Nikitin cubes description of the technique. Nikitin's Early Development Methodology: Advantages and Features of the System
Now almost all parents begin to engage with their children, as early as possible, literally from the cradle. Many parents prefer early techniques development of Cecile Lupan, Glenn Doman, Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, and the success of the Nikitin family began to fade somehow. Increasingly, there are disputes that the Nikitins' system is not original, and not one of the seven children did not become a child prodigy and did not receive Nobel Prize. But it is worth noting that the Nikitin system is one of the basic kindergarten programs in Japan, and the Nikitin Institute has been established in Germany. The Nikitins' books were translated into different languages and are still being reprinted, while being popular.
Who are Boris and Lena Nikitin? These are the parents of seven children, whom they raised according to their own methodology, which is very different from that adopted in Soviet times. Boris Pavlovich worked in the field of education, and the idea of “raising children in his own way” was born in him when he worked in aviation. At that time, he was already inventing educational toys, which in the future would form the basis of the Nikitins' methodology. Lena Alekseevna, a teacher by education, admitted that she never dreamed of becoming a mother of many children, it was fate that brought her together with such a wonderful man who became her husband and father of their seven children. They failed to open a school and they introduced the methodology into their own family. Without leaving scientific and teaching work, carried away by general ideas, they created a creative atmosphere in their home, educating and teaching children according to their own methods. The system was developed by trial and error.
Opponents of the methodology had questions: how could small children be allowed to run barefoot in the snow; undressed to take children out into the street; not follow the daily routine? But at the same time, the kids were ill with colds much less than their peers, and intellectually ahead of their peers, since by the age of four they were already reading and counting, and at school they jumped over the classes.
The Nikitin method includes all periods early childhood: from childbirth (“Requests to doctors and nurses of the maternity hospital”) to school years. The Nikitenykh methodology pays special attention to the physical development of children (hardening, sports) and, of course, early intellectual development (counting, logic, analytical thinking).
The main idea of the Nekitin methodology is that parents should take an active part in children's games and activities, without imposing their opinion, their task is to encourage the baby's desire to think and decide independently. logical tasks. Nikitins believe that adults often go to extremes. Some parents show excessive care and attention, devote whole days to continuous activities, learning games, while not leaving time for the child to work independently, thereby depriving him of his freedom and interfering with the satisfaction of his personal developmental needs. Others, on the contrary, are not involved in the development of the baby, all communication with the child is reduced to satisfying his physiological needs. Naturally, this approach leads to a delay in emotional and mental development child.
The basic principles of the Nikitin methodology:
1. The undeniable participation of parents in the lives of their children. Parents, showing indifference to what and how the baby turns out, participating in children's games, competitions, thus show how dear the child is to them, and this contributes to the establishment of emotional friendships between all family members. Letting your little one share the cleaning or cooking with you will not only speed up their developmental process, but will also help them learn that baking a cake or cleaning carpets is not an easy job, but the end result is worth the effort. The baby will learn to appreciate your and your work, understand what a family is, and how important each of its members is.
2. Early start. For the most effective intellectual and physical development, there is certain time and certain conditions, if the abilities did not find their realization in time, then their potential fades away. Abilities that received support in the early stages of life then develop to a greater extent, so you need to start working with the baby from the first days of life.
3. Stimulation of creative activity. To do this, it is necessary to create a home environment that is ahead of the development of the child. This means that parents should fill their home with sports equipment (rings, horizontal bars, ladders, ropes), a variety of books and maps, materials and tools (cubes, a designer, paints and pencils, measuring instruments), educational games and manuals to encourage child's interest in solving creative problems. It is important that the benefits are a little more difficult than the child's current capabilities.
4. Freedom to choose classes, their sequence, time and methods. Nikitin believed that strict limits do not give room for imagination and independence and, accordingly, hinder the development of the baby. The task of parents is only to slightly push and unobtrusively help children, but with all this, it is unacceptable to be ahead in actions, advice and thoughts, that is, “you can’t do for a child what he himself can do, think for him when he himself can think of it”, and only then will the child be able to fully reveal his talent and develop as much as possible Creative skills.
Childbirth and what to do after.
Much depends on how the birth went and the very first hours in the life of the baby, many doctors, psychologists and educators agree on this. Lena and Boris Nikitin made a "Request to the doctors and nurses of the maternity hospital" when they saw their daughter to the maternity hospital. Many of the points that they described in the message are still used in modern maternity hospitals, and some are still controversial.
Let's look at the main ones:
1. Without medical childbirth. The use of anesthesia negatively affects the health of both the baby and the mother, as the natural instincts of the woman in labor are drowned out and childbirth is more traumatic for the baby. Childbirth, if possible, if there is no pathology, should take place naturally.
2. During childbirth, take a half-sitting position. In this position, under the weight of the fetus, childbirth is easier.
3. Do not immediately cut the umbilical cord. It should not be squeezed until the blood pulsations in it have stopped, so that the child receives everything that belongs to him by right. This can lead to at least hypoxia.
4. Immediately after giving birth, apply the baby to the breast. Even before the umbilical cord is cut, put the naked baby on the mother's tummy and attach to the chest. Sucking and closeness to the mother gives the baby peace and security, and prevents the stress of childbirth. Refusal of breastfeeding in the first days of a child's life leads to allergic diseases, many children, having tasted food from a bottle, become "lazy suckers". Immediate attachment to the breast after childbirth leads to a contraction of the uterus in a woman in labor and a decrease in blood loss, her milk appears much earlier.
5. The child after childbirth should be next to the mother. The baby does not break the connection with the mother, he feels maternal warmth, care, close contact with the mother gives him a sense of calm and security.
6. Feeding at the first request of the child. The child will establish the mode himself as his needs arise, there is no need to impose his daily routine on him, if he wants, let him suck at night.
7. You need to feed the baby naked. As part of the thermoregulation inclusion program proposed by the Nikitins for the first days of life, the child must be undressed during feeding, as body temperature rises during meals, and dressed after feeding.
8. Do not swaddle your baby. You can not swaddle a child, as this prevents him from moving freely, restricts his movements, because the more a child can see and feel, the more information he receives from the world around him. Thus, everything that is around the baby should arouse curiosity in him, the desire to learn new things will contribute to successful learning in future.
9. Potty training from birth. To catch the moment when the child needs to be dropped off, and, of course, to encourage in case of success. In this way, you can reduce the washing, and the child will get used to the potty much earlier than their peers.
10. Hardening. The use of regular air baths and hardening procedures from the moment of birth.
Hardening and physical development of children according to the Nikitin method.
The Nikitins first began to harden their children on a whim, and only over time this developed into a technique that had a physiological justification.
The Nikitensky hardening method immediately involves large temperature drops, thus, as they believe, adaptation to cold is better trained.
Let's look at the main aspects of the Nikitin methodology aimed at maintaining health:
1. Even during pregnancy, if it passes calmly, Nikitin advises the mother to move as much as possible and perform physical exercise, the baby, together with his mother, performs his first intrauterine training.
2. Do not overwrap children. During wakefulness, only a vest is for babies, and when the child grows up, panties and a beacon, and only before going to bed, you need to dress the children warmer.
3. The temperature in the room should be 18 degrees. The room should be slightly cool, as the cold gives a natural slight muscle tension, a kind of natural exercise.
4. Long air baths. Newborns in the Nikitin family took air baths daily, and after a couple of months of age, the babies were taken out into the cold for a few seconds. The children did not get sick and felt great, and they really liked the procedures and brought pleasure.
5. Dipping the baby in cold water from the first days of life. Nikitina's parents are advised to put the newborn into cold water with his head, thus, as they claim, an important mechanism of thermoregulation of the body will be launched.
6. Walk barefoot. Cold feet, as Nikitins assure, is normal. The natural mechanism of thermoregulation is to adapt the temperature of the foot to the temperature of the surrounding air and the floor under your feet. The child should run barefoot all day, and before going to bed, you need to warm the feet so that the child relaxes and falls asleep peacefully.
7. Physical exercise. Nikitin advises to perform simple physical exercises with babies, primarily focused on consolidating unconditioned innate reflexes. For older children, Father Nikitin developed a system of sports corners and equipment.
8. Restriction in food. Nikitins believe that a small lack of nutrition can only benefit the body, and overnutrition and overeating are of great harm.
9. No daily routine. Nikitins believe that a clear schedule can not only overwork the baby, but also awaken in him a dislike for learning and, in general, for any type of activity. The more "obligation" in the activity of the child, the less it will captivate him. Children should do as much as they want, while combining sports with other activities.
10. Freedom to move and explore the world around. As soon as a child has learned to crawl, give him absolute freedom of movement, Nikitin says. To do this, prepare an apartment (secure it before the child begins his research activities). Playpens and strollers are banned, as the Nikitins say, that it's like a prison for a small child who strives to learn new things. Allow the child to play not only with toys, but with adult objects. Introduce the baby to kitchen utensils, tools, and appliances so that the child knows what they are for and how to use them.
