The ecological state of our planet requires now living people to understand the current situation and conscious attitude towards it. An urgent task was to take measures to protect the environment from pollution and destruction, to preserve the entire genetic diversity of living beings, and to preserve the planet's gene pool.
The planet can be saved only by the activity of people, carried out on the basis of a deep understanding of the laws of nature, taking into account the numerous interactions in nature, the realization that man is not the ruler of nature, but a part of it and a native.
Psychologists and educators say that a small child is very closely connected with nature, so the foundation of ecological culture must be laid from early childhood in the family and preschool institution. First of all, the child must understand how to behave in order to preserve nature, and why he does not have the right to violate the laws of nature.
Our preschool educational institution is located on the outskirts of the city. This is a picturesque place, surrounded by diverse vegetation, which gives great opportunities to the teaching staff to fully develop ecological culture among preschoolers, to observe the living and development of various animals and plants in natural conditions.
The beginning of the environmental education of preschoolers was the creation in the teaching staff of an atmosphere of the importance of environmental problems and the priority of environmental education in the framework of the implementation of FGT.
A number of consultations and seminars were held for teachers: “Environmental problems and their causes”, “Environmentalization of the environment”, “Ecological path of the preschool educational institution”, “Methods and techniques of environmental education”, “Joint activities of adults and children in the process of environmental education”, "Experimentation as a means of developing the cognitive activity of preschoolers", "Working with parents on the environmental education of children."
The next stage of work in this area was the creation of an environmental passport, which contains information and visual material about the location of the kindergarten, its environment, environmental objects that are located on the territory of the kindergarten, as well as outside its territory. Routes into nature, an ecological trail were developed. A corner of the forest is also recreated, where primroses, medicinal herbs, wild berries and mushrooms grow.
The preschool educational institution is equipped with an ecological room. Here, children, under the guidance of teachers, take care of, monitor the development of plants. They study their features, adaptability to certain environmental conditions, i.e. the cognitive activity of the child is activated, an emotional attitude to living organisms is brought up, an understanding of their role in our life. The elements of the subject-developing environment of the ecological room are models of natural areas, exhibits of natural collections, encyclopedic and fiction literature, didactic games and materials, herbariums, creative works of teachers, children and parents, a mini-laboratory for developing children's interest in research activities, the formation of scientific worldview. The ecological room performs both an educational and health-improving function, specially selected music, relaxation exercises and the murmur of a fountain create an emotionally positive mood in children.
Our halls, from the position of ecologization of the developing subject environment, are designed taking into account temporary signs (winter, spring, summer, autumn). Constantly supplemented by creative works of children, teachers and parents "Golden Autumn", "Sorceress Winter", "Wonders of Nature", "Love and know your native land", etc.
The groups are equipped with informative ecological centers where children make observations in the calendars of nature, take care of plants, grow onions, seedlings of tomatoes and flowers. Components of eco centers - laboratories where children get acquainted with a variety of objects of animate and inanimate nature, participate in the simplest experiments "Water Magic", "Revealing the properties of rays", "Properties of sand", "Soap bubbles", "Growing plants from seeds", etc. etc. An integral part of the centers is the ecological theater. A variety of finger, glove, table attributes of the theater provide an opportunity not only to study and learn about the world around, but also to live in harmony with it. The latest addition to the centers are lighted devices for sand painting.
PEI teachers develop and implement new forms of work on the environmental education of preschoolers aimed at improving the environmental awareness of parents. The experience of the preschool educational institution shows that the inclusion of parents in a joint process with teachers on the environmental education of preschoolers can significantly increase its effectiveness. Therefore, parents are active participants in environmental campaigns and holidays "Earth Day", "Hello Summer", "Let's Help the Birds in Winter", "Birdhouse", "Plant a Tree", "Grow a Flower", "Ball of Flowers", "We are friends of nature" , exhibitions "Gifts of Nature", "Autumn round dance" subbotniks for the improvement of the territory of the preschool educational institution.
Traditionally, children-adult environmental projects are implemented: "Garden on the Window", "Flowering Flower Bed", "Wintering Birds", "Insects", "Man is a Part of Nature", "Tourist Discoveries ». The project "Vitamin Garden" allows not only to deepen the knowledge of preschoolers about the development and growth of plants, but also to form the simplest labor skills, to cultivate respect for people in agricultural professions. The implementation of the design project "Kindergarten - Blooming Garden" brought victory in the village competition "Territory of exemplary content 2012". The purpose of environmental projects is the interaction of children and adults with the natural and social environment, the formation of an ecological culture, awareness of oneself in the ecosystem man - nature - society.
One of the effective forms of work with parents is the issuance of leaflets, which briefly describe the rules of behavior in nature, calls for winter feeding of feathered friends, for the protection of the “living” spruce tree, for careful attitude to water, etc.
The formation of ecological culture, ecological consciousness among preschoolers is a long and difficult process. The decisive factor in the formation of practical skills of environmentally conscious behavior is the behavior of adults, primarily teachers and parents. If a child sees how adults lovingly look after plants and animals, communicate with each other, how thoughtfully they behave in nature, he fixes the corresponding emotional reactions of adults, forms of their behavior, includes this information in the personality structure and saves it for life as a starting point. Database. Therefore, environmental education and upbringing should be conducted unobtrusively, without a touch of obligation, but always with pleasure and sincere interest, both for children and adults.
Consultation for educators
"Environmental education of preschoolers"
prepared by the educator
Beskrovnaya Natalia Anatolievna
Rainbow
Introducing a preschooler to an ecological culture concentrates the universal values of the relationship to nature. The core of the content of ecological culture is ecological ideas about animals, plants, people as living beings.
Nature is valuable in itself, and a humane attitude towards living things is like an ethical principle of human behavior. Mastering these ideas ensures that the child understands the need for an environmentally correct attitude to nature. The experience of the significance of such an attitude is achieved through the child's experience of the entire palette of humane feelings for the natural world.
Ecological upbringing of a child is a natural result of his introduction to ecological culture in the course of environmental education.
^ Ecological education is expressed in a humane-valuable attitude towards nature, the main manifestations of which are:
goodwill towards living beings;
emotional responsiveness to their condition;
interest in natural objects;
the desire to carry out positive interaction with them, taking into account their characteristics as living beings;
the desire and ability to take care of the living, to create the conditions necessary for life.
N. N. Kondratyeva’s term “environmentally oriented activity” is a diverse activity accessible to a preschooler, organized by a teacher, and then independently by a child so that it acquires the experience of humane interaction with nature.
It must be remembered that all knowledge is given taking into account the principle of scientific character, reflecting the leading ideas and concepts of modern natural science.
At a level accessible to preschoolers, the idea of the unity and interconnection of the living and the inanimate is revealed, the understanding of such unity forms the basis of the ecological culture of the individual.
To this end, the educator needs to be given knowledge about inanimate nature as a source and condition for the existence of living things. Explain the relationship of the organism with the environment, manifested in specific forms of adaptation of a living being to its conditions: changes in life depending on seasonal changes.
Understanding this connection ensures the development in the child of elementary ideas about the causality and mutual conditioning of phenomena in nature, and creates the basis for his environmentally expedient behavior.
