Mosaic for children: types and benefits. Tips for parents on teaching and developing children using the game “Mosaic” Educational and developmental functions of the game

Specifications* (prices as of May 2018)

*Prices in the table are shown as of May 2018 without discounts.

Mosaics with Djeco templates (Italy) for middle preschoolers

As I wrote above, children really like to collect pictures using templates. In general, the average preschooler considers collecting according to templates a useless activity. By and large, I agree with this opinion, but still, sometimes we must give the child not only healthy, but also tasty food and an interesting game. And besides, a mosaic with patterns is an ideal option to balance the nervous state of an active child. Jigsaw puzzles can be offered before bed or when the child is excited. I believe that toys are a must in the home arsenal, including for relaxation and relaxation.

In the process of preparing the review, I came across a couple of mosaics with templates for older children and threw the one with 230 pieces into the basket.

Mosaic for a child is a game during which fantasy patterns are created from individual fragments (puzzles, pieces, pieces), pictures and images are restored.

Types of mosaics

Modern parents believe that a toy should not only serve an entertainment function, but also develop the child, educate him and even educate him. And when there is demand, there is supply. Mosaic became such fun. Children's mosaics are presented on the market today in a huge assortment. It will be difficult for an inexperienced parent to make a choice.

Here are the main types of this game:

Who is it intended for?

Mosaics for children over one year old should be large. A perfect option for, say, a bathroom. However, this division is very arbitrary. When choosing a toy, you should focus on the child’s inclinations, his ability to concentrate and his type of thinking. Kids also love to assemble large, simple floor puzzles.

Mosaics for children 3 years old are preferably classic, with a perforated board, or on a magnetic base. Older children like the 3D version, the alphabet mosaic and the appliqué mosaic. Schoolchildren opt for puzzles.

Which mosaic to choose?

To make it easier to make a choice, you need to note what abilities mosaic for children develops. This will help you determine what qualities you would like to develop in your child through play.

How to play?

How to start working with your child? It is unlikely that your baby will start creating shapes if you just give him the toy. To attract the child’s attention to the game process, give him tasks gradually, starting with the simplest ones.

First, tell your child about the colors of the chips. Then ask him to give you the item of the desired color. After which you can form all the chips into groups of shades. After your child masters colors, move on to learning mosaics with geometric shapes. Tell him which is a circle and which is a triangle. When showing a detail, focus the baby’s attention on the specific features of the figure: the sharp corner of a triangle, the ability to roll around a circle, the straight edges of a square. After this, ask your child to give you a certain chip. If you realize that mosaics are not exciting for your child, put the game aside for a month and then try to start all over again.

Your goal is to teach your child to sort chips by color and shape.

The next step is assembling pictures and creating patterns. Do not demand strict adherence to the scheme when assembling the mosaic; tell your child the sequence of actions, but do not collect the chips instead of him. Analyze what he likes most, pay more attention to this activity, gradually making it more difficult. Over time, you will understand what your baby’s favorite mosaic is. A game for children should take place in an atmosphere of expectation of something new, because children really love to acquire skills.

Mosaic for memory

Modern mosaics for children are so good, and the finished works are so beautiful, that sometimes you don’t want to disassemble the model at all. If you want to save the composition created by your child, please note that some sets come with a special frame for a perforated board and a thick sheet for gluing a cardboard puzzle. Take photographs of your work and the creative process, because these moments will never happen again.

Price

The price of this game is not too high in any of its versions. However, the differences between certain species can be significant. On average, a mosaic for children costs about 150 rubles.

Mosaic is not just a children's game, it is a kind of magic, during which images of objects or entire plot pictures are formed from small pieces.

The benefits of mosaics for children

Playing mosaics trains fine motor skills, develops imagination, artistic taste and imaginative thinking. In the process of creating a picture from a mosaic, the child develops purposeful activity, attentiveness and observation.

The child learns coordination of movements, trains perseverance, and develops abstract and spatial thinking. Mosaic teaches you to work according to certain rules, a pattern, and strive to bring your plan to a visible result.

And the little ones are also introduced to basic shapes and colors, developing visual attention and sensory skills.