11. Fight against sterile environment. No need to protect children from the outside world, let them crawl, touch and even take it in their mouths. Children thus learn the world receive information about objects and their properties.
Intellectual development of children according to the method of Nikitenykh.
Nikitin was a supporter of the idea of the irreversible extinction of the possibilities for the effective development of abilities. He suggested that the ability to develop certain abilities is not a constant. At different age periods, the child is most susceptible to mastering certain skills and abilities, if you do not have time to develop them during this period, certain parts of the brain responsible for these skills begin to atrophy. Although this theory has not received conclusive evidence, modern research found that the child's abilities, the development of which was stimulated in early age receive the most successful and deep development after years.
The best way to assimilate new information, according to Nikitin, is a story about something, a demonstration and the opportunity to touch and try it out. And therefore, the game became the main tool in the intellectual development of children according to the Nikitin system, as a way of learning, understanding the world, as a motivation, as a method of manifesting individual qualities.
Nikitin has developed a range of educational games for children of all ages. They contribute to the development of such intellectual qualities as memory, attention, logic, imagination, creativity, patience and perseverance in a child.
There is no specific training program, the child simply plunges into the world of the game, in which he is free to choose the field of activity. No one explains the new rules to the kid, he just gets involved in the game with the help of a fairy tale, imitating the elders, participating in collective games. As a rule, the active participation of adults or older brothers and sisters is required at first, but then the child is already engaged independently.
Features of all Nikitins' educational games are as follows:
1. Nikitins' educational games are presented in the form of puzzles, cubes, constructor, tables and logic puzzles, the solution of which contributes to the development of logical and imaginative thinking in children.
2. Tasks have a different level of difficulty suitable for both children of two or three years of age, and for high school students.
3. As tasks are completed, their complexity should increase according to the principle from simple to complex.
4. The tasks that the child must complete are offered in various forms: in the form of a model, a flat drawing, an isometric drawing, a drawing, a written or oral instruction, and thus introduce him to different ways of transmitting information and allow the child to check the accuracy of the performance himself tasks.
5. You can not demand and achieve that the child solves the problem on the first try. He may not have matured yet, and you have to wait a day, a week, a month or even more. You need to return to easy, already mastered tasks, or temporarily leave this game. If it is noticeable that the baby has reached the ceiling of its capabilities or has lost interest in the game, it is better to postpone it for a while.
6. Most educational games are not limited to the proposed tasks, but allow children and parents to make new options and even come up with new games, that is, engage in creative activities.
7. An adult should not perform tasks for a child, should not prompt him with a word, gesture, or look. The child should be given the opportunity to think for himself.
8. Parents should rejoice at children's successes, praise the baby in every possible way for the right decision, and show sincere interest. This keeps the child interested in the game, makes him move forward to learn new things. Parents should not scold the kids for the wrong decision, their task is to find an error in the child's reasoning and help correct it.
9. Do not bring classes with the child to the point that he no longer wants to play. Immediately end the game as soon as the first signs of fatigue appear, do not wait until the baby loses interest in the game. It's best to end on a positive note.
10. Nikitin's games allow everyone to rise to the "ceiling" of their capabilities, where development is most successful.
The developing games developed by Boris Nikitin are described by him in the book, which is called “Intellectual Games”. Here are just a few examples of the most popular of them: Bricks, Monkey, Unicube, Fractions, Fold a pattern, Fold a square, Cubes for everyone, Montessori frames and inserts, Dots.
Many of Nikitin's intellectual games can be done with your own hands, based on cardboard, ordinary cubes and, for example, self-adhesive colored paper. And you can buy ready-made games and Nikitins' manuals.
Summing up
The advantages of the Nikitenykh technique are:
Good physical development;
Development of logical thinking (ability to generalize, draw conclusions, apply rules);
Development of spatial imagination (correct representation of rotating objects in space);
Memory development;
Development of ingenuity and ingenuity;
Development of independence;
Imagination development;
A good base for further study of the exact sciences.
Cons of the Nikitin technique:
1. Nikitin's games do not develop the child comprehensively. The methodology does not contain specific recommendations, for example, on teaching reading (although it includes games that teach counting and mathematical operations). Therefore, the Nikitin method should be supplemented with other developmental programs.
2. The Nikitin hardening methods are very radical and not all parents are able to go for it. And if you still decide, then you should definitely consult with a pediatrician.
3. Spartan living conditions and malnutrition will not please all parents.
4. Education according to the Nikitin method does not provide for role-playing games. That is, the child should not play with dolls, cars, shops, "daughter-mothers" and "war games". The baby must be taught to work from the cradle. A child should be able to serve himself, run a household, but at the same time he does not know how to play.
Nikitin's books:
Nikitin B.P. Educational games. - M.: Pedagogy, 1985.
Nikitin B.P. Steps of creativity or educational games. - M.: Enlightenment, 1991.
Nikitina L. A. Mom or kindergarten. - M.: Enlightenment, 1990.
Nikitin L. and B. We and our children. - M.: Young Guard, 1979.
Nikitin L. and B. We, our children and grandchildren. - M., 1989.
Nikitin L. and B. Health reserves of our children. - M.: Physical culture and sport, 1990.
B. P. Nikitin. Childhood without illness. - S. - P. 1996.
L. A. Nikitina. Father's house. - 1982.
L. A. Nikitina. I am learning to be a mom. - 1983.
L. A. Nikitina. Confession. - 1991.
But what is the Nikitin method - just a set of rules and a set of developmental activities? Their children really amazed with their development, speed and flexibility of mind.
The surname of the Nikitins is known to many, even to those who are far from pedagogy. An ordinary family of teachers broke the stereotypes in the field of raising children and proved to the whole world that their early development techniques really help a child grow up to be an accomplished, physically and intellectually healthy person. The Nikitin method is not only a set of rules, principles and a set of developmental tools. To become a follower of outstanding teachers, it is important for a parent to learn to think differently, to take a fresh look at their child, to give him freedom.
Education "in Nikitinsky"
The main task of fathers and mothers is not to hinder the development of children with their convictions, but to create an environment that would help them grow up, show independence, and improve the child's abilities.
Innovative teachers were supporters of a healthy lifestyle and hardening. From an early age, the offspring of the Nikitins ran barefoot in the snow, washed themselves with ice water, and wore light clothes that were not suitable for the weather. .
In order for a child to have a desire for mental work, he must be cold and hungry - this is what the happy parents of the seven "Nikitins" taught. And their children really impressed with their physical and mental development, the speed and flexibility of thinking, they mastered the school curriculum on the fly and skipped classes.
Thematic material:
The Nikitins opposed the strict regimen of the day, when the child does not have any free time to be alone with himself and his thoughts. They condemned the imposition of parental will and overprotection, believing that such upbringing hinders development.
Teachers also called the other extreme - emotional abandonment - a mistake. Most fathers and mothers believe that the main responsibility of parents is only to feed, clothe and warm children. At the same time, spiritual participation in the life of offspring fades into the background.
Intellectual games Nikitins
The spouses considered developing games to be the main means of early education of children. This is a set of exciting exercises that are not imposed on the child, but interest in the complexity and the ability to independently solve the tasks.
Nikitin's games are for the most part multifunctional puzzles, they can be expanded, thought out, adjusted to the child. Observing the most important pedagogical principle “from simple to complex”, they create conditions under which the development of abilities is ahead of the curve.
Such games, as a rule, are built on the combination of shapes, colors and volumes.
"Fold the Pattern"
The game is based on 16 dice. Their faces are painted in an unusual way: red, blue, white and yellow, and the rest are divided by a diagonal into two triangles, which also have their own color. Thanks to this, many different patterns can be created from cubes.
The author recommends this manual for children from 1.5 years. Starting with the simplest tasks, babies from an early age learn to design, improve mental operations(synthesis, analysis), develop creative abilities. In the classroom, children perform several types of tasks:
- stack the cubes according to the scheme;
- looking at the finished pattern, they transfer the scheme to a notebook;
- create your own drawing.
How to make a manual
To make the game "Fold the Pattern" with your own hands, take 16 wooden cubes, previously peeled of paper and sanded with sandpaper. The optimal size of the rib is 3-4 cm.
You will have to color them according to the scheme, so first make a markup with pencils so as not to get confused. The front side (transparent in the figure) has White color. It is better to use nitro paints that dry quickly and last longer. Alternatively, the cubes are pasted over with colored paper.
How to play
Fold the Pattern comes with two sample albums. The first is designed for the development of children 2-4 years old, the second - 4-8.
If it was not possible to purchase ready-made schemes, tasks are printed on a color printer or drawn on their own. Please note that for small children (under 2 years old) it is better that the patterns in the sample are the same size as the cubes.
"Fold the Square"
This developmental task is based on a puzzle in which it is necessary to fold a square from pieces of different shapes and sizes. The set of the game includes 24 squares, each cut into pieces and painted in different colors. The task has several levels of difficulty, so it is suitable for children of different ages. The first exercises can be solved even by 1.5-year-old babies, more complex ones will arouse interest among older children.
