Professor, Dr.Hab. N.A. Fomina
Associate Professor, Dr.Hab. S.Y. Maksimova
Associate Professor, PhD E.P. Propisnova
Volgograd State Physical Education Academy

Keywords: preschool children, intelligence, music motor activity.

Introduction. Every parent wants to see his/her child in the future as an intelligent and educated person. But not every adult understands that intellectual development begins in the first days of life. Therefore, early and preschool age are particularly important in developing the qualities that are so essential for children’s mental activities such as attention, memory and thinking. Well-known scientists in the field of pedagogics (Glenn Doman, Elena and Boris Nikitin and others) believe that child’s motor activities from birth to school lay the basis of his/her intellectual development. While the child is acquiring new motor and fine-motor skills the functional improvement of the brain takes place, which is substantially complete by the age of 6-7 years. The lag in the motor sphere entails a slowdown in intellectual development. Consequently, physical education is an essential component of preschool child’s education.

Methods applied were as follows: psychological tests, methods of mathematical statistics, theoretical methods.

Results. Numerous studies conducted in general education kindergartens of Volgograd and Togliatti (Samara region) revealed some patterns in the manifestation of mental processes in children practicing plot-roleplay rhythmic gymnastics. More positive changes occurred in the area of ​​intellectual development, which are directly related to cognitive processes such as attention, memory and thinking itself (Table 1).

Table 1. Changes in the 6-year-old children’s mental development in the course of the experiment

Note: t cr. ³ 2,04 at P <  0,05

Study group - children practicing rhythmic gymnastics;

Reference group - children not engaged in rhythmic gymnastics.

At the same time the age-related tendency of increased influence of music motor activities was registered. The biggest changes were observed in the intellectual sphere of 6 year-olds, i.e. senior preschoolers (Table 2). It should be noted that earlier physical exercises to background music contribute to the increased rate of children’s mental development. So, 6-year-olds involved in the experiment started practicing rhythmic gymnastics at the age of 2. Their development indicators were statistically higher than those of their peers who started training at the age of 4 to 5. Manifestations of the preschoolers’ creative development were observed, which include mental skills of imagination and perception. Children practicing rhythmic gymnastics have lower anxiety levels associated with psycho-emotional stress [4, 5, 6].

Table 2. Comparative indicators of intellectual sphere of mental development in preschoolers practicing plot-roleplay rhythmic gymnastics (final stage of the experiment)

Note: S – study group, R – reference group.

Experimental research in special groups of mentally retarded preschoolers revealed significant indicators increase in the intellectual and emotional spheres of mental development in the course of music and motor physical activities (see Figure 1). Under the impact of systematically organized game-like rhythmic gymnastics classes the children with mental retardation showed significant improvement in intellectual development indicators: attention scope and concentration, visual, auditory and motor memory, visual-active and verbal-logical thinking. 6 year-old children with mental retardation started displaying the ability to act according to the rules, to match their actions with these rules and analyze them. It is these manifestations that indicate the level of self-activity, a new element much needed by a child for his school academic progress. It should be noted that the rate of the test indicators increase was higher in the study group of mentally retarded children than in the reference group of children with normal development who were not involved in music and motor activities [2].

Figure 1. Improved indicators (%) of the intellectual sphere and emotional manifestations in mentally retarded 6-year-olds during the experiment.

Note: 1 - attention scope; 2 - attention concentration; 3 - visual memory; 4 - auditory memory; 5 - motor memory; 6 - visual-operational thinking; 7 - verbal and logical thinking; 8 – self-activity; 9 - assessment of response to situation; 10 - level of emotional development; R-MR - reference group of mentally retarded children (n = 60), S-MR - study group of mentally retarded children (n = 60), R-N - reference group of children with normal development (n = 60).

Similar results were obtained in children with general underdevelopment of speech, which is often a symptom of mental retardation. In this situation, there are not only the improved indicators of intelligence components in the mental sphere, but also a significantly improved speech function in children practicing rhythmic gymnastics [3].

These facts became the basis for the theoretical analysis of psychological mechanisms of the music motor activity impact, namely musical movement as its main element, on the development of child’s intelligence.

Exercises performed to music and in full coordination with it, require from a child special attention, which develops his habit of thinking clearly and definitely when performing motor actions.

Back in 1913, S.M. Volkonsky, researcher and promoter of rhythmic gymnastics formulated its impact as follows: "We are not masters of our body, we are not cognizant of its capacities and, because of this, we are not capable of either showing determination or being active. Our education is one-sidedly intellectual: at school we are reading books, and our body is inactive; whilst in sports our body works and mind is inactive. Rhythmic Gymnastics fosters the invisible capabilities that help us control the interaction of mind and body, that help us externalize outwardly what is within us" [6].

Everything is movement in our life. All functions of the person’s physical and mental existence imply movement. And the basic condition of mental activity is concentration of attention, i.e. the ability to focus it on some object. It is motor skills and attention that rhythmic gymnastics develops simultaneously.