The implementation of the idea of the unity of living and non-living things in nature involves the disclosure of the concept of "living organism", based on the natural science idea of the diversity of living things. In accordance with it, the living - people, animals, plants. All living things move, breathe, eat, feel.
Living beings live: satisfy their needs, grow, develop, give birth to people like themselves. A living thing can exist if its main organs are not damaged, the connection with the environment is not broken; if the conditions of the environment correspond to its needs and possibilities of adaptation.
Children need to reveal the idea of the unity of man and nature. In accordance with it, a person is considered as a living being, similar to animals and plants. It also reflects the influence of nature on human life and human on the natural environment.
Mastering the ways of practical interaction with the environment ensures the formation of the worldview of the child, his personal growth. A significant role in this direction is played by the search and cognitive activity of preschoolers, which takes place in the form of experimental actions.
Children show great interest in research work, so much attention should be paid to experiments and observations. It is important that children learn to think, form and defend their opinion, generalize the results of experiments, build hypotheses and test them.
The tasks of the educator are to connect the results with the practical experience of children, their knowledge and bring them to an understanding of the natural, the foundations of environmentally-literate, safe behavior in the environment.
In addition to playing activities, it is very important to involve children in research work - conducting simple experiments and observations. An experiment is an observation that is carried out in specially organized conditions. The experiments somehow remind the children of tricks, they are unusual, and most importantly, the guys overcome everything themselves. It is necessary that in the classroom each of the children has everything necessary for the provision of experiments. The child is interested in doing everything himself. This is a very important educational moment. Research work helps to develop the child's cognitive interest, his thinking, creativity, the ability to think logically, to generalize. Therefore, at the beginning of the experiments, it is necessary to invite the guys to express their hypotheses about the expected results.
Experimentation can be used in various types of organized and independent activities of preschoolers. They like classes where, together with adults, they make their first discoveries, learn to explain and prove. Children are happy to talk about their discoveries to their parents, put the same (or more complex) experiments at home, learn to put forward new tasks and solve them on their own.
The group should create conditions for experimentation: a mini-laboratory equipped with everything necessary (laboratory glassware, simple instruments, inanimate objects - water, clay, sand, stones, etc.)
Experience shows that elementary experimentation is already available to children of early and younger preschool age. They are happy to examine sand and clay, learning their properties.
Experiences become more difficult with age.
Children willingly make experiments with air, they catch the breeze, launch airplanes. The following experiments are done with air: “Wind is the movement of air”, “Live snake”, “How to catch air”, “Where air lives”. Children can already find answers to difficult questions: “Where does air live? How to catch air? Why are there a lot of puddles in autumn, etc.
The range of phenomena with which older preschoolers experiment is expanding. Children study the properties of a magnet, learn what sound is.
They study the properties of sand: sand is loose, can move, hourglass, sand passes water well.
Children really like to play with water, they splash in the water, discover its secrets: they send a boat to sail, turn snow into water, and water into multi-colored icicles, blow soap bubbles. The following experiments are made with water: “Water is transparent”, “Water has no smell”, “Water has no taste”, “Ice is solid water”, “Some substances dissolve in water, others do not”, “Ships float on water”, Everyone needs water.
As practice shows, the experience of searching cognitive experimental activity acquired at preschool age will help to successfully develop creative abilities in later school life.
Introducing preschool children to the concept of the unity of living and non-living things in nature, through play and experimental activities, we form an ecological culture. We educate in children such moral qualities as love for their native nature, the desire to preserve and increase it for posterity.
List of used literature
Big encyclopedia of a preschooler. - M.: RosMan, 2000
Kuizel M. The secret life of animals. - Minsk: Potpourri, 1999.
Kovinko LV The secrets of nature are so interesting. - M.: Linka-press, 2004.
Malyshevskaya A.F. Natural science. Water, air, fire, earth. - M: Bustard, 1996.
Pokidaeva T. Yu. Mysteries of the Wild. – M.: RosMan, 1999.
Natalya Petukhova
Ecological education of preschoolers
... The world surrounding the child is, first of all, the world of nature
with boundless wealth of phenomena, with inexhaustible beauty,
here, in nature, the eternal childish mind, the source.
V. Sukhomlinsky
Value preschool childhood is that, the first seven years in a child's life is a period of rapid growth and intensive development, a period of continuous improvement of physical and mental capabilities, the beginning of personality formation. During this period, the foundations of interaction with nature are laid, with the help of adults, the child begins to realize it as a common value for all people. In our country, a common concept of continuous environmental education, the initial link of which is the sphere preschool education. It is at the stage preschool childhood, the child receives emotional impressions of nature, accumulates ideas about different forms of life, i.e., he forms the fundamental principles environmental thinking, consciousness, the initial elements are laid ecological culture. But this happens only when condition: if the adults who are nearby have themselves ecological culture: understand the problems common to all people and worry about them, show the beautiful world of nature to a small person, help to establish relationships with him.
Working with preschoolers in their environmental education in our kindergarten No. 30 of the Nevsky District, an integrated approach is used, involving the relationship of research activities, music, visual activity, physical development, games, theatrical activities, literature, modeling, watching TV shows, excursions, as well as organizing independent activities for children, i.e. greening various activities for the child.
The work of teachers with children involves cooperation, co-creation of a teacher with colleagues, a teacher and a parent, a teacher and a child, and excludes an authoritarian model of learning. The learning process is organized in such a way that the child has the opportunity to ask himself a question, put forward his own hypotheses, without fear of making a mistake.
We attach great importance to working with parents and try to involve them in our daily life.
Theoretical basis ecological education is based on solving problems in their unity: learning and development. The criterion for the formation of a responsible attitude to the environment is the moral concern for future generations. Correctly using various methods of education, the educator or other teacher can form environmentally intelligent and educated person.
Questions environmental education of preschoolers and formation of a healthy lifestyle, many teachers of our time are engaged in. They do it differently. This comes from the fact that the question environmental education complex and ambiguous in interpretation.
Based on the fact that environmental education includes local history and it is necessary to conduct environmental work with children by studying ecological environment of the native land. expedient focus on topics like this. How: "My small homeland", "Mineral resources", "Springs", "Rivers and lakes", "Soils", "Plants and animals of forests, meadows, fields, shallow reservoirs", etc.
For many years of work, we pay special attention to respect for nature and healthy image the lives of children and their parents.
An analysis of work experience allows us to identify manifestations of love and respect for nature that are characteristic of children. The most striking of them are the joy and pleasure of communicating with nature, a steady desire for such communication, which is complemented by a lively, direct cognitive interest. preschoolers to animals, plants, to the most various natural phenomena. Interest, in turn, is reflected in children's creativity. Care and concern for plants preschoolers is also manifested in the care in the design of the children's area garden: in the systematic and feasible work of children, aimed at growing plants, caring for them. Children are capable of mastering the rules of communication with objects of nature, prohibitions and restrictions. The main one is to do no harm. alive: do not violate its integrity, and therefore protect its life, do not violate the conditions of its existence, if possible, provide assistance to living organisms in trouble.
