How to stimulate executive functions in children?
The most advisable thing would be to introduce executive function exercises for children in their different educational stages: early childhood, primary and secondary education learning disabilities tutoring near me.
Depending on the independence they assume, we could use different activities, all of them focused on practicing skills such as attention, working memory, controlling quick responses such as anger, or achieving goals, among other examples.
Activities to work on executive functions in children
All children need to develop their executive functions. There are times when they get lost during a reading , or they have a hard time staying focused to finish a task, or they don’t know how to plan and are always late. This occurs when there is no proper use of the functions.
So… How can we work on executive functions in children so that they develop their working memory, their control of distractions, their planning capacity or time management?
We propose a series of activities that can be carried out in the educational environment.
Role plays
It is an activity where boys and girls can enhance their creative capacity , through the simulation of invented characters and stories.
They can identify with different roles and build totally new stories, movies, and even spaces through play. It is a fantastic practice to interact with others and the environment.
Children can explore their ideas, desires and conflicts in a safe and fun environment.
Board and card games
In board games they work on their memory and organizational skills. For example, they can play matching cards or combining pieces and elements of different sizes and colors.
Card games also help them to be decisive and plan well to get the winning hand.
Physical activities
Physical activities such as musical chairs or playing catch put their decision-making skills and self-control into practice.
There are many more options for movement-related activities. One of them is Simón’s game . In it, they must reproduce the gestures and postures of another person when hearing the phrase “Simon says…”, but they must be very attentive to imitate them only when they hear the magic phrase.
In this game they put attention and response inhibition into practice.