EDUCATION OF NATURAL SCIENCE COMPETENCE THROUGH GAMES IN A PRESCHOOL INSTITUTION: CONTEXT OF TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCE

Nowadays natural science competence in education of preschool age children is increasingly highlighted as it gives not only the cognitive experience of nature, but also encourages children's study, observation, experimentation activities; educates the right relationship between a child and nature. Both scientists and teachers promote the application of various games in order to organize interaction between a child and nature as well as to educate natural science competence. The observation study of preschool teachers showed that the education of natural science competence is very important, and the significance of natural sciences is associated with the knowledge of natural phenomena, animals and plants, the promotion of the feeling of natural beauty and the ability to observe nature. According to the majority of the respondents, very important aspects of natural science competence are the cognition of natural phenomena, plants and animals; the feeling of natural beauty, and the ability to observe nature. In addition, such expressions of this competence were pointed out as important: the understanding of plant growth and animal life, the education of environmental protection activity skills, the ability to use a variety of means of natural science, the perception of communication between the living and non-living nature. The experience of the vast majority of teachers showed that they describe the game as an activity where the child himself has the opportunity to discover, experience new and deepen existing knowledge of nature. According to them, while playing a child's ability to think (to analyse, compare, classify) helps to build up the experience of living and non-living nature. The analysis revealed that many games are applied to educate the competence of natural science, but the most popular ones are games with various natural objects; didactic games; table and ecological games. Most teachers often play games in the group's or institution's environment (yards), sometimes in the unconventional environment. Game's compliance with natural science education purposes, child's age and experience; children's needs, interests and ideas, and teachers' competence in relation to games are the most important factors that determine the successful application of games in order to educate natural science competence. In relation to the importance of natural science competence and based on the results of the research analysis, it is possible to forecast the development of this competence through the greater variety of games of natural science content.