Ksenia Zubkova
Living corner in kindergarten

Environmental education and upbringing aimed at the formation of a person's scientific knowledge of nature, beliefs and practical skills, a certain orientation and an active life position in the field of environmental protection, rational use and the reproduction of natural resources is an objective necessity for all mankind.

Per last years the process of creating new concepts of preschool education and new projects of education and training programs for preschool children has become noticeably more active. A modern educator is not required to strictly adhere to one typical program, as it was relatively recently. Nowadays, each kindergarten teacher and team of teachers has the right to choose a program or compose it from several programs in accordance with the general educational and educational focus of the preschool institution and their pedagogical attitudes.

In accordance with the three stages of preschool age - junior, middle and senior preschool age - it consists of three parts. Each part is based on general ideas that reflect the views of the authors on preschool childhood, the conditions for the effective development of a child in preschool years, his full-fledged personal formation and formation, and readiness for school education.

Preschool age is the most important stage in personality development. This is the period of the child's initial socialization, familiarizing him with the world of culture, universal human values, the time of establishing initial relations with the leading spheres of life - the world of people, the world of objects, the natural world and his own inner world. The unique features of physical, mental, social and personal development are manifested in the originality of the methods and forms of cognition and activities of the preschooler. The child's cognition of the world is carried out in an emotional and practical way: he uses various objects - and examines their shape, color, size, rejoices in the bright colors of nature - and begins to comprehend the variety of natural objects. The richness of the surrounding world, its brilliance, sound polyphony captivate, awaken the feelings and imagination of the child, push to independent cognition, action, to the manifestation of creativity.

Features of acquaintance of children of middle preschool age with the natural world

At 4-5 years old, a preschooler shows a significant and deeper interest in the nature around him: animals, plants, weather phenomena. The questions arising at this age: "why?", "Why?", "From where?" sometimes they put adults - parents, teachers - into a dead end, amaze with the inquisitiveness of the child's mind, the desire to penetrate into the essence of phenomena and their interconnections, the figurative form of understanding the perceived. Satisfy children's curiosity without suppressing interest in recognizing nature, forming ideas about it that are productive for the child's diversified development, instilling the first skills of activity and independent thinking are important tasks of working with children in this age period.

Extremely important for preschoolers of the fifth year of life is the "discovery" (selection as objects of cognition) of living beings in nature, their internal similarity with external dissimilarity. So, it turns out that the beast and the plant are alike - they are alive: they breathe, grow, feed, feel the attitude of a person towards them. The child begins to think thoughtfully about the manifestations of people's attitude to nature, experiences anger, pain from human cruelty, takes pleasure, rejoices in kind, noble, touching deeds.

The high emotional responsiveness, empathy of four-year-olds allows them to actively form an environmentally valuable experience of communicating with animals and plants, to stimulate and encourage humane manifestations of behavior and activity in nature, to bring up joyful experiences from a morally positive act. The proposed program of environmental education will help adults - teachers, parents - begin to familiarize children with environmental culture, the formation of their foundations of an ecological worldview.

The device of a living corner in kindergarten and the basic requirements for its facilities

Kindergarten Wildlife Corner is one of the necessary conditions visual and effective acquaintance of preschoolers with nature. In a corner of wildlife, preschoolers can approach animals and plants throughout the day, examine them, and conduct long-term observations of them. Concrete knowledge about nature expands in children. When caring for the inhabitants of a corner of nature, labor skills, hard work, respect for living things, responsibility for the assigned work are formed.

Zoo corners in preschool institutions are arranged, first of all, with the aim of developing in children an idea of ​​the diversity of the animal world. Direct communication with nature gives the child a more vivid idea of ​​the world than looking at illustrations, reading books or telling the story of elders. Of course, it is not worth completely excluding these forms of acquaintance with the animal world. On the contrary, they will only supplement and expand the ideas of the animal world that are developing in children, obtained from direct communication with animals. Children will undoubtedly enjoy the interaction with animals. In addition, when performing simple work in a zoo corner, children will acquire useful, simple skills of caring for animals, and feel responsible for their pets. For the arrangement of a zoo corner, it is best to select a bright room with windows to the south or southeast. In this room, you can not only accommodate the inhabitants of the living corner, but also conduct classes with children. The objects are placed in such a way that children can freely approach them and observe the animals. There should be a certain number of objects in the zoo corner. This will provide deeper cognition, without distraction. When drawing up a zoo corner, it is very important to choose the right future inhabitants for it. In this case, it is necessary to take into account some requirements for the inhabitants of the living corner.