Thematic material:
How to make a manual
Cut out squares with sides of 8 x 8 cm from thick cardboard. Pasting them with colored paper, try to choose the shades so that it is clearly clear which sample the parts fit. For the same reason write with reverse side each serial number of the square. In order not to confuse anything, do this before you start cutting the shapes.
The game "Fold the square" can also be made of multi-colored plastic. But be prepared for the fact that it is much more difficult to process this material, and finding 23 shades is not easy.
Leave item number 1 intact for the sample.
You need to store the details of each square in “your” bag or envelope.
How to play
In addition to the fact that you can simply pour all the details into a pile and invite the baby to distribute them by color, the Build a Square game involves 23 multi-level puzzles. Perhaps it will take a child more than one year to solve them, but how much joy appears in children's eyes when the square is nevertheless assembled into one whole!
"Unicube"
The game consists of 27 cubes, the sides of which are painted in three colors. This is an ideal tool for comprehending the laws of three-dimensional space. Children are happy to play with it from the age of 1.5, but even for older students, the game is the most difficult and most useful simulator.
How to make a manual
You can make the game yourself. Take 27 cubes, remove pictures and stickers, sand the surface. Then proceed to marking the colors:
- fold the samples into a large cube and mark all outer sides, including the lower ones, with a red pencil;
- remove the top 9 cubes and mark the resulting 18 faces in blue, there will be 3 such planes in total, they can be “peeped” in our drawing;
- the remaining faces are yellow.
Stack the cubes again and check for correct markings.
To apply color, use nitro paint or glue the edges with colored paper.
To store the manual, pick up a square-shaped box, it will also come in handy in the first lessons.
How to play
Before giving Unicube to children, carefully study the information and illustrations for the exercises in order to choose tasks that are feasible for the baby. You need to fold the figures for a while, this stimulates the child to achieve high results. An excellent option would be a competition game in which parents and children participate.
However, remember that solving Unicube puzzles is a rather serious burden on the baby, so try to control the degree of fatigue and dose the work time.
Of course, the Nikitin method has its pros and cons. Not every mother will allow her baby to freeze at 18 degrees and pour cold water over her baby in the first months of life. And it is difficult to get used to the absence of a regime and the complete freedom of a child. To accept the Nikitins' early development methodology or not is a private matter for parents. But amazing approaches to education, built on love and trust, educational games and manuals, certainly deserve attention.
A very interesting system of educational games was created by the famous Russian innovative teachers Boris Pavlovich (1916-1999) and Lena Alekseevna (born 1930) Nikitin, parents of seven children from Bolshevo near Moscow. Nikitins are known in our country and abroad as the authors of an unconventional system of raising children. They also came up with and tested on their children a new system of children's health improvement.
Nikitinsky games are designed for children to play together with their parents. They have a high degree of variability, i.e. they can be adjusted to suit yourself, your level, your interests. Each game, according to the author, "provides an opportunity to think about how to expand it, what new tasks to add to it, how to improve it; such variability of tasks is foreseen in advance, and the transition to creative work over the games themselves will be the more successful, the higher the level of the child's creative abilities has become.
For the most part, these games are presented in the form of puzzles aimed at recognizing and completing patterns, that is, at developing logical and imaginative thinking. Games have characteristic features: Each game is a SET of TASKS that the child solves with the help of cubes, bricks, squares made of cardboard or plastic, parts from a mechanical designer, etc.
The tasks are given to the child in various forms: in the form of a model, a flat isometric drawing, a drawing, a written or oral instruction, etc., and thus introduce him to DIFFERENT WAYS OF INFORMATION TRANSMISSION. The tasks are arranged roughly in the order of INCREASING Difficulty, i.e. they use the principle of folk games: from simple to complex. Tasks have a very WIDE RANGE of DIFFICULTIES: from sometimes accessible to a 2-3-year-old baby to overwhelming for an average adult. Therefore, games can arouse interest for many years (until adulthood). Some of Nikitin's games are very similar to Froebel's blocks.
Friedrich Fröbel is a German educator of the 19th century, the founder of the first kindergartens (KinderGarten). He designed blocks that allow you to acquaint the baby with the properties of geometric bodies, teach him spatial imagination, the ability to combine a part into a whole. There are 8 sets of blocks in total, they increase in complexity. The "bricks" described by the Nikitins are one of Froebel's sets. The classic Froebel block sets make up a cube and should be folded into a cubic wooden box, just like the Nikitins.
Since Nikitin's games are mainly aimed at developing logic and building images, they cannot be the only means of developing a child. They can only be an addition to other methods, which represent the whole range of disciplines aimed at the comprehensive development of the child.
As for physical hardening, in my opinion, it is better to choose methods that are gentle on the child's psyche. Living at a temperature of 18 ° C, dipping newborns in ice water, in my opinion, carries with it psychological discomfort. Obviously, if a child is placed in harsh conditions, then his body will find reserves in itself to survive, and such a child will be stronger than ordinary children, but what happens to his psyche at this moment? Doesn't he begin to feel this world as a world in which he must fight for survival every minute? Doman, unlike the Nikitins, suggests keeping babies in their first month of life, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, at a temperature of 32 ° C, so that the transition from intrauterine life to our world occurs as painlessly as possible. Perhaps this approach is more child-friendly.
About the Nikitin family and their children
Boris Pavlovich Nikitin was born in 1916 in the North Caucasus into the family of a Kuban Cossack. In 1941 he graduated from the Air Force Academy. N. E. Zhukovsky, served in fighter aviation. In 1949, he retired and began scientific and pedagogical work at the Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Labor Reserves, then at the Institute of Theory and History of Pedagogy, the Research Institute of Psychology and the Institute of Labor Training and Career Guidance of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. In 1958 he organized a group of teachers to repeat Makarenko's experience. In the same year he met his future wife, Elena Alekseevna.
E. A. Nikitina was born in 1930 in the village of Bolshevo, Moscow Region. Mother, E. A. Litvinova, is a teacher. Father, A. D. Litvinov, is a military engineer. In 1948 she graduated from Bolshevskaya high school with a gold medal, in 1954 - Moscow Regional pedagogical institute. For two years she worked as a teacher in the village of Voevodskoe Altai Territory. From 1956 to 1960 she worked at the Moscow Railway School No. 40. From 1960 to 1980 she worked as a librarian and head of the Bolshevo Library.
For forty years (1958 - 1998) their family life and Nikitin's work continued Scientific research And teaching practice in schools, kindergartens and in his own family, raising seven children. I saw very smart "problem solvers" with free and inventive thinking, with a well-developed language. They overtook their peers in school programs some for two, and some for four years. (N. Amosov).
About myself and my children:
“Once we had to speak in front of a large audience. We spoke in detail about our “non-traditional method of education” and answered numerous questions. In one of the notes we were asked: “Were you also brought up like that? What did you take into your family from your own childhood?" We looked at each other, laughed, and I said into the microphone: - No, of course, we were brought up in a completely different way, we could not take anything from our childhood: we had it ordinary, nothing from the rest children in general, no different. How ashamed I am now for this answer! How I would like to return that evening, to see those people who then for some reason applauded us approvingly, and stop them, and return their words back, and remember, remember What did we take into life from our beginning and could not but pass on to our children?
Basic principles of the Nikitin system
What we have developed, apparently, cannot yet be called a system. But the basic principles that guide us can be identified. Firstly, these are light clothing and a sports environment in the house: sports equipment is included in everyday life from early childhood, became for them, as it were, a habitat along with furniture and other household items. Secondly, it is the freedom of children's creativity in the classroom. No special training, exercises, lessons. The guys do as much as they want, combining sports with all other activities. Thirdly, this is our parental indifference to what and how the kids get, our participation in their games, competitions, life itself. All these principles were developed in the practice of life, in communication with children. We used them intuitively, unconsciously, pursuing only one goal: not to interfere with development, but to help it, and not to put pressure on the child in accordance with our own plans, but to observe, compare and, focusing on the well-being and desire of the child, create conditions for its further development.
How are abilities born?
We did not set ourselves the goal of teaching children everything as early as possible, we tried to create conditions for the development of their abilities - according to their capabilities and desires. Observing children, we noticed that they develop those aspects of the intellect for which we had conditions ahead of development itself. Suppose a child has just begun to speak, and among his toys he already has blocks with letters, a split alphabet, plastic letters and numbers among his toys.
The most important discovery on this path was for us that under these conditions, children began a lot of things earlier than they were prescribed by all standards: by the age of three they began to read, at four they understood the plan and drawing, at five they solved the simplest equations, with they traveled around the world map with interest, etc. At the same time, they became more independent, more proactive, more inquisitive, more responsible - also beyond their years. Now we need not only knowledgeable person, but also creatively comprehends his work, his place in life, and this requires highly developed creative abilities and the ability to apply them in practice, in work, in any place, in any life situation. How to achieve this?
