Psycho-gymnastics and basic information about it. A set of exercises and games according to this method for children of younger and older preschool age. Psycho-gymnastics for children is not just a fashionable innovation, but also one of the important components of the program of many preschool institutions. Simply put, this technique in the form of special exercises using non-verbal communication (movements, facial expressions) is intended for the general development of the child and the resolution of some of his psychological problems.
What is psycho-gymnastics?
In the early 60s, the described term was introduced into practice. It was voiced most clearly by the Czech specialist Ganya Yunova, who developed a whole system based on special elements of psychodrama. Her developments were initially used when working with children who needed a correction of consciousness. However, then the older generation became interested in this technique, transforming it into trainings for solving emotional problems in adults.
Psycho-gymnastics is a practical correction of a child's consciousness when communicating without words, aimed at developing his communication skills and the ability to find his place in society. It is carried out in four stages in order to ultimately achieve the maximum result from classes.
The first of them should be aimed at developing the art of pantomime, facial expressions, as well as memory and attention. The second stage involves the study of individual qualities of a person. The third part of the lesson includes working with images, as well as reincarnation in them. The final stage of psycho-gymnastics for preschoolers is blocking emotional stress in children.
Such activities do not take much time: from half an hour to 60 minutes. However, if the wards so wish, they can be extended somewhat. Ideally, the group should not have more than 6 children, and the psycho-gymnastics course should be limited to 20 sessions. It is recommended to organize them twice a week so that the child does not lose interest in the proposed exercises and games.
If we take a closer look at the sounded technique, then we can highlight the following positive aspects of it:
- Exploring Human Emotions … During such classes, children not only learn the world of feelings of other people, but also learn to control their own impulses of the soul.
- Overcoming Communication Difficulties … Even a notorious child after psycho-gymnastics in the garden more easily makes contact with peers and adults.
- Relief of mental stress … Self-relaxation skills are naturally given to a limited number of people. During the formation of a small personality, it is important for her to be able to block stressful situations in her mind, which will help her with the sounded technique.
- Possibility of self-expression … Many children demonstrate acting talents during sketches and pantomimes. In addition, in a small team, they have the opportunity to both learn from others and share their knowledge with peers.
- Improving facial expressions … Even an energetic child does not always have a relaxed movement. Sometimes he goes to extremes, and his gestures sometimes looks like an inappropriate expression of feelings. The completed course of psycho-gymnastics will help him correct the voiced problem.
Methodology for conducting psycho-gymnastics for children
First of all, one should remember that a completely different approach should be sought for a child of 3-4 years old than for a pupil of the senior and preparatory group. The proposed recommendations will be useful both for kindergarten workers and for parents (with individual therapy with their child). It should be remembered that such an activity must be accompanied by appropriate music. The repertoire should be selected depending on the performed exercise, giving preference to the classics.
Psycho-gymnastics in early preschool age
To achieve the best results when working with babies, you should adhere to the following tactics for conducting a lesson:
- Greetings … At the same time, children are encouraged to portray their own special smile when they see friends. Even if the child will grimace at first, then you should not stop him. The initiative within the limits of reason in such classes is only welcomed.
- Warm up … At this stage of children's psycho-gymnastics, it is recommended to attract the attention of the kids with some spectacular toy and ask them to describe it with the help of gestures and facial expressions. In the first lessons, it is necessary to help children with words like "How does a bunny gallop?" and "What are his ears, paws and tail?" At the same time, there is no need to designate the one who better portrayed the movements of the animal, because the pupils at this age are quite jealous of competition.
Exercises for practicing basic movements:
- The game "Do as I do" … This contentedly simple task evokes a sea of emotions in children. They will be happy to represent chanterelles, bears, monkeys and other animals.
- Game "Harvest" … A few small gardeners must prepare the land for planting seeds and seedlings: loosen the soil and water it constantly. The task of the rest of the children is to choose a vegetable or fruit for themselves and then depict how it begins to grow.
- Scene "Turnip" … Having previously familiarized the children with the content of this fairy tale, it is necessary to distribute the roles and fully reproduce the plot of the action with the help of the teacher's recitation. To make the game even more exciting, you can prepare masks with the image of the Turnip characters in advance. It is quite possible to replace this fairy tale with "Mitten" or any other work that will be available for the perception of kids.
- Virtual ball … Psycho-gymnastics games for toddlers can be diversified with this fun. Children are invited to imagine a ball, and then with the help of their hands they must "throw" it to each other, accompanying their movements with a smile.
Exercises for emotional communication:
- Show me game … Pupils at this age like to copy everything they see. However, they should develop a broader perception of the world around them. You can invite them to depict without words how a mother, a good fairy and a beautiful princess are smiling (clouds, strict doctors and waves of the sea frown; naughty or offended children are angry; cowardly hares and cats are frightened at the sight of dogs).
- Game "Draw the heroes" … To express his feelings, the child must learn to demonstrate them correctly. Your wards should be invited to depict the situations provided to them without words. An example is the following episode from a well-known fairy tale. Little Red Riding Hood runs through the forest to her grandmother (joy), along the way she meets many forest dwellers (curiosity and a smile). Suddenly the girl saw a wolf (fright), etc. With an emotional perception of a fairy tale, children should use not only facial expressions, but also move.