1. All animals should be brightly colored in order to keep the unstable attention of children, to interest them.

2. It is necessary that several specimens of the same species of animals be kept in a living corner, which will make it possible to see not only the similarities between them, but also individual differences. Such observations will help to form in children holistic ideas about the diversity of the animal world.

3. It is important to remember that all animals must be safe for children.

4. Animals in the zoo should not require sophisticated equipment for their maintenance, care for them should be relatively simple, in line with the strength of children and the availability of free time.

5. When placing the inhabitants of the zoological corner, it is necessary to take into account their biological features... So, a turtle terrarium should be placed in a sunny place, and an amphibian aquarium in a cool and shaded place.

Permanent inhabitants of the living area are aquarium fish(viviparous species - swordtails, guppies, platipecilia; catfish, labeo, zebrafish, barbs, goldfish). Observing them is interesting, and the care work is easy for children and available to them (it consists in feeding, cleaning the aquarium). Can be kept in a living corner of amphibians and reptiles. In addition to the permanent inhabitants of the zoo corner (clawed frogs, axolotls, turtles, you can bring local species of animals (green and gray toads, frogs, lizards) for demonstration to children.

Bird care will be of great interest to children. Canaries and budgerigars are typical representatives of the feathered inhabitants of the living area. These birds breed in captivity, and the development of chicks, the care of birds for the offspring is a valuable material for observing children.

Mammals are valuable objects for the living area due to their complex behavior. By observing them, children learn to recognize and distinguish them by their external features. The zoo corner can accommodate rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats.

It is best to keep songbirds in the zoo corner of the younger group. They have a bright color, they easily adapt to captivity. Mammals, on the other hand, require a lot of attention, so they are kept in the zoo corner of the older group of the kindergarten, and cages with hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs are brought to junior groups for temporary observation. It is better to keep viviparous and spawning fish in the aquariums of the zoo corner for older children. Caring for amphibians and reptiles is easy. They can be found in zoo corners of all age groups. However, most likely, these animals will arouse interest in children of older groups, since they do not have a bright color that could attract the attention of children of younger groups.

The smallest children learn about animals through observation. Brightly colored tropical fish, guinea pigs with an interesting appearance, with complex behavior, turtles, hamsters are well suited for this. Children need to be introduced to animals: say their name, give their children the opportunity to examine them appearance, observe their movements, talk about the nutrition of animals, perhaps give them food. At this age, when the child is especially willing to make contact, he can be offered to imitate the sounds of an animal, to repeat the movements of animals that do not make sounds.

After such classes, children will well remember information about the animal, they will perceive it better.

It is also important to keep the child interested. Classes should be played in a playful way. The child must learn to recognize the color of the coat, the color of the eyes, the shape of the body, and its relief. In this case, you can teach children a figurative comparison, for example, to say that the fur of an animal is soft like fluff. Children will be very interested in solving riddles about animals, which they will then be shown. Children can give nicknames to animals.

Then children need to be taught how to establish cause-and-effect relationships. Why does a turtle have a shell? Why does a parrot have wings? Why does a rabbit move by jumping, and a guinea pig running? Children can be told about wild and domestic animals (demonstrate a rabbit, canary, hamsters). At this stage, for the first time, children can be given the opportunity to care for animals under the guidance of a teacher. These can be the simplest actions: put food in the trough, pour water into the drinker. At this stage, children already begin to invent stories and poems themselves, draw pictures.

Children of the older group can be given concepts about the diversity of animals, about their uniqueness and the need to protect them, demonstrate viviparous fish, give knowledge about the reproduction of animals, their upbringing of offspring. Care becomes more difficult, new skills are added - changing the bedding, self-feeding, changing the water in the drinker, bathing the animals, caring for the offspring. At the same time, films about animals, filmstrips are shown to children.