So, the conditions for development must be ahead of it, prepared in advance. That's why we need - it doesn't matter whether it's in a house or in a children's institution - a much richer environment than the one in which children are now growing up in many families. We tried to meet any intentions of the children to do something, to express themselves in any kind of creativity. To do this, they hung on the wall a map of the hemispheres, tables of hundreds and thousands, printed and capital letters, measuring instruments and, of course, many books. These first impressions can involuntarily arouse interest in a certain field of knowledge and even develop certain abilities of the child.
Together with a child.
What does it take for a child to get down to business, engage in it with enthusiasm and achieve results? General work or just working side by side - this is an obligatory interest in both the labor process and its results for each other, this is an occasion for conversation, this is an exchange of views, this is a common joy when it turned out well, in short, this is communication at its best - in joint activities .
Another very important thing: we tried not to do for the baby what he himself can do, not to think and not decide for him, if he himself can think of and decide. In general, in any activities of children, we try to encourage creativity, not to impose our opinions, and even more so decisions, we are not in a hurry to necessarily prevent a mistake or immediately point out it. In case of failure, we try not to reproach, not to shame, but if something turned out well, we do not skimp on praise. We were just interested with children, and we never remained indifferent to what and how they do, what they do. It was not control, not tracking, not guardianship, not lessons with verification, but a completely sincere interest in the life of the children, in their various vigorous activities.
What kind of overload can there be if a child does what he wants, and as much as he wants. The best rest is a change of activities, but for our guys this is not a problem: there are a lot of opportunities for such a change. Moreover, combinations of classes are possible. This ease, looseness was very close to the game. At the same time, we tried to teach kids to rejoice in the success of another as well as in their own. By giving our children maximum freedom, we avoided three evils at once: both overload, and the possible aversion of children from necessary and useful things, and craving for street temptations, which turn out to be much more primitive and boring than their home life saturated with various activities.
What level of development can a child reach?
Stunned by the unexpectedly opened huge opportunities of the early childhood, we got carried away with the problem: what level can a child reach in his physical and intellectual development? They thought: the most important thing is the mind and health, and the rest will follow by itself. When our first child was one and a half years old, we taught him independence in this way: if he got into a difficult situation (fell or could not get something), we "did not pay attention to it", did not help him, despite all his tears and cries - let him learn to get out of difficulties. And they succeeded: the kid himself got out of the difficulty. But, without suspecting it ourselves, we taught the kid ... not to reckon with the rest. And not only this.
When the second son grew up, we did the same with him. And then one day the younger cries from bruising and fright, and his three-year-old brother does not even look in his direction - exactly like we adults do. There was just indifference, indifference to his brother's tears. This took me by surprise. It was then that I looked at myself, at our "educational measure" from the outside and realized why it sometimes irritates others. Sometimes, for a simple oversight, we “raise” a child for a long time, saying: “I don’t need you like that!” He seeks our understanding and help, but receives - for a simple oversight - the most cruel punishment: his mother refused him. He protested as best he could, and I ... did not even try to understand him, I went in my actions from some hardened rules, and not from the child and his condition.
Perhaps, from this "lesson" my mother's study began, which has not stopped to this day: I am learning to understand my children! Well, we, adults, have a strong sense of superiority in relation to children, an unshakable confidence in our rightness. Any objection seems naive and meaningless: what does he understand, what does he know in order to object?! But when you admit that he may know something that you have never heard of, that his mind is more direct, livelier, you listen to his opinion and are surprised: "But well done! You figured it out better!" Honestly, it's very nice, it turns out, to learn something from your son, even a little one. It raises both in each other's eyes and ... even in their own eyes.
The untouchable time of a busy person.
My adult son: “I think it’s generally good to listen to disputes: it’s interesting to compare arguments, find a solution yourself, no matter who said what. After all, you didn’t force me and all of us to speak out, and there was no need to to get along - that was great. It probably teaches you to think well. Do you remember, in Ancient Greece so the young were taught: they were present at the disputes of the recognized sages, but they themselves did not take part in them, they were not obliged to join either side. And so they learned to think. "It was wonderful! I just perked up. It turns out that it was not that we were arguing, but that the children took part in this. They were free in their thoughts and statements.
For quite a long time we had no idea about a simple one: everyone, even the most small man needs such a time when he is completely left to himself, they don’t pull him, they don’t climb on him, that is, he is not threatened by an invasion from outside. And than older child, the more he needs this untouchable time. It is advisable to establish such an order from the very beginning: a busy person should not be distracted unless absolutely necessary. This is also a manifestation of the very care that both a big and a small person needs.
Pedagogical library Nikitins.
N. Amosov, I. Arshavsky, V. Grum-Grzhimailo, R. Descartes, P. Kapterev, J. Korchak, A. Makarenko, M. Montessori, R. Owen, E. Pokrovsky, I. Sarkizov-Serazini, V. Skripalev, L. Tolstoy, H. Hiden, K. Chukovsky
Bibliography:
1. Nikitin B. P. Educational games. - M .: Pedagogy, 1985.
2. Nikitin B. P. Steps of creativity or educational games. – M.: Enlightenment, 1991.
3. Nikitina L. A. Mom or kindergarten. – M.: Enlightenment, 1990.
4. Nikitin L. and B. We and our children. - M .: Young Guard, 1979.
5. Nikitin L. and B. We, our children and grandchildren. - M., 1989.
6. Nikitin L. and B. Health reserves of our children. - M .: Physical culture and sport, 1990.
7. B. P. Nikitin, "Childhood without disease" S.-P. 1996.
8. L. A. Nikitina, "Father's House" 1982.
9. "I'm learning to be a mother" 1983.
10. "Confession" 1991.
The Nikitins are characterized by extraordinary responsibility, amazing powers of observation and amazing intuition. These qualities allowed and allow them to find the right solutions even where specialist scientists shrug helplessly. (I. Arshavsky)
About the reserves of our children:
Requests to doctors and nurses of the maternity hospital
The first request is not to do anesthesia (pain relief).
The second request is not to clamp or tie the umbilical cord until it pulsates.
The third request - you can not take the child away from the mother after his birth! It is better if the mother herself attaches it to the breast: to one and the other, so that the baby will definitely suck out the first droplets of colostrum. Skin-to-skin contact for at least 15 minutes in the first half hour of life is mandatory, absolutely necessary!
Fourth request. Birth ritual. So that the father also understands that the child falls into his hands, strong, reliable, and his direct duty is to lead this person through life. Our children should not be flawed because of our savagery, which we are now showing in the first and very important moments of their lives.
Fifth request. Ask not to bury the lapis solution in the child, and his eyes will be clean.
Sixth request. It is better to avoid BCG vaccination.
Seventh request. In the first days of a child's life, the baby has the highest adaptive capabilities - he adapts to everything. It is necessary that he had free hands, and the fact that he gets scratched, let microbes get in, the baby will begin to “form” his immunity. And in the absence of a developed immune system, terrible things happen to children! In the first 8-10 days after birth, the baby should only know the mother's breast. Before the first tooth, no corrections need to be introduced, i.e. up to 5-7 months. Only when the first tooth appears, neither additives, nor mixtures, nor juices are terrible. I give advice: a tooth has appeared, it is simply necessary to give the baby solid food! Natural feeding until the appearance of the first tooth.
Proximity (physical) of mother to child
So, African women carry children behind their backs for at least two years. After analyzing this phenomenon, European doctors came to the conclusion that these babies are much higher in terms of development of European children of the same age, despite the fact that their mothers did not work with them, but simply carried them behind their backs. An increase in horizons, an almost unlimited opportunity in the knowledge of the world ("do not lock" babies in strollers and diapers!) The launch of all reflexes that are laid down by Mother Nature. Lightweight clothing. Does it affect intelligence? Imagine yes! So, undershirts with sewn up sleeves, in my opinion, are harmful. They block the system of touch: no matter where the baby's hands go, they do not feel anything. And cropped sleeves on vests and cut off socks on tights contribute to the development of the tactile system.
Enriched environment for children.
It is a system of principles and devices:
* the use of Skripalev's "stand-up" ladder;
* free movement around the apartment of the child-"slider";
* games with "adult toys" - pots, mugs, spoons, plasticine, pencils and papers (be sure to teach you how to hold a pencil right away!).
* Freedom of knowledge of the world, removal of "traditional" prohibitions. Try to forget the expressions: "Do not touch!", "Do not climb!" etc. Do not be afraid that the baby will spoil or break something. He cognizes the world and, cognizing it, independently develops, takes an active life position.
* Equipment in the apartment of the sports complex.
* Educational games. There can be many of them if you creatively approach this issue.
* Early exposure to letters and numbers (from 2-3 years of age).
* Early acquaintance of children with tools and materials, i.e. with manual labor. It is important to introduce children early to scissors, an awl, etc.
* The attitude of parents to the development of children. There are two positions here: 1) the child needs to explain everything, to tell; 2) it is necessary to tell and show the baby only what he himself cannot reach. This is how independence is formed. It is the second option that gives creative personalities, and the first develops only performing abilities.
How are abilities born?
