Teach Sequencing
This is a piece of attention span and impulse control that overlaps with the previous suggestions about listening, planning and organization. Sequencing is more about the follow through of listening and the organization of a plan. We practice this with Sequence Cards* where children are given … [Read More...]
Teach Organization and Scheduling
Reducing physical and mental clutter and other distractions can greatly benefit attention span and lessen distractibility. At home, this is getting toys and bedrooms organized. Make a plan with your child about how, when and where to store toys and other belongings. In our house, the toys all … [Read More...]
Teach Planning and Reviewing towards Self-Control
Planning and reviewing skills are a piece of building attention span and impulse control. In some of our classes, each week the children have to plan their 15 minute play time. This includes choosing where they will play (only 1 center each day) and planning three activities to occupy their … [Read More...]
Teach Them to Listen
There are many ways to build listening skills. There are lots of good children’s books that introduce the idea and importance of listening. A few titles include Listen and Learn by Free Spirit Publishing, The Worst Day of My Life Ever by Julia Cook and the Amelia Bedelia books. Many games … [Read More...]
Article on Teaching Self-Control
Just wanted to share a link to a great article from The New York Times titled Building Self-Control, The American Way by Aamodt and Wang. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/opinion/sunday/building-self-control-the-american-way.html?pagewanted=all During the next week I will post ideas and … [Read More...]
Teach Turn Taking thru Role Play
At any age, if your child is not yet good at turn taking, it can be helpful to role play the process. This means to approach them when they are playing alone and happy at, say the train table. Pick up the blue train that is not being used and say something like, "Wow! The blue train. I love … [Read More...]
Downtime Play Tips
Downtime is truely unstructured, "go play" time. It's suggested children have an hour of downtime a day through ten years old. With the pace of life, downtime can be hard to come by. Here are a few tips to get you started. Turn of the tv and computers - Screentime is anti-downtime. When … [Read More...]
Travel Potty Training Tips
Before you start potty training, it is beneficial to consider what you are going to do about the process when you are away from home. The first is to consider the potty itself. There are folding seats that fit on potties, folding stand-alone options, blow-up options and full-size floor potties … [Read More...]
