Sunday, September 5, 2010

How to help your kids organize their thoughts

Recently, I spoke to several mothers of children at the ages 4-9 and I understood that one of their challenges is teaching the kids how to think and write in a proper sequence. This led me to start exploring the subject of sequencing.

Sequencing means to put things in the right order. It is a corner stone in learning to read, in reading comprehension and in developing critical thinking.

The "executive functions" are a group of brain functions that are responsible (among other things) for our ability to organize our thoughts, plan and sequence. It was scientifically proven that those functions can be improved using different methods.

There are several simple things that you can do as parents to help improve your children's ability to sequence.

At very young ages (1.5 - 3 years ):
  • Tell them when you start something and when you finish something
  • Establish simple routines such as: having dinner, bathing, brushing teeth and going to bed

As they grow a little bit older and according to their level of understanding (2.5 – 5 years):
  • Talk to them about the sequences in their routines and other events in life
  • Write simple stories emphasizing sequences, using http://batalugu.com
  • Discuss order and sequences in stories you read to them
  • Play a game of cards: let them arrange the cards in the right order. Here is an example of such a game I bought to my kids. You can create such cards yourself and adjust the content and the length of the sequences to your kid's level




When they understand more complex things (5 – 9 years):
  • Explain the importance of sequencing in daily life
  • Analyze together sequences in their lives, causes and effects of sequences and so on
  • Write stories together using http://batalugu.com. There is a great planing tool that can help you list the sequence of events in your book, and follow the right order when writing. It is called “Plot highlights” and it is a part of the Book pad, located in the upper right side of the “Write” section


One of my tasks as a product manager at Batalugu, is to make sure that our users find solutions for their needs using our application. If your children need to improve their sequencing skills, please take advantage of Batalugu, write stories with and for them and help them become better “sequencers”.
It is fun, easy and FREE.

Tell a tale,
Dorit Rosen
Founder
Batalugu

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