Development of attention in preschool children: features, games and exercises

One of the questions that concerns many parents is what exercises will help develop attention in children. You can notice that kids are rarely focused and concentrated, sometimes it’s not easy for them to do one thing, and yet attention is necessary not only for success in school or play, but also for their own safety.

What is attention?

Attention is a certain psychological process, a person’s ability to concentrate on a necessary action. A child’s success at school largely depends on how well it is developed, so it is very important to start working in preschool age, to create conditions for involuntary attention to develop into a voluntary, volitional ability to concentrate. And the best thing parents can do is to develop the ability to concentrate through play.

The following characteristics of this process can be distinguished.

Volume. That is, the amount of information that a child can retain in his mind.
Concentration. A child’s ability to concentrate on something specific.
Sustainability. The time period during which it is possible to maintain concentration.
Distribution. The ability to divide attention into several simultaneously occurring processes.
Switchability. The ability to quickly transfer concentration from one action to another.

The task of parents is to work with their children so productively that they form and develop all these characteristics.

Attention is one of the processes of the cognitive, that is, cognitive, sphere of a person - along with memory, thinking, perception and imagination. Without concentration, it is impossible to obtain new information in the required volume and remember it, so this process can be confidently called the first stage of cognition. Then, with the help of memory, a person accumulates acquired information. Only with the necessary level of attention will a child be able to learn cognitive processes such as reading, writing, and learning in the future.

Development of voluntary attention of preschoolers in play activities

Author: Glazova Yana Alekseevna

Article: Glazova Y.A. Development of voluntary attention of preschool children in play activities

The problem of attention is considered one of the most important and complex problems in psychology. The development of the entire system of psychological knowledge, both fundamental and applied, depends on its solution.

The significance of attention in human life, its determining role in the selection of the contents of conscious experience, memorization and learning are obvious. It is also difficult to doubt the need for a comprehensive and detailed study of its phenomena.

In contrast to such cognitive processes as thinking, memory, perception, attention does not have its own special content; it appears, as it were, within these processes and is inseparable from them. Attention characterizes the dynamics of mental processes. Thus, this mental process is a condition for the successful implementation of any activity, both external and internal, and its product is its high-quality implementation. The main condition for the development of voluntary attention in preschool children can be play as the child’s main activity. In preschool age, play is of utmost importance in the life of a small child: play for them is study, play for them is work, play for them is a serious form of education. The game accustoms him to observation, to following certain rules, and disciplines his will. Play for preschoolers is a way of learning about the world around them. In the game, the child acquires new knowledge, skills and abilities.

Voluntary attention is one of the most important characteristics of children’s cognitive activity. Along with thinking, perception, memory, and imagination, voluntary attention is the most important acquisition of personality at this stage of ontogenesis. It is associated with the formation of volitional qualities in the child and is in close interaction with the general mental development of the child.

There are several approaches to understanding voluntariness. The first of them distinguishes between voluntary and volitional actions. Volitional actions, according to researchers of the first approach (G.S. Kostyuk, V.I. Asnin), “occur in a situation of restructuring stereotypes, in the presence of difficulties.”

Voluntary behavior, the authors believe, can be formed through the targeted development of the volitional sphere. These researchers understand by will the aspirations, desires, goals, decisions of a person, his conscious, purposeful actions, actions, his perseverance, determination, endurance and other qualities. Will is one of the ways of conscious regulation of activity and behavior, the ability acquired by a person to consciously set goals, make decisions and subordinate his actions and actions to them.

The third point of view on the mechanism of occurrence of voluntary behavior belongs to A.R. Luria and A.V. Zaporozhets. Researchers believe that preschoolers subordinate their behavior not to words, but to situational circumstances. Those. In order for the child to be guided in his actions by verbal instructions, it is necessary to create special conditions.

The formation of arbitrariness of behavior in preschool age goes from the “pre-situational” freedom of children to the appearance of barriers and effort, and then, in older preschool age, to the acquisition of “above-situational” freedom. These data suggest that the psychological mechanism for the development of voluntariness, and in particular voluntary attention, is the gradual “volition” of behavior, the consistent penetration of will into children’s behavior, leading through the child’s use of effort to gain freedom in action.