The stability of these manifestations, which increases in children with age, and in older preschoolers become the norm. An important indicator of this is the degree of activity and independence of children in the work of caring for pets and plants in a corner of nature, a kindergarten site and the nearest natural environment, and a constant readiness to take part in it. At the same time, the main motive for labor should be the desire to take care, to provide assistance. The manifestation of initiative in such care can serve as indicators of the independent activity of children and their activity. As the results of special organized observations of children show, older preschoolers reveal a different degree of formation of a careful and caring attitude towards nature. Often this attitude is correct character: children strive not to harm, damage plants, show the necessary care for them. In some children, love and respect extends to a limited number of objects - to pets, to plants only in the immediate natural environment. (corner of nature, kindergarten site). Some children who care about animals do not extend their attention to plants. There are cases of ill-conceived intervention in the life of animals, especially insects. Reasons for children's negative behavior various. Chief among them are: negative attitude of parents, lack of knowledge about the living, inability to see the positive attitude of adults, insufficient observation.
After thinking, I identified several necessary knowledge about a living organism that needs to be given preschooler:
The idea that both animals and plants belong to the realm of the living, and the ability to see in them the indicated signs of the living organism: the ability to eat, breathe, grow, move, develop and reproduce.
Children should have the knowledge that every living organism has a system of needs. It needs air, light, optimum temperature, food and space to live.
Need knowledge about the nature of nutrition, originality morphology of plants and animals, ways of meeting the needs for it by living organisms.
Knowledge that plants and animals can satisfy their needs, live, only when their basic bodies: roots, leaves, branches, trunk, stem in plants, body, organs of locomotion and sense organs in animals.
It is important to form elementary knowledge about the sequence of developmental stages, the nature of the ongoing changes in plants and animals: an increase in their overall size and the size of individual parts, the appearance of new organs, and so on.
All this became possible in the condition of continuous communication between children and nature, proximity to it. Communication with nature has become a need for children, a source of joy, continuous enrichment of their new experiences.
The next task that was and is before me is, on the basis of emotional aesthetic perception, to direct children to the knowledge of the surrounding nature, to form the correct ideas, to cultivate a caring attitude towards all living things. In order to successfully solve this problem, it is necessary to remember a few rules:
Real love, real concern for nature arise in a child only when every day they have before them an example of an adult's attitude towards nature. Therefore, great attention must be paid environmental education of educators themselves.
A lot of work needs to be done with parents In conversations with them, you need to teach them convert children's attention to the beauty of the world around them, to a careful attitude towards it.
Comprehension of nature by children begins with the simplest thing - walking around your site. The goals of walks and excursions are common - to expand the knowledge of children about the flora and fauna, to deepen the sense of joy from communicating with nature, to instill skills in caring for it.
The first lessons of thinking must be in the midst of nature. It is necessary to help the child himself to get the answer to his questions, then the knowledge will be stronger, and the feeling of joy of discovery will push him to further observation of observation. Experience helped.
The immediate natural environment - a corner of nature - allows you to organize systematic observations of plants, unfortunately, there are no animals in the corner now. Growing flowers, caring for pets, feeding birds in winter are the necessary conditions for developing in children the skills of a caring attitude towards all living things, the conditions under which clear ideas are formed about the relationship of plants and animals with the environment, about human environmental protection.
IN environmental education of preschoolers helps to make albums together with children, such How: "Birds of our region", "Seasons", "Flowers", "Trees and shrubs", "Drink, but do not pour water", etc.
Very effective use in ecological education playing techniques with natural material, manual labor from natural material. The selection and preparation of natural material, its proper storage, careful attitude to it lays the foundations for proper environmental management. Feelings that arose from a meeting with nature can be reflected in the drawings of children, in their creative stories. An artistic word about nature should be heard daily, it helps to more accurately reflect the impression of meetings with beauty.
A spark of thirst for knowledge lives in children, they are sensitive to nature, its beauty and harmony. It is very important that we, teachers, kindle this fire, teach to understand and love nature in all its beauty and uniqueness.
Summing up, I would like to note that the most important task preschool institutions in terms ecological problems at the moment to establish close contact with nature, to become a part of it, to attract children and, of course, as far as possible, their parents.
In our classes, we will talk about the theory and methodology of environmental education for preschoolers. And the first thing we need to start with is to identify the issues that we will need to consider.
The first thing we will have to do is remember and clarify the paramount ecological concepts, the knowledge of which is necessary for the correct selection of material for classes and for their construction.
After that, you can proceed to consider the methodology of teaching EE in preschool educational institutions.
The methodology of teaching EE, like the methodology of teaching any other subject, is an independent discipline (science) and is designed to answer a number of questions:
Why teach? - answering this question, the methodology determines the goals and objectives of teaching this subject.
What to teach? – the answer to this question is reflected in the selection of the content of education.
In turn, the goals, objectives and content are reflected in the programs. (basic or copyright)
How to teach? - the answer to this question is a list of forms and methods of conducting classes.
Accordingly, considering the methodology of EE for preschoolers, we should consider:
Goals and objectives of the EA
Features of the selection of the content of the EE of preschoolers
Existing EA programs
Forms and methods of EO.
The first thing we must do before we start talking about environmental education is to remember a number of environmental terms. This must be done because educators, engaged in environmental education, often interpret these terms quite freely. To prevent this from happening, let's designate these terms in an adapted (somewhat simplified) form.
Ecology A biological science that studies the relationship of organisms with their environment and with each other.
Biosphere- one of the shells of the Earth in which living organisms live. It includes the lower part of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and part of the lithosphere. The definition of the biosphere was given by V.I. Vernadsky. In the biosphere, all living organisms are closely interconnected.
Noosphere. This term is found in a number of environmental education programs for preschoolers. The noosphere is the biosphere modified by man.
Ecosystem. It is a stable community of living organisms and its habitat that are closely related. Ecosystems can be very different - from huge rainforest ecosystems to small stump ecosystems, an aquarium. The term was proposed by the English ecologist A. Tansley. Ecosystems are both a separate biocenosis and the biosphere as a whole.
Environment includes both natural and artificial (man-made) environments.
habitat. In nature, each species has its own habitat. This concept includes the entire territory on which the animal lives, hunts, and moves. For a bear, the habitat is a forest, for a pike - a river, for ants - a small edge. Sometimes a habitat is called an animal burrow - this is wrong.
Environmental factors (environmental factors)- these are, firstly, conditions (temperature, water supply, illumination, salinity of water) and, secondly, resources (everything that the body consumes or uses for its existence, for example, food). In kindergarten, environmental factors are often studied when growing plants and in the process of observing in living areas.
ecological niche. The use of the word "niche" in this phrase leads to the fact that many teachers imagine an ecological niche as a kind of deepening, shelter. In fact, this is a certain place in space, the food that an animal or plant eats, the time when it does it (for example, nocturnal and daytime birds, animals, insects are distinguished by way of life). Therefore, it is impossible to create models of ecological niches in the form of cabinets or whatnots with shelves on which certain natural communities are placed (a reservoir on one shelf, a forest on the other, etc.), as is done in some kindergartens.
