Known in the 70s and 80s. the Nikitin family of innovative teachers created a system of education, which they tested on their seven children. Their pedagogy of conscious parenthood was aimed at the comprehensive development of the intellectual, creative, physical and labor abilities of children from an early age. Boris Nikitin developed the RRR system, many educational games, discovered the NUVERS law, put forward the concept of a new labor school, and wrote books on his methodology. He was ahead of his time, leaving behind a lot of research materials, observations and ideas.

Biography of the Nikitins:

• Boris Pavlovich (1916 - 1999).
• Lena Alekseevna (1930 - 2014).

In 1916, in the village of Suvorovskaya (Stavropol Territory), Boris Nikitin was born into the family of a military paramedic and a hereditary Kuban Cossack. In childhood and adolescence, he himself developed extraordinary technical abilities, and was also fond of sports.

In 1934 he graduated from high school with honors and studied for three years at an industrial institute.

In 1937 he entered the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy.

In 1939 he got married. In 1941 he had a daughter, and in 1943 and 1946 sons.

In 1941, he got into early graduation, received the specialty "mechanical engineer for armaments."

From 1941 to 1946, he served as an instructor in a reserve air regiment near Saratov, and then continued his service in Noginsk, near Moscow.

In 1949, he was demobilized and moved with his family to Moscow to live with his mother-in-law, began scientific and pedagogical activities at the Research and Development Institute for labor reserves, and for the first time openly expressed his disagreement with the official methods of educating young people. He was fired, moved to the Research Institute of Theory and History of Pedagogy.

Divorced in 1954. Nikitin changes many jobs, trying himself in the teaching field. As early as 1949, he seriously took up the study of Makarenko's pedagogy and conceived the creation of a commune school for normal children. All the years he has been nurturing this idea, looking for like-minded people, trying to get official permission. His idea was not supported, the school was not allowed, repressions rained down on the innovator.

In 1958 he met at a pedagogical meeting with Lena Litvinova. They begin a long life together.

Lena Litvinova was born in 1930 in the settlement near Moscow. Bolshevo (now the city of Korolev) in the family of a teacher and a military engineer. She graduated with honors from school (1948) and the Moscow library technical school (1950), and in 1954 - the philological faculty of the Moscow Pedagogical Institute.

After graduation, she worked as a literature teacher in Altai (Voevodskoye village) for 2 years. Here she began to work out her methods of teaching the language.

In 1956 she returned to Moscow and taught at the railway school No. 40.

After marriage from 1960 to 1980. worked as a library manager in Bolshevo. From 1960 to 1998 Lena continued her research and teaching practice in kindergartens, schools and her family.

In 1959 she gave birth to her first child. Then every two years a child appeared in the family. By 1971, the Nikitins were already raising 7 children, simultaneously developing their system live and applying it to their family. From the same year, Nikitin entered the Research Institute of Psychology. Here he began the development of the theme "Development of technical creative abilities."

He accumulates material on the rapid early development of the child, gropes for the idea of ​​irreversible fading of abilities, puts forward recommendations "Childhood without diseases." There is already enough material to start publishing it. In 1962, the first publication about a strange large family with its own educational system appeared in the press. The experience was positive. 1965 - the first film "Are we right?" about the experience and opportunities of RRR (early developmental development) in the Nikitin family.

In 1965, Nikitin was fired from the institute due to non-standard approaches to education. He begins to teach at the school, in parallel making the family a research laboratory for innovative parenting. In the 70s. newspapers began to massively print articles about Nikitin. In the 80s. Boris Pavlovich was in a group of innovative teachers and published in the "Teacher's newspaper", was one of the developers of the pedagogy of cooperation. His family became very famous.

Although the state did not support his family, the popular popularity was enormous: teachers and parents came to Bolshevo on their own. In the 90s. Nikitins actively popularize their pedagogy. In 1992, the Author's Pedagogical Center of the Nikitins (APCN) was opened on the basis of the school in the city of Korolev. It was a creative laboratory for young teachers. Nikitins, due to their age, wrote only the concept of continuous education for her. By 1997, the work of the center had faded.

In 1999 Boris Pavlovich died in Moscow after a transient illness, and in 2014 Lena Nikitina died in Korolyov.

Children of the Nikitins

1. Alexey (1959) - designer, London.

2. Anton (1960) - chemical scientist, Moscow.

3. Olga (1962) - lawyer, Korolev.

4. Anna (1964) - nurse, Korolev.

5. Julia (1966) - librarian, Yaroslavl.

6. Ivan (1969) - television manager, follower of his father, Korolev.

7. Love (1971) - librarian, Korolev.

Now the Nikitins have 27 grandchildren.

Pedagogical ideas of the Nikitins

Boris Nikitin is one of the authors of the pedagogy of cooperation and “parental pedagogy2 (natural development), the founder of the PRR methods. He was the first to write not about how a child develops, but about how a child should develop if parents encourage his activity. His ideas and practical experience have something in common with the pedagogy of Comenius, Makarenko, Korchak,. The main task of Nikitin's upbringing was seen in the development of children's abilities. They believed that if a child is not taught anything before the age of 3, then his subsequent life will be empty and mediocre.

Basic pedagogical principles of Nikitin

• The earliest possible beginning of the development of the child, starting from the intrauterine.
• The most versatile development of the sensory and musculoskeletal systems of the body.
• Careful development of developmental techniques and incentives before application.
• Creating a diverse environment for activities from the birth of a child (taking into account passion).
• Work for the highest final result in the development of the child: physical parameters - for a record, mental - without a limit.
• Complete freedom and independence of children in everything.
• The interest of adults in all children's affairs.

Opening of a new pedagogical law (NUVERS)

Accumulating pedagogical experience in raising his children, Nikitin groped for a new pedagogical law, which he called NUVERS: the irreversible fading of opportunities for effective development of abilities. Boris Pavlovich gave a deep justification for it, relied on the ideas and studies of Amosov, Arshavsky, Grum-Grzhimailo, Descartes, Kapterev, Owen, Pokrovsky, Sarkizov-Serazini, Skripalev, L. Tolstoy, Khiden, Chukovsky, tested and confirmed the practice of raising their own children. Nikitin developed methods that could prevent the negative impact of this law on the level of development of the intellect of future generations.

Basics of the Nikitin technique

In the 1960s-1970s. Nikitin laid the foundations of Russian parent pedagogy. Their main discovery in children's education: PRR - early versatile development of children.

The Nikitins' technique was born not scientifically, but by life. It is based on work, closeness to nature, creativity. The postulate of the methodology: "Tell me - I will forget, show me - I will remember, let me do it myself - I will understand."

Basic principles of the Nikitin method

• The beginning of the development of all functions and abilities, starting with the embryo.
• Minimal intervention in the process of pregnancy and childbirth:
  • no anesthesia;
  • no ligation of the umbilical cord until the end of the pulsation;
  • feeding from the first minutes of life until the appearance of the first tooth, there is no sterility from birth;
  • presence at the birth of the father;
  • no vaccinations, instillations, lubrication;
  • freedom of movement from the first minute.
• Natural physical education of the body (minimum clothing, maximum access to nature).
• Sports, physical education, hardening from birth.
• Modesty in food.
• Creation of a rich developmental environment from birth.
• Help parents as mentors and friends.
• RIR - early intellectual development.
• Minimizing the child's stay in school.
• Involvement from an early age in work (cleaning, washing, gardening, going to the store).

Attitude towards children's health

Nikitin believed that children themselves are able to solve all the problems associated with them from nature (natural upbringing). Experienced parents have developed a rule of attitude to the health of children:

• recommendations of doctors to perceive informatively;
• take as a basis the results of observations of the child, his well-being, reaction;
• keep a diary of observations;
• control the indicators of physical development of children according to their own tests;
• in case of problems, supplement observations with knowledge from different sources, until the essence of the problem and its solution are fully understood.

They believed that health would be strong only when the physical abilities of the child were developed.

