- By Isaac
- Van Wesep
Can You Hear the Sound?: A Mindful Listening Activity for Preschoolers
This article is part of our weekly series Executive Function Tips for Families.
What is Executive Function?
Executive function (EF) refers to a set of mental skills that includes working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. These skills are essential for planning, focusing, and managing multiple tasks. By building EF skills early, we set children up for long-term learning success. Read on to find out how this game supports EF skill development.
Lengthening Attention Span by Improving Focus
In recent years, with the increase of dependence on modern technology, educators and parents have noticed a decline in children’s ability to focus for extended periods of time. Cultivating Executive Function (EF) skills is key in lengthening the attention span of preschoolers whilst assisting in their cognitive development. So if you’re looking for a fun activity to help your preschooler stay focused, listen up! This week, we’ll be diving into sounds with an interactive listening activity designed to engage young minds and sharpen their cognitive skills.
This Game Builds the Following EF Skills:
- Working memory: Players must remember the game instructions and focus on the sounds they hear while playing.
- Inhibitory Control: Players must practice patience while waiting for the next sound and keep their eyes closed during some levels.
- Cognitive Flexibility: Players will have to switch between sounds, number of sounds, and sound patterns.
What You’ll Need
- Time: 10-15 minutes
- Space: You can play this game in any quiet space! Try an area on the living room floor or your kitchen table. You can even play it outdoors!
- Materials:
- Plastic eggs or containers (plastic food storage containers work great!)
- Items to fill the eggs or containers (dried rice, beans, paper clips, etc.)
Ready to Play? Game Levels and Step-by-Step Instructions
This game is great for both individuals and small groups. Choose the best starting level based on your child’s age. If an activity seems too difficult or easy, then adjust as needed. You can move down a level or up a level at any time!
Game Level 1 – Listen to the Sound (2-3 years)
- Sit with your child in a quiet space with limited distractions.
- Hold two plastic eggs: one should be filled (with rice, paper clips, etc) and the other should be empty.
- Explain to your child:
- “We are going to play a game! I want you to listen very closely. I’m going to shake these eggs, but only one of them is going to make noise. See if you can tell me which egg is the noisy egg when I shake them up!”
- Shake both eggs and have your child point to the one making noise.
- Change up how quickly or forcefully you shake the eggs. This will help extend how long your child has to pay attention. The faster and more forcefully you shake the harder it will be for them to tell which egg is filled.
Game Level 2 – Different Sounds (3-4 years)
- Sit down with your child in a quiet space without distractions.
- Make sounds by doing a single hand clap, snapping your fingers, or tapping your foot.
- Tell your child:
- “For this game, I want you to close your eyes so you can listen very closely to the sounds that I’m going to make. I’m going to make the sound THREE times and then you can open your eyes and tell me what you think the sound was!”
- Repeat one sound three times and then ask them to guess what it is..
- Continue doing this with other sounds.
Game Level 3 – Matching a Sound (5+ years)
- Sit down with your child in a quiet space without distractions.
- For this level, you will need several containers filled with objects:
- Two containers should be filled with the same object (such as rice).
- The other containers should be numbered with pieces of tape and filled with different items (paper clips, pebbles, cereal, etc).
- Tell your child:
- “I am going to make this game a little bit tricky! You have to listen really well because I’m going to shake a container. Then, I will pick up another container and shake it. Your job is to listen for the container that sounds the same as the first. When I’m done, you’ll hold up the number of fingers that matches the number on the container that sounds the same. Ready?”
- Shake the main container and then shake one of the numbered containers. Make sure to say what number is on the container.
- Repeat this process. You may need to shake the main container several times to help your child remember what it sounds like.
- Encourage them to listen closely and to close their eyes if they want.
- You can repeat this game by changing what is in the main container.
After You Play: Talk & Reflect
As you play the game, ask your child questions like:
- “Was it easy or hard to be quiet and listen to one sound?”
- “How did you match the different sounds together?”
- “How did it feel in your body to be still and listen to sounds?”
Additional Ideas & Resources
- For younger children, start with sounds that are easier to identify. Then, as they gain confidence, add more challenging sounds.
- Let older children gain confidence and lead younger ones through the exercises.
- Experiment with musical instruments, animal sounds, or even counting strikes on a drum for added variety.