Community (biocenosis). This term is often used in preschool education programs and methodological literature. Biocenosis - a set of living organisms that live in a certain space. Examples of biocenoses: forest, meadow, pond. There are phytocenosis (community of plants) and zoocenosis (community of animals). Biocenosis is a term, so it’s better not to tell the children: “We will go to the forest biocenosis,” but simply tell them: “We will go to the forest.”
Biogeocenosis. This term is also sometimes used in guidelines for teachers, but it is often confused with biocenosis. Biogeocenosis is a set of homogeneous natural phenomena (atmosphere, rocks, hydrological conditions, vegetation, wildlife, the world of microorganisms and soil) over a known extent of the earth's surface. That is, in addition to living organisms, biogeocenosis also includes the components of inanimate nature associated with them.
We have given definitions of the most significant environmental terms, however, you need to remember that when working with children, these terms are not used!
The concept of "environmental education"
The next issue we will have to consider is the concept of EO.
Speaking about environmental education in preschool pedagogy, it should be noted that this is a new direction, which is currently still in its infancy.
Twenty years ago, there was no talk of ecology and environmental education of preschoolers at all. At present, environmental education has become one of the important areas of preschool pedagogy and is being implemented in many preschool institutions in the country.
Practically in all modern complex, basic programs, sections on the environmental education of preschoolers are highlighted. In addition, there are a number of additional programs also aimed at the environmental education of preschoolers.
The basic basis for these sections and programs is the traditionally established program section "Introducing children to nature." However, this is somewhat wrong approach.
Environmental education is directly related to the science of ecology and its various branches. Therefore, the basis of environmental education should be based on the leading ideas of ecology, such as: the organism and the environment, the community of organisms and the environment, man and the environment. Naturally, these ideas should be adapted to preschool age.
What is meant by environmental education in general.
Currently, “there is no unambiguous and acceptable definition of the concept of “environmental education”.
In the draft "National Strategy for Environmental Education in the Russian Federation" of 1990, the following definition is given environmental education: “Environmental education means a purposeful, continuous and integrated process of training and educating a person with the aim of forming his ecological culture, value orientations and norms of behavior in the field of cultural nature management and environmental protection, as well as the process and result of mastering systematic ZUN in the field of impact on environment, the state of the environment and the consequences of environmental change”.
S.N. Nikolaev gives a simpler definition: " environmental education combines the study of nature, its protection, the interaction of man with nature, his habitat.
I.D. Zverev proposes to consider environmental education as "a continuous process of learning, education and development of the individual, aimed at the formation of a system of knowledge and skills, value orientations, moral, ethical and aesthetic relations that ensure the environmental responsibility of the individual for the state and improvement of the socio-natural environment."
G.A. Yagodin believes that environmental education- this is the education of a person, a citizen of the Universe, able to live safely and happily in the future world, without undermining the foundations for the development and life of the next generations of people.
Along with the term "environmental education" in the literature (including preschool), the term "ecological culture". In some cases, it is used as a synonym for the first expression, in others, the formation of environmental culture is seen as the ultimate goal of environmental education.
We will consider the concept of ecological culture- as the ability of people to use their environmental knowledge and skills in practical activities. People who have not developed an ecological culture may have the necessary knowledge, but not apply it in their daily lives. Those. the second option, ecological culture as the ultimate goal, the result of EA.
In addition to the term "ecological culture", another term is most often used in programs and manuals - " environmental education.
This situation is explained by the fact that earlier the term “preschool education” was used in relation to preschoolers, which meant the simultaneous upbringing and education of the child. Accordingly, a special section "environmental education" was singled out in preschool education.
However, in recent years, such expressions as “preschool education”, “educational space of a kindergarten”, “educational programs” have appeared in preschool pedagogy, and kindergartens themselves have been officially renamed preschool educational institutions. In this regard, the term "environmental education" was replaced by the term "environmental education of preschoolers".
You understand that the concepts of "education" and "education" have different meanings. Therefore, it is important to remember that, despite the fact that we are talking about the environmental education of preschoolers, for preschool children, education is more important than training. This must be remembered not only when compiling notes on environmental education classes, but also in general in all the work of the educator (whether he conducts classes, takes the children for a walk, reads books to them, etc.).
Summing up, I repeat that the term "environmental education" has come into use for preschool teachers only in recent years and is usually used as a synonym for environmental education.
The term "environmental education" includes the processes of education, training and development of preschool children.
Goals and objectives of environmental education for preschoolers
Having defined the concept of "environmental education", it is necessary to consider the goals and objectives that must be implemented in the process of its implementation.
So, S.N. Nikolaev as the goal of environmental education offers "education of the principles of ecological culture",
ON THE. Solomonova considers the goal "the formation of a certain level of conscious attitude, expressed in behavior, attitude towards nature, people, oneself, a place in life",
A.V. The Queen, under the goal of EO understands - the education of a responsible attitude towards nature,
NOT. Orlikhina offers another goal - educating the child in the need to preserve and improve nature, develop his creative potential,
T.V. Potapova lists a whole range of goals for the education of a child in the field of the environment, among which she indicates
The development of the child's confidence in relation to his environment;
Elementary knowledge about the differences between animate and inanimate nature and ideas about the role of human mental and physical labor in the transformation of animate and inanimate nature;
Elementary skills of non-destructive communication with wildlife and creations of the mind and hands of man;
Formation of values, foundations for further education in human rights and ethical responsibility.
This set of goals is more like a set of tasks because it is too detailed. However, in the collective work under the guidance of the same author, the goal of the program is to prepare children for the ecologically conscious perception of the phenomena of the surrounding world and environmentally competent behavior in it, which is necessary for a full life in the 21st century.
Why do we talk about the diversity of EA goals. It's very important to talk about it. After all, the educator needs to choose one for his work from the whole variety of programs. To help in making this choice, just knowing the goals of the programs will help. Correlation of the goals and objectives that the entire preschool institution faces, its vision of environmental education, the individual characteristics of children with the goals indicated by the authors will help to make the right choice of a program for working with children.
So, we found out that the authors most often understand the formation of ecological culture, ecological consciousness, motivation of certain behavior, respect and love for nature as the goals of environmental education.
To achieve the goal of EE, it is necessary to solve a number of interrelated tasks in the field of education, upbringing and development of the child.
Consider these tasks:
1 - the formation of a system of elementary scientific environmental knowledge, accessible to the understanding of a preschool child. This knowledge should be directed, first of all, to the formation of a consciously correct attitude towards nature;
2 - development of cognitive interest in the natural world;
3 - the formation of the initial skills of environmentally competent and safe behavior for nature and for the child himself;
4 - education of a humane, emotionally positive, careful, caring attitude towards the natural world and the world around it as a whole; developing a sense of empathy for objects of nature;
5 - formation of skills and abilities of observations of natural objects and phenomena;
6 - the formation of the initial system of value orientations. This includes the perception of oneself as part of nature, an understanding of the relationship between man and nature, an understanding of the self-worth and diversity of the meanings of nature, an understanding of the value of communication with nature;
7 - development of elementary norms of behavior in relation to nature, the formation of skills for rational use of natural resources in everyday life;
8 - the formation of the ability and desire to preserve nature and, if necessary, provide assistance to it (care for living objects), as well as the skills of elementary environmental activities in the immediate environment;
9 - the formation of elementary skills to foresee the consequences of some of their actions in relation to the environment.
