Many children have notoriously selective listening skills. They hear what they want and seem to tune out the rest.
But listening is a skill that we can help our children improve. Like a muscle, it needs constant exercise to grow stronger.
Here
are some games and activities to boost your child's listening skills.
Because children learn in different ways, the games are arranged by
learning style. But any child can benefit from the suggestions in all
three categories.
Talk to your child all the time. Get in the habit of narrating everyday chores. If you're
in the kitchen together while you're making dinner, for example, you
can say, "I need to measure out two cups of water and then add one cup
of rice..." It may not seem as if your child is paying attention — but
she is.
Don't be surprised if you hear her repeating something you
said when she talks to someone else. And remember: Children are natural
mimics, so watch your language!
Make reading an interactive activity.
When reading a book to your child, stop before turning the page and
say, "What do you think will happen next?" Ask her to explain her answer
to see how well she's listened to what you've read so far. If she seems
unsure about what happened, start again.
Ask your child to predict how a story will end. Read a book aloud to your child and stop just before the last page. Ask her to guess how the story will turn out, based on what she's already heard.
Then finish the story and discuss the ending with your
child. Was her prediction accurate, or was there a surprise ending? If
the latter, were there any clues to the ending planted earlier in the
story?
Revisit an old favorite. Bring out one of your child's most dog-eared, battered books and read it aloud yet again, only this time pause at key points to let her supply the words that come next.
Or read the story and purposely change key details to
see how well your child is paying attention. If she hears something
that's not quite right, she'll be sure to correct you.
Listen to stories together.
We never outgrow our delight at hearing stories told aloud. Libraries,
bookstores, and community centers usually have read-aloud story times
for young children.
Go to fairs and community events at which
professional storytellers will be performing. And borrow or buy audio
books for the car or the house.
Here have a list of free audio books online to hear it with your children.
Make up silly rhymes. The more absurd, the better. ("The fat cat ate the hat. Then the rat ate the fat cat who ate the hat...")
This activity will teach your child to listen for words that sound the same and to identify rhyming patterns.
Play "story chain."
Everyone in the family will enjoy this. Have one person begin a story
("Once upon a time, there was a little boy who lived in a tree house in
the woods"), and then have another contribute the next sentence, and so
on.
Because each person has to listen to what came before to advance the story, this game enhances listening skills.
If
your child is too young to extend a plot line, ask her to supply
specific details: "What color was the tree house? Did any friends visit
him there? What kind of animals lived near him in the woods?"
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