How to choose a children's mosaic by age

• For the youngest children, a honeycomb or spherical mosaic is suitable. The elements in such a mosaic are large, so it is convenient for a child to pick them up and put them on the cells. Pay attention to whether the elements snap onto the field, otherwise, no matter how the mosaic is tilted, it will fall apart.
• For older children (from about 2 years old), a mosaic with elements on a leg is suitable. For a two to three year old child, choose this type of mosaic with a small number of elements and colors. Games with such mosaics contribute to the development of creative imagination, because although the set usually comes with a booklet with images, the child can assemble any pictures from the mosaic elements.
• At the age of 2-3 years, a child likes to play a composite mosaic - puzzle. These are pictures cut into a small number (2-8) of parts depicting different objects. The parts of this mosaic are large, so it is convenient to assemble it on the floor. The images on the mosaic should be understandable to the baby - animals, fruits and vegetables, toys. Some varieties of such mosaics are made of durable elastic material that has the ability to stick to the surface when exposed to moisture, that is, it can be used while bathing.
• For children aged 5-6 years, more complex mosaics are suitable. For example, a magnetic mosaic by numbers, which involves composing multi-color pictures from elements by number and color. It includes about 1000 elements, so even adults will find it interesting to assemble this mosaic.

In addition to assembling patterns and pictures, you can use mosaics as an auxiliary material for teaching mathematics (counting elements or asking the child to give a certain number of chips of a named color), developing attention - lay out a pattern and ask the child to remember it, and then change the shape or color of the chips.

Sometimes sets of numbers and letters are made in the form of mosaics, which will help older preschoolers learn the basics of counting and letters of the alphabet in a playful way. Chips made in the form of letters and numbers allow you to form words and syllables, write examples on the playing field, and older children can create entire crossword puzzles on the field.

Choosing from a wide range of children's mosaics inonline store of children's goods , pay attention to the availability of a quality certificate, sanitary certificates, and instructions for using the selected product.

Prepared by Maryana Chornovil

Mosaic (French mosaique, Italian mosaico from Latin (opus) musivum - (work) dedicated to the muses)- decorative, applied and monumental art of various genres, the works of which involve the formation of an image by arranging, setting and fixing on the surface (usually on a plane) multi-colored stones, smalt, ceramic tiles and other materials.

History, Ancient East

The history of mosaics dates back to the 2nd half. 4th millennium BC e. - the time to which the construction of palaces and temples of the Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia is dated: Uruk, Ur, Eridu. The mosaic was made from baked clay cone sticks (“zigatti”) 8-10 cm long and 1.8 cm in diameter, which were laid on a clay mortar. The image was formed from the ends of these cones, which were painted, usually red, black and white. Geometric motifs were used: rhombus, triangle, zigzag.

An early example of the inlay technique or the mosaic technique called opus sectile in antiquity, which later developed into the Florentine mosaic technique, can be considered an artifact conventionally called the “Standard of Ur” (2600-2400 BC)

By the 8th century. BC e. include early examples of the use of mosaic techniques made from unprocessed pebbles, which constituted one of the stages in the development of mosaic techniques and, at its end, was disparagingly called opus barbaricum by the Romans. Excavations revealed the ornamented pebble floors of Altyn Tepe (eastern Anatolia) and the palace in Arslan-tash (Assyria), but the richest monument is the pebble mosaics of Gordion (Anatolia).

Antiquity

The first antique mosaics made of untreated pebbles were found in Corinth and dated back to the end. 5th century BC e. These are contour images of people, animals, mythological creatures, decorated with geometric and floral patterns, usually made in white on black, stylistically close to red-figure vase painting. Similar examples of the 4th century. BC e. also found in Olynthos, Sikyon, and Eretria. An important step towards realism was made in the mosaics of Pella (late 4th century BC)

The heyday of ancient mosaics occurred in the Hellenistic era, when the technique of pebbling appeared and colored glass became available, which made it possible to achieve picturesque realism in images and use an almost unlimited range of colors. The most ancient monument where the technique of pinning or tessellation was used are considered to be the mosaics of the Sicilian city of Morgantina (3rd century BC).

In Ancient Rome, mosaics were used to cover the floors and walls of villas, palaces and baths. Roman mosaics were made from small cubes of very dense glass - smalt, but the use of small stones and pebbles was not uncommon.

Early Christians and Byzantium

The era of the Byzantine Empire can be considered the highest flowering of mosaic art. Byzantine mosaics become more refined, smaller modules of stones and delicate masonry are used, the background of the images becomes predominantly golden.

Medieval Europe

Rococo

Shells of sea mollusks began to be widely used as a material for mosaics. Interiors were decorated with such mosaics. In Europe during this period, the fashion for mosaics made of beads spread. Beads were placed in wax on paper or cardboard, using cross stitch patterns. Very few such works have survived. In Germany with this material in 1750-1770. Van Zelow's manufactory worked, but the secret of the technology was subsequently lost. Both flat pieces of furniture, such as tabletops, and three-dimensional objects: bottles, bird figurines were decorated. Most of the products from this manufactory are in museums in Germany.