Depending on the goals of EA, some of the listed tasks are paramount, the most significant, while others go by the wayside. That. different programs are characterized by a different combination of these tasks
The formulation of goals and objectives largely determines the content of education.
Modern environmental education as a special area of preschool pedagogy in our country is formed on the basis of several components and is largely different from that in other countries.
Let's look at these components:
1. Firstly, these are traditional approaches for Russian pedagogy in general (K. Ushinsky, V. Sukhomlinsky, L. Tolstoy), which are based on close contact of children with nature, naturalistic observations, and excursions. These approaches contributed to the development of moral principles in the child, the ability to see the beauty of nature, to feel and understand it, and contributed to the development of cognitive interest. Those. This approach considers nature as a universal object for teaching a child.
2. Another component of modern environmental education is folk traditions. Folklore, folk holidays, signs, games, as well as fairy tales different peoples always reflected the peculiarities of the perception of nature by people, their attitude towards it, demonstrated the nature of the use of natural resources. Preschool children have always shown, show and will show great interest in folk traditions, games, fairy tales, riddles. This makes it particularly promising to use elements different cultures for environmental education.
3. Another component of the environmental education of preschoolers is world experience. However, the borrowing of foreign teaching experience can be noted not only in preschool institutions, but also in secondary and higher schools.
As for environmental education in preschool institutions, at present the most widespread in our country are American programs and methods that pay great attention to touch feelings of the child, the ability to see and observe in nature, the ability to appreciate its diversity, to instill a sense of admiration and surprise. The most famous is the program "Feeling a Miracle", elements of which are used in work with preschool children. It should be noted that foreign recommendations do not always correspond to Russian realities and traditions (that is, they do not correspond to the first two components that we have just talked about) and must be carefully adapted to the conditions of domestic preschool institutions.
4. The last component, no less significant than the previous ones, is content of modern school ecology. This component should ensure the continuity of environmental education between the "preschool and primary" link. However, this does not mean that the content and methods of school environmental education should be mechanically transferred to preschool institutions.
In the early 1990s, in the absence of a sufficient amount of methodological literature, preschool teachers sometimes tried to transfer the content of school textbooks (primarily for elementary school) and even teaching methods to kindergarten. This approach led to the loss of children's interest in classes and to overloading them with unnecessary information. This was due to several issues:
First of all, due to the fact that the educators did not have the proper training and the necessary stock of knowledge,
Another problem is directly related to the first one, and lies in the fact that the information presented to children was not sufficiently adapted, educators tried to strictly follow the terminology that was proposed in the scientific literature. Such information, as you understand, was not only inaccessible, but also unnecessary for preschoolers.
All components must be taken into account when selecting the content of EE for preschoolers. However, this is not enough.
Information in the field of ecology is now a huge amount. Therefore, it is important to clearly define what information needs to be conveyed to children, and what information is superfluous. The necessary information included in the content of the EA helps to select a number of principles.
Speaking about the principles of selecting the content of the EE of preschoolers, it must be remembered that the EE of preschoolers is the first stage of the EE of a personality, which will then be continued at school. What is it for? This is necessary in order to properly identify the principles of content selection. In general, the principles for the selection of preschool and school education within the framework of continuity should be agreed upon.
To achieve this, it is necessary to consider the content selection principles developed for other levels of education, and then adapt them, concretize and supplement them with new principles specific to the preschool level.
At the same time, it is important to remember that knowledge plays a much smaller role at preschool age than at subsequent levels of education. Most importantly, they should be accessible and attractive to a preschooler.
Based on this, a number of general pedagogical principles for the selection of environmental education for preschoolers can be distinguished, including:
General pedagogical principles (humanism, scientific, systematic, etc.),
Principles specific to environmental education (predictability, integration, activities, etc.),
Principles inherent in the environmental education of preschoolers.
Let's take a closer look at these principles.
Scientific. The principle of scientificity implies the inclusion of the main ideas and concepts of modern science in the content of EDI. Let's list these ideas and concepts.
Ideas: the unity of living and non-living things in nature; unity of man and nature; diversity of living organisms and their ecological unity.
Concepts: plants, animals, man, living organism, environment, inanimate nature, etc.
That. the principle of scientific character implies the acquaintance of preschoolers with a set of elementary environmental knowledge.
In environmental education, this problem is of particular importance. Since in a number of methodological developments one can meet elementary ecological, biological, geographical errors. Therefore, it is important to evaluate both developments and visual aids in terms of the presence of errors in them. Incorrect information leads to the formation of distorted ideas about the world around children, and also disrupts the continuity of preschool and school education.
For example, children often see the following picture in books, in various manuals, in drawings, on TV: a hedgehog on its back drags mushrooms and apples. Accordingly, 94% of preschoolers claim that the hedgehog eats apples, mushrooms, nuts, 5% find it difficult to answer, and only 1% of children give the correct answer.
Availability. The next extremely important and closely associated with the principle of scientific character is the principle of accessibility of material for a child of a certain age. Accessibility implies not only a certain level of presentation of the material, but also its emotional coloring.
According to this principle, knowledge available for mastering by them is selected in programs for preschoolers in accordance with the characteristics and capabilities of children's cognitive activity.
So, at the younger preschool age, children are capable of mastering general ideas about the objects of nature. They see only some of the most striking features of plants and animals. Therefore, at this age it is recommended to introduce children to those objects of nature that are often found in their immediate environment, and when observing them, the teacher needs to indicate a small number of signs.
In addition, kids are just beginning to see some of the relationships of nature, so in observations it is important to point out the emergence of private, local connections, for example:
It's raining - there are puddles on the ground
It's getting cold - wear a hat or coat
Children middle group can master specific ideas about objects. Therefore, they can be offered more detailed knowledge about the object and point out many of its features; give more accurate information about the way of life of animals and plants and their care.
Five-year-old children are already ready to master relationships of various content: morpho-functional, temporal, causal, this should also be taken into account when selecting the content of EE.
For children of older preschool age, the presentation of the material can already go at the level of generalized ideas or subject concepts.
For example, children learn the concept of "fish". In this case, it is important to highlight such points as: “Fish are animals that have adapted to life in water, so they have a streamlined body shape, the body is covered with scales and mucus. Fish breathe with gills and swim with their fins. Fish reproduce by laying eggs or giving birth to fry.
Children of older preschool age master more complex (general) relationships (causal, genetic, spatio-temporal, etc.). This makes it possible for them to talk about more complex things: to give them information about ecosystems, their structure, the relationship between plants and animals, and the role of man in this.
The main problem of young educators in the implementation of this principle is the excess of scientific knowledge and the difficulty in presenting the material in the language that is accessible to children. With experience, this passes, but at first you need to carefully monitor whether the material you have chosen for classes corresponds to the age characteristics of children, and how you present this material to children.