Physical and labor development of the child

Nikitins considered the child's body as an instrument of knowledge that requires careful care: hardening, sports, physical education, lack of clothing and food overload, provision of sports equipment.

The physical development of the child is closely related to labor.

Labor is an important component of education. His parents organize through the game and joint actions:

• home workshops;
• children's tools;
• general household chores;
• hikes, trips, travel;
• replacing pocket money with work money.

Early involvement in labor increased physical activity, strengthening the body and immunity. Labor was offered according to age, but was obligatory for all.

Attitude to the abilities of children

There are 2 types of Nikitin abilities:

• performance - the result of the assimilation of previously known;
• creative ones are the result of self-knowledge and self-solving of the problems that have arisen.

Modern official pedagogy develops only performing abilities, while Nikitin sought to develop creative ones by creating special conditions:

• All healthy children have high abilities in all directions.
• These abilities are realized if a developmental environment is created in advance (developing games are part of it), and adults are interested in the achievements of the child.
• In the absence of a developing environment, the child fades away. Opportunities for effective development of abilities.
• The older the child, the more difficult it is to develop abilities, up to their complete loss.

The measure of the development of the child's abilities needed to be assessed somehow, and Nikitin developed his own criteria for this:

• Growth testing - equity indices that take into account developmental outcomes correlated with the weight and height of the child (still not recognized).
• Testing of mental development based on evaluating the speed of mental processes according to Einsenck and the productivity of mental activity according to Kos.

The effective development of a child's abilities is possible only through play. Boris Pavlovich created a lot of games for his children, which later became the basis of his system.

Educational games

Nikitin's games are part of the learning and development environment.

Games are aimed at developing intelligence and creative abilities:

• These are sets of tasks that are solved through various objects (cubes, bricks, squares, constructors).
• Tasks are given through models, drawings, instructions.
• The tasks are set from easy to difficult.
• Games are designed for different ages and cause long-term interest.
• A stepwise increase in the difficulty of tasks develops the creative abilities of the child.
• Tasks are solved by the child independently, clues are sought in the surrounding reality.
• There may be several attempts to successfully solve the task, and they are stretched in time.
• Checking the correctness of the decision is done by the child himself on the basis of the surrounding reality.
• You can invent a sequel to the game on your own.
• There are almost no rules in games.

The game becomes an impetus in the development of abilities, if the child is involved in it voluntarily and on the basis of interest.

Algorithm for involving the child in the game

• Full voluntariness.
• Games are not explained to the child, but are attracted to it through a fairy tale, imitation of the elders.
• The game is mastered together with adults, then the child does it himself.
• The adult constantly puts ever more complicated tasks before the child. Hints are excluded.
• On failure, there is a temporary rollback back to an easier task or the game is suspended.
• When you reach the maximum achievements in the game, it is postponed.
• If you lose interest in the game, it is temporarily postponed. The child must return to her independently.
• Winning the game raises the child one step in development, stimulates further knowledge.

The Nikitins have developed several types of games: intellectual, creative and beating.

Intellectual games are aimed at the development of mathematical thinking, spatial imagination, logic. Ability to synthesize and analyze, prepare for drawing, stereometry and descriptive geometry. These games require additional items and aids.

Description of the main intellectual games of the Nikitins:

• fold the pattern— from 1.5 years, mathematical thinking.
• Fold the square- from 9-10 months, spatial imagination, logical thinking, ability to analyze and synthesize.
• Fractions— from 3-5 years old, mathematical thinking.
• Cubes for everyone- from 3 years old, spatial imagination, three-dimensional figures (for drawing, stereometry, descriptive geometry).
• Unicube- from 2-15 years old, spatial imagination, attention, clarity (for drawing, stereometry, descriptive geometry).
• Dots - from the age of 5, mathematical thinking, the study of two-digit numbers (based on this game, Zaitsev's mathematical tables were created).
• Frames and inserts— from 10 months, sensory development.

Creative games do not require additional equipment, but use improvised means (Attention - guess, Monkey, KB CAM). Playing games use models of known objects to gain practical applied skills (clock without filling, model of a thermometer, frames with knots).

The role of parents

For parents, education according to Nikitin is associated with great dedication and a conscious approach. Their role in this system of education, as part of the pedagogy of cooperation, should be reduced to mentoring, intelligent observation, creating a developing and learning environment from everyday life that will push the child to self-development.

But you can’t go to extremes - don’t organize children (takes away independence) and don’t let them take their course (except for feeding, drinking and putting them to bed), because this leads to a developmental delay.

Achievements and advantages of the Nikitin system

The research and experience of the Nikitins is a source of ideas for a new integrated pedagogy: the synthesis of physical and intellectual development, education, and social adaptation.

The activities of the Nikitins laid the foundations of "conscious parenthood". The secret of her success is in the game approach to learning. The merit of the Nikitins is that they managed to create a developing environment (things-educators + games-educators + tools-educators) from ordinary everyday life.

The system has been time-tested and has shown many positive aspects:

• reduction by 1/3 of the time spent at school;
• the use of free time to acquire social and labor skills, engage in creativity;
• effectiveness - confirmed by the health of children;
• development of efficiency, independence, ability to take a hit, solve complex problems at the level of trial and error;
• early development of the mind and body;
• intellectual developing games;
• the concept of laying abilities at an early age (NUVERS) has been developed.

Nikitins' mistakes and system cons

The Nikitins' system, although based on deep research, was created dynamically. Of course, mistakes were inevitable. Visible blunders were promptly corrected by the authors. But time revealed a number of unforeseen, previously invisible mistakes of upbringing in the Nikitin style:

• Great focus on children.
• A family world isolated from society, as a result - the inability to fit into the school, the lack of friends.
• Changing life with a game.
• Excessive enthusiasm for the development of intellectual, creative abilities, physical abilities, work skills.
• Lack of aesthetic and moral education.
• Unwillingness to overcome difficulties and independently acquire knowledge.

Life leveled these mistakes, but the system was not subjected to processing, since there are no more authors, and there are no successors yet.

The fate of the Nikitin system

In 1970-1980. The Nikitins' methodology aroused great interest: the books were sold in millions of copies, more than 1000 guests visited their house a year, meetings and lectures were overflowing with those who wished. Supported the pedagogical ideas of the Nikitins:

• Academician N.A. Amosov - cardiac surgeon, gerontologist;
• Professor I.A. Arshavsky - physiologist;

But official pedagogy did not recognize the achievements of the Nikitins, neither in the process of creating the system, nor today. On the contrary, the state placed all sorts of obstacles to the family, the dissemination and popularization of their pedagogy:

• slander was launched in the press and on TV;
• kindergartens and schools were forbidden to use Nikitin's methods;
• Boris Pavlovich repeatedly quit his job for no reason.

So far, neither the APN, nor the Ministry of Education, nor the Ministry of Health have been interested in the Nikitin hypothesis of NUVERS. Official pedagogy forgot about the innovative family system. On the contrary, in Germany books of a teacher are systematically published, the “Institute of B.P. Nikitin”, in Japan, methods are widely used in kindergartens.

Nikitin assumed that others would learn from his living experience and go further and continue his work. But there are no true successors-developers of the Nikitin case (except for his children, who use the system in their families and propagate the system of parents). In Russia, the question of the survival of the Nikitin education system remains open.

Bibliography

Nikitin's books began to be published back in the USSR.

B.P. Nikitin

1. Steps of creativity or educational games. - 1976, 1989, 1990, 1991.
2. Educational games. — 1981, 1985.
3. Letters to Murashkovsky. — 1985-87.
4. The hypothesis of the emergence and development of creative abilities. - 1985 (not published).
5. We, our children and grandchildren. — 1989.
6. The first lessons of natural education or Childhood without diseases. — 1990, 1996.
7. Our lessons. — 1992.
8. The first year is the first day. — 1994.
9. Mind games. — 1994, 1998, 2009.
10. How to measure a child's development. — 1997.
11. Healthy childhood without drugs and vaccinations. — 2001.
12. Chaikovsky. Old and new. — 2001.