Movement is the condition of life; stop is the condition of thinking. English psychologist A. Bain wrote, "To think means to refrain from words and deeds." Unorganized movement interferes with normal functioning of mind. Thus, "mobility" and "concentration" are mutually exclusive. An important condition of reasonable existence is the ability to stop, subordination of movement to pause, that is, regular pace or rhythmization of movement. The latter is exactly what rhythmic gymnastics develops. Mind is inconceivable without development, fostering of attention. In the context of what has been said we can talk about volitional attention training at rhythmic gymnastics classes. Performing multiple physical exercises in rhythmic gymnastics complexes makes children apply different memory types, coordinating movement with background music thus training, and hence, developing it.

A clear logical structure of music works makes children incorporate their movements into this structure in strict concordance and order. The logic of exercise complexes enhances child’s thinking. All of this stimulates the development of his intellectual sphere [3, 6, 7].

Conclusions. As a result, our experimental and theoretical research suggests the significant impact of music motor activities on the intellectual sphere of preschooler’s mental development and necessitates the use of rhythmic gymnastics, dances, and other means of music motor physical education in preschool educational institutions.

References

1. Kantan V.V. Rannee fizicheskoe razvitie rebenka. Metodicheskoe rukovodstvo dlya roditeley i vospitateley (Child’s early physical development. Methodological guide for parents and educators). – St. Petersburg: Korona-Print, 2011. – 272 p.
2. Maksimova S.Y. Sistema adaptivnogo fizicheskogo vospitaniya detey doshkol'nogo vozrasta s zaderzhkoy psikhicheskogo razvitiya na osnove muzykal'no-dvigatel'noy deyatel'nosti: dis... d-ra ped. nauk (Adaptive physical education of mentally retarded preschoolers based on music motor activities: doctoral thesis (Hab.).– Volgograd, 2014. – 450 p.
3. Propisnova E.P. Metodika syuzhetno-rolevoy logoritmicheskoy gimnastiki dlya doshkol'nikov s obshchim nedorazvitiem rechi: diss…kand.ped.nauk (Methods of plot-role-playing logorhythmic gymnastics for preschoolers with general underdevelopment of speech: PhD thesis). – Moscow, 2003. – 170 p.
4. Filina V.I., Fomina N.A. Vliyanie zanyatiy syuzhetno-rolevoy ritmicheskoy gimnastikoy na razvitie vnimaniya detey mladshego shkol'nogo vozrasta (Impact of plot-role-playing rhythmic gymnastics classes on attention development of primary pupils) // Fizicheskoe vospitanie i sportivnaya trenirovka. 2015. № 2. P. 35-40.
5. Fomina N.A. Formirovanie dvigatel'nykh, intellektual'nykh i psikhomotornykh sposobnostey detey 4-6 let sredstvami ritmicheskoy gimnastiki syuzhetno-rolevoy napravlennosti: diss…kand.ped.nauk (Developing motor, intellectual and psychomotor skills of 4 to 6-year-olds by means of plot-role-playing rhythmic gymnastics: PhD thesis). – Volgograd, 1996. – 205 p.
6. Fomina N.A. Fizicheskoe vospitanie detey doshkol'nogo vozrasta na osnove sistemy syuzhetno-rolevoy ritmicheskoy gimnastiki: dis... d-ra ped. nauk (Physical education of preschoolers through plot-role-playing rhythmic gymnastics system: doctoral thesis (Hab.).– Maikop, 2004. – 456 p.
7. Fomina N.A., Maksimova S.Y. Muzykal'no-dvigatel'noe napravlenie fizicheskogo vospitaniya doshkol'nikov (Music motor direction of preschoolers’ physical education) // Teoriya i praktika fizicheskoy kultury. - 2015. № 7. P. 57-58.

Corresponding author: fizkult@teoriya.ru

Abstract

Every parent wants to see his/her child in the future as an intelligent and educated person. But not every adult understands that intellectual development begins in the first days of life. Therefore, early and preschool age are particularly important in developing the qualities that are so essential for children’s mental activities such as attention, memory and thinking. Well-known scientists in the field of pedagogics believe that the child’s motor activities from birth to school are the basis of his/her intellectual development. While the child is acquiring new motor and fine-motor skills the functional improvement of the brain takes place, which is substantially complete by the age of 6-7 years. The lag in the motor sphere entails a slowdown in intellectual development. Consequently, physical education is an essential component of preschool child’s education.

Objective of the paper was to determine the characteristics of the intellectual sphere of preschooler' mental development as a result of his/her involvement in music and motor activities. Analysis of experimental data has shown a positive trend in the development of attention, memory and thinking in children who practice rhythmic gymnastics, including those with mental retardation and general speech underdevelopment. Psychological mechanisms of the musical movement impact on the child's development are considered.

Numerous studies conducted in general education kindergartens of Volgograd and Togliatti revealed some patterns in the manifestation of mental processes in children practicing plot-role-playing rhythmic gymnastics. More positive changes occurred in the area of intellectual development, which are directly related to cognitive processes such as attention, memory and thinking itself

The research findings suggest the significant impact of music motor activities on the intellectual sphere of preschooler’s mental development and necessitates the use of rhythmic gymnastics, dance, and other means of music motor physical education in preschool educational institutions.