Where are My Keys??!! The Power of Executive Functioning
Do you have a family calendar? Do you make a list of “to do’s” for the week? Do you typically stick to a similar schedule each week? I don’t know about you, but I have to put my keys in the same spot when I return home so I can find them the next time I need them. Do you do the same? All of these behaviors are normal. In fact, the behaviors regulate our ability to plan, focus attention, and remember important directions. Harvard’s Center for the Developing Child compares these behaviors to an air traffic control system. These behaviors have a special label: executive functioning.
It’s important to help children develop these skills for learning and development. As a teacher, I set up the room with the students so that we all knew where to find various things: writing tools, paper, Kleenex, research tools, etc. I marvel at my sister-in-law’s system at her house - a large, well organized drawer containing anything/everything my niece and nephew would need access to: scissors, tape, string, pens, pencils, paper….I could go on! My niece and nephew also know where to go to find the family calendar on which to find their baseball and soccer schedules.
Children are not born with these skills, but they have the potential to develop them. Some need more help than others. It is essential for them to practice these skills before they go off on their own! Consider ways to foster your child’s executive functioning skills this summer!
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