Abstract:

After introducing the concepts of stimulation, thinking, creative thinking, creativity and intelligence, the paper answers the question of when to start stimulating creative and functional thinking, which is closely related to the developmental characteristics of children of appropriate psycho-physical age. Because the nerve structure develops most rapidly in preschool children, children of that age easily acquire knowledge, solve problem situations relatively easily, and are very sensitive to the personal impact of adults as well as the impact of the environment in which they grow up. According to Eurostat in 2018 widespread and affordable broadband access is one of the means of promoting a knowledge-based and informed society. Broadband was uses in 86% households of EU-28. In households with electronic devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, game consoles, smartphones and other devices with Internet access, there is a high possibility that children from an early age will be "surrounded" by these devices. It is not uncommon to see a very young child sliding his finger across the screen of a smartphone and having the attention focused on watching cartoons on some of the popular online video sharing services or playing on line games. Given that the development of functional knowledge through physical games and exercises is extremely important for the development of the child, especially in preschool, it is up to parents and educators to stimulate and design activities and games that do not involve the use of technology or that limit it to the minimum until the child starts school. Furthermore, video game playing is very popular with the ever-younger population. Most video games have replaced traditional classic games and are preferred by children. While there are benefits to playing video games, we believe that traditional games should be given priority in younger kids and later, if parents choose, to offer them educational video games intended for the child's age and interest.
The following sections outline activities (exercises, games) that can successfully stimulate the creative thinking of preschool children. The role of educators (but also parents) is of particular importance in stimulating children's creativity. The paper presents theoretical settings of stimulation of creative thinking, intelligence, games for preschool children that contribute to fostering functional knowledge and the influence of ICT on children.

Keywords:

Preschool children, creative thinking, creative creativity, stimulation, ICT.