L.A. Nikitin

About us // Who are Nikitins

Nikitin Boris Pavlovich (01/21/1916, Suvorovskaya village, Stavropol Territory - 01/30/1999, Moscow) and Lena Alekseevna (01/31/1930, Bolshevo, Moscow Region) - Russian teachers, practicing teachers, early childhood researchers, parents of seven children, authors of many articles and more than 10 books about his experience of family education. They became famous from the 60s of the 20th century in the USSR, later in Germany, Japan and other countries. During the period of greatest popularity (70s - 80s of the 20th century), the Nikitins' books sold in millions of copies, up to 1000 guests came to their house every year, hundreds of people came to meetings and lectures in different cities of the Soviet Union. Many believe that it was the selfless activity of the Nikitins that drew public attention to the unique opportunities for the early development of children and laid the foundations for what is today called “conscious parenthood”.

Boris and Lena See you.

Boris Pavlovich Nikitin. Born on January 21, 1916 in the village Suvorovskaya Stavropol the edges , son of a military paramedic. Not far from the village were the villages of the highlanders. According to a family legend that loved storiesVat B.P., his great-great-grandmother was kidnapped by the Nogais, and a year later she returned with a child. The family did not refuse Xia from n heir, and thus, according to B.P., it contained “one sixteenth of the Nogai blood, which, perhaps, awarded him that very outstanding nose and “Saint-Simon profile”, which B.P. was completely childishly proud of all his life. (In 1997, the family legend was confirmed by documents, although Circassians appear in the documents).

Father, Pavel Mikhailovich Nikitin(12/21/1889 - 03/21/1981, Bolshevo), Kuban Cossack, bHe was the only son from his mother's first marriage. After the death of her husband, she remarried, and Pavel Nikitin had five Styopkin brothers and sisters. B.P.'s mother Zinaida Nikolaevna Vostrikova and her younger sister Zoya died early. Boris was very fond of both, painfully experienced the loss, and spoke little about them. Pavel Mikhailovich's relationship with his son Boris remained difficult all his life. From 1972 until his death in 1981, P.M. lived with his son's family. Pavel Mikhailovich was not interested in the ideas of Boris and his wife, expressing only tacit disapproval of excessive democracy in the family, but did not interfere either. His only favorite in the large family of his son was the youngest granddaughter Lyubasha. He never complained about his health, until the last days he worked in the garden, read newspapers.

Boris graduated from school in 1934 with an excellent certificate, studied three courses at an industrial institute. Entered the Air Force Academy. Zhukovsky, in 1941 he finished the 4th course, but because of the outbreak of war, their entire course was released ahead of schedule (a year earlier), Boris received the specialty "mechanical engineer for armaments". From his youth, he was seriously involved in sports (artistic gymnastics, athletics).

In 1939 he married Elena Petrovna Rusanova, from his first marriage he has three children - Svetlana (1941), Pavel (1943) and Alexei (1946). At the insistence of his wife, the couple separated in 1954 (the official certificate of termination of marriage is dated 09/22/1956). For B.P. this was a serious shock, especially since the ex-wife did not allow him to communicate with the children. For a long timeB.P. supports his first family financially. Only the eldest son Pavel retains the surname Nikitin and, secretly from his mother, maintains relations with his father and his second family. After the death of B.P. in 1999, Pavel remains the oldest man in the Nikitin family and, together with his wife, paternally takes care of all his sisters and brothers to this day.

During the war B.P. serves in a reserve aviation regiment as an instructor at military pilot training courses near Saratov. Later he recalled that he came up with a simple simulator to improve the accuracy of cadets' shooting. Two of his students became Heroes of the Soviet Union, one of them wrote to him: “Boris Pavlovich, your“ wand ”(this is about that very simulator) helped ...”. Since 1946, he continues to serve near Moscow (in Noginsk), and is demobilized from the army in 1949, during the period of mass demobilization, with the rank of major engineer.

After his demobilization, the family moves to Moscow to his wife's mother. At firstB.P. works in the State Committee for Labor Reserves, from where he was fired in the early 50s for disagreeing with the official guidelines for educating young people. After that, he works as an engineer, teacher at a school, teacher of physical education, teacher of labor at school - according to B.P. more than ten professions.

Since the 40-50s, he has been very seriously interested in the ideas of A.S. Makarenko dreams of opening a “labor school”, where, along with studies, schoolchildren would be engaged in real production. This dream then lives onB.P. all life. In 1956-58. he is an active participant in a group of like-minded teachers to create such a school. A group of 23 enthusiasts is even promised to be given a specific educational institution for the experiment, but then they are quickly dispersed. About the "harmfulness" of such schools, an article "Projectors" was published in the central press - in April 1958.

But a little earlier, on December 10, 1957, at a pedagogical conference in Moscow, B.P. meets with Lena Litvinova.

Lena Alekseevna Litvinova was born on January 31, 1930 in the village of Bolshevo near Moscow (now the city of Korolev).

Mother - Evdokia Alexandrovna Litvinova(nee Allenykh) (02/22/1892 Yelets, - 03/10/1986 Bolshevo), a mathematics teacher with 50 years of experience, holder of the Order of Lenin, deputy of the village council, a well-known and highly respected person in the village. Senior dOne night in a large shoemaker's family (13 children). A capable girl was helped to get into a gymnasium, which she successfullyfinished. From the age of 10, she helped support her family with lessons. Dina (home name) began teaching A be even before the revolution, and continued all my life. I dreamed of going to medical school, but I had towork helping parents - raising brothers and sisters. She has been a teacher all her life, av uch e m. After retiring, she continued to “pull up” aboutprogressing students in math ati to e . Chairman p oselkovo th Council of Veterans (she was also trusted by the fund for mutual assistance of pensioners), chairman of the comrades' court, honorary citizen of the village of Bolshevo. Anyone could come to her for advice. For many years in their native village, the Nikitins Jr. were, for many, primarily the grandchildren of Evdokia Alexandrovna. The last years of her life, E.A. Litvinova lived in the family of Boris and Lena. According to the recollections of her grandchildren, in this large and complex family she showed herself as a wise, generous and very patient person.

Father - Alexey Dmitrievich Litvinov(02/16/1902, the village of Talitsa, Oryol region - 10/17/1941, the village of Mebottom of the Tver region), from a peasant family, was a student of his future wife, looked after her for several olc about years. The marriage was happy and strong. Military engineer, staunch communist. Daughter namel Lena (not Elena, namely Lena - in memory of the Lena events in April 1912, the execution of workers on gold atclaims of the Lena River). In 1941, kinda sheep went to the front (he, as an engineer, was left in the rear to work for the military m factory - he refused). Father's deathand in October 1941, on the Kalinin front, it became the most tragic event in the life of the Litvinov family, and had a strong influence on Lena and her older brother Vladimir. Father for liferemained for them a great spiritual and human authority. Both named their eldest sons Alexei. Vladimir said: “The film “Communist” is about my father.” Evdokia Alexandrovna steadfastly endured the loss, continued to work, disappearing at school from morning to night.Her parents and Aleksey Dmitrievich's parents lived in her house, other relatives lived for a long time, E.A.'s sisters, their children.

Brother Vladimir(06/22/1927 - 05/21/2012) - a famous architect, artist. Not studying in artschool, was able to enter the famous Moscow Architectural Institute. One of the authors of the projects of metro stations (together with friends, one But students L.V. Lil'e, M.F. Markovsky): "Nogin Square" (now - Kitay-gorod),Kyiv (Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line), University.

In 1948, Lena graduated from school with a gold medal. In 1950 - the Moscow City Library College (diploma with honors), in 1954 - the Moscow Regional Pedagogical Institute (Faculty of Russian Language and Literature).

Lena was left to work in Moscow, but then Lena's “transverse”, as her relatives said, character appeared - she left as a teacher of Russian language and literature in the Altai village of Voevodskoye. While teaching village children, she found that the suggested patterns and techniques did not work, and began to develop her own methods and exercises. The Altai years (1954-1956) were the time of obtaining the most important life experience. Later, LA said: "I taught them the Russian language, and they taught me life."

