No one can deny that listening is a valuable skill for every child to have. Having a child who listens well makes parenting and homeschooling much more pleasant. After all, who likes to have to tell their child over and over to do something? Not me. (Although I have to admit that I’ve been guilty of doing it on occasion. 😉 )
But besides making parenting easier and homeschooling more enjoyable, there are other reasons why listening is so valuable.
- It’s important for safety. You’ve probably had to tell your child warnings like, “Stay by me. It’s dangerous to run out in the street.” or “Be careful. That pan is hot.”
- It’s vital for speech development. Children need to hear and listen to words spoken to them in order to imitate speech.
- It’s a significant asset for the working world. Employees need to listen to bosses or customers.
- It makes conversations more meaningful. No one likes a one-sided conversation. Both parties need to practice listening actively to each other.
There are a wide variety of activities, both fun and practical, that you can do with your child to improve his listening skills. Let’s take a look at a few.
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Improve Your Child’s Listening Skills
Stories
Reading aloud stories is a good way to capture your child’s attention and encourage listening. Discussion questions can further enhance learning and listening. You can use questions like:
- What did you think about…?
- What was your favorite part?
- Do you think that…will…?
- Who is your favorite character so far?
You can also get some audio books for your youngster. They make a great activity for improving listening skills that gives you a chance to get other important stuff done. (Like taking a coffee break. ;))
Directions
Giving directions verbally while you are homeschooling is one easy way to make sure that your child gets practice in listening. You can explain how to do an art project, tell your child where to get his supplies for an activity, or tell him what to do for a science experiment. You can also give oral directions for household activities like doing laundry or mowing the lawn. (Great way to get chores done too. 🙂 )
Games That Enhance Listening Skills
Teaching your child to listen does not need to be a boring task. Here are some fun games and activities you might do as a family or with a homeschool group:
- Simon Says
- Mother, May I
- 20 Questions
- The Draw My Picture Game
- A Treasure Hunt Game. Give your child verbal instructions to get to a treasure, i.e. “Go 10 paces and turn right.”
Songs
Songs with actions are the perfect way to get your children to tune in. (Pun intended)
Here’s a list of some songs you might want to use.
- The Hokey Pokey
- If You’re Happy and You know It
- This Old Man
- Pop! Goes the Weasel
- Did You Ever See a Lassie
- The Wheels on the Bus
- Do Your Ears Hang Low
- I’m a Little Teapot
- Eensy Weensy Spider
- Follow the Leader
Dictation
Dictation exercises can be used to strengthen listening skills.
The Harp and Laurel Wreath is one book you’ll find that has these exercises.
Susan Wise Bauer has a series of books for grades 1-4 called Writing With Ease. Each grade level has a workbook with dictation exercises. There is one teacher’s guide for all levels.
Do YOU have any special activities that you do with your child to improve his listening skills? Feel free to share them in the comment section. I would love to hear about them.
Many blessings,