For example, in one methodological development I came across the following information, which was proposed to be voiced to the children: "... in one sunny day, 1 hectare of forest absorbs about 250 kg of carbon dioxide from the air, and releases 200 kg of oxygen." This is the fault of many developments. If you take someone else's development as a basis, carefully read and check whether it contains information that will be incomprehensible and inaccessible to children.
Therefore, we are talking about the fact that in communicating with children it is not necessary to use the terminology that we spoke about at the beginning. The following principle follows from this.
humanism. This principle is connected, first of all, with the concept of ecological culture. From the standpoint of education, its application means the formation of a person with new values, who owns the basics of consumer culture, cares about his health and wants to lead a healthy lifestyle. That. the content of EE should contribute to the formation in the child of ideas about man as part of nature, to cultivate a respectful attitude towards all forms of life on the planet.
Predictability. For preschoolers, this principle means that as a result of environmental education, children form elementary ideas about the relationships existing in nature, and on the basis of these ideas, children learn to predict their actions in relation to the environment during rest, work in nature and living conditions (elements of rational resource usage).
In preschool education, due to the age characteristics of the child, the principle of prognostication is limited to educating children in the habit and ability to evaluate some everyday actions in relation to the environment, as well as restrain their desires if they can harm nature.
It is not necessary to bring up in the child "a sense of responsibility for the state of the entire planet" (or the environment, as is often suggested!). It is enough that the child will take care of the guinea pig, feed the birds and grow plants.
activity. Ecological knowledge should help the child understand what needs to be done in order to preserve the environment around him and his loved ones. He must necessarily take part in feasible environmentally oriented activities. In the process of such activity, the formation and formation of the relationship "child - environment" takes place.
It is one thing to have a conversation about the rules of conduct, and quite another to create conditions in which the child could put these rules into practice. The principle of activity underlies various environmental projects, in which children of middle and older preschool age can take part.
Traditionally, this principle is implemented in the process of caring for indoor plants, animals, and working on the site. However, from the standpoint of EA, it is necessary to expand the scope of such activities through the participation of children together with adults (especially parents) or older children in various environmental actions, assessing the condition of their home, yard, kindergarten, group (for example, what plants grow around us whether there are enough of them, how water is used at home, etc.). This approach allows you to make the child's activity more meaningful and necessary for him personally.
Integrity. This principle reflects the child's holistic perception of the surrounding world and its unity with the natural world. The very process of working with children in a preschool institution should also be built taking into account a holistic approach (as opposed to lesson classes at a school with a predominance of a one-subject approach).
Absolutely any class in a preschool educational institution can have environmental content - classes in mathematics, and in the development of speech, modeling, appliqué, and so on. This is the huge advantage of EO, the possibility of integrating it with any other type of educational activities in DOW.
This principle is most fully implemented in the program "Our Home is Nature", which involves first introducing the child to the integral world of nature and only then considering its individual components (water, air, soil, etc.).
Constructivism. This principle is especially important when selecting the content of environmental education for preschool children. Its application means that only neutral, positive or negative-positive information should be used as examples for preschoolers (citing negative facts of human influence on nature, the teacher is obliged to show the child a positive example or a probable way out of the situation under discussion).
At the same time, it is extremely important to emphasize what exactly the child himself, his family, kindergarten can do, give examples of successfully solved environmental problems, preferably from the immediate environment.
Currently, special literature, class notes on ecology often contain negative information.
It is widely believed that the more frightening and emotional (with a minus sign) information is given to a child, the more effective the result will be.
Already at the age of five, children are told about acid rains that “poisoned the earth” (“terrible rain, dangerous and poisonous”, after which “... the leaves turned yellow, the grass withered, and black spots appeared on tomatoes and cucumbers”), they talk about "poisoned air", "water that is impossible to drink."
Such negativism is especially characteristic when considering the topic of disappeared, rare animals, plants that “die, perish” and which a person must save.
However, at the same time, the child is not given information about exactly how this can be done, how people can save the “dying earth”, etc.
This approach is absolutely wrong.
A vivid example is a poster for the protection of nature, made by educators for an exhibition in one of the preschool institutions: on one half of a sheet of paper on a multi-colored background, half of the smiling face of a child is drawn, on the other half, painted in black, a skull is added to the child's face as a continuation. It is unlikely that such propaganda material will have a positive impact on children; rather, it will frighten them and cause rejection of environmental problems.
The tasks of environmental education should be completely different, and the word "ecology" should evoke positive emotions in children, interest, desire to act, preserve the environment, the beauty of the world around.
The abundance of negative facts, which are also presented in an extremely emotional coloring, makes a strong negative impression on the child and can lead to the development of neuroses, the appearance of fears, etc. So, according to the stories of teachers, one boy, having listened to how white pups were killed, was depressed for several days and even cried. The main thing that he was worried about was the inability to somehow influence the situation.
Despite its importance, this principle, unfortunately, is not always implemented in practice.
Regionalism. In working with preschoolers, preference should be given to the principle of regionalism, not globalism. According to this principle, for the purposes of environmental education, objects and phenomena that are accessible to the understanding of the child, the essence of which he can learn in the process of children's activities, should be selected.
Sometimes educators include information about acid rain, depletion of the ozone layer, etc. in the content of classes. The study of such global problems in the classroom seems inappropriate. Why?
Because all the concepts associated with global problems remain an abstraction for the child and are perceived by children with difficulty. Teachers and parents themselves should be familiar with global problems, while children should be introduced to the premises of a preschool institution and its territory, to its own apartment, summer house, nearest park, square, forest or river. And in the course of this acquaintance, voice various environmental problems of the object in question.
It also seems inappropriate to introduce preschoolers to such topics as the ecological situation of the entire region (“Ecology of water or air ... regions”).
The principle of regionalism is also manifested in the selection for the study of objects of animate and inanimate nature. It is recommended to select objects for study that are characteristic primarily for your region, region or region.
This is a very important point, since the results of the research (Ryzhov) show that many preschoolers know the representatives of the animal and plant world of tropical forests better than those living next to them.
Consistency. The principle of consistency is of particular importance in teaching preschoolers, since its application contributes to their mental development in general. In the environmental education of preschoolers, this principle is implemented in the course of the formation of a knowledge system and the organization of a system of various types of children's activities. At the same time, it is important to pay attention to the sequence of assimilation of knowledge. Each newly formed representation or concept must follow from the previous one.
Unfortunately, in most preschool institutions, work on environmental education is carried out irregularly, and the activities of children are not systematized.
Continuity. The principle of continuity assumes that preschool education should be closely connected with all levels of the lifelong education system. It is necessary to observe continuity in the work of kindergarten and elementary school, preschool institutions and teacher training colleges, universities that train future specialists, as well as within the kindergarten, within the group, since the implementation of the goals of environmental education begins with the younger group and continues until the preparatory.
According to the considered principles, the content of environmental education should include the following areas of ecology:
The first direction is bioecology (classical ecology), this direction involves the inclusion of knowledge about a living organism, about the relationships between the organism and the environment, the organism and the ecosystem, etc.
The next area of ecology, which should be reflected in the content of EDI, is social ecology (including human ecology). The inclusion of a number of social ecology problems in the content helps the child to realize his place in the world around him, to develop skills of environmentally competent behavior.