From 1956 to 1960 she worked at the Moscow Railway School No. 40.

Meeting and early years

On December 10, 1957, Boris and Lena, two teachers, met at a pedagogical conference (meeting) in Moscow. According to the recollections, both really did not want to go to the event. The day of the meeting later became a favorite and the main family holiday (see Our Traditions). Both did not remember the date of marriage registration (June 1958).

Boris managed to invite Lena to work in the future "labor school" and introduce him to his like-minded people. But in April 1958, the article "Projectors" was published in the central press. A group of enthusiasts was dispersed (one of them, unable to withstand the pressure, committed suicide). However, with many members of the group, Boris and Lena maintained friendship all their lives.

In 1959, the eldest son Alexei was born to a young family. From the first days of his lifeB.P. begins to keep a diary of observations, where he enters the parameters of physical development, the results of medical examinations, psychological observations.

1960 - son Anton is born, 1962 - daughter Olga. Everyone has their own diary.

Both continued to work in turn (Boris in the morning, Lena in the evening). Both had no experience with newborns. It never occurred to hire a nanny, so both were shocked by the “Miracle, whose name is My Child” (quote from the book “We and Our Children”). There was no one to help either - all the relatives worked. They acted on intuition, carefully watching the reactions of the kids, rejoicing in their discoveries.

Excellent athlete and experienced coach,B.P. immediately began to treat the kids, as if training them. So in the house there were turnstiles, rings and other sports equipment. “Hardening” for both parents and children was not introduced on purpose, but was a way of life - the whole family was happy to walk barefoot and in light clothes. And observing how easily and quickly kids learn everything led to the appearance of cubes with letters, geographical maps on the walls, the availability of real tools, etc. Boris and Lena tried to match the speed of the child's comprehension of the surrounding world and organized the home space in such a way that, without the slightest violence, they could help him as much as possible in this. The results were inspiring: the children got sick an order of magnitude less and quickly developed intellectually.(The “Spartan” atmosphere was not specially created in the family - it was just that the family lived on very modest means, considering this to be quite normal).

40 years later, in 2002, Lena Alekseevna wrote: “Three whales”, on which our concept of child development grew. Firstly, from the very beginning of life, the environment is rich for a variety of activities. Secondly, the freedom and independence of children in classes and games. And, thirdly, our sincere interest in all their affairs.

Interestingly, while L.A. calls "early development" "not really early, but just timely" (see the rubric "Books and Articles". L.A. Opinion on Early Development). B.P. also spoke about “timeliness”.

open natureB.P. and the desire to immediately share what has been achieved, to show that it is possible differently, easier, better, quickly led to the fact that he began to actively talk about the new experience of the early physical, intellectual, creative development of children - an experience that did not fit into the then usual framework of ideas about upbringing and seriously contradicted popular childcare guidelines.

1962 - the first publication about a family where "children run barefoot in the snow", with a clearly positive assessment of the experience.

To the house at the School site, 51 journalists (hungry for sensations at all times) quickly trodden the road.B.P. he greeted them with enthusiasm, sincerely believing that this would enable more people to join his important discoveries and observations. At the same time, he does not spare money for books and collects a library of medical and pedagogical literature on early childhood, pregnancy and childbirth, caring for a baby, games and activities with children, carefully studying these books. As a rule, he finds confirmation of his conclusions in pre-revolutionary and foreign sources.

Anna was born in 1964, Julia in 1966, Ivan in 1969, and Lyubov in 1971.

Parents still keep detailed diaries of observations about each. All conclusions about good children's health and the possibilities for the rapid and versatile development of children before school are confirmed and supplemented in life, not only by the Nikitin family itself, but also by many who begin to follow their example.

From the mid-60s, the Nikitins began to be invited to speak to parents, teachers, and doctors. Close and warm contacts are established with many scientists, teachers, physicians who find the opportunity to come to the Nikitins' house. The press is increasingly writing about the family. The first author's publications are also successful. With the help of friends, in 1969, in the collection of scientific works of the Novosibirsk Academgorodok, B.P. Nikitin.

Similarity and difference of characters

It is important to note that both of them never "imposed" their speeches, lectures, or publications of books. They were invited - and they tried never to refuse.

Teaching experience helped both of them - the performances were always lively, bright, and aroused great confidence among the audience. Sincerity, responsibility, self-criticism, as the key character traits of both, bribed even more.

B.P. acted first, carried away and infected with enthusiasm, openness, artistry (no wonder he was invited to film roles in his time), and at the same time with logic, a mass of illustrative examples, a huge amount of factual material. LA "disarmed" listeners with her openly critical approach, analytical mindset. Both charged with an invitation to creativity, the possibility of overcoming fears and clichés. According to the stories and recollections of the listeners, the overall impression of the couple was the strongest: “they are together” - thinking, searching, intelligent, hearing the interlocutor, ready to endlessly work and endlessly give.

Nikitins performed in front of a variety of audiences. As a rule, they were received very warmly, the meetings lasted a long time, at the end of the speakers there were always dozens of people around, asking “personal” questions. The most difficult were meetings with doctors, but by the end of the speech they often became allies of the Nikitins. The younger children remember how inspired and moved their parents returned after one trip. In the audience, where only doctors gathered, the performance lasted several hours, and when the couple had already left the stage, the whole audience stood up, seeing them off with sincere applause (against the general background of the Soviet “command applause”, characteristic of the era, the effect was, of course, the strongest). Lena Alekseevna said: “Sometimes they “drove” to our performances, as to party meetings. You go on stage: the hall is silent, the faces are wary, incredulous, tired, closed. And how these same faces are transformed by the end of the meeting, the views come to life, people smile, react!”

All articles and books were also written and published on the initiative, and sometimes under pressure, from editorial offices and publishing houses (after all, books were instantly sold out, and newspapers with articles by the Nikitins added popularity to publications). It was impossible to imagineB.P. "knocked the thresholds" to publish his manuscripts. Yes, he didn't have time for that.

It is interesting that Boris Pavlovich managed to organically combine almost incompatible things: he lived and worked in one area - in the family, continuing to treat what was happening in his own house as a subject of research, and, loving all his children very much, at the same time scrupulously measured, recorded and analyzed data of intellectual, physical and other development of all seven.

Lena Alekseevna perceived what was happening in the family and around the family much more difficult. An open house, accessibility for journalists, an abundance of guests to whom the kids were happy to demonstrate their skills, the need to communicate with a huge number of strangers became a great psychological stress for L.A., and later for most of the grown children. In addition, the attitude of many visitors to the family was, alas, either as an "object of experiment", or did not go beyond the bounds of ordinary curiosity.

After long family disputes in the late seventies, not far from home, on a noticeable thick birch, a huge announcement appeared: “Dear comrades! Excuse us, but we are no longer able to receive everyone in the house. Please come and visit us on the last Sunday of every month, any time of the day, after 10 o'clock."

The tradition of "last Sunday" in the Nikitin house continued until the early 2000s. Clear memories of the Nikitins Jr.: the last Sunday of the month comes - and on the usually deserted village street Grazhdanskaya, leading to the nearest suburban platform Valentinovka, numerous groups, couples and families of obviously not local people appeared, heading to their house ... Many came from other cities, and ForB.P. and L.A. it was perfectly natural to leave guests to spend the night, or even live for several days, and sometimes weeks. In the 90s, when families of grown children began to live in the house, meetings with "everyone who wanted to" began to take place at the nearby Valentinovskaya primary school. However, they often came on the other days of the month, and everyone was still received in the Nikitins' house.

Opposition to the system

After the first book, Are We Right? (1963) followed by numerous articles and publications.

The unusual way of life of a large family, books and articles by the Nikitins and about them, as well as steadfastness in defending their views, caused a very ambiguous reaction - until about the middle of the 70s.