Involuntary attention reaches a high level of development in preschool age. The emergence of new interests and participation in new activities force the child to focus on aspects of reality that previously went unnoticed.

The preschooler's attention span and ability to engage in a particular task or subject for a long time increases. Preschoolers can spend hours playing some interesting game, drawing or designing.

The organization of educational work is of decisive importance in the development of involuntary attention. By introducing the preschooler to the surrounding reality, encouraging him to actively display this reality in his games, activities, and visual arts, the teacher arouses interest in new objects and phenomena, forcing the child to involuntarily focus his attention on them.

If involuntary attention reaches a high stage of development in preschool children, then voluntary attention is just beginning to form in them.

Carrying out instructions from adults, carrying out some responsibilities in kindergarten and at home, taking part in group games, a preschooler is increasingly faced with conditions where he has to pay attention to what is necessary to carry out the intended task, which corresponds to the verbal instructions of an adult or the requirements of the children's group. . Thus, new living conditions, specially organized by parents and educators, lead to the formation of voluntary attention.

F. Schiller believed that “play arose for pleasure... Only by playing can one become a person.” Thorndike stated: “Play is an hereditary instinct.” Bucher: “Game is a form of excess energy.” Kant: “Play is a disinterested activity... An activity in itself.”

The Swiss scientist K. Gross considered games to be the original school of behavior [39, 106]. For him, no matter what external or internal factors motivate the games, their meaning is precisely to become a school of life for children. This approach is simple and wise. The game is objectively a primary spontaneous school, the apparent chaos of which provides the child with the opportunity to become familiar with the traditions of behavior of the people around him. Nature, as it were, specially provided higher animals and humans with a long period of childhood, so that, while playing, they developed vital organs and functions.

The founder of psychoanalysis 3. Freud developed the idea of the compensatory nature of play, connecting it with the unconscious mechanisms of the psyche. The first function of the game, according to Freud, is the symbolic realization of unconscious drives, which provides cleansing and healing of the psyche. The second function of the game is related to the fact that traumatic situations, which are the source of neurosis, are resolved and removed.

In modern languages, the concept of game is also extremely polysemantic. The prominent game theorist Huizinga defines this concept with the following formula: “Game is a voluntary action or activity performed within established boundaries of place and time according to voluntarily accepted but absolutely obligatory rules with a purpose contained in itself, accompanied by a feeling of tension and joy, as well as consciousness “another existence” than “everyday life” [68,10]. Huizinga's ideas have not lost their relevance. The scientist, with his book “Man Playing,” proves that human creativity is a moment of play as a moment of truth. Considering play action in different historical layers, Huizenga comes to the most important generalizations: play is a necessary way of social life, the objective basis of our existence].

The brilliant researcher of the game D.B. Elkonin believes that the game organizes activity with the help of cult symbols and, therefore, teaches one to navigate cultural phenomena and helps to use them appropriately. Special studies have established that the first needs of a child are social. D.B. Elkonin writes: “The world of a child is, first of all, an adult as the most important part of the reality surrounding the child, part of the world of adults.” This means that the game is social in nature and immediate saturation and is projected to reflect the world of adults.

Through play, a child enters the world of adults, masters spiritual values, and assimilates previous social experience. We can consider that in the game the child receives for the first time a lesson in collective thinking. This circumstance is of fundamental importance if we take into account that the child’s future is connected with socially useful work, the most important quality of which is the joint, collective solution of problems aimed at achieving a common goal.

So, the game performs essential functions in the formation of the child’s personality. It reflects and develops the knowledge and skills acquired in classes at preschool educational institutions, and establishes the rules of behavior that children are taught to follow in life. Play acts as the main leading type of children's activity and as the most important condition for social education. The game develops the mental abilities necessary for every child, the level of development of which, of course, affects the process of schooling. That is why it is necessary to pay special attention to the play activities of older preschoolers.

When we talk about play as the leading activity of a preschooler, we mainly mean joint role-playing play. Other types of games - outdoor, didactic, construction - although widely used in preschool education, serve to implement private educational tasks.