The inclusion of a social direction enables children to get acquainted with how to behave environmentally competently not only in the forest, but also in their city, village, at home. At present, environmental safety issues in educational programs for preschoolers are not given enough attention, while other safety issues, such as rules of conduct on roads, are being actively studied. A preschooler should know that it is impossible to play near the road, not only because of a possible collision with a car, but also because of the danger of breathing exhaust gases, that walking near a landfill is unhealthy, that not all water bodies can swim, etc.
The last direction of applied ecology (nature protection) involves the inclusion of information on the protection of rare plants and animals, on the Red Book, on reserves. At the same time, it is not necessary to offer children to remember a fairly large number of names of living organisms that they have never seen and, most likely, will not see in the future.
When considering issues of nature protection, the emphasis should not be on getting to know individual species of rare animals and plants, but on familiarizing children with the reasons for their disappearance. It is also important to pay attention to the formation of behavioral skills in children, which are necessary for the preservation of all objects of nature (including living ones). In matters of involving children in environmental activities, the formation of their emotional attitude to the considered natural objects of the immediate environment also plays an important role.
Article "The role of the subject-developing environment in the environmental education of preschoolers"
Material Description: An article on the topic "The role of the subject-developing environment in the environmental education of preschoolers". This article reveals the concept of environmental education, the environmental environment, the significance of the latter, especially the environment in the preschool educational institution, in the development, upbringing and education of preschool children.The environmental education of preschoolers is understood as a continuous process of education, upbringing and development of the child, aimed at the formation of his ecological culture, which manifests itself in an emotionally positive attitude towards nature, the world around him, in a responsible attitude towards his health and the state of the environment, in compliance with certain moral standards. , in the system of value orientations.
The tasks of environmental education of preschool children include: the formation of a conscious understanding of the relationship between living and non-living things in nature; the formation of skills and abilities to care for plants and animals, the upbringing of children's sensory-emotional reactions to the environment, a caring attitude towards nature through their purposeful communication with the environment, the upbringing of aesthetic and patriotic feelings.
The child's attitude to nature is based on its sensory perception, emotional attitude towards it, and knowledge of the features and relationships in natural communities. The formation of a consciously correct attitude to nature occurs along with certain forms of child behavior. These are independent observations, experiments, questions, the desire to talk about experiences and impressions, discuss them, embody them in various activities.
One of the significant pedagogical conditions for the formation of an ecological culture of preschoolers is considered to be a developing object-spatial environment created in a group and contributing to the activation of children's cognitive activity, environmental and aesthetic development, child health improvement, moral education, and enrichment of the experience of environmentally competent activities in nature.
The variety of natural elements on the site of the kindergarten, the correct - from an environmental point of view - the arrangement of the natural zone in the premises of a preschool institution constitute a developing ecological environment, which forms the basis of children's education.
The ecological environment in a preschool institution is, firstly, certain animals and plants that are constantly in the institution and under the care of adults and children.
Within the framework of environmental education, the subject-spatial environment in a preschool institution contributes to:
1. cognitive development of the child;
2. ecological and aesthetic development;
3. preference for natural objects over artificial objects;
4. improvement of the child;
5. the formation of moral qualities;
6. formation of environmentally competent behavior;
7. ecologization of various activities of the child.
A feature of the method of ecological education of preschoolers is the direct interaction of the child with objects of nature. Indirect knowledge of nature (through books, slides, paintings, conversations, etc.) has an indirect effect. It enriches the impressions that the child receives from direct contact with the objects of nature. From this, the role of the natural zone in environmental education becomes clear.
At the request of SanPiN, only plants (preferably with names) that are safe and placed in a natural corner can be placed in a group. Plants need daily care.
Also, in the corner of nature there should be: dummies of vegetables and fruits, sets of images with animals, birds, insects, seasons, paintings, children's drawings about nature and crafts made from natural materials, materials for labor, equipment for experiments.
Thus, the creation of a developing ecological environment in a preschool educational institution is important for the environmental education of preschoolers.
References:
1. Nikolaeva S.N. program "Young ecologist"
2. Nikolaeva S.N. Methods of ecological education of preschoolers M.: Academy, 2001.- 184 p.
3. Ryzhova N.A. Our home is nature. M.: Karapuz, 2005.
4. Sanitary and epidemiological rules and regulations SanPiN 2.4.1.3049-13
5. abstract
The achievement of the first seven years is the formation of self-consciousness: the child distinguishes himself from the objective world, begins to understand his place in the circle of close and familiar people, consciously navigate in the surrounding objective-natural world, isolate its values. During this period, the foundations of interaction with nature are laid, with the help of adults, the child begins to realize it as a common value for all people.
Wildlife has long been recognized in pedagogy as one of the most important factors in the education and upbringing of preschool children.
Communicating with it, studying its objects and phenomena, children of older preschool age gradually comprehend the world in which they live: they discover the amazing diversity of flora and fauna, realize the role of nature in human life, the value of its knowledge, experience moral and aesthetic feelings and experiences that encourage them to take care of the preservation and enhancement of natural resources.
All outstanding thinkers and teachers of the past attached great importance to nature as a means of raising children: Ya. A. Komensky saw in nature a source of knowledge, a means for the development of the mind, feelings and will. K. D. Ushinsky was in favor of “leading children into nature”, in order to tell them everything that was accessible and useful for their mental and verbal development. E.I. Tikheeva made a significant contribution to the development of the content and methods of familiarizing preschoolers with nature. She considers nature as one of the conditions or as an element of the environment in which "children live their natural childish life." The researches of V.G. Gretsova, T.A. Kulikova, L.M. Manevtsova, S.N. Nikolaeva, P.G. Samorukova, E.F. Terentyeva and others.
Value for the development of methods of environmental education of children of preschool age is the study by N.N. Referring to numerous philosophical and pedagogical studies, the author determined the components of the system of knowledge about the living for preschoolers. These are representations that reflect:
the integrity of the living, which is the result of the interaction of structure and functions and the most important condition for the existence of a living organism;
· systemic properties of an integral living organism: the specific metabolism of a living organism with its environment, manifested in nutrition, respiration, movement, etc.; the ability to develop as self-renewal and self-reproduction, represented in the growth, development and reproduction of living beings; the adaptability of the living to the conditions of existence (environment), both relatively constant and changing;
Determination of the living by the inanimate, their close relationship and interdependence; at the same time, living things should be considered as an open system that exists and functions only in conditions of constant interaction with the environment;
systemic organization of the living: the living at any level of organization should be considered as a system, which is a morphological and functional unity of its constituent components, and as an element of the system of the next level of organization, in which it is included in the process of life.
· The works of S.N. Nikolaeva, N. Fokina, N.A. Ryzhova.
Consider the basic concepts associated with the problem of environmental education of preschool children.
Ecology- the science of the relationship of plant and animal organisms and the communities they form between themselves and the environment.
