We bring to your attention a selection of games and exercises for the formation and development of the emotional sphere of preschoolers.

These games are best used in joint activities, since it is while playing with peers that the child learns to establish contact with peers, express emotions in a socially acceptable way, and adapt to society. Another important point of joint activities on the development of the emotional sphere is the baby’s understanding that self-expression is possible not only when you scream and be capricious, but also when you show your desires through gestures, facial expressions, and voice.

Game "Bee in the Dark"

Goal: correction of fear of the dark, closed spaces, heights.

The bee flew from flower to flower (children's benches, chairs, cabinets of different heights, soft modules are used). When the bee flew to the most beautiful flower with large petals, she ate nectar, drank dew and fell asleep inside the flower. A children's table or high chair (stool) is used, under which the child climbs. Night fell imperceptibly and the petals began to close (the tables and chairs were covered with cloth). The bee woke up, opened her eyes and saw that it was dark all around. Then she remembered that she remained inside the flower and decided to sleep until the morning. The sun rose, morning came (matter is removed), and the bee began to have fun again, flying from flower to flower. The game can be repeated, increasing the density of the fabric, thereby increasing the degree of darkness. The game can be played with one child or a group of children.

Exercise “Nurture your fear”

Goal: correction of the emotion of fear.

A preliminary conversation is held, and the child is asked to draw his fear. After the drawing is ready, the psychologist suggests that the child re-educate the horror story (to do this, you need to make him kind). Together they figure out how to do it. Possible options: draw balloons, candies in the hands of the horror story; correct an angry facial expression to a kind, smiling one; dress the horror story in an elegant, cheerful costume - and other cheerful attributes.

Game "Fishermen and Fish"

Goal: relieving psychomuscular tension, fear of touch, timidity.

Two “fish” are selected from the total number of children. The remaining participants stand in pairs facing each other in two lines, take each other’s hands - and form a “network”. The presenter explains to the children that the little fish accidentally got entangled in the net and really wants to get out. The fish knows that this is very dangerous, but freedom awaits it ahead. She must crawl on her stomach under clasped hands, which at the same time touch her back, lightly stroke, tickle. Crawling out of the net, the fish waits for its friend crawling behind it; together they join hands and become the net. Note: The more participants in the game, the more useful and interesting it is. Make sure that network movements are not aggressive.

The game “Little funny people and angry people”

Goal: developing the ability to recognize emotional states.

The psychologist invites children to look at two portraits: one shows a cheerful facial expression, the other an angry one. Children are asked questions: “What is the mood of the children depicted in the picture? How did you find out? Let’s see how the eyebrows and mouth are positioned.” The children look carefully. “Now let’s go to the mirror and try to portray first a cheerful, then an angry expression.” Children use facial expressions to depict different moods and compare them with portraits.

Exercise “Rug of Anger”

Goal: removing negative emotional states.

A psychologist or kindergarten group has an “anger rug” (an ordinary small rug with a rough surface) in a specially designated corner. If you see that your child came to kindergarten aggressively disposed towards others or has lost control over his actions, invite him to visit the magic rug. To do this, the child needs to take off his shoes, go onto the mat and wipe his feet until the baby wants to smile.

Exercise “Kind Animal”

Goal: relieving psychomuscular tension, teaching children to understand the feelings of others, to empathize, and uniting the children's team.

The psychologist (teacher) says in a quiet, mysterious voice: “Please stand in a circle and hold hands. We are one big, kind animal. Let's listen to how it breathes! Now let's breathe together! When you inhale, take a step forward; when you exhale, take a step back. Now, as you inhale, take two steps forward, and as you exhale, take 2 steps back. Inhale – 2 steps forward. Exhale - take two steps back. This is how the animal not only breathes, its big, kind heart beats just as clearly and evenly. Knock - step forward, knock - step back, etc. we all take the breath and heartbeat of this animal for ourselves.”

Game "Tender Paws"

Goal: relieving tension, muscle tension, reducing aggressiveness, developing sensory perception.

An adult selects 6-7 small objects of different textures: a piece of fur, a brush, a glass bottle, beads, cotton wool, etc. puts it all on the table. The child is asked to bare his arm up to the elbow; the adult explains that the animal will walk along your hand and touch it with its affectionate paws. You need to guess with your eyes closed which animal touched your hand - guess the object. Touches should be stroking and pleasant.

Game options: the “animal” will touch the cheek, knee, palm. You can change places with your child.

Game "Treasure Hunter"

Goal: activation of positive emotions to eliminate or reduce the intensity of experienced sadness.

To play, you will need a basin of sand, a “surprise” (small plastic toy, rubber ball), and a route diagram. The teacher invites a sad, sad child to play the game “Treasure Hunter”. Then a conversation is held: “I have a basin in which a treasure is buried. But only a brave child who understands (reads) the schematic map can find this treasure. In advance, conventional landmarks are placed on the sand, which are reflected in the schematic map. To get to the treasure, you need to study the map very carefully and consistently move with your fingers from pointer to pointer.” If a child has difficulties, you need to show him how to do it. Having reached the finish line, the child is asked to dig up the treasure with his hands. The toy remains with the child.

Game "Portrait"

Goal: to teach the child to recognize emotions - his own and those of others, develop the ability to depict them schematically, and relieve psycho-muscular tension.

The child sits opposite the adult. An adult in the role of an artist. “Now I will draw your portrait. But for this I need your help. I will name the parts of the face, and you will tell me how to draw them. For example, what size should I draw a face? More or less than yours? The child answers. What kind of eyes will there be - big or small, or will we leave the ones we have?” At the same time, the adult outlines the outline of the eyes in the drawing. “What color will they be?” The child calls. Then the nose, cheeks, ears, and hair are drawn in the same order. Eyebrows and lips are prepared in advance (drawn on paper and cut out), expressing various emotions: joy, sadness, anger. Next, the child is asked to decide what mood this portrait will have. If a child identifies himself with a portrait, then he will reflect his own mood. If he does not reflect his true mood, it means that it has either moved from negative to positive, or the child is dissatisfied with himself and wants to change.

