Abstract:

A toy has been a very important and natural part of a child's world since time immemorial. For every child, the favourite toy is something different. They occupy an irreplaceable place in their lives. The fact remains that toys greatly influence the upbringing and education of all children without any distinction. They also play a big role in their development and evolution. The paper describes the toy from a didactic framework and its importance for the preschool child but also the importance for the teacher and the student himself. It is important for teachers, and not least for undergraduate student teachers, to realise that it is through toys, and more specifically didactic toys, that they can gain a great deal of knowledge in their pedagogical work, not only about the child itself, but also about themselves and their pedagogical impact on the child. The present study first of all draws attention to undergraduate student teachers who, as part of a course at the university, made their own didactic toys for preschool children. It further considers the method of student assessment, the lessons learned applicable in practice. The aim was to highlight the student's connection of the acquired knowledge from theory to practice. Firstly, the students demonstrated through their creative activity the skills and knowledge acquired during their undergraduate studies. The evaluation of the course itself included the creation of a didactic toy with a methodological description. Equally important was the actual handing over of the made didactic toys directly to the preschool children in the kindergarten premises. Secondly, the study points to the confrontation of the university students themselves with truthful and sincere preschool children. It was also extremely important for the undergraduate students to gain new experience and a new perspective on evaluation - starting with self-reflection of their own actions and linking theory to practice, evaluation by the teacher, and especially evaluation by the preschool children themselves. The paper also highlights how students and university teachers have created space to popularize their position and work and presents the intersection between theory and practice.

Keywords:

Didactic toy, preschool child, undergraduate student teachers, evaluation, reflection, self-reflection.