Problems and solutions to natural corners in kindergartens

The natural corner refers to a place indoors, along the corridor or in the activity room of a kindergarten, where small animals are raised, plants are cultivated, and inanimate objects collected by children are displayed. It is a place for children to carry out non-formal scientific activities. The natural corner is one of the activity areas that children are most interested in. It is also an important channel that can best stimulate children\’s observation and exploration, promote the development of innovative abilities, and enrich children\’s knowledge. 1. The significance of the creation of the natural corner. In the natural corner, the \”environment\” is the content of children\’s observation and exploration. It is the most important factor that inspires children to appreciate, observe, explore, and persist in management. But in practice, we see that the natural corners in kindergartens only play a role in beautification and decoration, and their most important exploration value is far from being truly explored and utilized. At present, the problems existing in the creation of the natural corner environment are mainly as follows: 1. The materials are relatively simple. In the natural corner in the kindergarten class, we see a green area from a distance. When I got closer, I saw that all kinds of plants were well maintained, neatly arranged, and very beautiful. But counting carefully, there are many similar plants in more than ten pots, with pothos accounting for more than half, and spider plants. Although there are silver-edged spider plants and silver-centered spider plants, they are placed very high, and few children can After observing it, it naturally became a decoration. The green leafy plants in the natural corner account for the majority, and there are very few flowering plants, let alone allowing young children to make comparative observations. The small animals in the natural corner are also the same two types of animals: turtles and goldfish. What\’s more, goldfish are not easy to raise, leaving only turtles. The specimens mainly include beans and dried leaves. On the surface, it seems that there are a lot of things, but the variety is not outstanding, there is a lack of awareness of classification and placement, and there is no theme and focus. 2. The age characteristics are not prominent. During the survey, we found that the varieties of animals and plants in natural corners are almost the same in small, medium and large classes. The content of the materials is almost the same. The age characteristics are not prominent and the levels are not distinct enough. The materials and types used in each class are roughly the same. Green leafy plants account for the majority, and the environment creation is not satisfactory. They only focus on understanding the names and habits of animals and plants. There is a lack of children\’s exploration process. Only through inquiry activities can children\’s understanding of nature be stimulated. corner\’s attention and interest. There are differences in the physical and mental development characteristics and levels of children at different ages. If the materials provided do not meet the age characteristics of the children, the creation of the natural corner will deviate from its original intention and lose its educational significance. Children in small classes will be discouraged and lose their self-confidence because it is too difficult. Middle class children will lose interest because they don’t like it. Children in the upper class will disdain to try because it is too simple, and eventually no one cares about the natural corner. 3. Children rarely participate in management. When children choose activity areas independently, it is difficult to see children actively choosing natural corners for observation and recording. In the minds of young children, the nature corner is just a display in the class. The reason is that in daily life, the nursery teacher takes care of the animals and plants, and only a few children water the plants under the supervision of the teacher. Only when there are new plants in the class do children compete to take care of them, but within a few days the children forget about their new friends. The small animals we bring are also fresh for two or three days and we rush to feed them.When it comes to cleaning, no one wants to do it, and after a while, it is left to fend for itself. In addition, some of the management of children is completed under the compulsory requirements of teachers. Children will have a rebellious mentality and are even less willing to go to the natural corner. 4. When the teacher\’s guidance is not enough, the teacher does not seize the educational opportunity well. When children are interested in a certain animal or plant in the natural corner, they do not provide timely guidance and let the children explore it; when children ask questions, the teacher cannot answer them in time, or blindly avoids the questions, and even more teachers They even criticized the children and said, \”You have so many problems\”, which caused the children to lose interest in it. Although some kindergarten teachers can guide children, they do not provide adequate guidance. Their education is superficial. They simply tell children the names of animals and plants and their surface characteristics, but cannot provide deeper guidance, and children\’s cognition cannot be obtained. Satisfied, the ability to explore will not be improved. In fact, some teachers don\’t pay much attention to natural corners, which leads to children not being interested in natural corners. The teacher’s scientific theories are lacking and cannot satisfy children’s thirst for knowledge. 