Children's yoga Andrey Ivanovich Bokatov

4.21. Emotional development of children (games and exercises)

Training emotions (for children from 4 years old)

Ask your child:

frown

Like an autumn cloud;

Like an angry person;

Like an evil sorceress;

smile

Like a cat in the sun;

Like the sun itself;

Like Pinocchio;

Like a sly fox;

Like a joyful person;

It was as if he had seen a miracle;

get angry

Like a child whose ice cream was taken away;

Like two sheep on a bridge;

Like a man who has been hit;

get scared

Like a child lost in the forest;

Like a hare who sees a wolf;

Like a kitten at which a dog barks;

get tired

Like dad after work;

Like a man who has lifted a heavy load;

Like an ant dragging a big fly;

relax

Like a tourist taking off a heavy backpack;

Like a child who worked hard but helped his mother;

Like a tired warrior after a victory.

Ring (for children from 4 years old)

Children sit in a circle. The presenter hides the ring in his palms. The child is asked to look carefully at the neighbors’ faces and try to guess which of them received a ring from the presenter in their palms. The one who guesses becomes the leader.

Dance of the Five Movements (according to Gabriela Roth, for children from 5 years old)

To perform the exercise, you need to record music at different tempos, each tempo lasting one minute.

1. “Water flow.” Smooth music, flowing, round, soft, moving one into another movement.

2. “Crossing the thicket.” Impulsive music, sharp, strong, clear, chopping movements, drumming.

3. "Broken Doll." Unstructured music, a chaotic set of sounds, shaking, unfinished movements (like a “broken doll”).

4. “Flight of the Butterflies.” Lyrical, smooth music, subtle, graceful, gentle movements.

5. "Peace." Calm, quiet music or a set of sounds that imitate the sound of water, sea surf, sounds of the forest - standing without moving, listening to your body.

Note, after finishing the exercise, talk to the children about which movements they liked best, what was easy and what was difficult.

Body Jazz (according to Gabriela Roth, for children from 5 years old)

The dancers stand in a circle. Rhythmic music sounds. The presenter shows the order of the movements. At first, only movements of the head and neck in different directions, forward and backward in different rhythms. Then only the shoulders move, now together, now alternately, now forward, now back, now up, now down. Next, move the arms in the elbows, then in the hands. The next movements are with the hips, then with the knees, then with the feet.

And now you need to gradually add each practiced movement in order: head + shoulders + elbows + hands + hips + knees + feet. At the end of the exercise, you should try to move all these parts of the body at the same time.

Gait and mood (for children from 4 years old)

The rider shows movements and asks to depict the mood: “We’ll start dripping like a fine and frequent rain, and now heavy, large drops are falling from the sky. We fly like a sparrow, and now we fly like a seagull, like an eagle. Let's walk like an old grandmother, let's jump like a cheerful clown. Let's walk along like a little child learning to walk. Let's sneak up carefully, like a cat sneaking up on a bird. Let's feel the bumps in the swamp. Let's walk thoughtfully, like an absent-minded person. Let’s run towards mom, jump on her neck and hug her.”

Fire dance (for children 5 years old)

The dancers squeeze tightly into a circle, raise their arms up and gradually, in time with the cheerful music, lower and raise their arms, depicting tongues of flame. The fire rhythmically sways in one direction or the other, becomes higher (they dance on tiptoes), then lower (they crouch and sway). A strong wind blows, and the fire breaks up into small sparks, which fly freely, swirl, connect with each other (hold hands) two, three, four together. Sparkles glow with joy and goodness. Mirror dance (for children from 5 years old)

Participants are divided into pairs. Any music sounds. One of the pair is a mirror; he tries to repeat the dance movements of the other with the greatest accuracy. Then the children in the pair change roles.

Dance of the sea waves (for children from 6 years old)

Participants line up in one line and are divided into first and second. The leader - the “wind” - turns on calm music and “conducts” the waves. When you raise your hand, the first numbers squat, when you lower your hand, the second. The sea can be calm - hand at chest level. The waves can be small, they can be large - when the leader smoothly shows with his hand who to sit down and who to stand up. It’s even more difficult when the waves roll: they alternately rise higher and fall lower.

Note: the beauty of the dance of sea waves largely depends on the conductor, the wind.

Sketch “Pump and inflatable doll” (for children from 5 years old)

Children are divided into pairs. One - an inflatable doll from which the air has been released - lies on the floor in a relaxed position (knees and arms bent, head down). The other one, “pumping” the doll with air using a pump, rhythmically leans forward and exhales, saying: “Ssss.” The doll slowly fills with air, straightens, hardens - it is inflated. Then the doll is “deflated” by lightly pressing on its stomach, the air gradually comes out of it with the sound: “Ssss.” She “falls” again. Children in a pair change roles.

Forest (for children from 5 years old)

Presenter: “In our forest there grow a birch, a fir-tree, an oak, a weeping willow, a pine, a blade of grass, a flower, a mushroom, a berry, and bushes. Choose your own plant that you like. At my command, you and I will turn into a forest. How does your plant react:

To the quiet, gentle breeze;

To a strong cold wind;

For a hurricane;

On a fine mushroom rain;

To the downpour;

In extreme heat;

To the gentle sun;

For the night;

For hail;

For frost."

Etude “Concerted Actions” (for children from 5 years old)

Children are divided into pairs or choose one of the parents. They are asked to demonstrate paired actions:

Wood cutting;

Rowing in a boat;

Rewinding threads;

Tug of war;

Handing over the crystal glass;

Pair dance.

“Fire-Ice” (for children from 4 years old).

At the leader’s command: “Fire!” - children standing in a circle begin to move with all parts of their bodies.

On command: “Ice!” - the children freeze in the position in which the team found them. The presenter alternates commands several times, changing the execution time of each.

Sketches for muscle relaxation (according to M. I. Chistyakova)

Barbell (for children 5–6 years old)

A child lifts a “heavy barbell.” Then he throws it away, relaxing as much as possible. Resting. Everyone is sleeping (for children 5–6 years old) The presenter enters the hall and sees... In the courtyard he meets a Darkness of people and everyone is sleeping: One sits rooted to the spot, One walks without moving, One stands with his mouth open. (V. A. Zhukovsky)

The presenter approaches the figures of children frozen in different poses. He tries to wake them up by holding their hands. He raises someone's hand, but the hand drops.

Icicle (for children 4 years old)

The presenter reads the poems: A white nail hangs under our roof, the sun will rise, the nail will fall. (V. Seliverstov)

When pronouncing the first and second lines, children hold their hands above their heads, and when they say the third and fourth lines, they should drop their relaxed hands and sit down.

