Listening Well & Following Directions

4 Fun Ways To Practice Listening Skills

1. Start with something simple: Talk with your child a lot. Have conversations. Interview each other. Tell jokes. Talk, talk, talk.
2. Read and read and then read some more. Audio books are fun, too.
3. Play I Spy or other guessing games in which you and your child take turns giving each other clues.
4. When you are reading or telling a familiar story to your child, make a mistake, such as, “When Goldilocks arrived at The Three Frogs’ house, she went inside without knocking.” See if your child catches your mistake! (Don’t be surprised if they want you to do this all the time — mine do!)

4 Ways To Make Directions Fun

1. Scavenger hunts, treasure hunts, etc. with verbal clues.
2. Draw simple pictures for everyday routines, such as getting ready in the morning. Have your child point to each picture and tell you the “story” of this routine.
3. Have fun with silly, unexpected directions: “Go to the kitchen and quack like a duck!”
   Let your child have a turn being the direction-giver and you be the follower. Model good behavior!
4. When you cook together, talk about the steps. “First, we pour in the flour. Then, we add the sugar. Now, we mix it all together.” Use those sequencing words (first, next, then) so your child becomes familiar with them.

For these tips and more, plus examples of great ways to give easy-to-follow directions to your child visit the Let's Explore Blog.