Exercises for observing human behavior and actions:
- Ball game … During this entertainment, it is necessary for the group members to offer the following options for evaluating the hero: Baba Yaga is kind, Kolobok is stupid, Fox is cunning, etc. It should be remembered that kids should clearly know who they are talking about. In case of agreement with the statement, the child needs to catch the ball, showing, with the help of facial expressions and gestures, his reaction to the voiced character.
- Work on poetry … During this exercise, children are encouraged to clap their hands and circle around themselves in case of good behavior of the protagonist. If the character behaves badly, then emotions are allowed to be expressed in any way convenient for the child. It is best to take as a basis the quatrains that are easy for kids to perceive, such as "The hostess threw the bunny", "I love my horse" or "They dropped the bear on the floor."
- Parting … Children at this age are rarely completely emotionally closed. To cheerful music, they can be invited to clap their hands, smile at each other and even hug their friends. At the final stage, non-verbal communication is recommended to diversify by reading poems or performing a collective song.
Exercises in psycho-gymnastics with kids should not turn into a banal physical education lesson. The teacher should make every effort to interest their pupils.
Psychogymnastics in senior preschool age
At the very beginning of the event, it is important to create a comfortable environment for the children and set them up to be positive. The child should be offered options for greeting from an adult, and then given the task to come up with their own improvisations. It is necessary to praise all the versions voiced by children, but especially the most unexpected of them should be highlighted. Children can say hello with their favorite toys, noses, and even joke around by portraying goats.
Sketches for the development of the emotional sphere (using the example of scenes from famous fairy tales):
- "The Snow Queen" … Kai taunts the mistress of the snowy plains, for which she is very angry with him (the boy's contempt is the Queen's wrath).
- "Thumbelina" … A miniature beauty is forced into her husbands a toad, a May beetle, and then a mole (Thumbelina's disgust is the rage and bewilderment of the rejected gentlemen).
- "Zaykina hut" … The gray forest dweller is driven out of his own house by a cunning fox (Long-Eared's sadness is the aggression of a predator).
- "Three pigs" … The wolf destroys one by one the houses of the brothers (the gray bandit's anger is the fear of three friends).
- "Seven-flower flower" … The girl gives the last petal to the sick boy so that he recovers (Zhenya's joy is the gratitude of a new friend).
Exercises for mental muscle training:
- "Why?" … During this warm-up, children are encouraged to portray a curious child who knows nothing. They should express their bewilderment by raising their shoulders and eyebrows like a house.
- "Help" … The children are given the task of pretending that their mother has returned from the store with a heavy bag. It is necessary to carry the virtual luggage to the kitchen, while portraying all the efforts made during the voiced assistance.
- "Sleeping cat" … Pupils need to lie on the rug, curl up and imitate in their own way the habits of a tailed friend during sleep. It should be shown how he breathes, yawns and stretches.
- "Movements of Parsley" … The task of this exercise is to copy the jumps of this hero, who moves on two bent legs, with his arms hanging along the body and his head tilted to the side / forward.
- "Heron in the swamp" … Children are invited to portray a bird standing on one or the other leg. From time to time, she must catch a frog jumping by the paw, and then release it.
Exercises for observing human traits:
- Game "Who's Who" … When doing it, the children are divided into pairs. A character is voiced in one child's ear or a picture with his image is shown. The fairy-tale character must be familiar to the children of this group. Then, with the help of facial expressions and gestures, the student who received the task must show the habits and character traits of this hero of the fairy tale. It is best to choose images such as Pinocchio, Kolobok or Puss in Boots so as not to complicate the task for the player who guesses the pantomime puzzle. You should immediately warn children that they must, with the help of facial expressions and gestures, not only demonstrate the external data of the hero, but also his character traits.
- Game "Who Will Show Better" … First, the participants in the training group are asked in turn to copy the behavior of the evil character (the teacher chooses the image). At the same time, they can move their eyebrows, growl, stomp their feet, etc. Then they will need to describe the kind person, wizard or fairy in the same way. In this case, nothing will prevent children from smiling broadly, dancing and putting their hands to their hearts. The best performer should be chosen by the little actors themselves.
- Game "Kaleidoscope of characters" … Children like this exercise very much, because many of them recognize themselves in the characters. Each participant of the game is given an image by drawing lots, which he must demonstrate to his peers. The basis is the so-called crybabies, reluctant, angry, merry fellows, sneaks, shy ones, etc. Each child, with the help of gestures and facial expressions, should maximally reveal the image offered to him.
- Parting … At this stage of the lesson, children need to calm down after receiving a large number of emotions in a short time of communication with the teacher. In this case, you can sit on the rug and listen to relaxing music. Then the pupils should be given time so that they independently and at will repeat what they liked the most in the lesson.
Methods of psycho-gymnastics for older preschool children are quite suitable for primary school students. Some of their exercises can be carried out instead of a physical education minute.
Watch a video about psycho-gymnastics for children:
Psycho-gymnastics in kindergarten is corrective work with pupils of this institution, which can be organized by any teacher, regardless of qualifications and experience. Dads and mothers should also heed the advice of this article so that their child does not grow up as a constricted and notorious person who is unable to control his feelings. Knowledge of "body language" is very important for the younger generation, which should be remembered by educators and parents.