The work of preschoolers in a corner of nature

With regard to plants and familiarization with them, then in senior group children get acquainted with new houseplants, remember their names, reveal the difference in their structure from already known plants.

Much work is being done to form and consolidate children's ideas about the needs of plants in certain environmental conditions (water, good soil, light, heat). The formation of these ideas, their consolidation in the conditions of everyday life is best done through simple experiments.

Experience with water. Plants are selected that quickly respond to changes in soil moisture (coleus, balsams, etc.). The observation is carried out on Monday morning after a two-day break in watering the plants. One of the plants is watered an hour before observation (without attracting the attention of children). By the time of observation, the watered plant should already be in a normal state, the other turns out to be withered, with drooping leaves.

Children, together with the teacher, examine both plants, compare, reveal the difference in their condition. Then, examining the soil, they find that one is watered, the other lacks water. Watering the plant abundantly, leave it until evening. In the evening or on the morning of the next day, a second observation is carried out, in which, comparing both plants, the children find that their condition is equally good. After that, a conclusion is made about the need of plants for water and about the timely satisfaction of this need (watering).

Experiment with soil. The teacher, together with the children, plants oats in two cups, in one of them there is earth, in the other - sand. “Let's see,” says the teacher, “in which of the cups the oats will grow better, and we will try to take good care of one and the other planting.” Children twice a week observe the germination of oats, water both crops.

The first observation should be made when there are visible seedlings in both cups. During the observation, children can be asked the following questions: in what soil were the oats planted and what did they want to know? Did we care for oats the same way? Are the oats sprouting equally well? The next observation is carried out in class, when a clear difference in the state of the oats in different cups is found.

In the future, work is carried out on feeding and transplanting plants and monitoring them.

Experience with light. Before observation, it is necessary to germinate 3 bulbs: two in the dark, one in the light. After a few days, when the difference is obvious, the teacher invites the children to look at the bulbs and establish how they differ from each other in color and leaf shape: yellow and curved leaves for those bulbs that germinated in the dark (in the basement). In confirmation of this, one onion from those that grew in the dark is exposed to the light, the other is left in the same conditions.

The second observation is made when the yellow-leaved bulb straightens and turns green. Then the third onion is exposed to the light. When the state of the third bulb also changes, a lesson is held in which the results of the experiment are discussed. The teacher helps children to generalize ideas about the importance of favorable conditions (light) for plant growth.

Systematic monitoring of the state of indoor plants... Children are taught the ability to identify plants that are hungry for light (by elongated stems and pale leaves, take care of them: rearrange them in a well-lit place, wash.

An experiment with branches (identifying the need for heat in plants). In winter, poplar branches are brought in, placing them in two vases with water. One vase is left on the windowsill, the second is placed between the frames. Then they watch the blossoming of the branches.

The first observation is carried out when leaves appear on the branches standing on the windowsill. They compare the branches in both vases, note the difference in condition, explain the reason, which lies in different thermal conditions.

In the future, children are taught to pay attention to the temperature of the water with which the plants are watered, to the need to harvest it in advance so that it warms up.

Placing objects in a corner of nature

In kindergartens, a corner of nature is organized for each group separately. Its objects are placed in the light part of the room (on low tables and window sills) as follows; so that they are well lit, but do not block the light from the window. The wildlife corner window should face southwest, south or southeast.

Plants are not recommended to be placed close to vents and stoves, as sudden temperature fluctuations are harmful to them. When placing plants, it is necessary to take into account their relation to light, heat and moisture. So, the inhabitants of tropical forests and swamps, for example, Tradescantia, aspidistra, ivy, do not tolerate strong sun heat. It is better to place them near the windows on the north side or in the walls between the windows. Plants of subtropics and deserts grow better on the sunny side.

All plants that stand on the window require wooden stands. For uniform development, the plants are turned from time to time so that the light falls on different sides of them.

Aquariums are placed in front of windows, however, avoiding bright lighting in summer. Terrariums are placed in a bright and warm place. Birds are kept away from the vents: they cannot stand drafts.

Seasonal changes in a corner of nature, In connection with the change of seasons, the composition of the inhabitants of a corner of nature also changes.