To develop voluntary attention, it is necessary to arouse in the child emotional interest in his activities, which becomes possible when using, first of all, the leading activity of a preschooler - games. It is still difficult for children to concentrate on monotonous and unattractive activities, while in the process of emotionally charged play they can remain attentive for quite a long time.

In the game, the basic elements of volitional action are formed: the child sets a goal, makes a decision, outlines a plan of action, executes it, shows a certain effort in overcoming obstacles, and evaluates the result of his action.

Voluntary regulation of behavior consists in subordinating the child’s behavior to the task, that is, in his ability to concentrate on what the adult suggested, on attempts to actively solve the problem, on overcoming everything that is not related to the main activity. Arbitrariness, in turn, provides a sufficient level of gaming motivation.

Insufficient voluntary attention - the child finds it difficult to concentrate attention on demand.

Such deficiencies cannot be eliminated by fragmentary “attention exercises” included in the process of working with a child and require specially organized work to overcome them.

The main change in attention in preschool age is that children aged 6-7 years first begin to manage their attention, consciously direct it to certain objects, phenomena, and stay on them, using certain means for this, i.e. so-called voluntary attention arises.

Age-related features of the development of voluntary attention in older preschoolers are the comparative weakness of voluntary attention and its low stability. Children do not yet know how to concentrate on a task for a long time, especially if it is uninteresting and monotonous; their attention is easily distracted. The possibilities of volitional regulation of attention and its management in older preschool age are very limited. Educators and parents are faced with the most difficult task - to think through the special work of organizing children’s attention, otherwise it will be at the mercy of surrounding things and random coincidences.

The development of voluntary attention is the most important task of preschool education. In the future, it will ensure the child’s success in school, help him follow the teacher’s instructions and control himself.

Voluntary attention is formed due to the fact that adults include the child in new activities such as games according to the rules, construction, etc., and with the help of certain means they direct and organize his attention. When introducing the child to these types of activities, adults organize his attention using verbal instructions. The child is directed to the need to perform given actions, taking into account certain circumstances.

One of the main means of developing voluntary attention is play, which acts as the main leading type of children's activity and as the most important condition for public education. A special role in the formation of voluntary attention is played by games with rules, which, in addition to increasing the level of development of the basic qualities of voluntary attention, contribute to the education in children of strong-willed character traits, activity, independence and determination.

Sources:

Barmashova E. Game mosaic: a program of classes for developing attention in preschool children [Text] / Elena Barmashova // School psychologist. - 2005. - No. 5. - P. 8-14.

Baskakova I.L. Attention of a preschooler, methods of its study and development. Studying the attention of schoolchildren [Text] / I.L. Baskakova. - M.: Publishing house "Institute of Practical Psychology", Voronezh-NPO "MODEK", 1995. - 64 p.

Preschooler's game [Text] / L.A.
Abrahamyan, T.V. Antonova, L.V. Artemova and others; Ed. S.L. Novoselova.— M.: Prosveshchenie, 1989.— 286 p.: ill.— (Book of a kindergarten teacher). Attached files: comments powered by HyperComments

Kinds

There are several types of attention that have their own specificity in preschool children.

First of all, passive (involuntary, or unintentional) attention, that is, concentration on something interesting, unusual without the child’s volitional efforts. In preschool age, this type is the main one: first, children pay attention to something noticeable, then they begin to be interested in what they did not know before, new to themselves.

The next stage of development is the formation of voluntary attention, and it is important to understand that it will not arise on its own from involuntary attention; for this it is necessary to train the child. The active variety is directly related to volitional efforts, so if a child is sick or irritated, his ability to concentrate decreases. Voluntary attention begins to form at the age of 4-5, although the first type still remains dominant throughout preschool childhood.

Features of voluntary attention

Voluntary attention manifests itself when we set a task for ourselves and develop a program for its implementation. The ability to control voluntary attention develops in a person gradually; it is not innate. But, having mastered the habit of voluntarily controlling our attention, its direction and concentration, we solve our problems more easily and no longer feel tension or discomfort due to the need to concentrate and maintain attention on what is necessary.

Voluntary attention demonstrates the volitional qualities of a person and his activity, reveals the range of interests, goals, and effectiveness. The main function of this type of attention is active participation in regulating the flow of mental processes. Voluntary attention allows you to find the necessary information in memory, identify the main thing, decide on a solution and act, solving problems and tasks.