B. P. Nikitin: The mental development of our children is based on our same “three pillars”: a rich environment for a variety of activities, great freedom and independence of children in activities and games, and our sincere interest in all their affairs. Here I would like to emphasize again that we did not set ourselves the goal of teaching them everything as early as possible, we tried to create conditions for the development of their abilities - according to their capabilities and desires.
We did not know and could not take the liberty of determining what and when develops in babies, and in our actions we proceeded from that simple observation, which we already mentioned in the first part of the book: they talk to an infant from the day of his birth, when he is still doesn't understand anything. There comes a moment (for each individual), and the baby will say the first word. If you do not speak with him, then this first word may not be said in a year, or in two, or in three. Well, if in relation to all other human abilities to do the same? Do not set deadlines in advance, but simply create favorable conditions and see how the child will develop. It was in the search for these conditions that we worked out the very principles that I spoke about.
Observing children, we noticed that they develop those aspects of the intellect for which we had conditions ahead of development itself. Suppose the child was just beginning to speak, and he already had, among other things and toys, cubes with letters, a split alphabet, plastic, wire letters and numbers. Together with a great variety of concepts and words entering the child's brain at this time, four dozen icons called A, B, C ... 1, 2, 3, 4 ... etc. were memorized without any difficulty to one and a half to two years. And all because we didn’t make a secret out of it, we didn’t say that “it’s early for you”, we just called the letters to the baby, as they called other objects: a table, a chair, a window, a lamp, etc. And we rejoiced when he memorized, recognizing them in any text.
It was the same with mathematics (abacus, counting sticks, numbers, table: hundreds and thousands, beads on a wire, etc.), design (all kinds of cubes, mosaics, constructors, building materials, tools, etc.), sports (sports equipment in different combinations in the house and in the yard). The most important discovery on this path was for us that under these conditions, children started a lot earlier than it was prescribed for them by medical and pedagogical standards: by the age of three they began to read, at four they understood the plan and drawing, at five they decided simple equations, traveled with interest on the world map, etc. And it was not only about comprehending some school wisdom, which they easily mastered before school ( fluent reading, oral counting, writing), but also in the fact that at the same time they became more independent, more proactive, more inquisitive, more responsible - also beyond their years. We could leave them at home alone (with a 6-7-year-old senior) for three or four hours and knew that nothing would happen. We could safely send a seven-year-old to Moscow (train, metro) or an eleven-year-old to Gorky (he took his own ticket, went without any guardianship of a conductor or any of the adults). And all this did not make old people out of them - you still have to look for such inventors and mischief-makers! But more about this is yet to come.
At first, we were only surprised at this, and then we became seriously interested in the problem of the early development of children. It turned out that the study of the potential of the human brain has long been engaged in world science and practice. Scientists came to the conclusion that the reserves of the brain are colossal, and they are used during a person's life is negligible, that genius is the most complete manifestation of the intellectual potential that any normal person possesses.
What does the realization of this potential depend on? What determines the level of development of abilities? To answer this question means to find a way to grow talents, not to look for them among ordinary people, but to raise all talented people. And this will save the school from underachieving and repeaters, children from overload, parents from impotence and a convenient prejudice: "He was born like that." It was simply impossible not to try to take part in the search for an answer to the question, where do talents come from? Well, of course, we do not in any way believe that we have found a way to raise geeks. A child prodigy is a miracle child, an exception to the rule, a phenomenon so far poorly explained. I'm talking about something else: how to raise each, literally every baby who was born normal, capable and even talented. After all, this is the requirement of the time - the scientific and technological revolution, the ever-increasing responsibility of mankind for everything that is done on earth, the need for foresight and meaningfulness of every step of a person living on our planet.
L.A.: I think that responsibility depends not so much on talent as on conscientiousness. You can be super talented, but at the same time a selfish and selfish person, living by the principle: "After me, even a flood ..."
B. P. Nikitin: This is our old dispute, we will return to it later. I will only say that now we need not only a knowledgeable person, but also a person who creatively comprehends his work, his place in life, and this requires highly developed creative abilities and the ability to apply them in practice, at work, at any workplace, in any life situation . How to achieve this?
The main thing is a timely start.
I believe that the most important condition for the development of all abilities is a timely start. Behind these two words are years of observation, reflection, research. The result of this work was "The Hypothesis of the Emergence and Development of Creative Abilities" (collection "Sociological and Economic Problems of Education", Novosibirsk, "Nauka", 1969, pp. 78-124). For the first time, the unusual word NUVERS appeared in it, made up of the first letters of the name of the process that occurs in the human brain: Irreversible Extinction of the Possibilities of Effective Development of Abilities. All work is presented in the 4th chapter of the book, but its essence is as follows: every healthy child, being born, has tremendous opportunities for developing abilities for all types of human activity. But these possibilities do not remain unchanged and with age they gradually fade away, weaken, and the older a person becomes, the more difficult it is to develop his abilities.
That is why it is so important that conditions stay ahead of development. This will give the greatest effect in development, which will be simply timely, and not at all "early", as those who call the development of our children this way think. By the way, we ourselves now consider the development of our children not only not early, but delayed in many respects. After all, the conditions that we have managed to create, of course, are still very far from a possible ideal. This is natural: domestic forces and means cannot raise such a problem. Here are some examples. We couldn't even create satisfactory conditions for children to study in the region. visual arts, biology, foreign languages and much more. And the development of the guys here is clearly lagging behind their capabilities. And now it is very difficult to catch up with lost time: for example, none of them really knows a foreign language, despite school fives and fours. And might know if one of us owned foreign language and simply spoke this language with children from the day they were born, as engineer V.S. Skripalev does with his kids. For Oleg Skripalev study in English no problem: he speaks it just like in Russian, quite fluently.
So, the conditions for development must be ahead of it, prepared in advance. That's what we need - it doesn't matter: in a house, in a children's institution - a much richer environment than the one in which children are now growing up in many families.
Wide field of activity
Of course, by rich furnishings, I do not mean carpets, crystal, Polish furniture, etc. All this is intended for adults to relax, and such wealth is of little use to a child: you can only admire the polished world of touchy things, but you can’t do anything in it. True, for children under the age of two, even simply looking at objects and their images takes up to 20 percent of their entire waking time and is an important developmental factor. But the older the child becomes, the less satisfied he is with mere contemplation, and he reaches out to each object with his hand and begins to taste it first, then “knock”, then for any other use of it. But after all, crystal is not suitable for this, but if pencils, chalk, paper, glue, scissors, a hammer, cardboard, paints, plasticine, cubes fall into the hands of a baby early - all that you can work with (act, build, do), the richer the conditions for its development.
We noticed early on that kids prefer to manipulate not with toys (they quickly get bored with them), but with household items used by adults: kitchen utensils, writing and sewing utensils, tools, appliances ... And having noticed this, we allowed the kids to "enter" the our adult world and explore its non-toy properties and dangers. We already wrote in the first section of the book how we begin to introduce kids to this complex world real things. We adhere to the same principle of independence in the future, not requiring from the kids "not to take without asking," but requiring "put in place." At the same time, while welcoming research activity, we forbid breaking, tearing, spoiling things "just like that" - "out of evil" or because there is nothing to do.
The availability of things does not mean, however, that children are allowed to touch and take everything without permission. We have things - and indeed the vast majority - that children can use at any time they choose. It is pointless to list them: this is everything that is not included in the two forbidden categories: alien and valuable things. By "strangers" are meant literally strangers, and in addition, personal belongings on the father's or mother's table, in the grandfather's room, in someone's bag or briefcase, which are inviolable. These things can only be taken with permission. And valuable things - they were also, of course, subject to a strict ban - these are watches, a tape recorder, cameras, a typewriter, etc., delicate mechanisms that a child, out of ignorance, can easily ruin. We did not hide them from the children, did not put them away; but they made it clear from the very first meeting that these things should not be touched. And I don’t remember a case where, due to the fault of the kids, one of the expensive things failed, although they were always available, and the children were often left alone with them.
I think it happened because there were very few such forbidden things and they were not completely unfamiliar to children. Usually the kids examined them together with one of the adults or elders, and they ceased to be attractive with their obscurity.
And most importantly, through our efforts, children have more and more other interesting, always accessible things for them, ranging from sports equipment to all kinds of tools and building materials, all this in addition to ordinary toys, dolls, which children also have a lot.
In our workshop room, you can cut, glue, sculpt, saw, hammer in nails, chop, prick, drill, sharpen. Once we had two brothers visiting us for a whole week - two-year-old Vitya and six-year-old Dima. How pleased they were that hammers come in different sizes and nails too, and that a board can be nailed to a log stump on the floor. With what zeal they drove nails into the poor board one after another, it turned out better and better for them. And we with their mother - the doctor - looked at the "masters" and said to each other: "How the kids in a modern apartment lack such a real thing!"
