Improving Listening Skills (page 2)

Play “Boogie Band Studio”

Building Blocks has a great way to help children focus, with their eyes and ears—“Boogie Band Studio.”

Select the setting—easy, medium, or hard. Then, have children watch and listen to repeat the order, or sequence, of the musical lights and sounds. The better they focus and pay attention, the longer the sequence they can follow.

Then, challenge them to listen carefully to identify the sounds that represent each character—Ali’s keyboard, Kristi’s flute, Miguel’s bass, Mee’s guitar, Wally’s trumpet, Sandy’s saxophone, and Thurgood’s drum.

Try building and following your own sound sequences. Set out several noise-making tools—a spoon and pot, a bell, a drum, a pencil and wooden block, a metal clacker. Then, create a sequence of sounds and have your child repeat the sequence in order. Continue adding sounds to the sequence to make your child focus harder and longer. Take turns being the bandleader—letting your child make up his or her own sequence for you to follow. Make sure children repeat their sequences correctly as they challenge you to continue following their lead.

Fun in the Kitchen

Children learn just how important it is to follow directions carefully, and in the correct sequence, when they are following a recipe. Recipes can have only a few steps or many steps, but your meal will be very different if you leave a step out or put them in the wrong order. Here’s a simple sequence for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

1. Get out the bread, peanut butter, and jelly.
2. Toast the bread. (optional)
3. Place one slice of bread on a plate.
4. Spread the peanut butter on top of the bread on the plate.
5. Spread the jelly on top of the peanut butter.
6. Place the second slice of bread on top of the peanut butter and jelly spread.
7. Enjoy your peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Let children talk about what might happen if they toasted the bread after they spread the peanut butter and jelly on it. What would be different? What if they forgot to complete step 4? Would they still have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?