In autumn, plants transplanted from a flower garden into pots are transferred to a corner. Animals flowing into hibernation(frogs, lizards, turtles, on the contrary, are taken out into a cool, unheated room.

In winter, boxes with crops and plantings produced by children are brought into the corner (onions for feathers, oats, lettuce, carrots and beets for herbs). From a cold room, pots with wild plants of forests and meadows planted in them in summer are rearranged here. Towards the end of winter, vessels with cut branches of trees and bushes are placed in a corner of nature.

In the spring, boxes with seedlings and rooted cuttings are placed in a corner and terrariums are brought in.

In summer, a corner of nature is placed on a veranda or in a gazebo and replenished with those plants and animals that children bring from excursions and walks.

A corner of nature in a kindergarten - important condition organization of meaningful activities of children aimed at solving the problems of acquainting children with nature.

A corner of nature in kindergarten: why is it important?

The educational value of a corner of nature cannot be overestimated. Its presence in the group room allows you to form realistic ideas about the representatives of the plant, animal world by ensuring direct contact of children with them. It is in the process of observing the development of animals, the growth of plants that opportunities are created for the formation of systemic knowledge in preschoolers: plants can exist only in the presence of appropriate conditions - light, heat, moisture, nutritious soil.

Observation and activities associated with caring for the inhabitants of the corner of nature excites thought, contributes to the establishment of connections that are understandable for children, and all this requires an appropriate language design. Objects of the angle of nature allow the educator to develop sensory organs in children, using for this a variety of colors, shapes, sounds, odors of natural objects.

A special role belongs to the corner of nature in the development of the cognitive interests and observation of children, since the corner of nature serves as a small laboratory where simple experiments are carried out, long-term observations of the development of plants and animals are carried out.

Using objects from a corner of nature, the educator has the opportunity to carry out environmental education - to form knowledge about dependence in nature, value orientations. Capturing children interesting world nature, the educator makes them want to communicate with her, forms a humane, careful attitude to living things.

The presence of a corner of nature is an indispensable condition for the formation of the first labor skills associated with caring for plants, animals, as well as a sense of responsibility for the assigned work.

A well-equipped corner of nature is the decoration of the group's premises. Observation in a corner of nature for the blooming of flowers, the beautiful underwater world of the aquarium, etc. allow you to enrich children with aesthetic impressions and display beauty in drawings.

Kindergarten's nature corners contain plants and animals. Certain requirements must be imposed on their choice. Some educators and parents often ask the question: "Wouldn't it be better if I just buy a corner of nature for kindergarten?" Indeed, a corner of nature can be bought ready-made, which will significantly save time.

Requirements for objects from the corner of nature in kindergarten:

1. Objects of the corner of nature should correspond to the objectives of the program, contribute to their implementation.
2. Plants and animals must be safe for children. For example, due to its toxic properties, nightshade, oleander, and thorny cacti cannot be kept in kindergarten.
3. Objects in a corner of nature should not require complex maintenance.
4. Among the objects of the corner of nature there should be no plants, animals that are subject to protection or whose number is insignificant.
5. The objects of the corner of nature must change, along with the permanent residents must be temporary. This will provide a constant flow of new information - an important condition for the development of the cognitive interests of children.
6. Placement and equipment of a corner of nature. A corner of nature should be located in the bright part of the room, which provides favorable conditions for most of its inhabitants. To accommodate it, standard and non-standard equipment is used.

What is needed to equip a living area?

The standard equipment is sectional furniture made of wardrobes, in which items of care for objects in a corner of nature are stored.

Non-standard equipment is hemp, original tree trunks, decorative lattices on which houseplants, cages and the like are placed. Tastefully selected natural finds give the corners of nature exoticism and individuality. Often such non-standard equipment complements the standard one.

To decorate a corner of nature, decorative plates with natural ornaments are used, vases with dry bouquets are placed, and in the summer - with compositions of fresh flowers.