Islam

Mosaics were very widely used in the decoration of the palaces of the rulers of the East. The Palace of the Sheki Khans is an outstanding work of medieval architecture in Azerbaijan. If there were no other ancient buildings of Azerbaijan, then it would be enough to show the whole world only the Palace of the Sheki Khans.

The Palace of the Sheki Khans, considered one of the valuable architectural monuments of the 18th century in Azerbaijan, was built in 1762 by Guseikhan. The palace, which at one time was part of a complex of palace buildings and served as the residence of the Sheki khans, is a two-story building. The facade of the palace consists of lifting lattice frames with a set of shebeke - multi-colored small glasses. The multi-colored design of the shebeke colorfully complements the paintings covering the walls of the palace.

In the second half of the 18th century, the art of painting, directly related to architecture and construction, reached a high level of development in the Sheki Khanate. All significant architectural structures in the city of Sheki were richly decorated with wall painting, which was the most popular type of painting technique at that time. Evidence of this are examples of painting from the palace of the Sheki khans, which have survived to this day and have not lost their artistic expressiveness. The wall paintings were dedicated to various themes: scenes of hunting wild animals, battles, floral and geometric patterns, drawings based on the “Khamsa” (Five), the brilliant Azerbaijani poet Nizami Ganjavi, scenes from palace life, everyday sketches from peasant life, etc. d. The main colors used were blue, red, gold, and yellow. The name of the talented painter Abbas Quli is encrypted on the ceiling of the hall in the palace of the Sheki khans. It should be noted that the walls of the palace were restored more than once, and therefore here you can find paintings made by masters who lived at different times.

French mosaic

One of the fairly famous French mosaics at one time was the Emo de Briard mosaic. A factory for the production of Briard porcelain beads, and a few years later mosaics, was opened in 1837. There are many works of art created from Briard mosaics. The famous artist Eugene Grasset, one of the significant figures of the French Art Nouveau movement, used it in the creation of many of his works. This mosaic is still produced to this day and is one of the few remaining entirely French productions.

Mosaic in Russia: Old Russian mosaic

In Rus', mosaics appeared with the adoption of Christianity, but did not become widespread due to the high cost of material imported from Constantinople (in Byzantium a state monopoly was declared on the export of smalt).

Mosaic in Russia of the New Age

The revival of mosaics in Russia was carried out by M. V. Lomonosov. However, Lomonosov's mosaic work was not continued after the death of its creator. The art of mosaic was forgotten again. Therefore, in the 1840s, when the question arose about converting the painted icons for St. Isaac's Cathedral into mosaics, the Russian government had to send graduates of the Imperial Academy of Arts to Rome to study with the masters of the Vatican Mosaic Studio. On the other hand, glass technologists were invited from Rome to St. Petersburg to organize the production of smalt.

In 1851, Russian students returned to their homeland, by the same time the Italians had already organized smalt production for them. This year is considered the opening date of the Mosaic Workshop of the Imperial Academy of Arts.

Although the workshop was organized specifically for the creation of Isaac's mosaics, which lasted 66 years and was never completed due to revolutionary events, it also carried out other orders: mosaics for the iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, the iconostasis of the Cathedral of the Savior on the Waters, ornamental mosaics Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, mosaic portraits of members of the royal family and private orders.

The workshop practiced the so-called “direct method” of typesetting, which made it possible to achieve a picturesque realism of the image, but was extremely time-consuming and, accordingly, expensive. Therefore, the Academy tried to look for ways to resolve this issue. To do this, in 1888 she sent her employees, among whom was A. A. Frolov, to Venice, where Antonio Salviati created and successfully used another, more cost-effective method of mosaic set. With him, the mosaics were laid out in a mirror image with the front side on a temporary base, on which they were already transported to the place intended for them, where they were laid. This method is called “reverse” or “Venetian”.

Since this experience was not accepted by the Academy, A. A. Frolov opened his own studio, which, already under his brother V. A. Frolov, became the most successful mosaic studio in pre-revolutionary Russia, and subsequently laid the foundations of Soviet mosaic art.

