THE DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE OF YOUNGER SCHOOLCHILDREN ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE INTELLECTUAL AND HEALTH-IMPROVING DAY CAMP "INTELLETO"
The assumption that there is some set of abilities that allow a person to interact productively with other people, based on understanding, interpreting and controlling their own emotions and the emotions of other people emerged at the end of the 20th century. The system of such abilities is called "emotional intelligence" (EI or EQ). This work is devoted to summarizing the experience of working on the development of emotional intelligence of younger schoolchildren in the conditions of the summer intellectual and recreational daytime camp "IntelLeto". "IntelLeto" is an intellectual and recreational daytime camp, designed to organize recreation and intellectual development of children from 7 to 15 years old. The camp program, along with recreational activities, includes classes in the educational block. It should be noted that the nature of the classes does not duplicate the school curriculum, but is focused on ensuring that children engage in entertaining intellectual and creative activities. To do this, the change of the camp includes various forms of organizing the educational activities of children (conducting experiments in laboratories, master classes, trainings, etc.). In order to develop the emotional intelligence of younger schoolchildren during the IntelLeto period, the authors developed the program "Journey through the country of emotions and actions." The interest in developing a program for the development of children’s emotional intelligence during their stay at IntelLeto is because it is thanks to the ability of the individual to manage their emotions in any critical situation the body will be able to adapt extremely favorably to the environment. The result of the implementation of this program is the formation of a trusting and authentic attitude of the child to the world based on the development of the ability to understand their own emotions and the emotions of other people, the formation of skills to control their own emotions and the development of emotional interaction with others. Thus, classes on the development of emotional intelligence, conducted as part of the work of the IntelLeto shift, are an effective form of work outside of school. Because classes at IntelLeto are held in a creative and informal atmosphere and include various forms of interaction, there is a high activity of schoolchildren. The children take part in all tasks with great pleasure. It is worth noting that even the shyest children begin to open up and get involved in the work. Сlasses on the development of emotional intelligence, conducted as part of the work of the IntelLeto shift, as an effective form of work outside of school. Because classes at IntelLeto are held in a creative and informal atmosphere and include various forms of interaction, there is a high activity of schoolchildren. The children take part in all tasks with great pleasure. The article substantiates the relevance of the development of emotional intelligence of younger students. The authors propose a thematic lesson plan with younger students. The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that other higher and secondary educational institutions can use the experience of developing the emotional intelligence of younger students considered in the article.