Categorized by children's cognitive development games can be divided into

Categorized according to children's cognitive development, games can be divided into sensory-motor games, symbolic games, structural games, and rule-based games.

1. Sensory-motor games.

Sensory-motor games are one of the earliest types of games for infants. Currently, sensory-motor play is the main type of play in parent-child and child-care gardens, and in kindergarten, this type of play, is a meaningful articulation and necessary educational compensation.

Teachers organize and implement the game through the creation of the environment for sensory-motor games, game guidance to mobilize the sensory system and body movements of preschool children, and collaborate in the formation of children's rich perceptual world. Teachers need to understand the theory of sensory-motor play and master the skills of designing and organizing sensory-motor play.

2, symbolic games.

Symbolic play is a form of play in which a perceived thing is represented by its substitute, and young children in the preoperational stage (2 to 6 or 7 years old) engage in this type of play. At this time, young children have developed representational language and function, are able to imagine things that are not there, and can understand pretend activities.

This type of play is therefore more appropriate for young children and can help them resolve the paradox of being eager to participate in adult life but at a lower level of physical and mental development.

In the second half of the 19th century, psychologists proposed numerous theories of play: early theories viewed play biologically as instinctive and innate needs, and contemporary theories of play focus on the important function of play for individual development.

Piaget pointed out from the perspective of cognitive development that play is not only an aspect of an individual's intellectual or cognitive activity, but also a manifestation of assimilation over conformity. He categorized games into practice games, symbolic games and rule-based games. Symbolic play, as one of these types, is a form of play in which a perceived thing is represented by its substitute, and young children in the preoperational stage engage in this type of play.

3. Structural play.

Structural games are puzzles that promote children's cognitive development. These include block games, metal construction games, jigsaw puzzles and so on.

Block game:

Structural games using a variety of blocks or other substitute crystals as game materials. There are many types of blocks, large, medium and small blocks, hollow or solid blocks, animal puzzle blocks and so on. This kind of structural games in kindergarten to carry out earlier, but also more common.

Metal construction games:

The main construction materials with eyelets of metal, combined with screws, built into a variety of vehicles and building models.

Puzzle game:

Wooden board, cardboard, plastic or other materials made of different shapes of thin pieces and in accordance with the prescribed method of a game, such as can be put together animal houses, storylines and other images. Traditional tangrams belong to this type of game.

4, the rules of the game.

Rule game is a kind of children's games. It is played according to certain rules. Rules can be required by the storyline, or the children according to their assumptions of the plot of their own provisions, which are both specific and generalized.

There are three forms of solo rule games (i.e., children play alone), associative rule games (i.e., children are somewhat connected to each other but there is no real division of labor), and cooperative rule games (i.e., children have a mutual division of labor and follow the rules of the game with each other***).

Research has shown that children in the middle of early childhood can play according to certain rules, but they often appear to forget or even break the rules due to external stimuli or their own interests; children in the late early childhood are better able to understand and adhere to the rules of the game, but also can use the rules to bind all the members of the game.

This kind of game can cultivate children's habit of abiding by collective and social moral norms and develop their logical thinking ability.