We tried to meet any intentions of the children to do something, to express themselves in any kind of creativity. We noticed that the kid loves to write with chalk - they made a board out of a piece of linoleum; noticed that he was interested in a map in the "Children's Encyclopedia" - they hung a large map of the hemispheres on the wall. So hundreds and thousands of tables appeared on our walls, printed and written letters on a poster, on cubes, measuring instruments, large wooden bricks, constructors, all kinds of games and, of course, books, a lot of books - from fairy tales and little kiizhek to encyclopedias and popular science literature. This is what we call a rich environment. A rich field of activity opens up for the child in it.
One professor, recalling his childhood, wondered with what vivacity and accuracy he could imagine the pattern on the wallpaper in the nursery and even the shape of the cracks on the white ceiling. So why, he wondered, not to give for memorization "for life" such clots of human knowledge, such as a geographical map or periodic table? These first impressions can involuntarily arouse interest in some area of knowledge and even develop certain abilities of the child.
Those who are familiar with the biography of the female mathematician Sofya Kovalevskaya could pay attention to such a detail: the walls of her nursery were pasted over with pages from a mathematical book. But few people believe in the connection between these pages with formulas and drawings and the bright mathematical talent of the girl Sonya.
In our family, apparently, the periodic table "worked" in exactly the same way, which three-year-old Anton drew attention to in the "Children's Encyclopedia". And later, smokes, smells, flashes began, the designer "Young Chemist" appeared, a whole wall in the workshop, clogged with chemical glassware and chemicals. Then the chemical-mechanical technical school, a victory in the chemical Olympiad and, finally, the chemical faculty of Moscow State University.
Favorite Tutorials
We tried to take advantage of this sensitivity and receptivity of the child's mind in teaching literacy, counting, in introducing children to measures of length, weight, time, with a drawing, plan, etc. The cash register of large (60 millimeters) written letters bent from wire, not only allowed to compose words-trains: "MAMA", "ANIA", "HOUSE", but also to teach the compiler of trains to write. He had no idea about this, but, having made up the "train", he necessarily "checked all the cars", tracing all the letters in order with his finger.
It is difficult for grandfather to see on a small thermometer outside the window how cold it is today. The kids, Vanya and Lyuba, will help him - they will set exactly the same temperature on a meter-high training thermometer, where very large divisions and a movable red-white ribbon allow you to set any temperature that happens on our earth.
You can also remove a clock with a large dial from the wall, in which the hour hand moves 12 times slower than the minute hand, like on a real clock, but they can show any time, as soon as the baby turns the gear from behind. This toy allows children to master clocks and time measurement a few years earlier than their peers.
We have a "toy" that teaches how to tie knots. Samples are tied on a frame of dural corners and tubes in the upper half: 14 different knots, from the simplest to very complex ones, like a climbing "shortening knot". And at the bottom, 14 "ends" of a nylon cord allow you to tie copies of these knots, which adults do not always succeed in.
In order for the kids to get acquainted with the map and the plan, we have both a globe and a plan of the house, physical map world and educational school, where, next to the plan of the area, its drawing is also depicted. Already five or six-year-old children are happy to find where on the plan the road, forest or village drawn in the picture, or vice versa. And when they learn to read, they ask each other tasks on the world map and know not only the continents, oceans and seas, but also many states, capitals, rivers and mountains, and they like to travel by land and by sea.
Even a seemingly simple table of hundreds gives kids a lot of food for thought and the opportunity to ask each other a lot of tasks. At first, they simply point the numbers with their fingers and call them in order: who is next. And they quickly realize that after "twenty-nine" comes not "twenty-ten", but "thirty", that is, they learn the order of numbers, and then they begin to count different objects. When all the numbers are already familiar, we give tasks: who will find the number 27 faster? 49? 93? Then, according to the same table, the guys master addition, finding, for example, the sum of numbers located vertically, horizontally, diagonally. At the same time, they invent different ways of adding and quickly get used to mathematical terminology.
With the beginnings of geometry, children get acquainted with a variety of geometric shapes cut out of colored paper and glued to the wall. The main lines of the figures and their names are also indicated here: height, median, diameter, radius ... And the kids very early distinguish an angle from a triangle, a square from a rhombus, a circle from a circle, etc. And in the building sets there are both balls, and cylinders and cones and pyramids, and we call all these geometric bodies their "mathematical name".
In our workshop, measuring instruments actually serve as teaching aids: scales, dynamometers, stopwatches, calipers, etc.; and a variety of materials: from plywood and tin to all kinds of plastics; and various tools for working wood and metals, including power tools that require skill and care in handling. Finally, games. First of all, these are designers: plastic with large parts for kids; mechanical designers and even a large electronic designer which the elders are fond of.
A special place among all teaching aids occupy our educational games, which we called "steps of creativity." These games are unusual, they were born in communication with children and with their direct participation. They can be played already in the second year of life, as soon as the baby begins to distinguish shapes and colors, and they are also enjoyed by teenagers and even adults.
What is creativity?
People do a lot of things every day: small and large, simple and complex. And every case is a task, sometimes more, sometimes less difficult. But with all their external diversity, and sometimes incomparability, all cases can be divided into two groups, if you approach them with one measure - is this an old task or a new one. People do a lot of things every day: small and large, simple and complex. And every case is a task, sometimes more, sometimes less difficult. But with all their external diversity, and sometimes incomparability, all cases can be divided into two groups, if you approach them with one measure - is this an old task or a new one.
Here is a typist typing or a driver driving a bus down the street. At the same time, they solve their professional tasks. How to solve them, each of them knows well. First they studied, and then they practiced over the years of work. Professional "tasks" are old, well-known for them, and habitual work is called performing activity. Learning a profession, a person develops his performing abilities: attention, memory, the ability to copy the actions of others, repeat what he saw or heard, the ability to bring a professional skill to automatism, etc. These abilities allow a person to act in any habitual activity according to the once and for all established rule or pattern - sometimes even mechanically. It is not for nothing that typists, for example, while typing and without even slowing down the pace of work, can talk to each other; the driver, continuing to drive the car, announces stops, makes remarks to the passengers on the microphone, and can even joke.
But here they put a manuscript in front of the typist - a long text that must be placed on one sheet in the most economical way or in some in an unusual way. This is unusual, she had not had to deal with this before: this is a new task for her. Or the driver, who came to the garage in the morning, does not start the engine. A malfunction can be in the power system, and ignition, and electrical wiring, and in a variety of parts. Not a single textbook and instructor can foresee all possible breakdowns and malfunctions and teach this to the driver, as is done when learning to drive a car. So this is also new task. You have to think for yourself, find a solution. And, although it is not very difficult, it can already be attributed to creative tasks.
The range of creative tasks is unusually wide in complexity - from finding a malfunction in a motor or solving a puzzle to inventing a new machine or scientific discovery, but their essence is the same: when they are solved, an act of creativity occurs, a new path is found, or something new is created. Here is what is required special qualities mind, such as observation, the ability to compare and analyze, combine, find connections and dependencies, patterns, etc. - all that in the aggregate constitutes creative abilities.
Creative activity, being more complex in nature, is available only to man. And the simpler one - the performing one - can be transferred both to animals and to machines, for it and the mind not so much is required. In life, of course, everything is much more difficult, to separate different types activity is not always possible, and most often human activity includes both performing and creative components but in different proportions. A worker at a conveyor or at a stamping press is almost devoid of the need for creative activity, he must accurately perform the operations known to him, and an automatic line adjuster or inventor is almost constantly busy with it, and any of their activities is "impregnated" with creativity, since new tasks in a large work sets the quantity, and they themselves find them in life.
Who needs creativity?
And no matter how strange it may seem at first glance, it is more complex, yet not feasible for everyone and often requiring real asceticism. creative activity attracts people, and not just young people. Apparently, these great difficulties can also give great joys, and joys of a higher, human order - the joy of overcoming, the joy of discovery, the joy of creativity. It is possible that this is both natural and highly symptomatic: after all, we live in an age of a scientific and technological revolution unprecedented in the history of mankind; and life in all its manifestations becomes more varied and more complex; it, the further, the more, requires from a person not stereotyped, habitual actions, consecrated by centuries-old traditions, but mobility of thinking, quick orientation, creative approach to solving large and small problems. This became especially acute during the period of perestroika, when glasnost began to open everyone's eyes and made it possible to see a sea of problems that the limited mind of an obedient performer did not notice during the years of stagnation. How to deal with red tape, how to overcome percentage mania in schools? What should be done so that scientists turn from ardent opponents of innovation into its supporters?
Mobility is also required by modern production, where new professions appear literally before our eyes and those that require heavy, monotonous, performing work are on the wane. It is easier for a person with a creative mindset not only to change professions, but also to find a creative “zest” in any business, get carried away with any work and achieve high labor productivity.
Acceleration scientific and technological progress will depend on the quantity and quality of creative minds, on their ability to provide fast development science, technology and production, from what is now called the increase in the intellectual potential of the people.
And before our state, school, educators and parents, a task of extreme importance is growing: to ensure that each of those who now go to kindergarten and who are yet to be born, grow up not only a conscious member of socialist society, not only a healthy and strong person , but also - necessarily! - an enterprising, thinking employee, capable of a creative approach to any business that he would undertake. and active life position can have a basis if a person thinks creatively, if he sees around him an opportunity for improvement.
