When a small person is born, often all that he sees during the first years of his life (not counting the days in the hospital) is the walls of his home and a playground in the yard. These smells, light and colors will remain in his memory for life. Have you ever wondered how the child's development and perception of the world affects what he sees around him?
Many have probably heard: 85% of information about the world a person receives through the eyes and only 15% from other sources. In addition, scientists believe that childhood is most sensitive to environmental influences: real or imagined. It turns out that it is extremely important that from the earliest years the child sees the beauty around him, so that he learns from the cradle to appreciate and love it.
What does this affect?
When a baby grows up surrounded by beauty in all its diversity - from harmonious colors in the interior to a beautiful view from the window of his room, he, according to scientists, learns to creatively solve problems, find the relationship of different knowledge and phenomena in solving it, he develops a flexible mind ...
Further more. According to the doctor of pedagogical sciences, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education Lyubov Grigorievna Savenkova, when a child begins to draw, sculpt, create, this develops his imagination space: breadth of imagination, breadth and variety of impressions, thoughts.
According to another scientist - A.V. Bakushinsky, the largest Russian theorist of aesthetic education, - children's creativity helps the child to perceive the surrounding reality in a new way, forms the ability to organize the environment, his world, to create a certain mood.
Many, after reading these lines, nod in agreement: “Yes, we are doing this! I listened to classical music when I was pregnant. And now my children go to paint. " This is certainly very important. But is this enough for the full development of the child? Do parents use every opportunity to instill in their children a sense of beauty?
The harsh truth of life
In practice, studies show that things are not so simple. Lyubov Grigorievna Savenkova, already known to you, tells in her article about an experiment carried out among students in grades 4-8 at a secondary school in Moscow.
The researchers decided to see if the children take part in the process of organizing the interior of the apartment, whether adults take into account their wishes and needs. An important nuance: all the children lived in new houses, which means they had the opportunity to express their opinion when decorating the interior. After all, as a rule, each family member brings his understanding of comfort, convenience and beauty to a new apartment.
The children were offered to decorate their room or part of it as they see fit. The parents were asked to give their children complete freedom and not to help with advice.
To complete the picture, the researchers also surveyed schools in the vicinity of the participants' homes. The results of the survey looked encouraging: almost every child had his own room, almost 60% of children were engaged in art circles. According to the survey participants, they actively participated in all issues related to the creation of the interior of the rooms.
What happened in reality? When the researchers came to real apartments, they saw well-furnished, expensive interiors in which there was no place for a child. All of them, as one, consisted of a large office table with two pedestals by the window, a table lamp, a bookshelf, a map on one wall, a carpet on the other, a wardrobe with clothes and dishes, a carpet. Sometimes you could come across an aquarium or a painting on the wall.
The wallpaper in these apartments did not differ in children's patterns, there was no special children's furniture, children's drawings on the walls. Even toys, at best, were on the top shelf of the closet. What can we say about the conditions for a child to be engaged in sculpting, drawing or pasting applications without fear of breaking or staining something.
The conclusion about the participation of the child in the interior design suggested itself. Parents decided that for the development of creativity, it was enough for him to allocate his room and pay for the circle. Although, as scientists say, it is important that a child from an early age personally participate in the design of living space, creating an environment so that his needs are taken into account. Indeed, it is during this period of childhood that a taste for color is formed, color preferences develop. No less important is how not only the child's own room looks like, but also in what architectural environment he grows. The ideal environment for fostering a sense of beauty is classical architecture. Thus, the domestic researcher Mikhail Chernoushek, in his work "Psychology of the Living Environment", expressed the opinion that the environment includes, in addition to measurable physical and chemical quantities, a psychological characteristic. It is expressed in what responses, feelings the environment evokes in us: accelerates or suppresses our actions.
The sustained classical forms and facades of buildings invariably evoke positive emotions along with classical music or paintings. According to the architect Maxim Atayants, the author of the Sochi Olympic facilities and the event-city of Laikovo, the largest new classical-style city in the world, the aesthetic component and the diversity of space are necessary for both the city and the people. In faceless and unkempt neighborhoods, street crime rates are higher than in the historic city center, which by definition is more aesthetically pleasing. Human behavior changes depending on the environment in which he is. In a pleasant, well-groomed environment, any kind of licentiousness looks out of place.
Where to start today
- Select a place in the apartment where the child can conduct experiments without fear, play, break and build, work with paints, clay, paper, and build buildings from all kinds of materials.
It is important that this place is not in a closet or a dark corner - for creativity you need as much natural light as possible. It has been noticed that in a bright room, children significantly increase their creativity and desire to work. So if you are lucky and have panoramic windows in your apartment, organize a children's corner in this part of the room. After all, panoramic windows extend the daylight hours in the apartment by an hour a day, and sunlight, as you know, stimulates the brain and the immune system. An alternative option that can be organized in the summer is a play area on the terrace (a fashionable format of apartments in new buildings). A lot of light and fresh air will inspire a child for the most daring ideas.
- On a terrace or in a dimly lit corner of your child's room, set up a space where your child can jump, climb, build a house out of boxes (think of yourself as a child), dance, or just move to the music. It is good if the apartment has high ceilings. On the one hand, this will help the parent in arranging a multi-level children's corner. On the other hand, it will contribute to the mental development of the child. Scientists have shown that headspace can affect the ability to process information. According to professor at the University of Minnesota Meyers-Levy, a person who is in a room with 3-meter ceilings thinks more freely and abstractly. While in a room with 2.5 meter ceilings, a person is more likely to focus on the specifics of one item or product. In turn, experts from the Urban Group add that high ceilings, by increasing the overall volume of living space, have a positive effect on the level of air quality. Thus, in rooms with ceilings of 3.6 meters, the total volume of air is 45 percent higher than that of a standard apartment. Due to the larger supply of oxygen in the room, a favorable microclimate is maintained, the child breathes easily, and there is enough strength for creativity until the evening.
- Let your child sing out loud, listen to live music, make sounds from objects, hammer something with a hammer. Of course, sound experiments should be done during the daytime.
- Highlight the day when the child himself will rearrange small pieces of furniture, drape fabrics, and generally change the surrounding space. This helps to renew feelings, revitalize reactions, teaches the child to independently organize the environment around him. Do not forget to do this in a game format, which will already give the child more pleasure. And if you bring elements of creative activity into this process - to rearrange objects to music or with songs - your baby will not be stopped. As well as the development of his creative abilities.
