urban) were selected. The age of children was from 6 to 12 years. Each socio-economic group consisted of 280 children: 20 children from each school grade (10 girls and 10 boys). The school grades comprehend the last grade of kinder garden and 6 grades of elementary school according to educational system in Mexico.

Methods. The Scheme of Evaluation of Intellectual Development was elaborated and applied to all children. The Scheme represents the evaluation of the zone of proximate development as the plan of fulfilment of the experimental task (verbal, images or actions) after presentation of orientation base of action (Galperin, 1976; Talyzina, 1984; Karpov, 1983; Talyzina, Karpov, 1987). The Scheme consists of two intellectual tasks, which are presented in different plans of intellectual development: verbal, images or actions.

Results. At first, the possibility of initial execution without helping has been verified. The results showed impossibility of execution of the initial task: 82% in rural group; 74.64% in suburban group; 64.64% in lower urban group and 71. 42% in higher urban group for the first task and 65.35% in rural group; 62.50% for suburban group; 52.85% for lower urban and 46.42% for higher urban group. The analyses of variance pointed out significant difference between the groups. However, that, after the orientation base of action has been provided, the majority of children who had failed in the initial task was able to realize it on different levels. The execution on verbal level was very high: 62.17 % in rural group; 61.27% in suburban group; 75.30% in lower urban group and 77.95% in higher urban group for the first task and 48.00% in rural group; 56.80% for suburban group; 59.58% for lower urban group and 66.14% in higher urban group for the second task. Significant difference was found only for levels of helping during presentation of orientation base of action.

Conclusions. These results show the ability of children from all groups to work in the zone of proximate development and realize the intellectual task after previous orientation. According to our study children are able to achieve verbal level which indicates the existence of broad zone of proximate development. The discussion is based on the paper of the zone of proximate development (Vygotsky, 1991) and of the orientation base of action given by adult (Galperin, 1996; Talizina, 2000) in the formation of intellectual activity in pre-scholars and scholars from different social and economic groups.

Background. The intellectual development of older preschool children is of significant importance at the stage of preparation for school. The formation of intellectual readiness is one of the indicators of the child’s adaptive inclusion in the educational process in primary education programs. The analysis of scientific research has revealed the content and structural components of the concepts of “intellectual development” and “intellectual readiness of an older preschooler”. This contributed to the definition of the main criteria for the study of intellectual readiness and the development of appropriate gaming diagnostic tasks for older preschoolers.

Objective. To study the dynamics of the formation of intellectual readiness of older preschoolers in the process of stage-by-stage implementation of the intellectual project “Ready for School!”

Methods. The study involved 30 children of the preparatory school group. At the first stage, the diagnosis of preschoolers was carried out at the beginning of the school year according to the developed set of game tasks. At the second stage, an action plan was implemented with exercises aimed at the intellectual development of older preschoolers. At the final stage, a final study and analysis of the results were carried out.

Results. The analysis of the research results showed an increase in the cognitive and communicative activity of children in solving logical memorization tasks, mathematical riddles, and problems. The effectiveness of the work carried out with children on the formation of constructive and algorithmic thinking and mastery of mathematical concepts was revealed. The highest results were obtained by diagnostic indicators based on criteria for evaluating the formation of a common outlook, ideas and ways of interacting with adults and peers in various types of activities.

Conclusions. To effectively implement the tasks of developing the intellectual readiness of older preschoolers at the stage of preparation for school, the teacher needs to use systematic work technologies that promote the activation of children’s creativity and cognition: problematic mathematical tasks, multi-level and group tasks, design, elementary programming, additional exercises for neurobiology, logical memorization , associative thinking, development of interhemispheric interaction, as well as visual-motor coordination.