Home Preschool Curriculum Guide

By Frances Wisniewski and Diane Flynn Keith
With Contributions By Annette M. Hall

Listening & Sequencing

Follow Simple Directions

Bake A Cake!

An easy way to teach kids how to follow directions is to bake something by following a recipe. Your child will quickly see that doing each step in a particular order is necessary to produce a tasty treat. Try this recipe (designed with kids in mind) for baking a carrot cake.

As you follow the directions, ask your child, "What do you think would happen if we didn't grate the carrots or cut them up before putting them in the cake? Why do we have to break the eggs? Why do you think we need to measure the dry ingredients - what do you think would happen if we used the whole bag of flour instead of just 3 cups?" There are no "right" answers - you are just helping them to understand that there's a good reason for following the directions.

Turn Chores Into Fun Learning Opportunities

Go On A Sock Search!

Ask your child to get something from around the house and bring it to you. For example, tell your child you are missing some socks and need their help to find them. Ask them to go to the bedroom and look for socks on the floor. If they find any, ask them to pick them up and bring them to you. When your child can handle one direction, ask him/her to get a couple of things and bring them to you. This will help with their listening and observational skills.

Make Direction Cards

Direction cards make a fun game that will help your child learn to follow directions better. You'll need about 10 index cards for this and a pen. (You can add more cards later.) Write a direction on each card such as hop on one foot, clap your hands, smile, count to 3, point to something round, draw a flower, and so forth. Try using pictures so your child can "read" the cards.

Go On A Treasure Hunt!

Make a hidden treasure map for your child. Draw the map on a piece of construction paper. Put some lines, symbols and simple directions on it. Glue pictures (cut from a magazine or from printed computer graphics) on the map. When the glue dries, roll the map up and put a ribbon or a rubber band around it. Present the treasure map to your child and say, "See if you can follow the directions to find the hidden treasure."

Example of what to put on the map: Pick a place to start such as your child's bedroom (use a bed for this picture). Take 10 steps (draw footprints or track marks) to the living room (put a couch for this room). Take 4 steps to the dining room or bathroom (put a table or a bathtub for these clues). Finally, take 5 hops (draw footprints together and spaced apart) to the kitchen and you will find your treasure! (Have a small toy, a new package of crayons, a container of Play Doh, or a healthy snack waiting for your child!)

Note: Your child may need a little help reading the map whether you use words or pictures on it. Help them figure it out and have fun!

Variation: Instead of a map, make up some picture cards for the rooms in your home. Put the clues in order and hide them around the house in the order you would like your child to find the clues. Hand your child the first clue, and then let him/her find the next clue. For example, your child's first clue might be a picture of a couch. When your child goes to the couch they will find another "clue" on the couch or under one of the pillows on the couch. The next clue might have a picture of a bathtub. That will direct your child to go to the bathroom for the next clue. Put another clue in the bathroom. That clue could finish the game by leading to the treasure. For example, the clue card could have a picture of a refrigerator to represent the kitchen. Have the treasure hidden in the fridge.

Help your child make and hide some cards for another family member to find! This would also be a nice way to find a birthday or holiday surprise!

Listening with Care

Children need to develop good listening skills to develop good language and reading skills. They must learn to discriminate various sounds in order to associate a particular sound with a letter. Then, they need to remember the sounds that letters make so they can reproduce them and use them to make words as their language skills develop.

In these classic children's games, kids learn to listen carefully and follow directions:

Play the classic children's game, "Simon Says"
Play "Mother, May I?" or "Captain, May I?"

Take a Sound Walk! Go on a walk around the block and have your child identify everything they hear. Can they tell what direction a sound is coming from?

Recognizing Common Sounds

Learn The Sounds That Letters Make!

You can listen to the sounds letters (consonant and vowels) make while watching a clever animation with your child at Starfall.com.

Play the Magic School Bus Gets An Earful Sound Game

Your child will have fun finding out if he/she has a good "ear" for matching up sounds with the things that make them.

Retelling Simple Stories in Sequence

What Happened Next?

Read a story to your child. Ask him/her to retell the story. Help your child retell it in logical sequence or order simply by asking, "What happened next?"

Photo Fun

Show your child photos from a family outing and ask him/her to help you put your story in order based on when each event took place. Ask them to retell the story of the family outing.

Play a Memory Sequencing Game with this free online activity.

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