The flow of young parents to the Nikitins' house did not dry up during these years. Relatives and neighbors, who at first condemned the "innovations" of the spouses, then preferred not to interfere. It is interesting that human relations with them always remained warm, children from the surrounding courtyards constantly “grazed” with the Nikitins, andB.P. I found time to organize useful and simply good deeds with them, arrange sports or intellectual tournaments for everyone.

"Official" Soviet medicine and pedagogy, at first seemingly not noticing the strange family, finally publicly condemned the "Nikitins' methods" (early 70s, publication "Caution, childhood!").

B.P. once again fired from another job. For some time the family lived on the salary of Lena Alekseevna, the head of the village library (90-100 rubles a month).

"Prohibition" caused a backlash. The family was sent things and helped as much as they could, numerous friends and complete strangers. Around the same time, B.P. started offering money for performances. He never refused, but never, until the end of his days, did not demand payment for his performances. Those who invited the Nikitins to other cities, as a rule, acted simply: the spouses were paid for the road and received as dear guests. They were invited all over the Soviet Union - up to 300 meetings a year.

Several prominent scientists protected and supported the family. Academician N.A. Amosov ( Nikolai Mikhailovich Amosov (1913-2002) - Soviet and Ukrainian cardiac surgeon of world renown, scientist, author of innovative methods in cardiology, author of a systematic approach to health (“method of restrictions and loads”), works on gerontology, artificial intelligence problems, published many popular books on health) and Professor I.A. Arshavsky ( Ilya Arkadyevich Arshavsky (1903 - 1996) Russian physiologist, founder of developmental physiology. He put forward the negentropic (thermodynamic) theory of the individual development of organisms. For several years, the staff of his laboratory regularly (2 times a year) examined the health status of all children) came to the Nikitins’ house, wrote articles in their defense (the Nikitins’ book “We and Our Children” was first published, “protected” by Amosov’s preface and Arshavsky’s afterword). from the vicious circle of childhood illnesses and family problems. Many of them then called themselves followers of the Nikitins.

A significant role, as I think, in the assertion of their positions and the growth of the family's popularity was played by the opposition to the state, to which the Nikitins, in essence, were forced by the state system itself.

Some believe that it is largely thanks to the research and truly selfless activity of the Nikitins that society has awakened a keen interest in the early development of children, the period from birth to 7-10 years, when, according to Boris Pavlovich, a child’s abilities can be “launched” practically in any field of activity. “Do you want your child to be healthy and talented? It depends on you!" Nikitin assured. In the 1970s and 1980s, the movement of "family clubs" began. In essence, for thousands of people, these clubs have become an opportunity to realize their creative, independent beginning, independent of the state system. One way or another, by the beginning of the 80s, almost the whole country knew or heard about the Nikitins.

System? More like a lifestyle

B.P. and L.A. did everything that was then in their power (with extremely modest financial possibilities) in order to create for their children a "creative and healthy environment" in their own home. The Nikitins themselves did not call their way of life a “system of education”. Rather, it is a very great experience that has accumulated over many years of careful observation of not one or two, but seven babies, and then the children of its many supporters. ParallelB.P. continued to constantly study all the literature available to him, folk experience, and the achievements of his followers. As the eldest son Alexei wrote in 2005, “any special system has never existed. There were a number of principles taken from practice and common sense, based to a large extent on traditional approaches to the physical education of children from different nationalities, primarily Russia, and the work of teachers, including Montessori. There was an absolutely wonderful practical experience that proved the vitality and importance of these principles.

Now, in 2011, we have tried to formulate these basic principles.

- Minimum medical intervention into the natural process of pregnancy and childbirth, "return to nature", necessarily - breastfeeding from the first minutes of life. Responsibility from doctors passes primarily to parents - to their thoughtful, attentive, conscious attitude towards parenthood. Physicians should participate only as assistants with specialized knowledge.

- Natural physical culture of the body: a minimum of clothing and everything "unnatural" - ointments, rubbing, medicines, etc., maximum access to nature, sports and physical education from an early age. In this respect, the children of the Nikitins and their followers really looked like Mowgli at home: barefoot, wearing only shorts, tenacious, dexterous, strong, fast. Boris Pavlovich himself was a wonderful versatile athlete, at one time he taught physical education at school, maintained excellent shape until old age. The culture of the physical body entered the lives of children naturally, without coercion: simple and affordable sports equipment at home, common sports games and activities with the father, his interest and support in this direction. This also includes the so-called "hardening" - light clothing, dousing with cold water, walking barefoot in the snow, etc.; modest and simple food. The essential point here is that children, in general, simply did what their parents did.B.P. and L.A. easily content with the most modest in food and clothing.

- “Early start” (! When formulating this thesis, we had serious disputes. This option was accepted as a working one and will be refined).

The same "launch" of various abilities, which, according to Boris Pavlovich's firm conviction, are in abundance in every child from birth. Moreover, at an early age, they are so interconnected that the earlier the baby begins to crawl, walk, swim and explore, the more actively his consciousness and, accordingly, intellectual abilities develop (see books and interviews by I.A. Arshavsky about this). Therefore, Nikitin believed, it is necessary to create a very rich home environment, and the child will learn everything just like learning to breathe - there should be a workshop, a gym, a library, etc. in the house. Parents need to carefully, without violence and pressure, help the child develop and move forward.

- Early intellectual development- to himB.P. paid special attention. Boris Pavlovich was convinced that the kindergarten and school of his day were destroying creativity in a person, and he tried, firstly, to give the maximum BEFORE school, and secondly, to reduce the period the child was in school to a minimum. B.P. tried to substantiate this in his hypothesis about "NUVERS" - H irreversible At extinguishing IN opportunities E effective R development WITH abilities (I.A. Arshavsky interpreted it differently: “irreversible extinction of the capabilities of natural reserve systems”).

Reading at 2-4 years old, an extensive library, various “educational games” created by the Nikitins, geographical maps, the periodic table, mathematical tables, etc. on the walls of the nursery - indeed, intellectually perfectly prepared the Nikitin children for primary and secondary school. This gave the father a reason to bring children to the first grade at the age of five, to transfer from the 1st to the 3rd, and from the 2nd to the 4th, and the mother to allow them to constantly skip classes. The emphasis on accelerated "intellectual" development, made in this way, made it difficult for some of the seven children to socialize. It is no coincidence that later none of them sent their children to school earlier, although the developing home environment, early reading, etc. in their own families has become commonplace for everyone.

And here is how Boris Pavlovich himself formulated the basic principles of education (approximately in the mid-90s):

"1. An earlier start of the development of all functions and abilities is possible, or rather, the search for an optimum (something is possible in the embryonic period as well).

2. Perhaps more versatile, or rather multilateral development, i.e. not only the musculoskeletal system, sense organs and abilities known to us, but also the ability to feel the state of another person, to capture the thoughts and desires of another, the ability to hypnosis, telekinesis, clairvoyance, etc.

3. A more perfect development is possible in terms of:

a) development methods;

b) start dates;

c) incentives for development;

d) development conditions;

e) the enthusiasm of the child himself.

4. A higher development is possible, i.e. top end result. If in relation to physical development we see the peaks of achievements (records), then in relation to mental qualities there are apparently no limits, just as there is no end to the development of matter.

These basic ideas were cultivated and promoted by Boris Pavlovich - sincerely, disinterestedly and enthusiastically.

aquarium house

In the 80s, the glory of the family became recognized. The books have been published abroad. Television and radio programs with the participation of B.P. and L.A. Spouses Nikitin actively performed. Lena Alekseevna led the “Home Teachers’ Council” column in Komsomolskaya Pravda for several years, where her outstanding literary talent was revealed, then she hosted the TV program “For You, Parents”. In 1986, Simon Lvovich Soloveichik gathers innovative teachers (Sh. Amonashvili, V. Shatalov, S. Lysenkova and others, including B. and L. Nikitin), who sign the manifesto of "collaboration pedagogy". Nikitins join the manifesto with significant reservations, since it does not say anything about the role of productive labor in the school.

