This year my son became a schoolboy. And now the Moscow Register of Education Quality at the beginning and end of the academic year conducts diagnostics of first-graders in the adaptation period. This is a kind of test that determines the general level of intellectual development and the psycho-emotional state of children.
At the meeting, our teacher spoke about one of the tasks of this test. It got me interested.
So, it was necessary to draw an ordinary little man. According to this picture, the psychologist interpreted the worldview of the child.
Here’s what turned out to be curious: in our class, only 2 people drew ears on a little man. In the parallel class, only 4 students paid attention to this organ.
How is it interpreted by the psychologist? The fact is that a child who has not drawn ears subconsciously does not pay enough attention to this organ of perception.
Parents often complain that their children do not obey them. And, following this test, it is quite logical to assume that a child cannot obey if he simply does not HEAR his parent.
To hear a parent, one must be able to concentrate on what the elder says. Unfortunately, this is the problem in most families, including mine.
The kids are out of focus They are simply unable to concentrate on what mom, dad or teacher says. And, of course, this greatly complicates the task of teaching and educating both the teacher and the parents. But children are great at concentrating on cartoons and computer games. So, after all, they have the ability to concentrate, it’s just that it is not used where it is required.
After the meeting, I thought how it is possible to develop this function in a child — to hear me. And I came up with a great idea! Exercise from the Distance «Repeat verbatim».
When we sit down to do our homework as a son, it is very difficult for him to concentrate. Or you need to urgently draw something, or tell, or show me. In general, make some kind of movement that distracts him from doing his homework. Now, every time I see my son trying to dodge homework, I tell him firmly and forcefully:
«Repeat what I just said»
I also say this phrase when I read a book to him before going to bed and see that he is fiddling with something in his hands instead of listening carefully. With this question, I bring him back to focus on what we are now reading. I ask him to retell the last paragraph.
Acting in this way, I see that the son begins to concentrate on my words, he can repeat them consciously. And in the future, this ability will be very useful to him in life, because the ability to repeat the words of another person helps to avoid many conflict situations and misunderstandings with people around him. See the article «Exercises for concentration»