Mosaic can be different

Glass mosaic is an alloy of siliceous sand and other components with the addition of coloring oxides, powdered gold, and aventurine. This mosaic has unique water-repellent characteristics. The main advantages of glass mosaic tiles include a wide selection of colors and an unlimited number of color combinations. Glass mosaic has a wide range of applications: walls and floors in any enclosed space, from kitchens to swimming pools and bathrooms, as well as furniture surfaces, fireplaces, building facades. The richness of the color palette provides ample opportunities for creating decorative panels, patterns and ornaments. An extreme variety of degrees of transparency, strength and immunity to temperature influences and aggressive environments, ease of shaping into any shape are the qualities that make glass a truly stunning construction and decorative material. Due to its unique water-repellent characteristics, glass mosaics are used to decorate pool bowls, water parks, fountains, pool walls, rooms and bathrooms.

Smalt mosaic differs from ordinary glass mosaic in its special strength. Smalt contains potassium salts and other natural compounds that give the material its color. Modern smalt is obtained by pressing small particles of densely colored glass with the addition of oxides. As a result, the material acquires excellent physical and chemical properties: impact resistance, frost resistance, resistance to aggressive environments. Smalt is interesting because it is opaque, but seems to glow from within. In addition, each cube is a slightly different shade from the others. Because of this, a large surface lined with smalt of the same color does not look dull. Modern technologies make it possible to obtain up to 10 thousand shades of smalt. Smalt mosaic is easy to recognize by its rich color; even the lightest colors do not have any white inclusions. In addition to appearance, smalt differs from glass in technical characteristics. It is characterized by resistance to abrasive wear, which makes it suitable for installation in places with increased load. It is excellent for flooring in areas with heavy traffic: stairs and landings, halls and corridors.

Ceramic mosaic It is made from pieces of ceramic tiles of different shades, a huge range of colors, which allows you to create almost any design. For laying ceramic mosaics, adhesive for tiling rooms with ceramic tiles is suitable. An extremely interesting effect is created by the combination of polished and unpolished surfaces - from a certain angle of view, mosaic pieces with a polished pattern begin to sparkle. Ceramic mosaic can be simply glazed, or it can contain all sorts of “special effects” - craquelure (small cracks on the surface), stains, inclusions of a different color, imitation of an uneven surface. The surface laid out with it will be more embossed than that finished with glass mosaic. Ceramic mosaic is stronger than glass, which is combined with resistance to abrasive wear and an original appearance. Ceramic mosaics are suitable for covering a wide variety of surfaces, including swimming pools, building facades, walls and floors of bathrooms and kitchens.

Stone mosaic It is made from a wide variety of stones, from tuff to the rarest types of marble, onyx and jasper. The color of the natural material is unique, the play of structures is unusual, so each mosaic image of a stone mosaic is unique. The stone can be left polished, honed, or it can be “aged” - then the color will be more muted and the edges smoother. Elements are produced in a wide variety of shapes - from round to irregular. This type of mosaic can be used for flooring in the same rooms where natural stone coverings are usually used. Stone mosaic can also be used as fragments or as a decorative insert.

Metal mosaic It can be steel or golden in color depending on the metal used in production. Pieces of such a mosaic resemble miniature sandwiches: a metal mold made of stainless steel or brass is pressed onto a plastic base on top. In addition to standard square ones, elements of other shapes with different textured surfaces are offered. Oval, hexagonal, rectangular, diamond and square elements allow you to lay out an intricate rug on the wall or floor. The surface is polished, matte, with various types of notches and, finally, covered with a thin layer of brass or bronze.

Golden mosaic- an indisputable sign of luxury. It consists of 585 gold foil, enclosed between thin plates of special glass. Production is completely manual. There are collections with yellow, white gold or platinum. Obviously, the price of such material is considerable. Therefore, most often gold mosaic is used individually, making inserts. Gold mosaic tiles can be used for both walls and floors.

In addition to ready-made modules, you can also purchase a set of individual tiles of different colors and create a design from them yourself.

Mosaic is a fertile material for creativity, with which you can create an endless number of decorative solutions. Abstract or ornamental mosaic compositions can be focal points in interior decoration, serve as accents, divide or unite space. The richness of the color palette provides ample opportunities for creating decorative panels, patterns, borders, mosaic mixtures, stretches (the transition from the most saturated tones to lighter ones).

The undoubted advantages of mosaics include the ability to decorate surfaces of complex shapes - curved, spherical, as well as high performance characteristics along with rich decorative possibilities.

Of course, mosaic panels are extremely beautiful, but professionals also value them for their practical properties. It is safe to say that there is no material comparable in strength and durability to mosaic; it is truly capable of surviving any adversity.