The family life of the Nikitins was extremely complicated by publicity. Hundreds of new fans came to Last Sundays. On all other days, the house was also open to numerous friends, followers, and journalists. In 1988, the book “We and Our Children” was published with a foreword by her daughter Yulia: “Our beloved only home has finally become an aquarium,” she stated. The situation was difficult for everyone except Boris Pavlovich. The strength and peculiarity of his personality were such that fame and recognition did not change him, and he sincerely did not understand how serious problems publicity brings to the family. And for children whose adolescence and adolescence fell precisely at this time, the "aquarium" significantly complicated life.

In 1989, a book by the German journalist Marianna Butenschen "The Nikitins' Children Have Grown Up" was published in Germany, written on the basis of frank general conversations with the Nikitins Jr. in the spring of 1988. Young Nikitins (the eldest Alexei turned 28, Lyuba - 16) are self-confidently trying to evaluate the achievements of their parents in a young way. themselvesB.P. and L.A., also participating in the conversations, carefully, patiently and attentively listen to teenagers. The problems caused by family "publicity" are acute in these conversations. But turning the situation back, alas, is no longer possible.

The lives of all seven develop differently. The elder Nikitins never tried to “arrange” their children in any way, either when entering universities or when applying for a job (Nikitins used their name in the only situation - when grandchildren began to appear, and it was necessary to agree in maternity hospitals on a number of requirements for doctors and nurses). All children built their destinies themselves - as they say, "on a common basis." It is difficult to say how their lives would have turned out if it were not for the echo of family glory and the constant expectation of something unusual by those around them from the "Nikitins' children". Some of the seven coped with the constantly overcome pressure more successfully, some less. Some believe that only a huge charge of love and trust received in the family helped them survive.

One way or another, the impact of the "copper pipes", which thundered early for the Nikitins Jr., turned out to be so serious for some of them that it is necessary to talk about it separately, and separate the "grains from the chaff".

The achievements of our parents in the field of early childhood- this is what we support, what we are always ready to share, we want to develop further in our families and discuss, including on this site.

At the same time, while still suffering from the consequences of the forced publicity of the Nikitin family, we close our own families from such tests, and each of us answers questions regarding personal life as he sees fit.

And along the way, we want to warn all young parents who crave fame for their adored kids (and often through them - for themselves). Be careful. Be careful. Even a bright talent, even an already established personality, the severity of "copper pipes" is beyond their strength. And the fame that came at the most receptive age, when the child absorbs like a sponge and super-attention to himself, can lead to irreversible and very sad consequences. Excessive ambitions that have grown up, as if under a magnifying glass, at the point of view of television cameras, will block a sober self-esteem, and the personality will burn out without having time to properly form. In other words, let the person mature. Before you start demonstrating his accomplishments. And maybe it would be better if he chooses the right time for this.

APC. 1992-1997

In 1992, on the basis of the secondary school-new building in the city of Korolev (now Ilyushin School-Gymnasium No. 18), the Nikitins Author's Pedagogical Center (APCN) was opened as an open creative platform for the implementation of the ideas of young teachers.

However, Boris Pavlovich by this time was already 76, Lena Alekseevna - 62. They were simply unable to implement their ideas at school. They limited themselves to writing a short “pedagogical concept of lifelong education”, but they did not deal with the “methods” necessary for the functioning of the center.

More detailed material about the center and its work is being prepared.

1999

On January 30, 1999, Boris Pavlovich died in the intensive care unit of the Moscow Hospital No. 31. This was a surprise to everyone. Even 2 weeks before this date, as usual, he could pull himself up on the horizontal bar and push out the weight with one hand ... On January 20, an aortic aneurysm ruptured, losing about 2 liters of blood. Calmly and in a clear mind, he says: “Apparently, my time has come. I already lived more than the average ... ". At first, Boris Pavlovich was adamant to the persuasion of his relatives to go to the hospital: “No, thank you! I lived without the help of doctors, and I will die somehow without their help! Only in the evening, taking pity on his wife and children, he agreed to go to one of the best clinics in Moscow. The operation to replace a segment of the aorta on the day of his 83rd birthday - January 21 - is going very well (The vascular surgeon who performed the operation said: "The body of a forty-year-old man"), on January 24 visits to relatives are allowed. And this day for many will remain the last conversation-meeting with Boris Pavlovich. On January 25, the condition worsens, cardiopulmonary insufficiency increases. The night from 29 to 30 January becomes his last.

The loss completely changed the life of the family. Serious reasons, primarily of an ethical and psychological nature, did not allow Nikitin Jr. to immediately start “continuing the case”B.P. - in relation to the release of educational games, books, sports equipment, meetings with young parents.

Firstly, Lena Alekseevna was categorically against any kind of "PR" and making money for children on what their father unselfishly served. And since each of the seven by this time had their own families with small children, it was simply unrealistic to engage in the form of a hobby, for example, the release of "grandfather games".

Secondly, all the children are very tired of the “aquarium” situation and some “fixation” of family communication on topics related to early childhood. Each had their own professional interests and a circle of friends not related to pedagogy and medicine.

Thirdly, many of the developments and proposals of B.P. and L.A. By this time, one way or another, they had already entered or were gradually entering life. Developing games" were released by many (with copyrights for games and their protection, unlike books, the situation is much more complicated), books were published in millions of copies and were quite accessible, numerous friends and acquaintances could ask a question at any time.

Present day

2011. The appearance of the site became possible as the next generation matured - the grandchildren of Boris Pavlovich and Lena Alekseevna. It is they who are our "pushers" and inspirers. Their babies are already growing up, and they were able to look again at the experience, books and ideas of their grandparents. And they help us in this - Nikitin Jr. of the first generation :).

We make this site all together. It is very difficult to find a common language and common solutions for a multiple, dispersed, complex, many-sided family. A big thank you helps usB.P. and L.A. and never-ending trust in each other. In addition, we think that the case itself is definitely worth it.

Our parents have done a lot. But the "original sources", that is, the books of B. and L. Nikitin, can no longer be found in printed form, and not all of them are on the Internet. Inquiries about the Nikitins, "Nikitins' methods", etc. information is often given, to put it mildly, untrue, and sometimes just a lie. Under "educational games", sometimes with reference to the Nikitins, which is not offered. At the same time, the most interesting information about the development of children continues to flow to family members, more and more new people come who are interested in the Nikitins' experience, and in one way or another continue it. The creation of the site is overdue. And we are happy about it.

As far as possible, we want to make available all worksB.P. and L.A. in the field of family and childhood studies. Alexey Nikitin (the eldest son) once very well formulated on one of the Internet forums: “The Nikitin books should be read as an invitation to reflection, a fresh look at the child and his capabilities, as well as our duties towards him. Do not look for “systems”, think with your own head, approach things creatively, and always remember that the main criterion is the child himself, his mood, condition, reactions, successes and achievements that he has achieved by himself.

In addition, this site is for communication of all those who are united by “conscious parenthood”, who value the word “family” and everything connected with it, who want to live joyfully and freely with their children, perceiving coexistence not as a heavy duty, but as one of the most creative and happy periods of life.

June-December 2011. Korolev, Moscow, Yaroslavl, London.

In the Soviet Union, some considered them crazy: "They make children walk naked in the snow, hang upside down for hours ..." Others - not only in Russia, but also in Europe, Japan and America - shouted: "Brilliant!"

There were two "CRAZY" - the spouses Lena Alekseevna and Boris Pavlovich Nikitin. Innovative teachers. Their family became famous in the 60s. First - in the West, then - in our country. Much has been written about them, TV programs and scientific films have been made. Their enthusiasm for the non-standard development of children and their conviction that they were right haunted many.

They will develop their own system later. At first it was a chance meeting.

Lena was late for the city pedagogical meeting. On the last row, there was only one empty seat - next to a tall, thin man.

Lena got ready to listen to what the speakers were talking about from the podium, but the neighbor rustled with his notes, grumbled, and was indignant. And after about ten minutes, Lena suddenly discovered that she was completely absorbed not by the report and not by her own troubles - her personal life did not add up, work at school was not going at all as she had dreamed, but by the ideas of a man named Boris Nikitin. Together with like-minded people, he dreamed of creating a school on the principle of Makarenko and the Pushkin Lyceum at the same time. Bewitched, Lena agreed to join them.

