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Health & Fitness

Essentials Skills in Preschool as Predictors for Success (Executive Function)

We all know that early learning includes the development of the pre-reading and math skills that children will need for school. However, preschoolers need to learn more than how to recite the alphabet and count; children also need to develop executive function skills.

Executive functions help us control our thoughts, behavior and emotions, including our abilities to concentrate, focus, transition between activities, reason and plan. Other executive functions include working memory, organizational skills and cognitive flexibility. Children who develop these executive skills are more likely to do well in school.

Goddard School teachers focus on helping children develop executive function skills throughout each day in purposeful and fun learning activities. We do this by encouraging play through dramatizations, stories and games that help young children to develop self-regulation, cognitive and social-emotional skills.

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Here are some activities that you can do at home to help your children develop these core skills:

* Play simple games like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. These help children practice self-regulation by learning rules and following directions;

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* Solve puzzles with them, and introduce harder ones with more pieces as your children improve their skills;

* Learn a simple dance and create new steps together. Take turns following each other’s movements;

* Sing your favorite songs together to practice the words and music;

* Assign your children simple daily chores, and praise your children when they complete the tasks;

* Turn off your tablet or smartphone, and bring out toys that encourage imaginative play, such as blocks and clay.

 

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