Paper mosaic

Some call this technique appliqué, others call it paper mosaic. She has the right to both names. This is an ideal creative simulator for fine motor skills of children under three years old, who cannot yet independently cut out colored parts for “adult appliqué”.

Creating a painting using the paper mosaic technique is accessible to children over two years old.

Mosaic - a means of development

Mosaic is a way of creating an image or pattern from the smallest pieces (colored stones, ceramic tiles, etc.). Today there are a lot of different mosaic sets for children. Assembling a jigsaw puzzle is very important for a child’s mental development. Firstly, fine motor skills of the hands are involved, imaginative thinking and imagination develop. Secondly, by creating an image using a mosaic, the child develops goal-setting and purposeful activity, volitional regulation of behavior (arbitrariness). Thirdly, mosaics develop a child’s artistic taste, allow him to show creative activity and serve as a special means of understanding the world.

So, mosaics are an extremely necessary thing for a baby. But at what age is this activity relevant for a child, when does it lead to development and help build personality? To answer this question, let's look at the features of creating a mosaic image. The fundamental difference between mosaic and drawing is that when drawing, the actualization of the image occurs quickly and spontaneously (stick, stick, cucumber - here comes the little man), building an image from a mosaic takes time, which means you need to hold the image as a goal for a long time. In addition, mosaic is a special type of cognitive activity, because it is probably even more symbolic than drawing; it is essentially a dot pattern, and "painting" by dots requires well-developed, detailed ideas. All this speaks in favor of the fact that mosaics are relevant for children starting from 3-4, or even 5 years old. However, the variety of mosaics that exist today allows them to be used from the earliest years of a child’s life - from 1-2 years.

So, there are a great variety of mosaics on the modern toy market. How to figure out what exactly your baby needs?

For the little ones

Today we sell sets for babies from 1 year old. Usually they do not have a field on which to build an image and are rather large figured chips up to 8 cm, connected to each other by slots and protrusions. This mosaic can be laid out on any horizontal surface: on the floor, table, etc. Due to the large size of the pieces, it is convenient for the child to hold them in his hands. In addition, such chips also correspond to the cognitive development of the child - they can simply be connected to each other, thus creating images accessible to the child: a path, a circle, which can be a sun, a flower, etc. However, it is important to note that such a small child is interested in not so much constructing an image as studying the principle of connecting parts, looking at the shape and colors of chips, as well as the color combination that results when creating something whole. Therefore, you should not expect your child to easily accept the task and understand the meaning of creating a mosaic pattern: for now, as a true experimenter, he is interested in how it works, so just show your baby how the parts fit together, be surprised with the variety of colors, make together a path and walk along it like a doll. Your baby will be delighted if you make a solid field of chips with something depicted on it, for example the sun.

This type of mosaic can last a long time, up to 4-5 years. You just need to make sure that the number of parts grows with the baby. Children can include such mosaics in story games and, building an image directly on the floor or any other surface, give free rein to their imagination.

Mosaics without legs are good for children aged 1-3 years. This type of mosaic differs in that the legs are on the field, and not on the tiles. Typically, such mosaics are also made in large sizes: the pieces reach 8 cm, making them comfortable to hold in hands and there is no danger that the baby may accidentally swallow the piece. Often this type of mosaic can be found in a version with a vertical field reaching a meter in size. This option is great for kids because it doesn’t limit their movements. In addition, sometimes such fields are already painted, that is, they have some kind of image (for example, a butterfly), which allows the child, by matching the colors of chips and protrusions on the field, to create such complex drawings, and it’s so cool to feel like a creator ! There is also a downside: it will be difficult to break away from the captured image and come up with something new, your own. True, in defense of such mosaics, it is worth saying that this problem relates to later ages: when the child is already able to come up with something on his own.

In the prime of mosaic powers

Closer to the age of 3, children already begin to be interested in constructing an image. Of course, for this, the influence of an adult, together with a child, creating a mosaic design is of considerable importance. A child at this age has access to simple, familiar object images: for example, the sun, a house, a flower, etc. However, research by psychologists shows that the “tradition” of using children’s mosaics almost exclusively for these images is passed on from generation to generation. This greatly limits the productive activity of children, which may be why many parents, teachers, and psychologists note that the period of interest in mosaics in children is very short. But the possibilities of mosaics are much wider! Mosaic designs are always impressive. This type of visual activity is very beautiful, rich and requires a creative vision of the task; it is not for nothing that it has stood the test of time. Therefore, it is important to show the child that mosaic is one of the ways to depict anything, including plots. You can “draw” some plot from a familiar fairy tale (for example, “Kolobok”) and tell the child what is depicted. This will expand his possibilities for using mosaics. Or make a boat out of a mosaic and come up with a story for your child about how he sails, rocking on the waves, in search of land.