When placing objects in a corner of nature, the following basic requirements should be taken into account:

1. The placement of indoor plants, animals should be subordinated to their needs for light, warmth, etc. For example, birds should be provided with a good bright place, because they need a lot of food, which they consume only with sufficient light; at the same time, the hamster should never be left in a lit place, especially in the sun, because this leads to the death of these nocturnal animals.
2. Monitor the safety of children while caring for the living area.
3. Take care of the aesthetic appearance of the corner of nature.
4. Indoor plants are permanent residents of a corner of nature. In addition, they are widely used in kindergartens for creating winter gardens, decorating lobbies, stairs, etc.

Do you need plants in the living corner of the kindergarten?

The presence of indoor plants in a corner of nature allows children to show the variety of plants, their structure, methods of reproduction, to acquaint them with the needs of plants, to teach the simplest methods of care, to form an idea of ​​their beauty, and to cultivate a respectful attitude. Indoor plants emit phytoncides (this is especially typical for cyperus, pelargonium) and thereby create more favorable conditions for the room.

All equipment for keeping a corner of nature can be bought in our store.

How to place plants in a living area?

Furniture in a corner of nature is placed near windows or in the gaps between them, but not next to heating systems. During the placement of indoor plants, their light requirements are taken into account. Light-loving plants are placed closer to the light source. This is especially needed for pelargonium, coleus, feces, etc. Plants that do not like light are placed in less illuminated places.

In order for the crown of indoor plants to develop evenly, it is necessary to change their position relative to the light source from time to time, that is, periodically rotate the pot around the axis.

When placing indoor plants, you should also take care of the decorative effect. Coleus will look good among the delicate greens of asparagus.

It is necessary to grow plants at a uniform air temperature (fluctuations within 3-6 ° C are not harmful). Drafts have a negative effect on plants, so they should be placed where there are no drafts.

All equipment for keeping a corner of nature can be bought in our store.

Watering plants

This is one of critical species leaving. It is because of improper watering that plants in kindergartens suffer most.

Almost all indoor plants are watered more moderately in autumn and winter than in spring and summer. Water must be watered room temperature, settled during the day. At the same time, the funnel nose should be kept closer to the soil surface so that the water jet does not knock out the soil. It is noted that the plant must be watered if the topsoil has dried out. Water should be poured so much that not only the upper, but also the lower soil layer is saturated with moisture, and a small amount of it passes to the pallet. When watering, do not spray water on the leaves, as this causes the appearance of brown spots and spoils the appearance of the plant. Plants with undisturbed leaves in spring and summer must be sprayed with water once a week.

Plant transplant in a corner of nature

Most indoor plants require transplanting no more than 1-2 times a year. As a rule, they do this in the spring, from March to May. Before transplanting, the plant should be watered, turn the pot upside down and, while supporting the ground with the plant with your left hand, remove the pot with your right. If the pot does not come off immediately, you should knock it on the edge of the table. A lump of earth with a plant should be shaken off a little from the old earth and its upper and lower layers (about 2-3 cm) should be removed. With a sharpened stick, clean the ground between the roots (carefully, without damaging the latter), cut off the rotten or broken roots with a knife, after which the plant can be transplanted.

For transplanting, you need to take a clean pot, slightly larger than the previous one. A crock is placed on the bottom of the new pot, a layer (2-3 cm) of river sand is poured on top, then a layer of a moistened mixture of earth, and only then the plant is placed in a pot so that the stem is in the center of the pot, and the root collar is not tilted. Low or high planting affects the normal growth and development of the plant. Correctly placed plants are carefully covered with earth on each side, which is compacted. Be sure to leave 1.5-2 cm to the edge of the pot for watering. After transplanting, you must immediately water the plant and put it in a shaded place for 6-7 days, and then where it will constantly stand. As a rule, during transplantation, plants are planted, which multiply by dividing the bush, bulbs.

All equipment for keeping a corner of nature can be bought in our store.

Plant transhipment in the living area

Often, instead of transplanting in kindergartens, transshipment is used, during which the plants are not damaged at all. For transshipment, a pot is selected, the diameter of which is 1-2 cm larger than the previous one. Carefully remove the plant, put a drainage in the pot, transfer the plant into it and fill it with nutritious soil around the edges.

