Elena O. Smirnova

Currently we can see large quantity of different books published for children. At the market of book production for children there is a strong competition. In struggle for the consumer, trying to make books more attractive, publishers think out new forms of a printed production for children, where reading becomes a background for other activities. As a result «new genres» of the children's books appear. In the article the analysis from psychological position of these novelties in modern printed matter for children is offered.

"Developmental toy" term for a long time has been a part of our everyday life. But what exactly is a developmental toy? How does it differ from the regular ones? The author answers these and other questions, revealing generally accepted myths about developmental toys.

Heightened aggressiveness is one of the characteristic problems of modern children. Should these forms of a child’s activity and vitality (especially among boys) be considered natural and necessary, or should they be timely suppressed? To answer this question the author analyzes causes of heightened aggressiveness of preschool children and psychological traits of aggressive children.

The idea of open kindergarten in Germany appeared in 1980. After analyzing the educational system scientists and teachers concluded that it significantly limits the space of a child’s life in different areas. The theoretical basis of the new method developed by the German scientist-educator Alex Wieland and professional advisor Gerhard Regel. After a thorough scientific and methodological elaboration, a new organization of life of kindergarten has been widely discussed and received support from teachers, nursery workers and parents. Currently, open kindergartens operate successfully in Germany, particularly in Bavaria, where the authors were able to visit two such kindergartens. This article describes the basic features of educational process in open kindergartens: the organization of working supplies, the regime of the day, teacher training, etc. In conclusion, the comparative analysis of the Russian system of preschool education and the system provided in the frame of open kindergartens in Germany is given.

The past decade brought our country substantial economical, political and social changes, which inevitably affected the nature of preschool childhood. Most of them resulted from government’s policy change towards preschool education, namely disbandment of Ministry of Education’s Preschool Department, transference of preschool education under the control of municipal authorities, revision of age thresholds of primary education, introduction of preschool preparation for children of 5 years of age and other innovations. This article explores the ways in which all these changes affected parent-preschooler relations.

The value of a play for child development is acknowledged by all psychologists and many other specialists. Teachers, pediatricians, neurophysiologists and human rights activists all over the world demonstrate that child play has a fundamental, crucial effect on child growth, and deprivation of it is detrimental for normal development. However, the current trend of regarding child play as an “excessive” element in education that wastes time strengths. More and more adults today begin to view child play as merely entertainment that takes time from proper education and development. Contemporary preschool education tends to use child play primarily for teaching certain skills and notions, leaving other crucial aspects of the play itself unappreciated. It can be seen in the new terminology, like “play form”, “play tools”, etc. that new “play technologies” had largely supplanted child play.

The value of the role play for the children’s development and status of the game as the leading activity of preschool children is not questioned, but in order to fulfill its leadership role and actually become a valuable tool for the development of personal qualities, the game itself should have a certain level of development.

The study was conducted in the older groups in Moscow kindergartens (112 children aged 5-6 years). During the observations the following indicators of play development were registered: plot of the game, role fulfillment, quality of interaction between children in role play and in real-life communication, level of development of play operations, usage of substitute items, means of game space creation.

Results showed that 60% of older preschoolers demonstrated low levels of the play development; average level was met fulfilled by 35% of children; high level was recorded only as an exception.

Play is called to be of the special importance in Russian federal government requirements for preschool education program. However, in this precise formulation an ambivalent attitude to the game can be found: on the one hand, it is “the main form of work with preschool children,” and on the other - the leading activity of preschool children. This duality provides a definite risk of utilitarian use of play and replacing it by traditional training sessions. Bringing toys and fairy tales in the classroom can not be considered as a sufficient condition for true play appearance. The advanced game is independent and free in its nature; it involves the creation of an imaginary situation, the simultaneous existence of the child in the real and imaginary space.

Play is one of the most acute problems of modern preschool pedagogy. Value of play for child development is recognized by virtually all experts. However, there is a tendency to remove play from pre-school education. One of the causes of displacement of the preschool play is the uncertainty of the concept of “play”. Despite the familiarity of the term, its meaning is understood and interpreted differently. This issue is addressed in the article in a detailed way. Different approaches to the understanding of the play from the point of view of psychologists are described. Special attention is given to play where there is no role, but there is an imaginary situation in which the child acts “not from things but from thought.” The author extends the concept of the play and brings different kinds of visual games.