Around 3 years old it is good to start using magnetic mosaics. Usually they consist of a magnetic field and chips that are easily attached to it. The undoubted advantage of such a mosaic is the absence of all sorts of complex and not very fastenings, making it easy to rearrange the chips, and the pattern is well fixed. In addition, children are very interested in the magnet itself and kids are happy to experiment with it. Another advantage of magnetic mosaics is that many of them are easily attached to any metal surface (for example, a refrigerator), thanks to which the child explores the properties of a magnet: for some reason the chips are not attached to a wooden table, but they just stick to the keys! You can create a masterpiece not only on a horizontal surface. A vertically created drawing (on the same refrigerator) not only looks different, but also requires different movements of the hand and eyes, which, of course, expands the child’s possibilities of action.

This type of mosaic can also last for a long time: most likely, even as a junior schoolchild (7-9 years old), a child will sometimes be happy to come up with something unusual, creating a masterpiece from magnetic mosaics. The only condition for this is the already mentioned increase in the number of parts with age.

From the age of 3, you can offer your child the familiar mosaic with legs. It necessarily has a field on which the image is built. The chips of these mosaics come in a variety of shapes and colors, even translucent. Multi-colored details through which light penetrates greatly delight children and give them aesthetic pleasure. After all, how cool it is to “paint”, for example, a lamp with such a mosaic, and then pass light through it! I would like to note that this mosaic acquires particular relevance at the age of 4-6 years. This is the heyday of all productive activities: drawing, modeling, design, etc. Mosaic is no exception in this series. Moreover, it occupies a special position in it in connection with the mentioned features: creating a dot pattern is not a simple matter, requiring both long-term retention of the image as the desired goal of the activity, and considerable arbitrariness and development of ideas.

Unfortunately, one of the disadvantages of modern mosaics with legs is a small field, which is not so easy to turn around, and a very small number of tiles: they are often not enough to even cover the entire field. But you really want, like on a sheet of paper, not to leave a single white spot, to “paint” the entire surface with color! And what a desire arises in children, as when drawing, to depict some kind of plot, for example, a hero who defeated a snake! These disadvantages are largely the reason why children quickly get bored with mosaics, despite the seemingly acute attractiveness of this type of activity for children. Therefore, the best option for preschool children would be to buy a large field and a large number of chips, in different colors, with which you can depict whatever you want, and not just the notorious butterflies and monotonous houses. When buying a mosaic with legs, don’t be lazy - check for yourself: whether the chips are easily stuck into the field and how easy it is to take them out, whether the created pattern holds up or if you turn the field over and the chips slide out; Pay attention to the quality of the product, since parts from mosaics can sometimes injure your hands.

One of the options for mosaics with legs is Tetris mosaics. Their characteristic difference is the specific shape of the chips - they resemble the figures of the famous game "Tetris". The details of this mosaic are quite small; when composing the image, a smooth, continuous surface is usually obtained. Due to the fact that when working with Tetris mosaics, fairly well-developed fine hand work, a high level of arbitrariness, and perseverance are required, these mosaics are suitable for children 5-6 years old and older.

When choosing this mosaic for a child, it is important to remember that it corresponds to his age characteristics. You need to choose a mosaic with larger pieces and a simple field for children 3-4 years old and be sure to help the child, not leave him alone with such painstaking and complex work. Starting from 5-6 years old, a child can already be left alone with a set of thermomosaics, but, of course, he needs help to fix the design with an iron.

Mosaic according to the sample

Almost any set of mosaics contains samples from the manufacturer - those drawings that can reliably be assembled using this set (that is, both tiles and fields are enough). Samples can be drawn or photographed. Usually, even the drawn samples reflect the exact number of chips needed for the image. However, having bought mosaics for your child and found such instructions in the box, do not rush to demand that he create an image in accordance with it. Modeling is certainly an important skill, but is not available to children under 5 years of age. And complex drawings created with the help of graphic samples, especially those presented in the form of diagrams, are generally amenable to children from 6-7 years old. After all, to understand that the designation with a cross is a chip and how many green crosses, so many green chips are needed, is not an easy task, requiring the participation of familiar-symbolic thinking.