Voluntary attention, when involved in work, involves the cerebral cortex (frontal regions), which are responsible for programming and adjusting human activity (including his behavior). The peculiarity of voluntary attention is manifested in the fact that the main stimulus in this case is a signal from the second signaling system (and not from the first, as happens with involuntary attention). Excitation that arises in the cerebral cortex as a thought or order to oneself becomes dominant. “Recharge” of voluntary attention occurs when the upper parts of the brain stem, reticular formation, and hypothalamus are activated, that is, under the influence of verbal stimuli. Voluntary attention is the highest mental function that distinguishes a person.

The conscious application of volitional efforts is a feature of voluntary attention, which helps in the process of working with new, unfamiliar material, when difficulties arise in work, when cognitive interest in a topic decreases, in the presence of various kinds of distractions.

We can highlight some distinctive features of voluntary attention as a higher mental function:

its indirectness and awareness;
arbitrariness;
emergence during the evolution of the development of society;
formation throughout life;
the passage of certain developmental phases in ontogenesis;
dependence and conditionality of the development of a child’s voluntary attention on his involvement in the learning process and on the assimilation of certain patterns of attention organization.

Concentration standards

Concentration of attention refers to the period of time during which a person is able to maintain concentration on one action. In children, it can have a different duration depending on age, but even the number of years lived is not a fundamental factor. The norm depends on the individual characteristics of the baby. The table shows specific indicators.

Age, years	Norm, minutes
2	4-10
3	5-15
4	8-20
5	10-25
6	11-30
7	15-35

Indicators can be either increased or decreased, because attention, like the body and brain, can be trained with special exercises. Regular classes with a preschooler will give parents and the child a good mood, and will also be very useful for improving the ability to concentrate on something and maintain this concentration. It is necessary to develop it so that the child becomes more observant and can easily detect any small details or subtle signs. All this will further help in the learning process, since attention is closely related to memorization.

How is attention formed in children?

There are several factors that influence the speed of formation of the skill of attention during the learning process. Here are some of them:

individual pace of learning;
absence of long pauses in the learning process;
reliance on active mental activity (application of generalization and comparison tasks, searching for examples and drawing conclusions);
reliance on existing knowledge and skills;
accompaniment of intellectual activity with special physical activity;
absence of external stimuli that attract involuntary attention and distract from the cognitive process (loud remarks, comments, sudden movements, music and conversations);
clarity and brevity of explanations of adults/conditions of the task that needs to be solved.

Formation of attention

Psychologists distinguish 6 stages of attention development in children.

Disseminated (from 0 to 1 year). Children can be distracted by any noise or new toy.
Fixed (1-2 years). The kid, busy with his business, is so absorbed in it that he does not notice anything around him.
Flexible single-channel (2-3 years). He may stop what he is doing when he hears an address to himself, but will return to it very quickly.
Established single-channel (3-4 years). Children can switch from one process to another, interrupt their activities, and then return to them again.
Two-channel short-term (4-5 years). The child gains the ability to do two things at the same time - for example, play and listen to what his mother tells him. If it is necessary to perform a complex action, he is able to concentrate on it.
Emerging two-channel (5-6 years). Can do two things at the same time, which is why attention training should begin at this age.

Knowing these stages will help parents understand their child better.

What is the manifestation of attention deficit?

Various attention disorders are directly related to the properties of attention. There are only seven of them.

Stability is the child’s ability to direct his attention to some objects or actions without switching it.

Concentration is the ability not to be distracted by extraneous sounds, rustles and similar stimuli during one’s own concentrated activity. For example, a preschooler is drawing and suddenly hears a sound signal that he has received an SMS. A child with a developed concentration will not be distracted by this - he will continue to draw.

Focus is the ability to maintain attention on one object or activity while distracting from everything else related to that topic. Focus is very similar to concentration, but is considered a skill of deeper analysis and focusing attention on important details.

The following disturbances of attention are associated with these properties of attention:

lack of concentration, in which it is difficult for the child not to be distracted by extraneous stimuli;
insufficient selectivity, in which the baby cannot concentrate on the desired object or activity;
insufficient voluntariness, in which it is difficult for a preschooler to concentrate on demand;
absent-mindedness - in other words, the inability to concentrate on the object of activity.

