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.