2. Solutions 1. Provide diversified materials. The natural corner materials should be put in a variety of ways and try to avoid duplication. Except for comparative experiments that require multiple pots, other plants can only be placed in one pot. This can provide more opportunities for children to observe and explore. Lots of choices. At the same time, the animals and plants we choose must come from the experience of young children and be close to their lives. We should not choose exotic flowers and plants, let alone dangerous animals and plants. In the planting area, choose plants with different flowering periods so that children can see the flowers blooming in different seasons. Flowers of the same kind can be planted in different colors. Flowers with a longer flowering period should be chosen instead of short-lived flowers that are difficult for children to observe continuously. When choosing green leafy plants, you can selectively place them according to the shape, color, and vein pattern of the leaves. When planting plants, the selected plants should be familiar to young children and have a short growth period, so that children can observe the entire process of plants from small seeds to fruiting. Vegetables such as leafy vegetables have a relatively short maturity period, which is more suitable for young children to grow and the fruits can be seen. You can also put fruits and dried fruits in the natural corner, parent-child-made fruit babies, dried fruit stickers, etc., which will be more popular with young children. Children can feel the characteristics of fruits and dried fruits by looking at and touching them, and ultimately achieve the goal of loving to eat fruits and dried fruits. The natural corner should not only put immobile plants, but also small moving animals, because moving things will attract children\’s attention more. Small animals are the closest companions of young children in their growth. In addition to goldfish and turtles, we can put in some seasonal small animals, such as silkworm chrysalis, crickets, tadpoles, snails, etc. We should put in different types of animals as much as possible. Let young children learn more about nature. For natural phenomena that are inconvenient for us to observe, such as the root system of plants, the evolution of insects, and marine life, we must place specimen materials in natural corners for children to observe. 2. Material placement highlights age characteristics. Children’s physical and mental development is different at different age stages. Children in early childhood develop rapidly, from the perspective of physical formThe transformation from abstract thinking to abstract thinking requires a large amount of information resources. The age differences and individual differences of children all show their different needs for natural corner materials. Therefore, teachers should highlight age characteristics and pay attention to individual differences when placing materials. The placement of natural corner materials in small classes should be full of childlike interest. Children in small classes have better sensory development and are full of curiosity about the world around them. When they see novel things, they will take the initiative to approach them and try to explore them. Therefore, the childlike interest should be highlighted from the materials and utensils used. For example, flowerpots with bright colors or animal patterns, and the containers are not easily damaged, can attract the attention of young children. The plants that children in small classes observe in their natural corners should mostly be large-leaved plants or plants with a long flowering period. The age characteristics of children in small classes are reflected in the fact that they must touch, experience, and feel. Large-leaved plants are easy for children to observe and touch. Children in small classes are young and have poor hands-on ability. We often use group planting when planting. The plants selected for planting should be plants with a short planting cycle and obvious fruits. Most of the small animals raised in small classes are mainly for viewing, and safety is the first priority. Fruit dolls are the favorite natural corner materials for children in small classes. Especially making them with their parents can stimulate children\’s sense of accomplishment and highlight their age characteristics. The natural corners of the middle class are richer than the natural corners of the small class. The materials should be placed in clear layers and give children the opportunity to make comparative observations at the same time. Middle class children are more interested in distinguishing shapes, so when placing green leafy plants, they can place them according to leaf shapes so that children can observe leaf shapes and compare similarities and differences. Planting activities in the middle class are relatively easy to carry out. Children in the middle class can discuss what to plant by themselves and carry out planting activities with the help of the teacher. Children in middle classes have more opportunities for self-exploration and are relatively independent from seed selection to planting management. However, middle-school children prefer to rush to do things, which allows two to three pots of the same plants to be placed in the natural corner for observation and comparison. Middle class children can conduct simple comparative experiments, such as sprouting bean sprouts, soaking garlic sprouts, etc. The animals placed in the natural corner in the middle class are more seasonal than those in the small class. You can observe animals with a slightly longer growth cycle, such as silkworms spinning silk and spinning cocoons. The natural corners of large classes are richer than those of small and medium classes. The