Many modern parents strive to develop their children's abilities from a young age . Therefore, the market is filled with a variety of developmental aids. There are so many of them that my eyes are wide, it’s difficult to dwell on one thing. Someone uses the experience of friends, someone is looking for an answer on the Internet or turns to teachers. Games and benefits can be aimed at various aspects of the mental development of the child. For example, Zaitsev’s cubes and all kinds of primers teach to read. And what exists to master logic and mathematics? There are also many benefits for this purpose. One of them is the logical blocks of Gyenes. Educational games with them are very diverse.
Appearance
What do blocks look like? The description of Gyenesh's logical blocks at first glance is quite simple - it is a set of bright geometric shapes in three colors - yellow, red and blue. In fact, among the 48 elements of the set there is not a single completely matching figure. The fact is that these circles, squares, rectangles and triangles can differ not only in color, but in size and thickness. They are large and small, thick and thin.
A bit about the author
Who is Dyenesh? Zoltan Dyenesh is a Hungarian mathematician, teacher and psychologist. He completely turned the idea that mathematics is a boring science. Dyenesh brought mathematics closer to the game and creativity and made its development fascinating for preschool children.
Based on personal pedagogical experience and research in the field of psychology, this scientist identified 6 stages of mastering mathematics. The manual created by him exists in order to go through all the necessary stages in a bright, visual form.
Free play
Dyenesh called the first stage of mastering mathematical skills a free game. The teacher allowed children to go through trial and error. The child is given some task available for his age, but there is no strict instruction for implementation. Therefore, the baby goes through the options until he reaches the desired result. Games at this stage do not differ in orderliness. One of the main goals is to familiarize the child with the properties of objects - color, shape, size, thickness.
Rules of the game
At the second stage, the activities of the child include the rules. They bring clarity and tell him how to solve the problem. The teacher tries to convey these rules in a simple and interesting way. Without them, the child cannot solve the problem from beginning to end. At this stage, the figures are also compared according to their characteristics.
Comparison
In the third stage, children are taught to compare. But not figures, but games. For example, at the second stage, a game is played with the same rules, but first on logical blocks, then on butterflies cut out of paper and then on multi-colored buttons. The child must conclude that the rules are the same regardless of material. This develops abstract thinking and helps to separate the algorithm of action from the material with which these actions are conducted.
Abstract meaning of numbers.
In the fourth stage, the child during the games gets acquainted with the abstract meaning of numbers. Now diagrams, game schemes and simple tables are quite appropriate.
Symbolic stage
In the fifth stage, children are taught to understand that two or more steps can lead to the same result. This is also done in games with Dyenesh blocks. Special characters are used to describe game cards. Children themselves create their own symbols.
Final stage
The sixth and last stage is the longest in comparison with the previous ones.
The technique was created for children from 3 to 8 years old, taking into account their psychological characteristics.
Benefits of Gyenesh Blocks
What are the lessons with these colorful figures? We can say that this is not only the development of mathematical abilities, but also a comprehensive improvement of the brain. The child learns logical thinking, which is useful to him in many areas of life. His speech also develops. The kid learns to express his thoughts, highlight the properties of objects, establish similarities and differences. Dyenesh blocks help to better understand what color, shape, thickness, size are. They introduce spatial relationships. In the future, work with blocks will help in solving educational problems. Finding solutions in these exciting games forms patience and perseverance. Building from blocks develops imagination, creativity.
Construction
What can be done with the Gyenesh blocks? On the packaging of this fascinating book flaunting flat drawings made up of blocks, you can assemble from them a rocket, and a chicken, and a house. In this case, the blocks appear as something like a flat constructor. Such images can be collected according to the scheme, which will not be a simple but interesting task for children. In the strict sense, they cannot be called flat, because the figures have different thicknesses, and this will also have to be taken into account. There are whole albums in which there are ready-made color images of flowers, ships, fairy-tale characters, composed of geometric shapes. Even a small child can lay out blocks on such patterns, collecting a drawing. The construction of Dyenesh blocks like children.
But they do not exist for this, and there are many interesting ways to use them. Based on Dyenesh blocks, there are a huge number of didactic games.
"Samples"
This game is most often played with children who are just getting acquainted with the Gyenesh blocks. For young children, it is necessary to give the easiest tasks, for those who are older - a little complicate. Before the child all the blocks are laid out. The kid should lay them out on some basis. For example, first the child will divide them into groups by color. Then - in size. Different properties can have different complexity for a child.
You can complicate the task by adding as many as two signs at the same time. For example, you can invite your child to select all the red circles, all the yellow rectangles. Or all flat figures of the same size.