Distribution is the ability to place in your attention not one object, but several. For example, having learned that trees are coniferous and deciduous, preschoolers are able to remember several names of both.

The inability to simultaneously perform several tasks, or otherwise poor distribution, is another violation of attention.

Switchability - this property of attention is especially pronounced at school. For example, the teacher says something, and then asks you to look at the textbook or at the board and rewrite the sentence.

Children with poor attention span will continue to listen to what the teacher says; it is difficult for them to “suddenly” switch from one type of activity to another, that is, from the teacher’s words to a book or blackboard.

Objectivity is the ability to transfer attention to a specific focus of an object. For example, having learned that two plus two equals four and seeing a picture of apples under the example, a child with developed objectivity will immediately understand that 2 + 2 = 4 applies not only to numbers and apples, but also to carrots and any other objects.

Attention span is the number of objects or processes on which a child can simultaneously focus. As recent studies show, a child’s attention span is 4-6 objects.

A small amount of attention - the inability to concentrate on several objects and hold them - is another violation of attention, which will certainly cause difficulties for the child when studying at school.

Techniques for increasing attention

We have seen that developing the ability to concentrate is of particular importance for preschoolers. And parents should train their children using an unobtrusive game form. Let's highlight a few tricks and techniques that you can use.

Maintaining interest. Using game forms, you can ensure that the child will study with great pleasure and, accordingly, attentively.
Stick to the duration of your classes. So, when studying numbers with a 4-year-old child, you need to understand that the child is able to hold attention for no more than 20 minutes, so it is better to keep the educational material within this framework.
Favorite characters and toys will also help you not lose interest, and therefore listen and perceive what the parent is saying.
Show by example. You can explain to the child that if he is attentive and tries to fulfill his parents’ instructions, then the result (for example, a tower of blocks) will turn out much better than if he worked without concentration, somehow.
Reading and attention are interconnected, so to improve the second, you can teach your child the first. While the baby is just getting acquainted with letters, the mother can read interesting fairy tales and stories to him. Afterwards, you definitely need to discuss what you read, asking to retell it, asking questions. This will help you find out how carefully the baby listened.

If the baby has trouble concentrating and is very far from his age norm, then he may have shallow breathing. Inflating balloons, soap bubbles, playing the pipe or whistle will help correct the situation. In addition, studies have proven that walks in the fresh air and active sports games are very beneficial for children.

Methods to help hyperactive and inattentive children

Problems with unstable attention appear already from the cradle. But parents attach great importance to this only in older preschool age and primary school. Inattentive, hyperactive children do not perceive information well, do not want to learn, do not sit in one place for a long time, become lethargic, tired, and do not listen to our requests.

Hyperactive child

Here are some more signs of external manifestations of hyperactivity and attention deficit:

constant fussiness, the child is constantly on the move;
these movements are impulsive;
increased talkativeness;
aggression and frequent conflicts may appear;
constant mood swings and high irritability;
the child may refuse to play with everyone;
low self-esteem and dissatisfaction with oneself appears;
The child cannot concentrate on one thing and is constantly distracted.

Important! When correcting attention, you need to combine several methods and approach the problem comprehensively, correcting not only the child’s behavior, but also the attitude of his close circle, parents, and teachers.

First of all, specialists provide consultations to parents on how to train their child’s memory and attention. After the necessary examination and observation, appropriate correction methods are selected, which include the following:

Teaching new behavior to all family members.
Correction of the psychological microclimate.
Choosing a suitable place to study with your child.
Adjusting your daily routine.
In a team, selection of the best environment.
Constant motivation of the child.
Techniques for reducing negative behavior.
Selection of an individual behavioral program.
Gentle correction of behavior in a playful and relaxed manner.
If necessary, additional adjustments with medications.

To achieve results, a child must be surrounded by care and attention, feel the love of loved ones and the desire to help and not harm.

Types of exercises for development

The following types of attention tasks can be distinguished for 5–6 year olds.