Humpty Dumpty (for children 4–5 years old)

The presenter reads the poems: Humpty Dumpty Sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty Fell in his sleep. (S. Marshak)

The child turns his body left and right, his arms dangle freely, like a rag doll. In response to the words “fell in his sleep,” the child needs to sharply tilt his body down.

Sleeping kitten (for children 3–4 years old)

The child plays the role of a kitten, which lies down on the mat and falls asleep. The kitten's tummy rises and falls rhythmically.

It is advisable to conduct this sketch to the music of R. Pauls “The day will melt, the night will come” (lullaby).

Lazy people competition (for children 5–6 years old)

The presenter reads V. Viktorov’s poem “Lazy People’s Competition”:

Even though it's hot,

Even though it's hot,

All busy

Forest people.

Only a badger -

Fairly lazy -

Sleeps sweetly

The hole is cool.

The couch potato is dreaming,

It's like he's busy.

At dawn and at sunset

He still can't get out of bed.

Then the children take turns pretending to be a lazy badger. They lie down on the floor (on a mat or rug) and try to relax as deeply as possible. To relax, it is advisable to use the music of D. Kabalevsky “Lazy Man”.

Vacuum cleaner and dust particles (for children 6–7 years old)

Motes of dust dance merrily in a ray of sun. The vacuum cleaner started working. The dust particles swirled around themselves and, spinning more and more slowly, settled on the floor. The vacuum cleaner collects dust particles; whoever it touches gets up and leaves.

When a speck of dust child sits on the floor, his back and shoulders relax and bend forward - down, his arms drop, his head bows, and he seems to go completely limp.

GAMES FOR CHILDREN FROM BIRTH TO ONE YEAR Already in the first months, the baby perks up when he sees his mother, expressing his joy with movements of his arms and legs, as well as cooing (“cooing”). At 3–4 months, the baby’s need to communicate with an adult increases. He looks for him,

GAMES FOR CHILDREN FROM ONE TO THREE YEARS OLD In order to learn to think and speak, you need to be able to look and see, listen and hear, that is, process and comprehend information received from the world around you. Without well-developed attention and memory, imitative behavior is impossible.

Games and exercises for the development of breathing You can teach your baby to take a quick deep breath, and then a smooth long exhalation using toys: pipes, whistles, and also when blowing soap bubbles. To make exhalation through the mouth strong and purposeful, offer your baby

Games and exercises for voice development As soon as the first onomatopoeia appears in the child’s active vocabulary, demonstrate to the child how to speak in a voice of different strengths: sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly. For example, when voicing a large dog, say loudly: “AV-AV!”

Games and exercises to develop smooth oral

Games and exercises for developing manual motor skills Hand massage A simple but very effective method for developing hand motor skills is massage. We offer a description of hand massage according to O. Prikhodko’s method: Stroking the inner and outer surfaces of the hands up to the elbow along

A point that stimulates the development of intelligence, consciousness and internal discipline, as well as growth and physical development in children. Impact on the Tai-Bai point (Fig. 2) with a tonic or harmonizing method in the period from noon to midnight promotes the development of intelligence,

Games for the development of fine motor skills The phrase “fine motor skills” is fashionable these days. All young parents rushed to develop it with their children and discuss the successes and magical details of their studies on various forums, platforms, blogs and others

Games to develop perception Rarely does anyone understand that perception also needs to be developed. Sensitivity is given to us by nature for free use, and no one really thinks about it, taking it for granted. In fact, it turns out that perception is a very important thing.

Games to develop memory and attention Memory and attention are closely interrelated mental functions. While developing one, it is impossible not to train the other. They are so mixed that often under the definition " bad memory"people mean absentmindedness. We are not like that, we

Games for the development of thinking Called himself homo sapiens - be kind, conform. For the purpose of this very correspondence to the high rank, people have come up with everything to develop their most distinctive feature, acquired in the course of a long and difficult evolution. Among other things –

Games to develop imagination The debate about what is more important - imagination or logic, seems to me to have been made up of nothing. Without the first, a person is boring, without the second, he is stupid. Therefore, it is necessary to develop both. The fact is that for the development of intelligence (logical

Games for speech development Nature has made sure that a human child learns to speak by repeating after adults. Isn't this a reason to watch your own speech? But this is not all that a conscious parent can do to help the child learn as soon as possible.

Games for the development of physical activity In the Soviet Union, people were absolutely convinced of the immutability of the proletarian propaganda truth “A healthy mind in a healthy body.” I will not be so categorical in my statements, since I am not sure of the primacy of the physical

Games to develop ingenuity As a true Slav and a person who has lived in our country for almost 40 years, I am absolutely sure that it was not in vain that God included ingenuity in the basic set of qualities necessary for survival on Earth. Without this valuable feature

Target: improving the pedagogical culture of parents, replenishing their arsenal of knowledge on the development of the emotional-volitional sphere.

Tasks: create a favorable emotional mood for parents; introduce the features of the development of the emotional-volitional sphere of a preschool child; teach, through game exercises, to develop children’s empathy, the ability to express their own emotions and understand the emotions of others, the ability to reduce emotional and muscle tension, the ability to regulate their state and behavior.

1. "Let's get acquainted!". Participants pin on name tags to make it easier to address each other.
2. Mini-lecture “Development of the emotional-volitional sphere of a preschooler”

We all constantly experience different emotions: joy, sadness, sadness, etc. The class of emotions also includes feelings, affects, passions, and stress. Emotions help us understand each other better. People belonging to different nations are able to accurately perceive human facial expressions.

Emotions, on the one hand, are an “indicator” of a person’s state, on the other hand, they themselves significantly influence his cognitive processes and behavior, determining the direction of his attention, the peculiarities of perception of the world around him, and the logic of judgments.

Psychological workshop: Game “Continue the phrase”

Target. Developing the ability to express one's own emotions.

Children pass the ball around in a circle, while continuing the phrase, telling when and in what situation it happens like this: “I am happy when...”, “I am angry when...”, “I am upset when...”, “I am offended. when ...”, “I feel sad when ...”, etc. (Pay attention to the difference between the words “sadness” and “resentment”. Are they different? How? What does each of them mean?)