The last few years have seen Monster High dolls become one of the most popular and controversial toys. Based on the results of a specific empirical study the authors of the article attempt to find out why these dolls are so popular and what children see and what they fail to see in them and how preschool and younger school age girls play with these dolls. The study involved 245 parents and 50 girls in two age groups: 6-7 and 8-9 years. The adults completed the questionnaire which evaluated these dolls’ basic qualities. The children were involved in individual conversations in which each of the girls was asked the same questions. The children’s drawings depicting these dolls and the way they played with them were analyzed. The children’s and adults’ assessment of the dolls’ different qualities made it possible to register an obvious generational gap: what children perceive as being perfect is regarded by adults as being ugly and revolting. The children’s drawings suggest that Monster High dolls are perceived by them as “standards of beauty.” Most of the girls prefer these dolls to traditional ones. Watching the children play with these girls showed its essential part to be defined not so much by the toys’ image as by the general context of a child’s life: when using these dolls children play out most varied stories that reflect their personal experience. The article concludes by discussing the results of the study and possible risks these toys carry for preschoolers.

The article focuses on the role of the teacher in the play of preschoolers, which is very ambiguous. On the one hand, the play is the free, independent activity of children, which does not suppose intervention, much less adult leadership. On the other hand, fantasy play involving the typical differentiation between imaginary and real situations does not arise spontaneously, and the educator is the main condition for the creation full-fledged playing. The level of development of children playing, the desire and ability to play and the development of preschoolers depend on the position of the educator in regards to the children playing, and their game-playing competence. Different positions of the educator in regards to playing children are discussed: detached, didactic and supportive, which is based on game-playing competence. This article introduces the concept of “game-playing competence” which includes various components. There are three main abilities in game-playing competence: fertile imagination which allows the educator to overcome stereotypes and create new characters and plots; emotional expressiveness and artistry involving children in an imaginary situation; support initiation and autonomy in children, and their self-confidence. This requires communication skills and sensitivity to other people, allowing you to see and hear your partners. That can be difficult if the educator has clear understanding of how to play correctly and the children cannot do it. In addition, educators need to know child psychology and development games. In conclusion methods for developing these features in educators in the process of their professional training are discussed.

This paper describes the contents and working techniques of the author’s Amares Naturkindergarten in Germany. The originality of this kindergarten lies in the absence of an educational program, in the participation of children in various serious activities and in the specific organization of the educational environment.

The characteristics of the body space environment have been presented, where, unlike the national tradition, the maintenance of order is not considered as a special value since the independent activity of children is not quiet compatible with the order and invariance of the environment. The priority of a safety for children, generally accepted for the kindergartens, a barrier against possible risks, have been replaced by a toughening up, a transfer to the child’s own concern about their safety.

The examples of a child activities, including the creation of feasible products (a museum, a garden, a piece of chalk, etc.), experimentation, household economic activities, and of course play have been described. The education and child-rearing have been included in various types of a child activities. There are no traditional studies in this kindergarten. The work of teachers has been focused not at the transfer of knowledge but at fostering the independence and creative orientation of a child. With the support of teachers, preschoolers practically do everything themselves, which contributes to the development of the most important personal qualities. The role of parents is particularly emphasized as they observe the children’s enthusiasm, actively help the kindergarten staff and defend their right to such a teaching practice which is ingenious for Germany.

In conclusion, the authors note that the methods of education used in Amares Naturkindergarten fully comply with the requirements of the Russian Federal State Standard for Early Childhood Education as they have been focused on the development of a child personality, the education of independence, initiative and responsibility.

The article presents an attempt to identify the main characteristics of children’s information environment and show their influence on the psychology of modern children. In the analysis of modern market of toys, books and movies, the author states some of the paradoxes of modern socio-cultural situation. One of them is the fact that the majority of information products for children are not designed for the age peculiarities of its destination. Other paradox is that increased demands on cognitive development of children combined with overly caring attitude to their physical security and autonomy. The desire to make the life of their children easier, to protect them from any risk, effort and hardship is the dominant trend of modern education. As a result, children are setting on consumption, which is amplified by the expansion of modern media and video production for children. In the second part of the article discusses the problems of modern children due to the characteristics of children’s subculture. Among them, the underdevelopment of the motive sphere, disorders of speech development, lack of imagination, communication difficulties, lack of autonomy and self-organization. The author concludes that modern children’s subculture inhibits the development of personality of the child and leads to deficiency of motivation.