Repetition. The parent draws a series of 2-3 repeating figures on paper, the child’s task is to determine which one should go next and complete the series. Instead of figures, you can build rows of letters.
Search for the superfluous. At first, the task is simple: for example, the baby is offered 10 triangles and 1 square or 5 animals and one plant. We are gradually making it more complicated: 5 garden flowers and 1 wildflower are presented.
Find the difference. The game is well known to everyone. Two almost identical pictures are laid out in front of the child, his task is to find those details that are slightly different. The level of difficulty also varies depending on preparedness.

A variation of the previous task - find two identical ones. The child is offered an illustration that depicts several objects, such as vases, that differ from each other in minor details. The preschooler must carefully examine the models and find two identical ones among them. In the first stages of work, it is better to use pictures with obvious differences; this will help the child gain self-confidence and reinforce his interest. Further tasks become more difficult.
Working with pictures. There are special illustrations in which animals, such as tigers or wolves, are presented in a veiled form. You can invite your child to find them all.
Correlation of an object and its shadow.

Coloring by numbers. The parent gives the child a black and white picture that needs to be made in color, while the picture itself is divided into fragments, each of which is marked with its own number. A decoding of the numbers is provided separately (for example, 6 is pink, 5 is red). The child’s task is to carefully color the image without confusing the tones.
Drawing by numbers. A very good exercise for preschoolers who are familiar with counting to one hundred, and children of primary school age. The child is offered a picture, which for now consists only of dots, next to which a number is indicated. The kid must connect them, moving in order: first find 1, then connect it with 2, and so on.

It is important to remember that training should be built according to the principle “from simple to complex.” If the child does not succeed in something, you should postpone this task and offer him a simpler option.

Methods for assessing attention

To assess functions, there are special individual and group tests and techniques. The most common ones include:

A technique for finding the beginning and end of lines in a drawing.
To assess distribution, switching, stability, and fatigue, a technique is used in which children are given the task of marking different figures in a certain way, for example, a triangle with a dot, a square with a tick, etc. The time to complete the diagnosis is 2 minutes.
In parallel, short-term memory is assessed. To do this, the child is given multi-colored pictures, asked to look for objects and arrange these images in a given sequence. And then they ask where this or that thing originally lay.

When carrying out diagnostic procedures, the child’s desire to participate in them is very important.

Examples of simple games

There are a huge number of all kinds of games and tasks that will help your child learn to concentrate and also give him a good mood. The main thing is to conduct them in a positive way; the child should not have the thought that he is being taught something. It’s better if he is sure that mom and dad are playing with him.

Auditory attention

“Edible – Inedible” is a simple but effective game that you can play with one child or several. Mom throws the ball, saying the name of a dish, product or inedible item, such as clothing. The child listens carefully. If he hears the name of food, then he catches the ball, but if something unrelated to cooking sounds, then he needs to hit the ball.

There are many variations, so when a child is tired of food and is bored, you can offer slightly different games.

"It flies - it doesn't fly." The mother names animals and birds, the child, when he hears the name of a bird, raises his hands, and when he hears the name of an animal, he crouches. Over time, the task becomes more complicated - the adult names the animal and raises his hands, while the child must pay attention and sit down.
"Harvest". Mom is reading a story, into which she will periodically insert the words “plums” and “cherries,” and not always appropriately. The child must, firstly, hear the signal words themselves, and then perform the action: for “plums”, jump, for “cherries” - stand on one leg. An important feature is that the exercise is done from simple to complex: first, when pronouncing the text, the parent uses his voice to highlight signal words, then pronounces them in a normal rhythm so that the child is more attentive.
"Catch - don't catch." You will need two small balls - light and dark. A light child should always catch, and a dark child should only catch when his mother silently throws him. If at the same time the command “Catch” is heard, then you cannot catch.
"Repeat the rhythm." The mother sets a simple rhythm, beating it with her palms, and the baby must repeat it.
"Clap." This is also an interesting task, the level of difficulty of which can vary depending on the child’s preparation. The mother gives the instruction: when she claps once, the child stands on his toes, when she claps twice, on his heels, when he claps three times, he squats. The speed of the clapping gradually increases.

All these games are good because they are not tied to a specific place, they can be played almost anywhere, and the child will not have the feeling that he is being taught something, he will have fun and interesting.