Most scientists, like ordinary people, non-specialists, divide emotions into positive and negative, positive and negative. This somewhat generalized classification of emotions is generally correct and useful, and yet the concepts of “positive”, “negative”, “positive” and “negative” as applied to emotions require some clarification. Emotions such as anger, fear, and shame are often implicitly categorized as negative or negative. And at the same time, it is known that an outburst of anger can contribute to the survival of an individual or, more often, to the protection of personal dignity, the preservation of personal integrity, and the correction of social injustice. Fear can also be useful for survival; it, like shame, acts as a regulator of aggressiveness and serves to establish social order. Unjustified, causeless outbursts of anger or fear can lead to negative consequences, both for the person experiencing anger or fear and for those around him, but joy can also lead to the same consequences if it is based on gloating, if the joyful experience is associated with overstimulation or due to ulterior motives.

Emotions affect a person's body and mind and affect various aspects of a person's biological, physiological and social functioning. In a person experiencing an emotion, a change in the electrical activity of the facial muscles can be recorded. Some changes are also observed in the electrical activity of the brain, in the functioning of the circulatory and respiratory systems (Simonov, 1975). The pulse of an angry or frightened person can be 40-60 beats per minute higher than normal. Such sharp changes in somatic indicators when a person experiences a strong emotion indicate that almost all neuro-physiological and somatic systems of the body are involved in this process. These changes inevitably affect the individual's perception, thinking and behavior, and in extreme cases can lead to physical and mental disorders. If, for one reason or another, behavior adequate to emotions is impossible for an individual, he is at risk of psychosomatic disorders.

If you delve into your memory, you will probably remember moments when you had to experience fear - and your heart was pounding, your breathing was interrupted, your hands were trembling, and your legs became weak. You may be able to remember when you were overcome with anger. At such moments, you felt every beat of your loudly beating heart, the blood rushed to your face, and all your muscles were tense and ready for action. You wanted to rush at the offender with your fists to give vent to this tension. Remember moments of grief or sadness - probably then you felt an incomprehensible, inexplicable heaviness in all your limbs, and your muscles were sluggish and lifeless. You felt a dull, aching pain in your chest, tears streaming down your face, or you, trying to hold them back, winced from silent sobs.

Whatever the emotion experienced by a person - powerful or barely expressed - it always causes physiological changes in his body, and these changes are sometimes so serious that they cannot be ignored. Of course, with smoothed, indistinct emotions, somatic changes are not so clearly expressed - without reaching the threshold of awareness, they often go unnoticed. But we should not underestimate the importance of such unconscious, subliminal processes for the body. Somatic reactions to a mild emotion are not as intense as a violent reaction to a strong emotional experience, but the duration of exposure to a subthreshold emotion can be very long. What we call “mood” is usually formed under the influence of just such emotions.

Therefore, it is very important to develop the emotional-volitional sphere of the child.

At present, unfortunately, the process of raising and educating children is dominated by the desire of adults for the intellectual development of preschoolers? However, only the coordinated functioning of two systems - the intellect and the emotional sphere - can ensure the successful implementation of any type of activity.

Research by domestic specialists has shown that the age period from five to seven years is sensitive (sensitive) for the development of the emotional sphere. Since the leading type of activity (activity during which the child’s development occurs by leaps and bounds) at this age is play, it is in play that it is advisable to develop the emotional sphere of a preschool child.

Psychologists note that “a child learns to understand others and only then learns to understand himself.” Therefore, the development of the child’s emotional sphere should begin not with the child’s acquaintance with his own emotions, but with acquaintance with various emotions, with the child’s gradual learning to recognize and grasp the state of people close to him. The task of an adult is to give children another key to understanding the emotions of other people.

To practice the skill of understanding emotions (their own and that of their peers), children can demonstrate various emotional states in a playful way and guess the emotions and feelings depicted by others (“Training Emotions,” “Mood Lotto,” “Continue the Phrase”). According to experts, children’s imitation of various emotional states can serve as a psychoprophylactic agent, since performing facial and pantomimic exercises helps prevent certain emotions from developing into pathology. In addition, since children often find it quite difficult to verbalize their own emotions, it is necessary to give them the opportunity to react to emotions on a non-verbal level.

Psychological workshop: Game “Loto of Moods” (or sketches)

Target. Developing the ability to understand other people’s emotions and express one’s own emotions.

Schematic images of emotions are laid out face down on the table. The child takes one card without showing it to anyone. Then the child must recognize the emotion and depict it using facial expressions, pantomimes, and voice intonations. The rest guess the emotion depicted. (The same is done with adults).

It is necessary to help the child understand his emotions and feelings, show him how to cope with unpleasant conditions, and expand his vocabulary that corresponds to his experiences. Both the teacher and parents can cope with this task.

One of the ways to interact with a child is to work on developing empathy. EMPATHY (from the Greek - empathy) is the ability of a person to imagine himself in the place of another person, to understand his condition and experiences.

Psychologists believe that empathy can be developed through joint activities with a child. Reading together can be especially helpful. When discussing what has been read, the adult encourages the child to express his feelings and experiences. It is very important to give the child the opportunity to express the feelings that overwhelm him, and not those that adults expect from him. It is useful to talk with your child about what feelings, in his opinion, the heroes of a fairy tale may experience, and not only the main characters and not only the positive characters.

Another way to develop empathy is role-playing play, during which the child gets the opportunity to put himself in the place of another and evaluate his behavior from the outside.

Such methods (reading, conversations, role-playing situations) will help children realize how important it is to be in the shoes of the offender in order to understand why he acted the way he did. By learning to empathize with others, the child will learn to understand their actions, take responsibility for their actions, and not blame others.

Emotional children (fearful or noisy) need physical activity. You can use “aggressive games” (“Go away, get angry, go away”, “Pillow fights”, “Unusual battle”, “Name-calling”, etc.). Introduce the rule of “Hour of silence” and “Hour of silence” at home (as a ritual).

Psychological workshop: Game “Name Calling”

Target. Learning to express negative emotions, developing the skill of regulating the emotional state.

Children pass the ball around in a circle, while calling each other different harmless words. These can be (by agreement with the group) the names of trees, fruits, furniture, mushrooms, vegetables, etc.

