If you’re worried about your preschooler following directions at NYC kindergarten admissions interviews, playdates and on the FLI test for Horace Mann and Riverdale, here are some fun and practical ways to help!
Play Games
- Start with games you already have at home. Can your child follow the game directions easily, or are you providing support? If the latter is true, keep practicing and slowly fade off the cues.
- Learn to follow instructions in new games such as:
- Connect Four
- Clue Junior
- Uno Junior
- Monopoly Junior
- Shut the Box
- Guess Who
- Card games like Memory, War, Old Maid
- Scrabble Junior
- Simon Says
Everyday Directions
- Ask your child for help with daily tasks. Start with one-step directions and then jump to two-step directions. For example:
- Please pack your library book for school.
- Please bring me a diaper for your brother and then put your water bottle in your backpack.
- Regularly change the directions you ask your preschooler to follow and vary/increase the prepositions and details…
- Can you please bring me my book? It’s on the shelf next to the couch.
- Daddy needs his keys. They are inside the pocket of the black bag by the door. Can you please give them to him?
Creative Directions
- Bake or cook together – following a recipe requires following lots of directions.
- Make crafts together – gather materials and follow the steps to create something that motivates your child.
What did I Say? What are you going to do?
- Stating your child’s name and encouraging repetition of the instructions will help with attention and correctly following through. Here’s a recent dialogue I had with four-year-old Aiden:
- Steph: Aiden, please get the purple marker from the art table.
- Aiden: Okay!
- Steph: What did I say?
- Aiden: You want me to get the purple marker from the art table.
- Steph: Yes! What are you going to do?
- Aiden: Get the purple marker – be right back!
If your child struggles with following directions, please contact Stephanie Sigal M.A. CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist at sigalstephanie@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.