It turns out that everyone should become creators? Yes! Let some to a lesser extent, Others to a greater extent, but necessarily all. Where to get so many talented and capable? Nature, everyone knows, is not generous with talents. They are rare like diamonds...
For more than half a century, the system of pedagogical influence on the development of children of the Nikitin family has been popular not only among teachers, but also among parents in the expanses of the former Soviet Union.
The Nikitins' methodology is based on the main principle - this is the early development of the child, both physical and intellectual. It includes all periods of the early age category, from childbirth to preschool age.
Now the main postulates of this system do not cause surprise or misunderstanding among parents, since they already know well or at least have heard about the importance of early development for their baby. And more recently, the basic rules of the methodology caused misunderstanding and mass protests among many. They were based on the fact that its basis is not unique, and that children who were brought up on it and reached adulthood certain peaks, not so much.
But the benefits of such early development speak for themselves. In addition, the methodology of the Nikitin family has been adopted as one of the main children's development programs in a country like Japan. The author's books have been translated into many languages of the world and are actively sold even in our time, and an institute named after the Nikitin family has opened in Germany, which studies earlier development.
Who were the authors
Boris and Lena Nikitin are mother and father from a large family. They both had Teacher Education. The idea of raising children new system nurtured by Boris Pavlovich when he was at a young age and worked in the field of aviation. He dreamed of creating his own school, where the younger generation would not be brought up according to the hackneyed methods of the Soviet space.
Lena Alekseevna Nikitina after meeting with the most beautiful person, according to her, with her husband Boris, bore him seven children. Together they decided to introduce a new method of education in their family. They created an atmosphere of creativity in their home and actively raised and educated their children.
Gradually, it was enriched with hypotheses, proofs of the correctness of the theory, and new methods. There were trials and errors, but the result was - education according to the new scheme gives its positive results.
For residents of a village near Moscow, where a large family lived, it was strange to observe the method of raising Nikitin children. It didn’t fit in their heads how a child could be allowed to run barefoot in the snow, and the gymnastic exercises that their children performed with ease were a bewitching sight for them. Starting from the age of three, the guys from the Nikitin family already learned to read and easily counted up to ten.
Agree, such results in the late 50s of the twentieth century surprised anyone.
Yes, the Nikitins found the courage to resist the upbringing system of those times, and today their methodology or its elements are popular among young parents. “The upbringing of a child cannot be the same for everyone and according to certain programs,” said Boris Nikitin, “every baby is an individual, and the task of parents is to encourage his activity” - the basic principles for raising children.
Basic postulates of the methodology
The experience of the Nikitin family speaks of the need to create such an aura and environment for children in which they would have the opportunity to develop in any direction. Therefore, the baby chooses exactly what can develop at the moment and gives high efficiency.
Another important thought is that all classes with a child should take place with the active participation of their parents. But do not impose your opinion or desires on them. The task of parents is to encourage the choice of the child to think independently and to enable him to find a logical solution to the problem.
According to the Nikitin method, such parental manifestations are undesirable:
- excessive care and maintenance;
- continuous activities with the child;
- deprive the baby of the opportunity to independently choose a game, pastime;
- impose their ideas, rules, activities.
According to Boris Nikitin, there are two main mistakes among parents that lead to incorrect all-round development of the child.
- Full organization of the baby's day by parents and excessive custody of him. In this case, the child is deprived of the opportunity to independently develop and choose what is interesting to him in this period of his life. In the future, at an older age, it will be extremely difficult or almost impossible for such people to make an independent decision. They will choose the beaten path or be ruled by others.
- The second mistake is abandonment. At the same time, parents pay all their attention to care and are not involved in the development of the baby. They make sure that the child has something to eat, he is washed and dressed. At the same time, spiritual development fades into the background. In such children, a significant lag in psycho-emotional development will be observed in the future.
The system of education of the Nikitin family is based on naturalness, work, close proximity to nature. Children themselves choose their regimen in nutrition, in play, and in everyday life. The task of parents is to timely help in solving complex life issues and constant participation in the life of the child.
Principles of education
All codes of education according to the methodology of the Nikitin family can be divided into four basic principles, which together give a positive result in the development of the baby.
The Nikitin system assumes:
The first principle is based on the freedom of creativity of children in the classroom. No special lessons are needed, they are all purely educational in nature, and only the child determines what he wants to do, how and how much. Basic rules for parents:
- do not impose a specific training program;
- there is no need to explain the rules, it is better to involve him in a new type of activity with the help of a fairy tale, taking advantage of the interest and desire of the baby to imitate an adult. If this arouses the interest of the child, he will play and develop in this direction;
- the beginning of any new game requires the active participation of an adult, but in the future his presence is not necessary.
The second principle is to let the baby do everything on his own. If a certain task is within the child's power, give him the opportunity to complete it himself. It may not work the first time, but learning new things through trial and error is the right way to educate a person. It is important for parents to remember the following:
- do not rush to solve the problem for the baby, give him the opportunity to think and solve on his own;
- if finding the right path for the child becomes difficult, return to an easier, already done similar task and start again incrementally, not forgetting to praise the baby for his small victories;
- if the inability to find the right solution makes the crumbs leave what they started, postpone the lesson until interest appears again.
The third principle is the harmonious distribution of attention to both the physical and mental abilities of the baby. No need to focus on one of the points. They must complement each other. Only in this case, the technique provides a comprehensive development of the child.
The joint work of an adult and a baby is the fourth postulate of the Nikitin family methodology. Helping their mother or father with the housework, girls and boys learn this work. At the same time, parents do not forget to actively participate in the activities of their kids.
Praise occupies a very important place in the upbringing of a child. This assertion is natural, since loving parents they cannot but praise their child for his achievements in solving this or that problem. Even if the child has failed, find a way to praise him without focusing on his defeat, and he will definitely come back and finish the job.
Educational aspects from the moment of birth
It has already been mentioned that the educational methodology of the Nikitin family originates from the period of labor in a woman. Although the teacher B. Nikitin had advice on the behavior of the expectant mother and during gestation. But still, the basis of education begins with labor activity.
When Lena and Boris Nikitin sent their daughter to the hospital, they made a whole list of requests to the doctors and nurses of the institution.
- Childbirth without medication. The use of anesthesia several times worsens labor activity and adversely affects the health of both the mother and the baby.
- Childbirth in a half-sitting position.
- The umbilical cord is cut only after the blood stops pulsating in it.
- Early breastfeeding. This gives the baby peace of mind, a sense of security and understanding that the mother is nearby.
- The joint presence of the newborn with the mother preserves their connection and in to a large extent soothes the baby.
- Feeding on demand. This is the first step towards the independence of the baby. He decides when to eat. By the way, before the process of breastfeeding, Nikitin suggested completely undressing the baby, which involved his body in the ability to thermoregulate.
- Don't swaddle. The lack of movement and contact with the outside world reduces the ability of the crumbs to know it.
- hardening. The use of air baths immediately after birth is the path to successful and good health.
Many of these prerequisites are now used in maternity hospitals and significantly improve the process of the birth of a baby.
If you decide on the method of raising a child according to the principles of the Nikitin family, then with the right approach and fulfillment of all requirements, you guarantee a good physical and mental development your baby.
From the very birth of a child, parents think about how to help him master the necessary skills, discover creative and intellectual ability. Today it is possible to give the little one to a specialized center or work with him at home using some author's method. One of the well-known systems that allow you to develop and educate kids in the process of playing from an early age is the technique of the Nikitin family. What is it proposed to take as its basis and how suitable is it for modern children?
The main goals of the system of education and early development of children of Boris and Elena Nikitin
Boris and Elena Nikitin are experienced teachers and parents of 7 children. They developed a development methodology from their own experience, which gained great popularity in the 80s of the XX century.
The basis of the system of raising children, according to the Nikitins, is the naturalness of the process: you need to help the baby open up as early as possible. How younger child, the more successful he shows himself in the learning process. If you miss the moment and do not push him to develop latent abilities, then their inclinations can no longer be deployed to their full potential later.
Principles of the methodology
The Nikitins themselves perceived their system of education not as a methodology, but as an image and style of life. It includes not only the principles of early development, but also the way of life of children from conception. The main points should be highlighted.
- Everything is geared towards nature. With the onset of pregnancy, future parents are already fully responsible for the health and development of their baby. Medical intervention must be minimized, nature has provided for everything for a person, so a woman's body is set up to bear a child and give birth naturally. Doctors, on the other hand, are seen as people who have special knowledge in the field of medicine and are able to help in a critical situation.
- Mandatory early physical development. The body of a child by nature itself is adapted to the disclosure of the abilities inherent in it. Hardening, walking barefoot in the snow, wiping or dousing with cold water, exercising on sports simulators - all this only strengthens the kids, makes them stronger and more resilient. Children should wear a minimum of clothes and only from natural fabrics. Another important point is nutrition: it should be simple, without frills, delicacies and harmful products.