Each appeal must begin with the words “And you...” and be accompanied by a glance at the partner. For example: “And you are a carrot!” In the final circle, the players must say something nice to their neighbor, for example: “And you are the sun!”

After completing the last round, it is necessary to discuss what was more pleasant to listen to and why. Children often come to the conclusion that it is more pleasant to say kind words to a friend; in this case, they themselves felt good. In addition, children note that sometimes even an innocuous word, if said in a rude voice or accompanied by threatening gestures, can be unpleasant for a person.

Game for adults "Paper Boom". 2 teams, opposite each other, receive paper sheets and crumple them. Task: throw your balls to the opposite side. The game allows you to throw out aggression and tension with the help of non-aggressive forms of physical activity.

This game, on the one hand, is very harmless and fun, but we recommend paying attention to what the participants convey, both non-verbally and verbally, during this game. It is important for the presenter to control the emotions that the participants broadcast, so that, on the one hand, they have the opportunity to live and express them, and on the other hand, so that this living does not cause the creation of a new problematic situation associated with an increase in the level of insecurity in group.

Preschool age is the period of formation of voluntary behavior (conscious control of one’s behavior, one’s external and internal actions). In the process of upbringing and learning, under the influence of the demands of adults and peers, a child develops the ability to subordinate his actions to one or another task, to achieve a goal, overcoming the difficulties that arise. He masters the ability to control his posture, for example, to sit calmly during classes as the teacher requires, without spinning or jumping up. Controlling one's own body is not easy for a child. At first, this is a special task that requires external self-control - the child can remain relatively motionless only while he looks at the position of his arms, legs, and torso, making sure that they do not get out of control. Only gradually do children begin to control the position of their body based on muscle sensations.

The preschooler also begins to control his perception, memory, and thinking. With the help of an adult, a child learns to set special goals for himself - to remember the adult’s instructions, a poem he liked, to solve a given problem in a certain way, etc.

However, for several more years (primary school age) it is impossible to demand from the child that he completely subordinate his behavior to his own volitional efforts or to the orders and requests of adults. It is advisable to teach children self-regulation skills in the process of the leading activity for preschool age - games. It is in play that children can learn to subordinate motives and follow generally accepted norms of behavior.

It is necessary to remember that games that develop self-regulation are precisely games (Game “Repeat the movements”, Game “Hour of silence - an hour is possible”, Game “Silence”, Game “YES and NO”, Game “Speak”), and not physical exercises, and before the game it is necessary to set an image and verbally describe the situation. It is important that the movement is accompanied by positive emotions.

And another important condition for correctional and preventive work on the formation of self-regulation skills: after the game, it is necessary to talk with the children (in accordance with their age and individual characteristics) about their emotional state, about the changes that occurred during or after the game. Otherwise, the game may not become a correctional tool, but only entertainment (although in this case the child has the opportunity to relax, have fun, and stabilize his condition).

Psychological workshop: Game “YES and NO”

Target. Developing the ability to control impulsive actions.

When answering questions, the words “YES” and “NO” cannot be said. Any other answers can be used.

Are you a girl? Is the salt sweet?

Birds are flying? Do geese meow?

Is it winter now? Is a cat a bird?

Is the ball square? Does a fur coat keep you warm in winter?

Do you have a nose? Are the toys alive?

The ability to regulate one’s own emotional state is one of the most important in the life of every person. Psychologists recommend striving to eliminate muscle tension to reduce emotional stress. Muscular activity is associated with the emotional sphere, and muscle tension is a manifestation of unpleasant emotions (fear, anger, etc.). Therefore, muscle relaxation is an external indicator of positive emotions, the child’s calm state, balance, and satisfaction.

Muscle relaxation (relaxation) is both a factor in reducing emotional tension and a factor in preparing the conditions for the transition from wakefulness to sleep.

Games and relaxation exercises help train the mobility of basic nervous processes and are especially useful for indecisive, anxious and suspicious people who are prone to prolonged worries.

Regular performance of such exercises, which, as a rule, do not require long preparation and do not take much time, will help children learn to regulate their condition, find a state of mental peace and balance.

In order for relaxation exercises to be more effective, certain conditions must be observed when performing them:

• Before you feel relaxation, you need to tense your muscles;
• Tension should be performed smoothly, gradually, and relaxation should be done quickly in order to better feel the contrast;
• Tension should be done while inhaling, and relaxation should be done while exhaling.

Preschool children, if adults help them with this, are able to master self-regulation techniques and use acceptable ways of expressing negative emotions in difficult situations. To do this, you need to talk to children about what anger, fear, resentment and other negative emotions are. About why these emotions are so difficult to live with, why you need to work on yourself, manage and control yourself.

Psychological workshop. Effective techniques for verbal communication with a child.

Exercise “I am the message.”

Target: teach parents to create conditions for confidential communication and express their negative feelings in an acceptable way.

For example: “I understand you, you now feel (sadness, joy, fear...) or want to (play, walk, scream...), but you also understand me, I feel...".

Instructions: using the “I am the message” technique, convey your attitude to what is happening, sincerely expressing your feelings in a form that is not offensive to the child.

Situations:

• On the way from kindergarten, the child runs along the roadway, not listening to your requests to behave calmly on the road.
• A child, standing in a store, capriciously demands to buy him a toy that...
• The child was naughty at the table and spilled milk, despite the warning.
• The child is playing. You announce that it is time to go for a walk and put away the toys. And he answers: “I haven’t had time to play yet.”
• You call the child to sit at the table. And he answers: “Now” - and continues to go about his business. You started to get angry.
• You are having an important conversation with a friend. And the child interrupts you every now and then.

Or\and viewing the presentation and Exercise “Parental Attitudes”

The goal is the same. Participants are given printed phrases - instructions. They carry both positive and negative charges. Adults should find a pair of “+” and “-“.

Thus, I would like to summarize that it is in play that it is advisable to develop the emotional-volitional sphere of a preschool child, since it is the leading type of activity (an activity during which the child’s development occurs by leaps and bounds).

Preschool childhood is a special period in the development of a child, when the most general abilities that are necessary for any person in any type of activity develop. “The ability to communicate with other people, to act together with them, the ability to want, to be happy and sad, to learn new things, albeit naively, but brightly and unconventionally, to see and understand life in your own way - this and much more is contained in preschool childhood” ( L.A. Wenger).