Series of tasks

The child is given instructions to complete several tasks (you need to start with three, gradually increasing their number), while all tasks are listed at once, so the child will have to remember both the actions themselves and their order. For example:

Jump 7 times.
Bring the red item.
Name a garden flower.

If the child did everything correctly, you should definitely praise him, but if something didn’t work out, correct him, but in a soft, delicate manner. Gradually the number of tasks and their complexity increases; such an exercise will also help improve memory.

Other effective games

It is very important to constantly offer the preschooler something new, so that he gets the impression of a game, and not a useful activity. For example, "Dwarfs and Giants". The idea is simple: mom names an object, it must be either large (mountain, skyscraper, multi-story building, whale, elephant) or small (needle, button, coin, bead). The child listens, when a word from the “big” series is pronounced, that is, “giant,” he stands on his toes and raises his straight arms up, when the “small” one, he crouches.

If there are several children, you can play “Broken Phone”. To do this, all participants sit in a row, the first whispers a word in the ear of the second child, who passes it on to the third, and so on. The latter listens to the word and pronounces it out loud; if it matches the original version, then the phone works, but if not, it is broken.

“Guess where the woodpecker is.” An adult knocks, imitating the knock of a woodpecker, sometimes loudly (the bird is close), sometimes quietly (far away). The baby’s task is to tell where exactly the woodpecker is located.

Visual attention

There are a large number of exercises that will help improve visual concentration, and you can play in any convenient place - at home, on a walk, on the way to your grandmother. They are simple, do not require any preparation, and are effective.

Search for an item. The mother describes some object that is in the room (outside), the child must find it with his eyes and name it.
"Look at me". The child examines his mother, her outfit, hairstyle, and accessories for a few seconds. Then he turns his back to her and answers questions like “what color is my bag”, “am I wearing a lilac jacket”, “do I have a brooch”? The main thing is to formulate questions so that the child has a chance to answer them. You can make the work more complicated: the child looks at his mother, tries to remember the details of her costume, after which she changes something in her appearance, for example, takes off her scarf. The baby must remember the previous image and report what changes have happened to him. The game is played on the principle of increasing complexity: at first the change is obvious, then, when it becomes easier to achieve the required concentration of attention, the details are chosen to be less significant. For example, a mother can remove the ring from one finger and put it on the other, or make two changes to her image (of course, the child must be warned about this).
Working with a picture. Very similar to the previous task. The child is given a picture that he has not seen before. He should try to remember as many details as possible. After this, the illustration is removed and the baby is asked a series of questions.
Graphic task "Beetle". The parent draws a sheet of paper in advance to make cells. Places a beetle figurine in one of them. Then he gives the task - listening to his prompts, move the insect. For example: two cells to the right - then one down - now three to the left and one up. Then the task becomes more complicated: mom immediately names several moves: cell down - two to the left - three up. The child must follow the direction with his eyes and place the beetle in the last cell. You can't move your finger.
Another good exercise is “Cross out the letter.” The mother gives the baby a text, as well as a task - to find all the letters in it, for example, L and cross them out. When this works out well, you can make it more complicated: find A and L, cross out L with one line, and cross out A with two.
“Do it as it was.” The figures are laid out in front of the child in a certain sequence. These can be buttons of different colors and colors, toy dishes, cards with images. The child tries to remember the sequence, then turns away, and the mother swaps some two objects. Turning around, the baby must say where the changes occurred.

Games to develop attention should be carried out regularly, only in this case can a positive effect be expected from them. Among the many exercises, you can choose those that your baby likes most and turn to them.

Causes of absent-minded behavior and solutions

Often parents are faced with the fact that an 8-year-old child is distracted and inattentive, what to do about it? Being too active causes many problems at school. It will take him too long to master the entire training program. This must be fought. The first step is to find out the reason for this behavior. There are several aspects to look at:

Character is of particular importance. If he has always been leisurely and inactive, then it will be difficult for him to quickly switch from one task to another. He will often have his head in the clouds, forgetting the purpose of being in class. On the contrary, a choleric child who is too active will try to do many things at the same time without completing any of them.
An inattentive child may be due to a weakened body, a previous illness, or a developing cold. It may be worth getting tested and checking your hemoglobin level in your blood and blood pressure.
Sometimes absent-mindedness manifests itself in periods, and the rest of the time the child is quite attentive and diligent. This occurs due to little interest in any subject. Or maybe it’s just difficult for him and he needs help figuring it out.

