BOARD GAMES’ EDUCATIONAL POTENTIAL FOR SENIOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS: HISTORY AND MODERNITY

Abstract

Summary. 

The article substantiates that board games are a means of ensuring an organic transition from the social role of a pre-schooler to a new one – that of a primary school student. It is actualized that the educational potential of board games in science is still under-researched both at the theoretical, practical, and methodical levels.

The educational potential of board games for children of senior preschool and primary school age is defined as a complex of essential characteristics (goals, motives, content, means, techniques, results, integration) of forming a harmoniously developed personality of a preschool and primary school student in a purposeful educational process. It is noted that the selection of content for games should be in accordance with the general didactic criteria, requirements, and principles of preschool and primary education, aimed at implementing the basics of science, their holistic reflection in an available game printing form for children aged 5–10.

The following characteristics of board games for children are substantiated: they are based on interactive players’ interaction (an internal volitional mechanism formation for self-regulation in the game process); they are an emotionally rich, dynamic, cultural, and leisure social practice (game as a leading activity, game as a significant form, game as a social function); an integrated didactic tool aimed at implementing the State Standard of Preschool’s and Primary School’s Education content; a holistic resource for cognitive mental processes’ development (thinking, speech, memory, imagination, perception, attention, etc.). The following groups of board games for children aged 5–10 years are systematized and analysed: for logical and mathematical development and education of sensory culture; creative imagination and creativity development; intellectual and emotional sphere development; cognitive mental processes development (thinking, speech, memory, attention, imagination); single-subject oriented and integrated, etc.

It is summarized that board games for children of senior preschool and primary school age have a long socio-historical development character; they are sustainable organic cultural leisure form; can be the subject of positive and negative socio-economic, worldview and ideological reflection of topics, events, actions, ideas; the emotional and volitional sphere formation tool of preschool and primary education through the culture of game behaviour adoption with printing sets, etc.