Nowadays, children have become less responsive to the feelings of others; they are not always able not only to understand other people’s emotions, but also to realize their own; they cannot express their feelings, and if they do express them, it is often in a harsh form. This leads to problems in communicating with peers and adults. In addition, the impoverished emotional sphere is the reason for the slowdown in the development of the intellectual sphere. Children have little interest in anything new, their games are devoid of creativity, and some kids do not know how to play at all.

Based on my personal experience, I can say that many children do not even know how to smile. But for children with a depressed emotional sphere, the socialization process is quite difficult; it is difficult for them to learn the rules of behavior in society, and this can lead to negative consequences.

Emotions play an important role in children's lives. Manifesting themselves in behavior, they inform the adult about what the child likes, what makes him angry, and what upsets him. As a child grows, his emotional world becomes richer and more diverse.

By the age of three, a child’s emotional development reaches such a level that he can behave in an exemplary manner. However, just because children are capable of so-called “good” behavior does not mean that it will always be that way. A three- to four-year-old child is characterized by sudden mood swings; his emotional state depends on physical comfort. If a four-year-old child is very tired or has had a stressful day, he may well begin to behave in the same way as older children. younger age. This is a signal to the adult that too much has fallen on the child at the moment. He needs affection, comfort and the opportunity to act for a while as if he were younger. Relationships with peers and adults begin to influence the mood of a 3-4 year old child. He begins to evaluate the behavior of the people around him, but these assessments are very categorical and situational.

By the age of 4–5 years, the child becomes more physically resilient. This stimulates the development of psychological endurance. Fatigue decreases, the mood background levels out, becomes more stable, and less susceptible to changes.

In children of senior preschool age, feelings dominate all aspects of their lives, giving them a special coloring. A six-year-old child, of course, already knows how to be restrained and can hide fear, aggression and tears. But this happens when it is very, very necessary. The strongest and most important source of a child’s experiences is his relationships with other people, adults and children. The need to “be good” for others determines the child’s behavior. This need gives rise to complex multifaceted feelings: jealousy, sympathy, envy, etc.

Despite its apparent simplicity, recognizing and transmitting emotions is a rather complex process that requires the child to have certain knowledge and a certain level of development. Children pay attention mainly to facial expressions, not attaching importance to pantomime (posture, gestures); even older preschoolers have insufficient understanding of a person’s emotional states and their manifestations.

Emotions do not develop on their own. They don't have their own history. The attitudes of the individual, her relationship to the world change, and emotions are transformed along with them.

Education through emotional influence is a very delicate process. The main task is not to suppress and eradicate emotions, but to channel them appropriately. In accordance with this, I, in collaboration with the head of kindergarten No. 93 in St. Petersburg, Natalya Germanovna Matveeva, developed a program for the development of the emotional sphere of preschoolers “Jolly Dwarfs”. She introduces children to their own experiences and problems, and to the emotional states of other people. By studying this program, children begin to understand what actions and actions lead to the same experiences in all people, regardless of age and gender. Thus, the concept of humane and inhumane behavior is gradually formed, children learn to notice the common mood of nature and man, to have compassion for people, animals, and plants.

Below we present to your attention some exercises, games and fairy tales aimed at developing the emotional sphere of preschool children, which teachers can use during classes in kindergarten, and parents can use when playing with their children at home or while walking.

Game "I'm happy when..."
Teacher: “Now I will call one of you by name, throw him a ball and ask, for example: “Petya, please tell us when you are happy?” Petya will have to catch the ball and say: “I am happy when...”

Petya tells when he is happy, and then throws the ball to the next child and, calling him by name, in turn asks: “(child’s name), please tell us when you are happy?”

This game can be diversified by inviting children to tell when they are upset, surprised, or afraid. Such games can tell you about the child’s inner world, about his relationships with both parents and peers.

Exercise "Mirror"
The teacher passes the mirror around and invites each child to look at himself, smile and say: “Hello, it’s me!”

After completing the exercise, attention is drawn to the fact that when a person smiles, the corners of his mouth are directed up, the cheeks can prop up the eyes so much that they turn into small slits.
Some children pretend to smile. You need to pay special attention to them.

If a child finds it difficult to turn to himself the first time, there is no need to insist on this. In this case, it is better to immediately pass the mirror to the next group member. Such a child also requires special attention from adults.
This exercise can be varied by asking children to show sadness, surprise, fear, etc. Before performing, you can show children a pictogram depicting a given emotion, paying attention to the position of the eyebrows, eyes, and mouth.

Sketch “The Kitten Who Wanted to Please His Mother”
The teacher draws the children's attention to the fact that a person can smile and rejoice not only when he is given something or has some wish fulfilled, but also when he himself does something good for someone else. To confirm his words, the teacher reads a fairy tale:
“Once upon a time there was a little kitten in the world. He had everything: a lot of toys, sweets, pencils, paints and even a computer. All day long he ran and played, not noticing anything around him. And then he got bored. Everything was boring and nothing brought me joy. He stopped smiling. Mom was worried that her son was sick.
One day, the kitten was waiting for his mother from work and, having nothing to do, wandered around the house. Wandered into the kitchen and... I saw a lot of dirty dishes in the sink. “Mom will come home tired from work, and she will still have to wash this mountain of dishes,” the kid thought. - “Maybe I can handle this job?” And he tried. When mom arrived, the joyful kitten dragged her into the kitchen. “Look, mom, I gave you a gift,” and pointed to the clean sink. Mom smiled: “What a great fellow you are, thank you!” And the kitten smiled too - it turns out it’s so nice to bring joy to someone.”
After reading the fairy tale, the teacher invites each child in turn to portray a kitten, and he himself takes on the role of a mother cat. It is important that children feel the joy of helping their mother. At the end of the exercise, you can once again draw the children’s attention to how nice it is to do something for another person.

Game "In the clearing"
Teacher: “Let’s sit on the carpet, close our eyes and imagine that we are in a clearing in the forest. The sun is shining tenderly, the birds are singing, the trees are gently rustling. Our bodies are relaxed. We are warm and cozy. Look at the flowers around you. What flower makes you feel happy? What colour is he?".
After a short pause, the teacher invites the children to open their eyes and tell whether they were able to imagine the clearing, the sun, the singing of birds, how they felt during this exercise. Did they see the flower? What was he like? Children are asked to draw what they saw.
If sand therapy is practiced in your kindergarten, then you can play the following games with your children (if not, then use the toys you have).