She was 28, he was 42. They fell in love with each other, decided to start a family. In Nikitin, the energy to educate "in his own way" was seething. About a family where it will be possible, he only dreamed of. And finally met Lena.

"Doctor Spock recognized the Nikitins' technique"

NONE of the Nikitins at first imagined what kind of family it would be. Nothing happened with the Makarenko school - the authorities did not give permission. It turned out for the best. Because as a result, their "family school" was born, which turned out to be useful to millions of people around the world. Boris directed all the rebellious potential of the teacher to the family. Lena became his wife and colleague. And he worked at the Research Institute of Labor Training.

The insights came spontaneously. Conclusions were made, as they say, on the go. Hardening has taken root in the family. Walking barefoot, including in the snow, dousing with cold water. No know-how, of course. But the Nikitins came to this without relying on anyone else's experience. It was just that one day they noticed that due to the cool air, the first-born Alyosha began to undergo diathesis.

"No rigid discipline"

Special rooms were created in the Nikitins' HOUSE. One is sports. She is still there. There are crossbars, a rope ladder up to the ceiling, gymnastic rings, bars. Boris Pavlovich considered the physical development of children very important. Now the Nikitins' grandchildren are spinning somersaults on the rings.

Nikitin Sr. did everything in the house with his own hands, even furniture. Considering the modest income, it was profitable. Lena Alekseevna sewed clothes for the family.

While still teaching at a flight school during the war, Boris Pavlovich came up with educational games for children, at the same time he began to keep notes, fixing his ideas. So more than 20 games were born, they are in demand and are still published about ten. In Japan, and now the games of the Nikitins are included in the mandatory program for the development of children in kindergartens. "Even the famous Dr. Spock," says the youngest son of the Nikitins, Ivan, "after getting acquainted with the theories of my parents, changed his views on child development in many ways."

The essence of the "methodology" of the Nikitins is that everything should be natural, following the laws of nature. Both in the physical and intellectual development of children.

Lena Alekseevna is now 75 years old. She says:

We didn't raise our children on purpose. Followed their interests and helped to develop. No prohibitions, strict discipline. The interest of the child is desirable to pick up up to three years. For example, one of the eldest sons, Anton, became interested in fire at the age of 2.5. Seeing his interest in chemistry, Boris Palych showed Antoshka the periodic table. By the age of four, he mastered it. As a result, the son graduated from a chemical technical school, now he works in a pharmaceutical company.

The eldest, Alyosha, became interested in radio work early. Father noticed - he bought him a radio device. Now the son lives in America, works as a developer of special electronic equipment.

The eldest daughter Olga went to school at the age of six. She had an amazing sense of justice. Now she is a lawyer in a private firm.

When Olya went to school, another daughter, Anya, was 5 years old. I went to work, and she stayed for half a day alone, babysitting the little ones. She grew up to become a nurse. But now he works as a logistics manager for a transport company.

Daughter Julia lives with her family in Yaroslavl. At first she worked as a librarian. Now she is the editor-in-chief of one of the local newspapers.

Two families remained with me in the house - Ani and Ivan. Vanya is the eldest in our large family. Works as an executive director of a private enterprise. To a greater extent, he inherited public work related to our business with Boris Palych.

The costs were

ADULT children of the Nikitins are slender and fit. Even daughters who have become mothers several times. The youngest in the family, Lyuba, surpassed her parents. She also has seven children, but she is only 34 years old. The rest of her siblings mostly have two or three children. Divorce in the "clan" has not yet been observed.

The Nikitins now have 23 grandchildren. There are no great-grandchildren yet. When the whole family is at the table, almost 40 people gather! “We have a close-knit family. It is unlikely that I would have dared to give birth to seven children in my life,” says Lena Alekseevna, “if it were not for Boris Pavlovich. It was even written on his business card: “Nikitin B.P. Professional father.”

Seven years ago, the "big baby" passed away. He fell, slipping, in the courtyard of the house. There was blood in the throat, an urgent operation was required. Five hours on the operating table - and it seemed that the patient was on the mend. In intensive care, children and his wife stood around the bed of Boris Pavlovich, holding hands. Lena Alekseevna: "I told him:" Just live. We will do everything for you." And he suddenly says quietly, with a smile: "Well, our grandmother has become warmer." What was it like for me ... I realized that sometimes I was more often an ally than a wife.

A few days later, Nikitin's heart stopped.

Miracles were expected from them, believing that the Nikitins' children should have superpowers. And they are what they are. Of course, the example of the older Nikitins does not mean that everyone should live like this. To each his own. And of course, there were costs in the life and work of these teachers. "We didn't belong to ourselves," says Ivan. After all, children were under close attention: a) doctors (they were regularly examined, looking for "side effects" of the technique, but once academician Amosov said: "These are the healthiest children"); b) teachers (they were more strictly asked or set as an example); c) people who want to learn the Nikitin method, and eccentric pilgrims obsessed with health (in the Nikitins' house in Bolshevo, near Moscow, someone was constantly visiting, sometimes staying to live for two or three months); d) the press, which then choked with delight, then blamed.

“But, despite this,” Nikitin Jr. continues, “we are grateful to our parents. We are internally free, we know how to love. And ... nothing has changed for us. We innovate in our families. So to be continued ... "

Now Boris and Elena Nikitin are known to many as classics of Russian pedagogy. They achieved such fame thanks to their methodology, which they developed based on observations of their own children. Applying their revolutionary methods of education on their children, the Nikitins achieved incredible results and proved that human possibilities are endless. Thanks to the method of the Nikitin family, your child can also turn into a harmoniously developed personality with creative and flexible thinking.

For the first time, Nikitins declared themselves in the late 50s. years. In a small village near Moscow, it became known about a young family whose children run barefoot in the snow, perform incredible acrobatic etudes and at the same time, at the age of three or four, amaze with their erudition and good breeding. For such a young age, the Nikitinsky children had remarkable knowledge in mathematics, solved logical problems, and at school they jumped over the class and studied a more complex program for their age.

Having proved the viability of their methodology, the Nikitins began to distribute it throughout the territory of the Soviet Union. The period of the greatest popularity of the Nikitin method of early development fell on the 60-70s.

The principles of the Nikitin technique

Nikitins talked about two main mistakes that most parents make in raising their children. Firstly - this overcare, super-organization in the upbringing of the child. Parents literally do not allow the child to breathe, as they suffocate him with their guardianship and care. Constant classes, games and exercises that a child performs only under the supervision of parents do not contribute to the development of his independence. The child needs to engage in independent activities, otherwise he simply will not develop.

The second mistake is abandonment child. This is a diametrically opposite extreme, into which a lot of people also fall. Due to lack of time or for other reasons, mom and dad practically do not communicate with the child. This, of course, does not mean that they do not take care of him, they feed him, dress him, take him to kindergarten. But without constant contact with parents, a child cannot develop in himself many of the qualities he needs. Such isolation of the child from parents can lead to emotional poverty, to a delay in mental and emotional development.

That is why, in order to avoid such extremes, Nikitin based his theory on the principles naturalness, closeness to nature and creativity. Children should be in charge of their own time and actions. The role of parents is not a manager, but an assistant in the knowledge of an amazing new world. They should help with advice if the baby cannot answer a particular question. In no case do they force the child to engage in this or that activity, they simply help the child to become interested in this activity, to be carried away by something. In constant contact, communication, joint activities, the child's creative abilities, his independence, initiative and flexibility of thinking should develop. This is exactly how, according to Boris Nikitin, it is necessary to prepare children for their future adult life.