Plant fertilization

You can fertilize transplanted plants no earlier than 4-6 months after transplanting. Top dressing is used only in spring and summer, no more than once a week or once every 10-15 days. In the presence of organic fertilizers (bird droppings) it is insisted for a week, after which it is diluted with water in a ratio of 1/20. Mineral fertilizers(flower mix) are used according to the instructions that come with them. It should be remembered that an excessive amount of fertilizer can harm the plants. Before feeding, the plants must be watered. clean water.

All equipment for keeping a corner of nature can be bought in our store.

Pruning plants in the living area of ​​the kindergarten

Before the start of intensive growth in spring, plants should be pruned, especially those whose stems are stretched and bare (pelargonium, coleus, etc.). In addition, twisted, diseased branches, as well as those that grow inside the crown, should be cut from the crown. When pruning, make sure the cut is just over the kidney.

Disease and pest control

Provided that the needs of plants in light, moisture, appropriate temperature, nutrient soil, they show good growth signs, bloom well. The appearance of yellow and curled leaves, brown spots is a signal of insufficient nutrition, moisture, and the presence of pests. In this case, you need to pay more attention to the plant, fertilize it, transplant it, make sure that the soil does not dry out.

As soon as you managed to find out that the plant is infected with pests, it must be separated from healthy ones, and then measures must be taken to destroy the pests.

In plants affected by aphids, the tops of the shoots are bent, and the young leaves are curled. To destroy pests, you need to take 0.5 liters of water, dissolve a small bar of soap in it and add 50 drops of kerosene. A day after this treatment, the plants are washed with clean water. The treatment is repeated several times after 7-10 days.

All equipment for keeping a corner of nature can be bought in our store.

Breeding fish in the living corner of the kindergarten

V good conditions fish can breed. In viviparous fish, the abdomen becomes full, near the anal fin there is an expressively noticeable dark spot. For spawning, the female should be transplanted into a separate aquarium without soil, but with a bunch of hornwort, where the newly born fry will hide. Since most fish eat their own and other people's fry, after spawning, the female is returned to the aquarium, and the fry are fed with daphnia, cyclops, chopped dry food.

In other fish, after throwing eggs, the parents are not dared from the aquarium. The laid eggs, of course, are looked after by the female, rotated by its fins and swallowed white dead eggs. The male guards the site jealously. Adult fish are planted only when the fry are stronger and can swim on their own.

All equipment for keeping a corner of nature can be bought in our store.

V preschool age the child lays not only the basis of the personality, but also many values, including the attitude to nature. What it will be depends on the educators and parents. In order for the child to understand his inseparability from nature, it is important to surround him with it, for example, to create a living corner.

Instructions

A living corner is a must in preschool institutions. With its help, children can learn to perceive the beauty of nature, its naturalness. Here you can also get basic skills in caring for plants and animals, learn compassion and mercy towards our smaller brothers, respect for nature. The formation of a child's ecological culture is laid precisely at this age, therefore, a corner of nature should contain not only living exhibits, but also educational literature with bright, entertaining pictures, a place where children can conduct their own natural observations, record temperature, cloudiness, precipitation, in order to so that they have a concept of the seasons, the cyclical nature of natural phenomena.

Flora
Plants are the basis of a living corner. There should be enough of them, in addition, they should be varied so that children understand the diversity of nature. But these plants should not be very capricious, require any special conditions of maintenance or watering with synthetic fertilizers, which can be dangerous for children. If the kindergarten group is large, you can arrange a competition by giving each child a pot of earth and a scion, teaching them to care for him. Children will understand what responsibility is, because poor care will very quickly show its results in the form of yellowed leaves. In addition to plants, there should be literature and other manuals on them. If the kindergarten is equipped with a projector, a wildlife film can be shown to children.

Fauna
A small animal can also live in a corner of nature in a kindergarten. It is best, if conditions permit, to place there a small rodent - a hamster or a guinea pig, a small aquarium with fish and a bird - a parrot or a canary. Thus, children will see that there are various representatives of the animal world - waterfowl, birds, animals. Each of them eats in a special way, has its own daily routine. A timetable should be set up so that the children take turns caring for the animals and learning to care for those who are smaller and weaker. Of course, no one forbids grooming them outside of the schedule.