exploratory ability of children in the top class develops rapidly, their thirst for knowledge increases, they are eager to learn and ask questions, and they are highly experimental. Therefore, there can be fewer ornamental plants, and the main emphasis is on experimental materials and experimental operations. In the planting area, large classes can explore the growth of the same plant in different environments, which requires the teacher to provide water, sand, soil, cotton and other experimental materials. The natural corner of the upper class should reflect the process of children\’s independent exploration, and a recording sheet should be provided to facilitate children\’s recording. The perceptual abilities of children in large classes develop rapidly, and the natural corner should provide a variety of materials for children to explore and experience. Young children learn about the diversity of species and feel the changes in the root system. Children in the upper class have strong hands-on ability and observe changes in things carefully. This requires providing more sophisticated instruments for children to use, such as scales, glass containers, thermometers, etc. The attention span of children in the upper class has increased to 25-30 minutes, and their continuous observation ability has also developed better. It is best to provide small animals that grow and change quickly in the natural corner. Goldfish and turtles have beenIt is no longer suitable to place in the natural corner of the large class. Small animals such as pupae and tadpoles are suitable for placement in the large class because they have an evolution process from small to large. 3. Children manage their own natural corners. The management of natural corners has always been a headache for teachers. So how to let children spontaneously and actively participate in management? First of all, the animals and plants placed, planted, and cultivated in the natural corner are of interest to young children. The wall decoration arrangement in the natural corner also allows children to participate in the activities. Interest is the source of active management of children. Only in this way can children be attracted to participate in active management of natural corners. At the beginning of the creation of the natural corner, the teacher should listen extensively to the opinions of the children, let the children be the masters of the natural corner, and the teacher should become the supporter and encourager of the activity. Children in small classes have strong imitation abilities, and the management of natural corners requires further guidance from teachers. Young children can water plants and feed small animals with the help of teachers. The sense of responsibility of middle class children has been relatively enhanced, and they are willing to serve and manage the natural corner of the class. Therefore, we can use the method of on-duty students, asking young on-duty students to take turns taking care of animals and plants every day. This not only avoids the occurrence of competition, but also cultivates the good qualities of children\’s division of labor, cooperation and mutual help. Children in the upper class can already manage the natural corners independently. They can design their own wall decorations, divide their own labor, and establish a daily work process. Discover problems on your own, discuss them with peers and come up with solutions to experiment. The on-duty students can inform tomorrow\’s on-duty students on what issues they need to pay attention to, the growth conditions of animals and plants, etc. when handing over the shift. Organize labor tools yourself, clean natural corners, and explore how to use tools. Teachers try not to disturb the children during this process and leave space for the children. 4. Pay attention to the leading role of teachers. First of all, teachers should enrich themselves, learn relevant professional theoretical knowledge, understand and master planting and breeding techniques, and practice them in advance, so that there will be no problems in guiding children and causing children to feel frustrated. Secondly, teachers must clearly define their position, and the positions of large, middle and small classes must be different. In the small class, the teacher should appear as a guide; in the middle class, the teacher should be a collaborator; in the large class, children have strong autonomy, and the teacher should act as a supporter to work with the children. Thirdly, teachers should integrate education into activities, combine nature corner activities with theme activities, and consider coordinating the setting of natural content with the curriculum. Different materials are collected according to different seasons to highlight the seasonality of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Conclusion In short, the creation of natural corners must first provide children with rich materials, and the placement of materials must highlight the age characteristics of children and meet their development needs. The second is to let the children become its masters, mainly interact with the children and participate in the management, so that the natural corner becomes a \”talking and active\” display environment, and the natural corner becomes a space and space for children to observe, think and explore. platform. The small natural corner contains the big world, making children really like the natural corner. The activities fully reflect the educational function of the natural corner and become a part of children\’s learning life, so that they can develop an interest in exploring all things in nature from an early age, so that the natural corner can truly become a place for children to understand. Natural classroom.