Fairy tale therapy as a means of developing speech in preschool children

"Through fairy tales, fantasy, and play,
through children's unique creativity, lies the true path to a child's heart.
Fairy tales and fantasy are the keys that unlock these origins,
allowing them to flow like life-giving springs."
V. Sukhomlinsky

Currently, the issue of developing coherent speech in preschool children is of great importance. The development of coherent speech in children is a crucial condition for their full-fledged speech and general mental development. It is important to note that language and speech perform a mental function in the development of thinking and verbal communication, in the planning and organization of children's activities, in the formation of social connections, and in the self-organization of behavior.

The problem of speech development in preschool children can be solved through the use of the method of fairy tale therapy, because it is preschool age that is a favorable period for the development of speech and creativity in children. And it is necessary to start from the earliest age.

Fairy tale therapy is a process of establishing a connection

between fairy-tale events and behavior in real life. It is a process of transferring fairy-tale meanings into reality. And, of course, it is a therapy of the environment – a special fairy-tale setting, aimed at the development of coherent speech, the formation of the psyche, the value foundations of personality, the development of the child's creative abilities. That is, it is a method that uses a fairy-tale form for the speech development of the individual.

It is also impossible to deny the role of fairy tales in the formation of language culture. This is because the reproduction (retelling, repetition, and dramatization) of fairy tales helps to develop dialogical and monological speech, as well as imagination, creativity, and the ability to create new words. It is important to note that fairy tales are an integral part of children's daily lives. During playtime, children often imitate their favorite fairy-tale characters, engage in imaginative storytelling, and express their thoughts in vivid and creative ways. By transforming themselves, children can easily and naturally solve fairy-tale problems, showing their individual creativity. Therefore, in order to enrich the vocabulary, develop the figurative structure, and improve the skills of coherent speech in young preschool children, we use the method of fairy tale therapy.

There are a number of tasks that we solve through fairy tale therapy:

• Learning to retell short fairy tales in a coherent manner;
• Expanding children's vocabulary;
• Developing cognitive interest;
• Improving the ability to maintain a conversation;
• Developing creative abilities.

To implement the tasks, the following conditions were created:

1. Together with parents, we replenished the fairy tale corner (theatre corner):

• Finger theater;
• Board games;
• Educational games;
• Materials for artistic creativity (pencils, paints, and coloring books);
• Table theater;
• Masks, costumes, and puppets;
• The "Give a Book to Children" campaign was held.

Our main goal was to stimulate children's interest in fairy tales and create a cozy and private space where they can immerse themselves in the magical world of fairy tales, enjoy reading their favorite books, play with dolls, explore illustrations, and draw their favorite fairy-tale scenes. Additionally, we want to emphasize that this center can be easily transformed, allowing children to access a private area.

2. Practical materials were developed to support the pedagogical process using the method of fairy tale therapy (lesson plans, card files of riddles, reading fairy tales); consultations for teachers and parents.

The entire process in a preschool institution is based exclusively on a voluntary basis. Our task is to interest the children and find effective motivational techniques, such as solving riddles, reading poetry, engaging in games, and looking at pictures.

We use the following methods of fairy tale therapy in our work:

• Reading and storytelling using visual material;
• Artistic and productive activities;
• Retelling based on key questions;
• Discussions about the content of fairy tales;
• Creating your own fairy tales;
• Finger and educational games based on fairy tales;
• Solving riddles based on fairy tales.

During our work, we, the educators, use didactic games on the topic "Fairy Tales", which children enjoy playing:

• "Tell a Fairy Tale"; • "The Fourth Extra";
• "Whose Shadow";
• "Name a Fairy Tale by Its Hero".

In addition, we use the dramatization of fairy tales. In the dramatization of fairy tales, it is important to teach retelling by acting out. For children, theater is always a celebration and a vivid, unforgettable experience. Fairy tales are accessible and understandable to children. The dramatization of fairy tales promotes active emotional and intellectual development. Manipulating puppets develops gross and fine motor skills. To achieve this, we have created a finger puppet theater and a cone theater with the help of parents. Staging fairy tales helps children learn to retell stories, providing them with ample opportunities to express their thoughts independently and reflect various connections and relationships between objects and phenomena in their speech.

We also used mnemonic tables in our work to promote children's language development. Mnemonic tables are visual aids that help children remember information more effectively. By using mnemonic tables, we encourage children to express themselves using visual cues. This approach makes it easier for children to form coherent sentences, and the presence of a visual plan helps them to create clear, organized, and consistent stories.

In addition, we used psychohymnastics. The use of this method allows you to solve two main tasks: to encourage children to expressively convey emotional states through facial expressions and movements; to voluntarily relieve tension and relax the muscles of the body. This includes:

• Learning physical exercises: "Buratino stretched out", "Ivan Tsarevich", "The King Walked Through the Forest", "Hare's Exercise", and others.
• Imitation of exercises: "Imitate a Fairy Tale Character"...
• Finger games: "The Horned Goat", "The Magpie"...
• Mobile games with a plot: "The Shaggy Dog", "The Bear in the Forest", "The Little White Hare".

The use of the fairy tale therapy method significantly improved the children's conversational speech and allowed more shy children to open up. Additionally, the fairy tale therapy method contributed to the development of children's cognitive activity, creativity, and communication skills, starting from early preschool age. The fairy tale therapy method created an environment where children could find solutions to their life problems by working with fairy tales (creating, acting out, and continuing them).