PROJECT ACTIVITY AND ROBOTICS AS THE LEADINGDIRECTIONS OF CHILDREN'S STREAM EDUCATION

Introduction. The STREAM approach is quickly entering the reality of the modern educational space, including at the preschool level. The development of engineering thinking in the younger generation, which is the main goal of STREAM education, allows for new discoveries and inventions. Children's activities that develop thinking, initiative, and cognitive interest in children is becoming more and more relevant. Among them are project activities and robotics. Purpose. The purpose of our article is to reveal the meaning and features of teaching children robotics, to describe the capabilities of robot designers; disclose the organization of project activities with children. Methods. We used such research methods as analysis, synthesis, summarization of literature, and video material to clarify the role of robotics and project activities in the development of preschool children, as well as to determine the degree of their implementation in the practice of kindergartens; analysis of existing designers to find out their capabilities in introducing children to the world of robotics. The modeling method was used to create an example of children's project activities on the topic «Life of plants». Observing the activities of educators and children made it possible to collect interesting methods and forms of work for project activities and work with designer robots. Results. The project method, which is based on cognitive and artistic search and has a concrete real product as the result of children's activity, best implements the fundamental principle of STREAM education – integration. The article presents an example of the content of the project for children of the older group on the topic «Life of plants» with an orientation to all educational fields that are provided by the content of STREAM- education. It is best to introduce a child to scientific and technical creativity with the help of such a field of activity as robotics. Preparatory work for introducing a child to the world of robotics is a construction by various constructors. The conceptual ideas underlying robotics are considered. The tasks that can be implemented with the help of its introduction to working with children are outlined. Activities with the Lego Education WeDo constructor and the Bee-bot robot are described. Originality. On the example of a specific topic, the formation of holistic ideas in preschool children is demonstrated with the help of various educational fields that reveal the STREAM acronym. It is described what material (robot designers) can be used in work with children from the field of robotics and methods of teaching children the basics of programming. Conclusion. By introducing robotics in kindergarten, we have the opportunity to develop algorithmic thinking in children; form the basics of programming; develop planning abilities; teach primary skills of information processing, and working with information; develop the ability to abstract and find regularities; to form the ability to quickly solve practical problems; develop the ability to use universal sign systems (symbols); to study electric drives, operation of sensors, remote control; develop the ability to evaluate the process and result of one's own activity (formation of adequate self-esteem). The use of project activities in the educational process helps teach children and adults to work as a single team, initiate creative beginnings, integrate knowledge about the universe, develop cognitive activity, critical, variable, and creative thinking; and helps educators develop their own algorithm for achieving goals, develop professionalism, motivates self-education. We propose to actively introduce the areas described by us – robotics and project activities – into the educational process of kindergartens.