Awesome Athletics!

Successfully following directions is an important life skill both at school and in the home. Help your child strengthen listening skills and build verbal processing while playing a game and having some fun! 

Invite your child to participate in a variety of athletic endeavors by saying something like, “I want to see your awesome athletic skills! Awesome athletes must be good listeners. Listen to my instructions and then show me your awesome athletic skills.” 

Provide your child with a one-step request such as “Jump up towards the sky!” “Do two jumping jacks!” “Run around the tree.” “Hop like a bunny.” • Continue providing directions and escalating the number of steps. Switch up the directives to match your child’s interests, or to better suit your location 

If this activity is difficult for your child, model the directions for them. Children process visual images much faster than they process verbal directions. 

If your child is ready for a more challenging activity, add an additional step to the directions. For example, you might challenge: * Hop two times on one foot and then hop two times on the other * Run to the end of the yard and then walk backwards on your way back * Bounce the ball four times and then throw it in the air * Run to the tree, do a jumping jack and skip back