Types of child labor
Labor is a creative type of human activity that requires a person not only special knowledge and skills, compliance with technological discipline, but also the ability to quickly make decisions in non-standard situations, constantly improve the labor process and the product created by it. Even at preschool age, it is diverse in content, involves the use of various potentials of the child. The main types of children's labor are self-service, household work, work in nature, manual (artistic) work. All of them have certain possibilities for solving educational tasks.
Self-service. Its educational significance lies in the focus on satisfying the child's daily personal needs (washing, dressing, undressing, making the bed, etc.). In the process of self-service, she gets used to order and organized behavior, masters all components of labor activity. She gradually develops the ability to see the result of labor, to establish a connection between the goal, labor actions and the final result. The child becomes independent, begins to realize that work is the first condition for raising a free and independent personality. If in the younger preschool age, self-service is used to educate children's independence, the ability to overcome difficulties, and to form work skills, then in the older preschool age it becomes habitual for children. The child should perform self-service work as a daily and mandatory task. The teacher's attention is required by the clarity of the organization of children's lives, the presence of appropriate living conditions, which is a prerequisite for the timeliness, constancy, systematicity, and proper quality of children's self-service.
Household work. The purpose of household work is to maintain cleanliness and order in the premises and in other areas of the child's life, to help adults organize routine processes, etc. In the younger preschool age, the teacher teaches children to perform simple labor actions with a short-term result (helping the teacher's assistant set the table; the teacher - in preparation for the lesson, maintaining order on the table during the lesson, after it - cleaning up materials, putting toys in place).
In the middle preschool age, the teacher continues to form in children an interest and desire to perform adult tasks qualitatively, diligently, willingly. The content of this work is complicated by increasing the number and detailing of processes. First of all, the teacher must help the child to find out the purpose of the work, the sequence of labor actions (rationally prepare the workplace, correctly perform feasible labor actions to achieve the final result, restore order in the workplace, be able to work in pairs or threes).
In the older preschool age, children begin to understand work as a necessary and serious matter, and to combine interest in the labor process with interest in its results. Labor tasks become much more difficult for them. Work at this age is increasingly separated from play, and occasional work assignments acquire the significance of permanent duties for them. Teachers have opportunities to implement program tasks for the upbringing of positive relationships (to work together, in harmony, to help each other), the formation of a love of work, independence, activity, etc.
Organizing household work, the teacher uses a variety of methodological techniques: showing the performance of each elementary action and sequence of actions, accompanied by detailed explanations; direct assistance in performing labor actions; personal example; constant reminder of the sequence of actions; use of didactic games and techniques, creation of game situations; encouragement taking into account the individual characteristics and capabilities of children; assessment of the results of the work performed, analysis of specific socially significant actions, etc.
Older preschoolers gradually lose interest in the type of work that becomes habitual, everyday. Therefore, to restore interest in it, it should be enriched with elements of novelty (a competition “Who can set the table for dinner better”, collective discussions on the creative performance of duties by those on duty in the group, etc.).
Work in nature. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that children do not deal with objects, but with objects of living nature - they work in a corner of nature, in a vegetable garden, in a flower garden, take care of animals. Its main educational task is to develop in children an interest, a caring attitude towards living nature, the formation of skills and abilities in caring for plants and animals, the ability to correctly use tools.
Work in nature is a type of productive labor activity accessible to preschool children. The ultimate goal (to grow flowers, vegetables, etc.), its results are specific and understandable, but they cannot be achieved quickly. The remoteness of the result requires the child to make long-term physical and mental efforts, daily painstaking work, and patience. As a rule, most children willingly work with living objects, are happy to take care of them, learning about the world of living nature, discovering their new possibilities, and cultivating a caring attitude towards all living things. However, they still have little experience and skills, so adults should work with children to develop clear rules for their behavior and activities in nature.
Handicrafts. Its functional purpose for children is to make products from paper, cardboard, fabric: homemade toys, greeting cards, Christmas tree decorations, puppet theater characters and decorations, bouquets of dried plants, rugs for dolls, napkins, etc. Making gifts for family and friends has a great impact on the child's moral consciousness (teaches them to show attention to others, to work to make them happy). Such work develops imagination, observation, artistic thinking, aesthetic sense, constructive abilities, motor skills of children, forms useful practical skills, enriches with knowledge about the properties of various materials. its results mostly cause positive emotions, admiration of adults, which enhances the effect of self-knowledge, self-awareness, self-affirmation of the child, arouse in him healthy ambition. Often, from preschool age, a child begins to realize his abilities, talent, to cherish a dream for life.
In different age groups, different types of work have different specific weight. In the younger and middle groups, self-service and simple types of household work prevail, and in the older ones - work in nature and artistic work.