"Continue the row"
This is an entertaining game that will make the child seriously strain his brains. There are several options for how to carry it out. The first option is to lay out a series of figures that differ from each other with only one sign. The adult should explain the rules and begin to lay out a series to show the child what to do. After several figures, the child continues the series himself. The second option is to lay out the figures so that the neighboring blocks do not have a single matching attribute. Such a task may even interest an adult! But a more simplified option would be to lay out a series of alternating color shapes, for example, red-yellow-blue. This introduces the baby to the rhythm.
"Feed the animals"
In this Gyenesh block game, the figures are great for cookies. You can plant your child’s favorite toys and suggest treating the animals with cookies. Only in this case will conditions exist, for example, a bear cub will need to be given only red figures, and a kitten only triangles. At its core, this game resembles Samples. However, she is much more fascinating for children. They love to feed their plush pets and are unlikely to refuse such a task. And against an emotional background, in a state of play and enthusiasm, children grasp logical concepts even better.
"Find the gem"
This game develops a tactile perception and is similar to many games with the "Magic Sack", in which they are looking for objects to the touch. It is necessary to find the indicated block in the bag by description or picture, without looking inside. Of course, everything can serve as conditions, except for color - shape, size, thickness. Color will be a surprise for the child. If for kids this can be difficult, then the tactile perception of the Gyenes blocks in the middle group will be quite timely.
Children tend to grow. And games with developmental aids should include this. Classes with Dyenesh blocks for older preschoolers are becoming more complicated. Already completed games for these guys are too simple and become uninteresting. Moreover, children are bored of repeating the same thing from year to year, and they themselves begin to reach for more difficult tasks. Therefore, you can offer your child the following games.
"Search"
Invite your child to pull out any figure at random. And now he should choose only those figures that coincide with the first by at least one feature. Next time, you can invite the child to choose figures that are similar to the first by two signs at once. And the most difficult option will be when you need to select all the figures that do not coincide in any way with the selected one.
Domino
Despite the fact that there are no holes in the Gyenesh blocks for numbers, they are great for playing dominoes due to matching signs. This game cannot be played alone. It is necessary that several children gather. Everyone is given the same number of figures. With the help of a reader or in some other way, it is determined who walks first. This child makes a move with any block. The next one already needs to put that figure, which at least on one basis coincides with the first. If there is no suitable piece, the player skips the move. The one who first gets rid of all the figures will win. The game can be complicated, for example, laying out only those figures that coincide with the previous one in two ways. In dominoes, there is always an element of chance and even the most capable child can be without a win, and a kid who is not gifted can be lucky. If only he would be careful and able to use his figures. Therefore, the game will help not only to develop logic, but with skillful and delicate guidance of an adult, he can teach the former to lose with dignity, and the latter - to believe in yourself.
"Find the excess"
It is necessary to lay out 3 figures. One of them bears no resemblance to the others, while others have. The child needs to find an extra figure and explain why it is extra. The task can be complicated by increasing the number of figures. For example, you can search for an extra block among six figures. And you can - as many as two out of six.
"Find a couple"
Before the child is laid out several figures. It is necessary to find a pair for each of them according to a certain criterion. You can select pairs not one, but two or three properties. The game can be organized as follows: pre-select an even number, for example, of 10 paired pieces, and put them in a bag. The child needs to get them - all at once or one at a time - and lay them out in two horizontal rows.
"Score"
There is another way to use Gyenesh blocks. Logical elements can play the role of money. Goods can be any toys, but better - cards with the image of objects. A child comes to a store where a lot of product cards are sold. He has only 3 blocks. For each one can purchase one product, and one that will be at least one property coincide with the "money". This will develop the abstract thinking of children, their attention, the ability to reason, substantiate their choice.
"We decorate the Christmas tree"
On New Year's Eve, the game related to decorating the Christmas tree will be relevant. For her, you need an image of a Christmas tree, 15 cards with symbols and blocks. On the Christmas tree you need to arrange 5 rows of figures - "beads" with 3 figures in each. The cards must have numbers. This number indicates the sequence number of the row from top to bottom. For example, the topmost will be the first. Also on the card there will be a shaded circle that shows the position of the “bead” in a row. And finally, the image of the figure itself, so that the child understands what exactly to hang him. Despite the complex description, this game is understandable and interesting for children.
Reviews
And what can parents and teachers say about the Dyenesh blocks? Reviews are often positive, although there are also dissatisfied. After all, all children are different, and if one literally captures the process of playing with this manual, then the other does not show any interest. Despite the fact that the author recommended logical blocks to children from 3 years old, some parents begin to use them from two or even one and a half years. This should be done only if the baby is interested. In other cases, it is better to wait and not rush things. Parents note the development of logical thinking in children as advantages. Cons consider some too narrow a set of colors. Although this is, rather, a thoughtful decision of the author - there should not be too many signs of each type so as not to confuse the children.