Game "Make the Laughing Princess Laugh"
The teacher tells a story about a princess who was always sad. No one had ever been able to bring a smile to her face. Children are asked to answer the question: “How can I make the princess laugh?” After a short pause, the guys go to the rack with miniatures and choose figures for their story. Then each of them, with the help of their characters, tells a funny story, playing it out in the sandbox. At the end, the teacher sums up the results, choosing the funniest story. At the same time, he thanks the guys for making the princess finally smile.

Game "Surprise the Mouse"
The teacher tells a story about a mouse-traveler who traveled to many countries and saw a lot of interesting things. Today she came to our kindergarten and wants to listen to their amazing stories. The words are accompanied by placing the mouse in the tray. The children are invited to go to the rack with figurines and choose characters for their amazing story. When ready, each child tells his own story to the mouse. If the child finds it difficult to come up with a topic, the teacher helps him, asks him to remember what unusual the child saw on a walk, at the circus, at a party, etc. After playing all the stories, the adult, on behalf of the mouse, praises the children for their ability to be surprised and surprised.

Exercise “Let's laugh at our fears”
This exercise is best performed while sitting on the carpet. The children remember situations when they were scared, and together with an adult they look for something funny in every scary story. At the end, you can turn on a recording of a laughing person and everyone can laugh heartily together.
Children love this exercise very much. It lifts your spirits and helps relieve tension both physically and psychologically. Initially, the guys were embarrassed by each other, they were not able to laugh heartily, but as the group united, the tightness disappeared, and we began to quite often, at their request, include “warm-up-mixers” in the lesson.
This exercise is actively used in our kindergarten and in music classes conducted by experienced teacher Galina Nikolaevna Zhuravleva and, believe me, it gives positive results: tension is relieved not only in children, but also in adults.

Sketch “Hedgehog and Frog”
Children are invited to listen to the story about the Hedgehog and the Frog: “Once the Hedgehog and the Frog agreed to have breakfast together. Early on a sunny morning they met in a clearing. The Frog brought on a plate a lot of flies and mosquitoes, which she had caught for her friend the day before, and the Hedgehog prepared mushrooms and berries as a treat. Each of them wanted to please the other. But when the Frog put the plate on the stump, the Hedgehog exclaimed: “Oh, is it really possible to eat this? What a shame! And where did you get this?” “Well, this is so delicious! - the Frog was perplexed. “I chose the best, look how fat they are!” For a long time their argument could be heard in the forest, but it never ended. They didn’t know one thing: everyone has their own tastes. And what one person loves, another may not like at all.”

After the teacher has read the story, a discussion begins in the group. Then the children are divided into pairs and play out the story. At the end, the teacher once again draws the children’s attention to the fact that everyone has different tastes and they must be respected.

The story “The Little Bear Who Did Everything Somehow”
The teacher invites the children to listen to another story.
A little bear cub was born into a family of bears. Since childhood, he was very active: he loved to run, jump, and play with a ball. One day the little bear decided to go for a walk in the forest. In the clearing he met little squirrels who were building a house for the bird out of planks. “Let me help,” exclaimed the bear cub. “I also know how to use a hammer.” He grabbed the hammer from the little squirrel and hit the nail with it. Yes, I didn’t calculate the strength - the house fell apart. “Well, excuse me,” said the bear cub and, as if nothing had happened, ran on. Near the river he met a little badger who was helping his mother rinse the clothes. “I want to help you too,” the bear cub shouted. With these words, he snatched the little badger’s socks, bent over the water and began waving them with all his might. But I didn’t see that the water in the river was flowing quickly, so I let my socks go. “Well, I’m sorry,” said the little bear and, without waiting for the badger to answer, cheerfully humming a song, he ran on. Near the hare's house, he saw a small hare weeding the grass. “Let me help,” the bear cub smiled. “The two of us can do it faster.” “Just be careful,” said the little hare. “There’s a carrot growing here, try not to pull it out.” “Yes, okay, I’m a jack of all trades,” - with these words the bear cub began to quickly pull out the weeds. When the little bunny looked at how the bear cub worked, tears welled up in his eyes: “What will mom say?!” After all, you pulled out not only the grass, but also the carrots!” “Well, sorry,” said the bear cub and ran home. Since then, forest animals have stopped communicating with the bear cub. And he still didn’t understand why.
The teacher discusses this story with the children, once again drawing attention to the fact that every task must be done diligently, that the word “sorry” must come from the heart.

Game "Drive away the anger"
Teacher: “And now I will teach you some techniques that will help you drive away your anger in the future. Take a newspaper and imagine that you are very angry with someone (pauses). Now crumple up the newspaper with force and throw it to the side.”
The children complete the task, and the teacher makes sure that they present their anger as naturally as possible by crumpling the newspaper. Children should not throw lumps at each other. This game will help aggressive children relieve tension in the future.

Game "Guess the Emotion"
There are pictograms of various emotions on the table. Each child takes a card for himself without showing it to the others. After this, the children take turns trying to show the emotions drawn on the cards. The audience, they must guess what emotion is being shown to them and explain how they determined what that emotion is. The teacher makes sure that all children participate in the game.
This game will help determine how well children can correctly express their emotions and “see” the emotions of other people.

Game “About Resentment and Sadness”
The teacher explains to the children why they sometimes come to kindergarten in a bad mood. It turns out that the children are not to blame for this at all, it’s just that Resentment or Sadness stuck to them along the way. The main thing is to find it and get rid of it. This can be done by the child himself or his friend. After the teacher’s story, you can play out the situation of relieving a bad mood.

Game "Gift to a Friend"
The teacher invites the children to choose a pair for themselves. One of the children in the pair sits on a chair; he is the birthday boy. The other child is a guest. He brings a gift to the birthday boy. You need to show without words what you gave. The birthday boy’s task is to guess what kind of object it is. Then the guys change places.

Game "What would happen if.."
An adult shows the children a plot picture in which the hero(s) does not have a face(s). Children are asked to name which emotion they consider appropriate for this case and why. After this, the adult invites the children to change the emotion on the hero’s face. What would happen if he became cheerful (sad, angry, etc.)?
You can divide the children into groups according to the number of emotions and ask each group to role-play the situation. For example, one group invents and acts out a situation in which the characters are angry, another group invents a situation in which the characters laugh.