Distracted attention

Methods for developing attention

Various memory exercises will help your child develop attention. They can be presented in the form of pictures or numbers. Studying simultaneously performed movements helps to distract the talker. For example, rotating your arms in opposite directions: one above your head, the other on your stomach. Or drawing shapes with both hands at the same time (for example, a circle and a rectangle). A group of children are happily involved in such an entertaining and fun process.

Additional Information! Olga Mashtal’s book “The Best Methods for Developing Attention in Children” will be very useful for studying such exercises. It contains 1000 tasks, tests, educational games, text and numerical exercises. It contains tasks for all younger ages, and adults will also enjoy it.

Book by Olga Mashtal “The best methods for developing attention in children”

Games for developing auditory attention

To eliminate inattention, it is necessary to develop not only thinking, but also other aspects, such as hearing and vision.

Here are some games aimed at developing auditory attention:

“Listen to words” - children are quickly called a series of words, having previously been warned that they must clap their hands or stamp their feet when they hear a word that means an animal (for example, goat or bear). As soon as the children begin to succeed, you can complicate the task by combining several actions: jump at the word that denotes a person (girl) and stomp at the word that denotes the time of day (day).
“Top-clap” - the adult says different phrases, and the child must clap if it is correct or stomp if it is incorrect. Anyone who is not attentive in class will initially begin to confuse these actions.
“On the table, under the table, knock” - in this game you need to give the child a task (jump, stand on a chair, raise your right hand, walk along the wall, etc.). At the same time, the parent also performs these actions, but then you begin to confuse the child, saying one task and performing another. A preschooler must learn to do what he is told. The same game can be played by pointing to an object and naming it.
“Find a pair” - you need to select several pairs of objects (socks, identical buttons, ribbons, plastic spoons) and give the child the task of sorting them into pairs. The older the child, the more pairs there are.

Project “Migratory Birds” in the preparatory group

Games for developing visual attention

Similar games can be played to concentrate visual attention. This could be remembering all the items on the table and then putting one of them away. A good way to match items by color or picture: a white cloud matches a white blouse. An older child can draw pictures in detail.

Important! Visual perception is most developed in preschool age. Younger children will be restless. You should not force them to do tasks using this method.

At the same time, the eyes are the sense organ that is used most often by a person, and its development is very important for the development of a child, as if he were in preschool or adolescence.

Concentration of attention

Accustoming to order and accuracy will also help to overcome hyperactivity and develop increased concentration. In addition, it is worth discussing with your child the importance of developing such useful qualities as observation, searching for errors and shortcomings in work. Teach him to compare the results with how difficult it was at the beginning.

Assiduous and focused child

Here are some more ways to improve your concentration:

Didactic games - children are immersed in certain situations, from which they independently find a way out, with the correct advice from their elders.
Logical tasks - children independently learn to interpret certain events and draw the right conclusions.
Increasing your resourcefulness skills helps you pay more attention to details.
At an older age, a good way is to practice multiplying large numbers by each other in your head.

Board and online games

It's no secret that children now spend too much time on the computer and smartphone. This only makes them more distracted. But here, too, you can increase the degree of involvement by offering your child educational online games. Many exercises already known to us have long been transferred to applications on the phone. This includes speed reading, anagrams, the same searches for numbers and letters in the table, tags, various comparisons and much more. All you have to do is switch the child from harmful games to useful ones.

Passion for gadgets

Another good option for increasing perseverance and concentration is board games. Chess, checkers, and various team games help not only increase concentration, but also develop memory.

Senior preschoolers

During this period of time, when developing attention in children of senior preschool age, it is necessary to take into account that the child already has full command of the language, pronounces words correctly, and constructs sentences.

He is subject to small and large movements, generalizing words, intonation, and perception of works of art and music. Children at this age enjoy the following pastimes:

paint;
sculpt from clay, plasticine;
cut out;
glue;
make crafts, applications;
help at home.