Mosaics consisting of small pieces, such as Tetris mosaics, are no less difficult. Such work requires a high level of arbitrariness, the child’s actions must be purposeful, often the child must already be able to count (otherwise it is easy to make a mistake with the number of chips), self-control must be developed at a high level, the ability to check the correctness of the work done and correct mistakes. Senior preschool age (5-7 years) is the time when, as a rule, the model begins to play a special role in the child’s life. It is at this age that we can hear from children how it happens and how it doesn’t happen, what is possible and what is not, what is good and what is bad. Mosaics are a type of activity that allows you to check your work against the rule precisely due to the presence of a sample. Thus, this type of activity allows the child, on the one hand, to show creativity, actualize his own image, and on the other hand, to act in accordance with the model. These two, seemingly opposite in essence, activities, wonderfully combined in a mosaic, are necessary for the best preparation for school.

Long before school, at the age of 3, a child can also be given a model, only not a concrete one, but an abstract one. For example, you can ask your child to draw a flower using a mosaic. “Flower” - this will be a model for the baby, and it will have both of the above characteristics: “exemplaryness” and at the same time freedom, because the baby will end up with a completely special flower, corresponding to his ideas and reflecting his chosen image. And the ability to act in accordance with a rule given by someone is the first step towards arbitrariness. You can complicate the task by clarifying the specified sample. For example, draw a red flower, draw a red flower with a yellow center, etc.

NOT mosaic

Today you can often hear how an essentially different activity is mistakenly called mosaics. Thus, mosaics are often called applications. But applique is a type of activity where a whole image is created from parts prepared in advance, in contrast to mosaics, in which there are not parts, but chips, just “dots” with the help of which the drawing is made. Of course, these two types of activities are very similar to each other, but the differences in them are obvious, and since there are still differences, they form different aspects of the psyche. Applications are available for children of an earlier age: creating a whole from existing parts is much easier than creating the same design from a mosaic (for example, a mushroom). Parts of the applique can be prepared in advance and given to the child to create an image, but the mosaic cannot. Of course, you can prepare a painted field.

However, firstly, the variability of actions in mosaic will still be higher, which means the child’s own activity will be higher, and secondly, mosaic requires a very high development of ideas compared to appliqué. Meanwhile, this does not mean that appliqué is a less important activity than mosaic. Moreover, just like any other productive type of activity, it can grow and develop with the child and reach very complex forms. It is important to take this into account when selecting toys for a child and organizing his subject environment: the more diverse and rich it is, the more versatile his psyche will develop. Therefore, it is important that the child has both applications and mosaics in his arsenal (other sets for productive activities, of course, too), preferably qualitatively different from each other.

Also, teaching materials for counting and reading are increasingly being sold in the form of mosaics with legs: the chips of such a mosaic are numbers and letters, which, like in the indicated type of mosaic, have legs for mounting on the field. You can create patterns from such chips, but if we are talking about mosaics as some way of creating images, then such sets are not suitable for this.

Mosaics are sometimes mistakenly called puzzles or other composite pictures. This is not at all true, since a picture created from pieces - parts of a whole, with an unchanged image once and for all, does not at all imply the creative activity of the child, updating his own image, or making something with his own hands. Puzzles involve images of perception rather than thinking, which, of course, indicates different levels of activity of the child. That is why complex composite pictures are sometimes accessible to children even under 2 years of age, while the simplest mosaic image meets the capabilities of a child closer to 3 years of age. You can often observe how children 3-4 years old happily simply stick chips into the field in order, sometimes by color, rarely creating any kind of pattern, and at the same time they think that it is beautiful and do not set themselves the task of depicting anything , although the mosaic serves precisely this. During the same age period, collecting the same puzzles can reach an amazing scale - up to a hundred or even more pieces! This just shows how different mental processes are involved in these types of activities and how different levels of mental development they require. Again, this does not mean that when buying a toy for a child, you should make a choice in favor of mosaics. We must try to make the child’s environment as varied as possible and corresponding to the needs and capabilities of the child himself.

Mosaic around us

Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the capabilities of mosaics today are rarely used to their fullest. This is partly due to the small field that limits the child’s actions, the small number of chips and the poor color scheme. Showing a child that mosaic drawing is possible not only with the help of purchased sets, but also with the help of other available means means opening up a whole world to him, giving him the feeling of being the creator of this world. Such an alternative mosaic (in some ways it may be even more traditional than any other) consists of all sorts of small objects, from a large number of which entire drawings can be created. In addition, the variety of these objects in one drawing will only make it richer, richer, more textured, and sometimes even add a certain meaning.