So the basic principles are:

• Liberty. The child should be free to be creative. Parents cannot impose special exercises, classes, lessons on their child. Just offer options, and let the child do what he wants.
• sport. Children should be dressed in comfortable light sportswear, and there should be sports equipment in the house. Thus, the child himself will be drawn to sports without your participation, because sports will become a familiar part of their lives.
• indifference. Parents should sincerely rejoice for the victories of the kids and worry together about the failures. All children's games and competitions should be supervised by parents, and parents should try to show their reaction to everything that happens.

The main thing that parents need to remember is that they should not interfere with the development of the child.

There is no need to put pressure on children, to drive them into the framework and your own idea of ​​\u200b\u200bright actions. Help him to learn this world without imposing patterns and labels.

As the Nikitins admitted, the purpose of their original upbringing of children was not at all their early development. They simply noticed that if certain conditions are created for the development of certain abilities, they will develop much earlier. So, for example, if the child does not yet speak, play with him with cubes, cards with letters and similar materials, and he will learn to speak and read much earlier than other peers.

Physical development

Nikitin, like many teachers, cared for the harmonious all-round development of the child. Therefore, they paid attention not only to the mental sphere, but also to the physical. Indeed, by and large, with the help of his body, the child also learns the world around him, and the healthier the body is, the easier it will be for him.

Therefore, there is no need to overload the child with extra clothes that hinder movement, there is no need to “stuff” his body with heavy, high-calorie junk food. The childhood of a child should be easy in everything, so he will develop faster, because nothing will make his journey to knowledge more difficult. Be sure to know what sports are in the house and go in for sports. A child needs to get acquainted with various sports equipment from early childhood. Hardening is also very beneficial for the health of the baby, it was to him that the Nikitins paid quite a lot of attention, and thanks to this, their children never got sick.

Intellectual games according to the Nikitin method

The basic principles of all Nikitin games:

• You should not explain to the child the algorithm for solving the task, do not prompt him, thereby you help the child develop. The child learns to solve problems independently, to look at the situation outside the box.
• Never expect instant success from a child. He will not be able to solve all the problems correctly the first time, moreover, he may not do it the third time either. It's just that the complexity of the task is too high for the level of development of the baby.
• The solution algorithm in Nikitin's manuals is always encrypted in the form of a drawing, pattern, diagram or figures assembled from a constructor, cubes. It is important that the child can touch and see this hint, then he will be able to check the correctness of the solution to the problem.
• Most of all Nikitin's games are not limited to only one solution. Thanks to your imagination and the imagination of the kid, you can create a completely new game based on the old one. The creation of new games also has a beneficial effect on the development of the creative abilities of the baby.

The Nikitins, a married couple of schoolteachers, began their own pedagogical experiment back in the 70s. The firstborn of Boris and Lena Alyosha was born in 1959, and two years later his brother Anton was born.

The large Nikitin family (it's no joke - seven children!) Became famous throughout the then Soviet Union, and over time - even beyond its borders. Many of the things proposed by the Nikitins seemed paradoxical then, but now for us it is commonplace and the norm.

For example, the Nikitins, on the basis of their own observations and the mass of literature they read, categorically demanded that their newborn babies not be taken away from their mother immediately, as required by the rules of the maternity hospital. On the contrary, the Nikitin babies were placed on their mother's stomach and immediately applied to the chest. We now know that the first drops of breast colostrum are the best way to build immunity in newborns. At the time of the Nikitins, this seemed to many an absurd invention, the fantasy of an experimental father.

Unicube, invented by Boris Nikitin in the distant 80s, is still happily played by modern children. And many other of their manuals, methods and tools are widely used in modern pedagogy. And since the youngest of the Nikitinsky children were practically the same age as me, and the family was famous all over the country, I watched and waited impatiently, eager to find out what brilliant success these children would achieve.

For a long time I completely lost sight of both the Nikitins themselves and their offspring. And when I began to stumble upon rare references to the adult children of Boris and Lena, for a long time I could not believe what I read. Not every child decided to become the head of a large family. None of them, despite outstanding success outside of school, jumping through classes and early admission to universities, has made scientific discoveries and does not shine on the scientific path. Nobody wanted to continue the outstanding (I say without irony) teaching career of their parents. The eldest son, Alexei, was the first to feel like an outcast at school. It used to be that he was beaten. He was rude to teachers, left classes slamming doors. Yes, and the rest of the children, Nikitin's parents willingly allowed them to skip classes and demonstrate their protest.

The eldest, Alyosha, who was accustomed to taking care of the little ones, the infirm grandfather and grandmother, at the age of 18 married a woman 12 years older than him. At the same time, he took care of her mother and grandmother. Later, Alyosha and his wife's family went to live in London.

Why did the children, in whom so much was invested, to whom talented teachers and parents devoted all their educational efforts, in no way confirm with their future lives the correctness of the Nikitin methods? Already the grandfather of a crowd of grandchildren, Boris Nikitin answered this question more than once. He said that he was not going to raise outstanding athletes or scientists from his children. That I did not think to make geniuses or geeks out of them. That it is quite enough for him that they grew up healthy physically and mentally. However, a certain bitterness was heard in the words of Boris Pavlovich, and even to an outside observer it was obvious that Nikitin had not been demonstrating the success of his children to the whole country for so long, clearly ahead of their peers, in order to now publicly recognize their "commonness".

What went wrong? Why failed a brilliant pedagogical experiment, famous throughout the country? Being young, famous, successful, admitting your mistakes is not easy. Only towards the end of her life, Nikitin's wife, who was still called Lena, wrote several notes in which she tried to analyze some of her misconceptions and mistakes with her husband. Later, several such articles were written by their daughter Yulia.

Lena Nikitina admitted that, despite the big words about labor education, in fact, such education was rather unsystematic and irregular. The teacher's family was constantly short of money, so they took on the few legal side jobs that were possible in Soviet times. If Boris wrote articles and received royalties for them, then Lena sewed construction gloves at home, for which she paid mere pennies. To this work, she attracted children as best she could. This happened infrequently, and the children did not receive special rewards - everything went into a common boiler.

The children also complained.

Recently, our family has been simply tormented. There are even fewer moments of your own life that are not observed by someone from the outside. Visitors stopped asking permission to photograph, record, film, and their attitude towards us almost completely entered the form of the attitude of the audience towards the exhibits, - Yulia Nikitina wrote.

And who invited these numerous guests and the journalistic fraternity to the house? Who could quite freely, not in accordance with the desires of the other inhabitants of the house, invite a problem child and his mother to live with them? Or even an entire family?

The Nikitins' children had enough difficulties: the bedrooms were divided into girls' and boys' rooms. In fact, none of the children had the opportunity to retire in any of the nooks and crannies of their house. Everyone was dressed simply and cheaply - both girls and boys wore sports T-shirts and shorts at home until they were older. Later, the girls still rebelled and refused to wear such a costume. Since there was not enough money, the children did not know any sweets, oranges and other delicacies loved by the children. I had a chance to get acquainted with them when a continuous flow of visitors began in the house, some of which secretly thrust some of the forbidden products to the children. An apple or a peeled carrot was considered a delicacy and a dessert in the house. At the house there was a small plot and a garden, especially no one was zealous on it, despite the speeches about labor education.

And in general, Lena Nikitina admits, their upbringing was clearly not systematic: if Boris was suddenly fond of the technical side, everyone together solved puzzles, rebuses and riddles. If he determined the main physical side, everyone hung on the horizontal bar and did push-ups. Especially, of course, girls suffered from such a physically-engineering system of education of Boris Pavlovich. The mother, busy with constant household chores around the family, had neither the strength nor the desire to give them a fraction of the necessary female attention. It is not for nothing that the Nikitins girls later reproached their father for precisely this physical-engineering education and the parents' lack of time for individual communication in each of the children.

So all the same - did the Nikitin family have a phenomenon? Undoubtedly. There was a phenomenon. And looking at the phenomenon of the Nikitin family and pedagogy, everyone can draw the necessary conclusions for themselves, which the past tense and their own experience suggest. The Nikitins have a lot to learn. And by analyzing their mistakes, you can also take into account what you should not do if you want to keep your family as a community of loving people, and not as a curiosity exposed to the public, right?

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