TEACHING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF A CULTURE OF HEALTH TO PRESCHOOL CHILDREN THROUGH INTERACTIVE PLAY ACTIVITIES

Abstract

This paper addresses the key issue of fostering a foundation for a healthy lifestyle among preschool-aged children and examines the specific ways in which interactive play is used in contemporary practices involving children’s interactions with peers and adults. It substantiates the importance of play as an effective pedagogical tool for shaping children’s perceptions of a healthy lifestyle, developing motor activity, and mastering the rules of personal hygiene, physical activity, safe behavior, and health-preserving skills. The article highlights the periods of active awareness of the importance of health preservation, which begins in early childhood, continues to strengthen in middle and late preschool age, and evolves into enduring beliefs in later life. Attention is focused on an effective means of fostering the foundations of health culture in preschool-aged children – interactive play activities –with a description of their main functions corresponding to each stage of a child’s development: cognitive, developmental, educational, and socializing. Various types of interactive games are proposed for use, which have been tested in the author’s own pedagogical practice, including: movement games, role-playing games, didactic games, diverse game scenarios, workshops, etc., where the child has the opportunity to master the rules of a healthy lifestyle in a natural, accessible, and engaging format.

The focus is on the important role of cooperation between educators and parents in creating appropriate educational conditions for fostering a culture of health among preschool-aged children, in which they (the children) will have the opportunity to internalize the core values of a healthy lifestyle, develop a positive attitude toward their own health, and effectively cultivate individual qualities, interests, and predispositions toward health-promoting behaviors in the future.

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