For example, you can make a mosaic picture “At the bottom of the ocean” using small pebbles, glass, shells, coins, buttons, etc. In this case, pebbles can serve as the bottom of the ocean, shells as seaweed, buttons as a chest, and coins and glass as treasures in this chest. The splendor created together with the baby can, if desired, be secured with glue, thus perpetuating it. By drawing with the help of such a mosaic with your baby, you will help the development of all his mental activity: and such important intellectual processes as perception, thinking, imagination; and emotionality of the child; and volitional regulation; and instill in him the desire for creativity and independence. Invent, search, create - and you will be surprised at what kind of creative personality your baby will grow up to be!

We are sure that children perceive putting together a mosaic as a real small miracle, when a whole image is obtained from individual pieces. And for us adults, introducing children to putting together mosaics is an opportunity to introduce them to another way of understanding the world.We will tell you in this post how to choose this wonderful toy correctly and what benefits playing with it brings at different children’s ages.

Principle 1. STRENGTH AND QUALITY

Making jigsaw puzzles is useful for children for several reasons. Firstly, it promotes the development of fine motor skills, creative thinking and imagination. Secondly, it helps a child over three years old to form purposeful action and volitional regulation of behavior, because laying out each pattern has a beginning and an end. And thirdly, this activity develops artistic taste.

Mosaics, correctly selected by age, will be of interest to children for several years. Therefore, when purchasing, make sure that they are thoughtful and of quality: Mosaics for kids should contain large parts and be made from safe materials; for mosaics with legs, it is important that the pieces are easily stuck into the field and easily pulled out of it. The edges of each part should not be sharp, otherwise they may injure children's hands.

Principle 2. THE ESSENCE OF MOSAIC IS IN MULTIPLE VARIATION: THIS IS NOT AN APPLIQUE OR A PUZZLE

A mosaic always includes elements from which an infinitely large number of patterns can be composed. If the task of the game is to lay out a certain panel, then it is an applique, collage or puzzle.

Applique and collage, meanwhile, are no less important types of children's creativity. It’s good when a child can do everything in turn, because it is in this case that the child’s psyche will develop the most diversified. At the same time, it is important for us, parents, to understand what exactly we present to our children.

Principle 3. SPACE FOR CREATIVITY

Mosaic should allow the creative imagination to unfold. The field should be large, from 10 cm on each side. There are enough chips. To pave this field. It is desirable if they were of different shapes and colors - this will allow you to create a variety of paintings.

Principle 4. POSSIBILITY TO FOLD A MOSAIC ACCORDING TO A PATTERN AND WITHOUT IT

It would be good if the set included samples for images. This is especially true for children of senior preschool age 5-7 years old, when rules and patterns begin to play a special role in the child’s life. And the ability to act in accordance with a rule given by someone is the first step towards arbitrariness.

It is quite difficult for younger children to assemble according to a model - but you can also play with three-year-olds in this way: ask them to lay it out according to the model, but its contact, but abstract. For example, just a flower.

At the same time, it is important, if there are good examples, to allow children to show their creativity by posting drawings they have come up with with their own hands.

Principle 5. CORRECT SELECTION BY AGE

Now there are a huge number of mosaics for a wide age range. And when choosing this toy, it is important to remember the rules of compliance.

• Mosaics for 1-3 years

These are mosaics with large pieces connected to each other by projections and, possibly, without a field. Children at this age will be able to post a whole picture, but they will be incredibly interested in studying the shapes and colors of the chips, as well as the principle of their connection.

• Mosaics for 3-4 years

Closer to the age of 3, children begin to be interested in constructing an image. They can be created using magnetic mosaics, in which the pieces are attached to the base with magnets, and simple mosaics on legs. Mosaics are suitable for this age, where the field is painted and there are holes for chips. This allows the baby, by matching them by color, to feel like a real creator!

• Mosaics for 4-6 years

At this age, when children begin to become interested in productive activities, playing with jigsaw puzzles is more important than ever. And it will allow you to realize creativity, train purposeful action and abstract thinking. After all, in order to create a drawing in bare dots, its image must be kept in your head for a long time.

At this age, with the help of mosaics, you can create entire fairy-tale scenes and abstract patterns.

Our assortment includes a beautiful one for this age from the French company Djeco. It has a fairly large and durable base made of thick plywood and chips on legs of different shapes that easily fit into the base.

There are definitely a lot of chips to cover all the panels with them, making drawings both according to instructions and without it.

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