"Methods of environmental education of preschoolers is a science that studies the features and patterns of organizing pedagogical work with children of preschool age, focused on developing in them the foundations of an ecological culture and skills for rational interaction with the natural environment. The subject of this science is the study of the patterns of education, training and development of preschool children by means of nature, the formation of the foundations of their ecological worldview, the education of a value attitude to the natural environment "
The theoretical basis of the methodology of environmental education of preschoolers is the basic provisions of general and preschool pedagogy on the patterns and means of development of preschool children. Methodological - the science of the laws of natural processes and phenomena and the specifics of their knowledge and transformation.
The main goal of environmental education: to teach a child to develop his knowledge of the laws of wildlife, understanding the essence of the relationship of living organisms with the environment and the formation of skills to manage the physical and mental state. Gradually, educational and educational tasks are defined:
deepen and expand environmental knowledge;
to instill initial environmental skills and abilities - behavioral, cognitive, transformative,
develop cognitive, creative, social activity of preschoolers in the course of environmental activities,
To form (nurture) a sense of respect for nature.
In preschool pedagogy, there is also no consensus on the goals, objectives and terminology of environmental education. Unlike other levels of the system of continuous environmental education, the authors of programs and manuals for preschoolers most often use the terms "environmental education" and "ecological culture". The term "environmental education" has entered the everyday life of preschool teachers only in recent years and is usually used as a synonym for environmental education.
Term "ecological culture" in some cases it is used as a synonym for the first expression, in others the formation of ecological culture is seen as the ultimate goal of environmental education. It seems to me that the definition of V.A. is very successful and understandable. Yasvin: "Environmental culture is the ability of people to use their environmental knowledge and skills in practical activities." People who have not developed an ecological culture may have the necessary knowledge, but not apply it in their daily lives.
Education is the creation of man as man. It involves, firstly, the assimilation of systematized knowledge, the development of the simplest skills and abilities - a necessary condition for preparing a person for life in society, and secondly, inseparable from the process of forming an image, a spiritual image of a person, his worldview - moral attitudes, value orientations, etc. .e. goes side by side and coincides with the process of education. Environmental education also includes a cognitive component. Successful formation of ecological culture is possible only as a consequence of a single cognitive-educational process of ecological education. The environmental education of a preschooler is able to fulfill this leading role only if it is adequately formalized in terms of content and organization, if it is continuous and covers (directly and indirectly) all aspects of the child's life.
The components of the environmental education process are:
1. Goals, principles, tasks
3. Methods, forms, means
4. Conditions
5. Results
Thus, it can be concluded that environmental education- a purposefully organized, systematically and systematically implemented process of mastering environmental knowledge, skills and abilities.
The formulation of goals and objectives largely determines the content of education. As a well-known specialist in the field of environmental education I.D. Zverev, so far "there is no unambiguous and acceptable definition of the main goal of environmental education." This issue is especially relevant for the environmental education of preschoolers as a new direction (including the education of children, parents, and teachers). I.D. Zverev proposes to consider environmental education as "a continuous process of education, upbringing and development of the individual, aimed at the formation of a system of knowledge and skills, value orientations, moral, ethical and aesthetic relations that ensure the environmental responsibility of the individual for the state and improvement of the socio-natural environment." He emphasizes that the pedagogical tasks of environmental education relate to: learning (mastery of knowledge about the relationship between nature, society and man; the formation of practical skills to solve environmental problems); education (value orientations, motives, needs, habits of vigorous activity for environmental protection); development (the ability to analyze environmental situations; assess the aesthetic state of the environment).
G.A. Yagodin repeatedly pointed out the ideological nature of environmental education, as it "should develop the individual's worldview to a level at which he is able to take on and share responsibility for solving issues vital for his population and all biodiversity as a whole." He emphasizes that environmental education is the education of a person, a citizen of the Universe, who is able to live safely and happily in the future world, without undermining the foundations for the development and life of the next generations of people. From these positions, this author singled out a number of tasks in the field of environmental education, among which, in our opinion, the following are acceptable to the level of preschoolers: the development of ethics in relation to the environment, the education of citizens who understand the relationship of mankind with the entire environment.
The authors of programs, manuals offer a variety of formulations of the goals and objectives of environmental education of preschoolers: “education of the principles of ecological culture” (S.N. Nikolaeva), “formation of a certain level of conscious attitude, expressed in behavior, attitude towards nature, people, oneself, place in life "(N.A. Solomonova), education of a responsible attitude to nature (A.V. Koroleva), education in a child of the need to preserve and improve nature, development of his creative potential (N.E. Orlikhina), "the formation in children of an appropriate the problem of consciousness” (G. Filippova). E.F. Terentyeva suggests that "environmental education of preschoolers can be viewed as a process of forming a consciously correct attitude to the environment." S.N. Nikolaeva believes that the formation of the principles of ecological culture is "the formation of a consciously correct attitude to nature in all its diversity, to people who protect and create it on the basis of its wealth of material and spiritual values."
The point of view of T.V. Potapova. This author lists a whole range of goals for a child's education in the field of the environment, among which he indicates the development of a child's confidence in relation to his environment; elementary knowledge about the differences between animate and inanimate nature and ideas about the role of human mental and physical labor in the transformation of animate and inanimate nature; elementary skills of non-destructive communication with wildlife and creations of the mind and hands of man; formation of values, foundations for further education in human rights and ethical responsibility. In the collective work under the guidance of the same author, the goal of the program is to prepare children for the ecologically conscious perception of the phenomena of the surrounding world and environmentally competent behavior in it, which is necessary for a full life in the 21st century.
Environmental education, with its focus on fostering a responsible attitude towards the environment, should be the core and an obligatory component of the general educational preparation of students. One of the most important principles of environmental education is the principle of continuity. Environmental education and upbringing are carried out in close connection with mental education, which helps to realize children's environmental beliefs in reality, aesthetic education - developing a sense of the beauty of nature and stimulating environmental protection activities of students, moral education - forming a sense of responsibility towards nature and people. The main indicators of environmental education are children's understanding of modern environmental problems, awareness of responsibility for nature conservation, active environmental protection, a developed sense of love for nature, the ability to see beauty, admire and enjoy it.
Based on the analysis of methodological literature, the tasks of environmental education of preschool children were identified:
Formation of a system of elementary scientific environmental knowledge, accessible to the understanding of a preschool child (primarily as a means of establishing a consciously correct attitude to nature);
development of cognitive interest in the natural world;
formation of initial skills and abilities of environmentally competent and safe behavior for nature and for the child himself;
education of a humane, emotionally positive, careful, caring attitude towards the natural world and the world around as a whole; developing a sense of empathy for objects of nature;
· formation of skills and abilities of observations of natural objects and phenomena;
Formation of the initial system of value orientations (perception of oneself as a part of nature, the relationship between man and nature, self-worth and diversity of values of nature, the value of communication with nature);
· development of elementary norms of behavior in relation to nature, the formation of skills for rational use of natural resources in everyday life;
Formation of the ability and desire to preserve nature and, if necessary, provide assistance to it (care for living objects), as well as the skills of elementary environmental activities in the immediate environment;
· the formation of elementary skills to foresee the consequences of some of their actions in relation to the environment.
Thus, it can be concluded that the environmental education of preschoolers is a purposefully organized, planned and systematic process of mastering environmental zun, has certain goals and objectives aimed at forming a consciously correct attitude towards nature among preschoolers.