Game "Spoiled TV"
All participants in the game, except one, close their eyes and “sleep.” The presenter silently shows the “awake” participant some emotion using facial expressions and gestures. This participant, having “awakened” the second player, conveys the emotion he saw, as he understood it, also without words. Next, the second participant “wakes up” the third and conveys to him his version of what he saw. And so on until everyone “wake up”.
After this, the presenter asks the participants of the game, starting from the last and ending with the first, what emotion, in their opinion, was shown to them. This way you can find the link where the information was distorted, or make sure that the “TV” was completely working.
Possible questions for discussion:
By what signs did you identify this particular emotion?
What do you think prevented you from understanding it correctly?
Was it difficult for you to understand the other participant?
How did you feel when you faked the emotion?

With the help of these games you can develop not only emotions, but also attention, memory, thinking, and imagination of children. And it doesn’t have to be done in a group. When going for a walk, stock up on different little stories to express emotions, for example, these.

Baba Yaga (study for the expression of anger)
Baba Yaga caught Alyonushka, told her to light the stove so that she could eat the girl, and she fell asleep. I woke up, but Alyonushka was not there - she ran away. Baba Yaga was angry that she was left without dinner. He runs around the hut, stomping his feet, waving his fists.

Focus (study on expression of surprise)
The boy was very surprised: he saw how the magician put a cat in an empty suitcase and closed it, and when he opened the suitcase, the cat was not there. A dog jumped out of the suitcase.

The fox eavesdrops (study on expression of interest)
The fox stands at the window of the hut in which the cat and the cockerel live, and overhears what they are talking about.

Salty tea (study on the expression of disgust)
The boy watched TV while eating. He poured tea into a cup and, without looking, mistakenly poured two tablespoons of salt instead of sugar. He stirred and took the first sip. What a disgusting taste!

New girl (study on expression of contempt)
A new girl has joined the group. She was wearing an elegant dress, holding a beautiful doll in her hands, and had a large bow tied on her head. She considered herself the most beautiful, and the rest of the children unworthy of her attention. She looked down on everyone, pursing her lips contemptuously...

About Tanya (sorrow - joy)
Our Tanya cries loudly:
Dropped a ball into the river (grief).
“Hush, Tanechka, don’t cry -
The ball won’t drown in the river!”

Dear adults, remember that the comprehensive development of the children around you depends on you. Turn every day into an interesting game not only for the kids, but also for yourself, enjoy communicating with them, and then your mood will always be high. And absolutely everyone will benefit from this!
“Children lead us to the highest levels of development of the human spirit...” M. Montessori

In a person’s life, it is very important to be able to understand the feelings of others - this is the source of successful communication, selflessness and reciprocity. In children, the feeling of empathy (understanding the feelings of another, empathy) is inherent from the very beginning. Remember: children feel who loves them, and they really rarely make mistakes. The mother’s mood is clearly captured by the child, however, he can react to anxiety with behavior that is completely opposite, at first glance: overexcited, capricious, stubborn. This can be regarded, no matter how absurd it may be, as a form of empathy, a desire to “take on” the mother’s worries. Sad mother's eyes will definitely instill anxiety and worry in the child's soul. Watch the manifestation of your mood, take care of the “hygiene” of your soul: a child is born for joy, knowledge, and self-realization. A favorable psychological climate around him will help the child, like a flower, to grow, smell fragrant and delight others. You will share joys and sorrows with your child. But even in sadness you can find your satisfaction: in sad and anxious moments, the child will turn to you, the people most beloved and closest to him, and ask you for protection, help, consolation and affection. After all, he hopes for you, I am sure that he will always find understanding, sympathy, empathy from you, that you will never betray him!

The main formative factor in the development of empathy, as you already understand, is life itself, relationships in the family and with the outside world.

Here are just a few exercises that will help your child learn to better understand the feelings and moods of people.

"Photo"(for children from 4 years old)

Review your family album with your child. When showing photographs of him and his loved ones, ask what mood they were in, what they felt: surprise, fear, joy, sadness, etc. Where the child finds it difficult, help him, tell him about the situation when the photograph was taken . The exercise allows the child to develop an understanding of feelings and emotions, strengthens family ties and attachments.

"Training emotions"(for children from 4 years old)

Ask your child to frown like:

• autumn cloud;
• angry person;
• evil sorceress.

Smile like:

• cat in the sun;
• the sun itself;
• like Pinocchio;
• like a sly fox;
• like a joyful child;
• as if you had seen a miracle.

Poked like:

• a child whose ice cream was taken away;
• two sheep on the bridge;
• like a person who has been hit.

Get scared like:

• a child lost in the forest;
• the hare who saw the wolf;
• a kitten at which a dog barks;

Get up like:

• dad after work;
• a person who lifts a heavy load;
• an ant dragging a big fly.

Relax like:

• a tourist taking off a heavy backpack;
• a child who worked hard but helped his mother;
• like a tired warrior after a victory.

"Eyes to eyes"(for children from 5 years old)

Children break into pairs and hold hands. The presenter suggests: “Looking only into the eyes and feeling the hands, try to silently convey different emotions: “I’m sad, help me!” “I’m having fun, let’s play!” “I don’t want to be friends with you!” Then the children discuss at what time which emotion was transmitted and perceived.

“How are you feeling today?”(for children from 5 years old)

The child is offered cards depicting various shades of mood. He must choose the one that is most similar to his mood, the mood of his mother, father, friend, cat, etc.

"Classification of Feelings"(for children from 5 years old)

The child looks at the same cards and arranges them according to the following characteristics:

• which ones do you like;
• which ones you don't like.

Then you need to name the emotions depicted on the cards and talk about why he laid them out that way.

"Meeting of Emotions"(for children from 7 years old)

Use cards divided into 2 groups and ask the child to imagine how different emotions meet: the one that is pleasant and the one that is Unpleasant. The presenter (parent) portrays “good”, the child “bad”. Then they take a card from the opposite pile and change. It is interesting to observe the change in facial expressions when “meeting emotions” - it could be surprise, laughter, disgust, etc. – and discuss how you can “reconcile” emotions.