- The earlier the better. From birth, every child has colossal abilities, and not only physical, but also creative, intellectual. Therefore, the sooner you start working with children, the faster and better they will develop. If you miss the moment, then these makings will simply disappear.
- Parents are directly involved in the development of children, organizing joint activities. Girls should always help their mother around the house, and boys should spend a lot of time with their father. During the game, adults do not prompt, do not help and do not perform tasks for their children. The child is not scolded if something does not work out for him, but they are simply waiting for the child to independently understand how to do this or that action correctly.
- A special learning environment created depending on the needs and desires of the child. The house should have elements of sports equipment (horizontal bars, wall bars, jump ropes, balls, etc.) and tools for creativity ( logic games, cubes, puzzles, development boards). All this helps children develop in a natural rhythm.
Pros and cons of the Nikitin system
There are many followers of the Nikitins' method of education, but we must not forget about the disadvantages of this system.
Positive and negative points in the Nikitin education system - table
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Early development of children: Komarovsky's opinion - video
The Nikitin system for children up to a year
The Nikitins' methodology provides for the upbringing and development of children from birth. The basic principles of the system for babies up to a year:
- physical culture of the body:
- the child is given complete freedom of movement from birth;
- as few clothes as possible at any time of the year;
- more physical activity;
- hardening and dynamic gymnastics;
- nutrition: breastfeeding on demand, breastfeeding immediately after birth and before the appearance of the first tooth, then the food should be the simplest, without delicacies, modest and nutritious;
- special environment: creating conditions from infancy so that the baby grows and develops rapidly;
- the role of parents: mom and dad from the first days of the crumbs keep an observation diary, where they write down all the information about him and, on its basis, treat the little one and monitor his well-being;
- intellectual development: to acquaint the child with tasks with the help of logic games, cubes should be as early as possible, already at 10-12 months.
From the moment of birth, the baby grows rapidly, so you should immediately think about his physical development. From the first days, Nikitin was recommended to do dynamic gymnastics. Hardening began immediately: the child was left naked for a short time, the rest of the time he was put on only underwear or a minimum of light clothing. As soon as the little one began to learn to walk, it was possible to stomp a little barefoot in the snow.
Intellectual development also begins at such an early age: the child is offered to draw or play with educational toys. Children 10–12 months old can be given geometric insert frames: at first the baby will try to put the elements in the right place, and over time he will understand how to assemble the square completely. With the help of such frames, he will easily remember the colors and shapes.
Dynamic gymnastics - video
The Nikitin method in the development of preschoolers
Nikitins were against kindergartens and schools and recommended keeping children in educational institutions to a minimum. They believed that strict limits, regime and program do not give natural freedom and oppress creative and intellectual abilities, and We tried to give more information in the shortest possible time at home.
Basic principles of child development before school age include:
- labor is a mandatory activity for a child;
As soon as the baby has learned to walk, he can be involved in household chores. IN younger age this is folding toys and your things, in the older one - helping around the house, cleaning, washing dishes, working in the garden or on the street.
- physical exercises and hardening, involving daily gymnastics, classes in a sports corner, dousing with cold water;
- intellectual development, which occurs only in the form of a game.
The child is not forced to perform this or that exercise, he decides what to do in free time And how long will the game last? Parents do not insist, but do not help the baby in the process of learning new skills.
Three principles of child development - photo gallery
While playing, the baby develops intellectually Helping around the house, children prepare for adulthood Physical exercise is an important part of a child's health
Hardening: the opinion of a pediatrician - video
Educational games according to the method of Nikitin
The Nikitins' methodology involves early acquaintance of children with letters, the basics of mathematics, and information about the world around them. It is for this purpose that the author of the system invented numerous logic games and puzzles. The kids were taught geographical maps and other benefits. All this is aimed at developing different skills.
- Intellectual games help the child develop logic, mathematical abilities and thinking.
- Creative games: no special materials and aids are needed here, classes expand the crumbs' imagination and their creative abilities. You can, for example, guess words or look for a way out of a difficult situation.
- Playing games introduce the baby to the surrounding household items (watches, TV, telephone, etc.), explain the mechanism of their action.
During the game, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- easy tasks are performed first, and as soon as the children cope with them, the tasks become more difficult, which makes it possible to use the same games at different ages;
- the child needs to independently understand how to complete the task, he can use instructions, pictures, samples, but he must find the solution himself, without the help of adults;
- there are practically no rules in games, the baby can make a new pattern, pyramid or other figure.
The entire early development system of the Nikitins is based on games that are still popular today.
Nikitin Cubes
Most of the tasks according to the Nikitin method are presented in the form of cubes. They differ in size, complexity and rules of the game.
It is interesting for children to work with cubes: their fine motor skills are actively developing, the child is learning colors and geometric figures develops imagination, logical and creative thinking.
All dice games differ by age category. The most famous of them:
- "Fold the square" for children from 2 to 6 years old;
- "Fold the pattern" for children from 4 to 8 years old;
- "Fractions" for children from 3 to 7 years;
- "Bricks" for children from 2 to 6 years old;
- "Nikitin's cubes for everyone" for children from 5 years old;
- "Unicube" for children from 6 years old.
The most popular toys according to the Nikitin method - photo gallery
Cubes for folding patterns develop logic and attention
With the help of Unicube, you can add all kinds of shapes Playing with squares, the baby learns colors, shapes and develops logical thinking Fractions teach you to distinguish a part from a whole Bricks develop imagination and ability to work with diagrams
Classes with a set of "Cubes for everyone"
This game is based on 27 dice, which are represented by seven complex structures. Each design consists of three or four parts connected together and has its own color.
The child, playing with cubes, learns to choose those designs that are needed for a particular model. In the process of creativity, spatial thinking and the ability to combine are developed.
Cubes for everyone - photo gallery
Children of school age love to play with cubes for everyone The set includes figures of different shapes, sizes and colors Instructions are attached to the cubes with a picture of structures that can be assembled
The purpose of the game "Fold the Pattern"
This set uses 16 dice, each side of which is colored differently. Put them in a wooden or cardboard box. During the game, the child learns to collect the patterns proposed in the instructions. Classes develop thinking, logic, creativity and imagination, teach children to analyze and combine. The kid can come up with a new picture himself.
At the very beginning of the lessons with the "Fold the Pattern" set, the child uses two cubes, then the task becomes more complicated and the child folds the picture from four parts, gradually increasing their number.
We add patterns - photo gallery
An example of a simple pattern of 16 cubes Nikitin's multi-colored cubes develop creativity The set includes instructions with examples of pictures that can be folded from cubes Children love to fold patterns from cubes
Description of the cubes "Fold the square"
This game has 3 difficulty levels. Each of the categories includes 12 squares, which are located in a frame with recesses. The cubes are divided into several parts and they need to be folded correctly. For young children, it is recommended to start classes with a small number of elements, gradually increasing their number. To begin with, the child can pick up all the necessary parts by color. The next step is to try to assemble the figure correctly.
The game develops patience, thinking and perseverance. She teaches the baby that a large whole consists of smaller parts, trains color perception and quick wit.
Folding a square - photo gallery
The game has several levels of difficulty depending on the age of the child The complexity of the game depends on how many parts the square is divided into Folding the square captivates both toddlers and older preschoolers
"Bricks" and "Colorful Buildings"
The "Bricks" set consists of 8 unpainted bricks of the same size. Collecting spatial models from them, children develop their imagination and the ability to work with diagrams. At an older age, the student can be asked to sketch the constructed structure, thus practicing drawing skills.
"Colorful buildings" do not belong to the games invented by the Nikitin family, but are very popular with children. The set includes wooden blocks painted in different colors and lined cards on which to begin building the foundation. Such games develop in children a sense of symmetry and asymmetry, orientation and attentiveness.
We build from wooden blocks - photo gallery
Nikitin's bricks are a kind of gymnastics for the mind. From the bricks, you can collect the figures proposed in the instructions or come up with new ones. Games with cubes attract all children, because each of them loves to build something new
Technology of work with the unicube
The Unicube is represented by 27 cubes, the faces of which are painted in different colors. The set contains instructions and examples of three-dimensional figures that a child can fold.
Do not help the child during the game, let him develop his own thinking
How to make Nikitin's cubes with your own hands
You can not only buy Nikitin's cubes in the store, but also make them yourself. In order to make them yourself, you will need:
- wooden cubes (the quantity depends on which set you want to make);
- PVA glue;
- scissors;
- colored paper or cardboard;
- scotch.
Sequencing:
- Wet the cubes with water so that the old picture comes off. Clean all edges of paper and glue.
- Cut out squares of different colors from colored cardboard.
- Tape each cube. The combination of colors depends on what kind of set you want to make.
- At the final stage, glue the cubes with tape. The game is ready.
The Nikitin system is aimed primarily at the natural process of training. The child is equally developed physically and intellectually from birth. The authors of the methodology focused on the complete freedom of children: the kid himself makes decisions regarding the type of classes, their duration and complexity. Parents do not interfere in the process, do not help and do not praise. They observe and offer new tasks that their children perform only on their own.