[Source: China Women's Daily]
■ Chen Ruokui
Observation is the ability of people to accurately, comprehensively and deeply perceive the characteristics of objective things through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and other organs in the process of perceptual activities. It helps children acquire knowledge and information about the world around them, and is the basis for understanding the world. Generally, children with a high level of observation have a stronger cognitive ability to the world, and their thinking ability, imagination, and creativity are also closely related to observation, so to speak, observation is the "eye" of human intellectual structure. Moreover, observation not only helps children understand the surface of a certain thing, but also stimulates them to further learn the breadth of knowledge contained in Xi thing, and to think about and explore the unknown territory related to it. Of course, observation is not innate, and needs to be cultivated by parents from an early age.
This is how a child's sense of observation develops
Observation is a purposeful, planned, and long-lasting perceptual process. The child's observation power sprouts from "looking at the face". Newborn babies will be interested in people's faces, babies can smile at familiar people at about two months, three-month-old babies can distinguish between parents, family and strangers, and four-month-old babies smile at whom, which proves that he prefers whom.
From birth, children are familiar with their environment and understand things with the help of sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste, etc. Observation is the baby's ability to integrate vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste, orientation and distance perception, pattern discrimination, time and other abilities gradually developed, is the highest form of perceptual development.
It is precisely because the process of observation involves active thinking activities, stable intentional attention, and the organization of perception with the help of past experience, so as to form a systematic and long-lasting perception, that the sensitive period of observation is later than that of audio-visual, language, cognitive and other abilities.
The development of children's observation can be divided into four stages: the individual object stage, where children only see a single phenomenon or an aspect of a certain phenomenon, and 3~4-year-old children are in this stage; What is on the left or right of what, etc., 5~6-year-old children are in this stage, and some children have to extend to 7 years old at this stage; recognize the causal connection stage, children begin to see the causal connection between the objects of observation can not be directly perceived, 8~9-year-old primary school middle grade students are mainly in this stage; recognize the overall stage of the object, at this time, children can completely grasp the overall object in the sense, understand the subject of observation, 10~11 years old senior primary school students can basically reach this stage.
What exercises can improve your child's observational skills?
Capture the interest and guide the way
Interest is the primary condition for cultivating observation, and the strength of a person's interest will directly affect the effect of observation. In the process of raising and accompanying children, parents should have a unique discernment, discover and capture the things that children are interested in in a timely manner, grasp the opportunity, guide by the trend, create conditions, protect and use children's curiosity, and urge them to discover the characteristics of things and observe them deeply. For example, observe the tortoise and remind the child to pay attention to the tortoise shell, which other animals do not have, and the characteristics that distinguish the tortoise from other reptiles.
If the child is interested in butterflies during outdoor activities, the family can stop and observe the butterfly flying and the different colored markings on the butterfly, inspire the child to think about what the butterfly looks like, or say the parent's own feelings, such as the butterfly is like a "flying flower", to encourage the child to imagine boldly. In order to make children gradually expand the breadth and depth of observation in their interests, you can also arrange for a family to go to the natural history museum or insect museum on weekends to understand the beautiful insect butterfly, understand its body structure, and master the skills of observation while the child's interest is strong.
Observe with purpose
In order to achieve effective observation, parents need to clarify the purpose and task of observation in advance, so that such observation can help children perceive something more completely and clearly. Obviously, if we ask your child to look at two pictures that are roughly the same but have 5 hidden differences, he will probably not be able to find them all if he does not tell them how many differences there are. For example, when observing a bonsai, tell the child in advance to pay attention to the variety, color, and shape of the flowers in the bonsai, and ask the child to tell the results of the observation afterwards. Watch the goldfish in the fish tank, remind the child to pay attention to the shape of the fish's body, what is covered on the surface of the body, and what grows on the back, chest, abdomen, and tail, so that the child can understand the body structure characteristics of the goldfish. The clearer and more specific the purpose of the observation, the better the effect. On the contrary, if the parents do not put forward clear goals and tasks before observation, the child is likely to look east and west, unable to grasp the essentials and not get the harvest.
In daily life, parents try to create observation conditions for their children, and small pets such as hamsters, rabbits, and parrots can be raised to allow children to observe the Xi and behavior of animals. This kind of observation can make children experience the fun of observation and develop the Xi of observation.
In addition, as children grow older and their observation skills improve, parents should consciously guide them to make their own observation requests and find answers independently.
Mobilize multiple senses to perceive things
Encourage children to use multiple senses such as hearing and touch to observe and understand things, so that children can understand that observation is not only to see with their eyes, but also to touch with their hands, listen with their ears, smell with their nose, taste with their tongue, etc. Guide children to understand the functions of the five senses: the eyes can see and perceive the external characteristics of things, such as color, shape, length, etc., the ears can hear and distinguish various sounds made by objects, the nose can smell and distinguish the smells emitted by various objects, the tongue can taste the sweet and sour tastes of objects, and the hands can touch the texture of various objects, such as soft, hard, rough, smooth, etc. Encourage children to actively use their five senses to perceive things, for example, when observing snow scenes, let them use their eyes to see the shape of snowflakes, build snowmen with their hands, and feel the texture and melting process of snow. Similarly, when observing a cherry tree, let the child look at the shape, size, and color of the leaves, smell the tree, observe the color and shape of the cherry, feel its hardness and smoothness with his hands, and then taste the taste of the cherry with his own mouth. Through a variety of sensory stimulation, children's observation experience is enhanced, and their understanding of things can be complete and comprehensive, as well as deeper and richer.
Observe, record, and think together
A good memory is better than a bad pen. When observing things, parents should teach their children how to record, collect, and organize what they observe. Children who do not know how to write, can be replaced by drawing, not sticking to the form, the purpose is to cultivate children's Xi of observing things at any time, which also helps them to develop a good Xi of taking active notes in class after entering the upper grades of primary school. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure the authenticity of the child's observation record, remind the child to record what he sees, and not to write some content that is different from the observation facts, everything is based on evidence, seek truth from facts, and parents should not interfere with the results of the child's observation.
Observation is the foundation of intellectual development, and thinking is the core of intellectual development. To inspire children to actively observe, use their brains, find problems, ask questions, and then explore and solve problems, parents may wish to try the comparative method, with the help of comparing the similarities and differences of two or more things or phenomena, so that children can analyze, judge and think, so as to understand things correctly and meticulously and completely. For example, during harvest season, take your children to the suburbs or plantations to observe and compare the roots, stems, and leaves of maize and sorghum, and ask them to share their findings, compare their different characteristics, and encourage them to describe their feelings or imaginations after seeing the two crops.
After the observation, parents and children summarize the whole process of observation together or guide the child to check whether the purpose of observation has been achieved and whether the observation task has been completed. The form of the summary can be oral or written, including drawings and words. These all help to activate children's thinking, improve observation and language skills.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author, if there is a source error or infringement of your legitimate rights and interests, you can contact us by email, we will deal with it in a timely manner. E-mail address: [email protected]