Abstract:

The game is a multidimensional phenomenon that is quite difficult to explain/define. The game manifests itself in various forms and situations of children's activities, in various fields. At an early age, the most suitable method for the education of children is play. With the help of the game, we can develop children's various abilities and competencies.

The guidelines of the pre-school education curriculum (2023) state that the child's play and other experiential activities are the main, complementary educational activities. Children's play is an activity created and managed by the child himself, when all the powers that have already been acquired and developed are concentrated. The updated General Curriculum Framework programme for pre-primary education (2022) indicates that organizing education combines the purposeful activities of the educator and the spontaneous activities of the child, applying experiential learning methods (projects, research, experimentation, discussions, etc.), recognizing the game and the daily life of the child in the group as an integral part of education. One of the principles of education is also emphasized – play / creativity, when education is associated with play, playful methods by diversifying educational activities, educational content, development of values, aimed at the child's active participation, showing initiatives, revealing the phenomenon of childhood, the culture of the child, while encouraging to play with imagination, language, body, sensations.

A study of the opinions of preschoolers was conducted using the interview method. The study involved 22 preschoolers. The qualitative analysis of the content of the data allows us to say that children 4-6 years old love to play storyboard-role-playing games - "Home", "Kitchen", "Shop". They also like construction games – Lego, and other constructors. However, the vast majority of the subjects' responses relate to the intensive use of IT. In the home environment, toddlers spend a lot of time in front of smart devices, where they not only play, but also learn - computer games become excellent tools for teaching and learning, if the right educational activity is selected.

Keywords:

Early childhood education, play/games, children, preschool age.