How to Build Executive Functioning Skills in Kids

Nuts + bolts; let’s get tactical. Now that we’ve baselined the three primary processes of executive functioning, let’s look at the sub-skills for which these processes are responsible and how we can strengthen them.

Learn

Basic Concepts

The three primary areas of executive functioning – working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control – are responsible for several sub-skills:

Paying attention – Child listens, watches and considers something or someone carefully.
Organizing, planning, prioritizing – Child can keep track of mental / physical things, decide on a goal and come up with an appropriate plan to meet it.
Starting tasks and staying focused until completed – Child can get started on a task and focus until it is finished.
Regulating emotions – Child can stay in control of their feelings and respond to situations appropriately.
Self-monitoring – Child monitors their thoughts, behavior and actions.

Studies have found that a child’s self-control at the beginning of Kindergarten is a strong predictor of reading and math skills at the end of Kindergarten. Targeted training of executive function skills leads to academic improvement.

Executive functioning is essential for school readiness.

Teachers note that without executive functioning skills, it is very hard to actually teach children core content.

Do

What You Could Do to Strengthen Executive Function Skills

(PRINT ME!)

Skill	Description	What You Could Do
Paying attention	Child listens, watches, and considers something or someone carefully. Asking a child to “listen” or “pay attention” can be vague.	Teach your child what “listening” or “paying attention” looks like by introducing the common classroom concept of “Give Me Five” so they understand your expectations: Eyes on speaker (speaker says, “eyes on me”) Lips closed (speaker says, “bubble in the mouth”) Ears listening (speaker says, “expert listening”. Kids want to be “experts”!) Hands and feet still Brain thinking about speaker Play games like Preschool Lotto (for younger kids) and Go Fish (for older kids). Games like Go Fish work well as they require a child to pay attention to the cards in their hand and what they need to ask for to make a match.
Organizing	It is atypical for a young child to innately be particular about keeping their belongings in proper places. If you have an naturally organized child, consider yourself lucky!	Designate specific spaces at home for items to encourage your child to practice putting things away independently (e.g., jacket, backpack, etc.). Encourage your child to help with chores like laundry. Even young children can match socks. Practice making your transitions from one activity to another calm, consistent and routine. For older children, consider a visible wall planner. Planners are especially useful for developing working memory and organization skills. Teach your child ‘how’ to use a planner as it may not be obvious to them. Create checklists that your child can visualize. See below for more checklist ideas.
Planning	Child can keep track of mental / physical things, decide on a goal and come up with an appropriate plan to meet it.	Model thinking through a task and the necessary steps. Encourage the concept, “What does ‘done’ look like?” and help your child to visualize the steps to ‘done’ along the way. This includes breaking down the steps to ‘done’ into manageable pieces: what does ‘done’ look like? → what steps need to be completed to get to ‘done’? → in what order do the steps need to be completed? → how long will it take to complete each task? → what materials are needed? Write lists – for anything and everything. Grocery lists, things to do over the weekend, schedule for the day, etc. Involve your child in cooking, baking or making playdough and ask your child what materials and ingredients are needed before starting. If travel is on the horizon, ask your child to make a packing list – they can write it themselves or dictate it to you. Next-level – Have your child make checkboxes and encourage them to check-off items upon completion. Add structure to slower days. Set up an Awesome Allowance System.
Prioritizing	Child can keep track of mental/physical things, decide on a goal and come up with an appropriate plan to meet it.	“First X, then Y” – Use the “First X, then Y” sentence structure when speaking with your child. Discuss how we often have to make decisions on what is most important. Introduce the idea of “must-do” before “want-to-do” tasks (i.e., “wants” versus “needs”). Coach your child to consider cause and effect and a beginner’s cost-benefit analysis; help them begin to understand the important life-skill of prioritizing and making choices. Allow your child to make some meaningful decisions about their life (e.g., what to wear, what will the family eat for dinner Friday, what chores can be their job, etc.). Swish and Sequence for Kids are great for developing logical thinking skills.
Starting tasks and staying focused until completed	Child can get started on a task and focus until it is finished.	Practice with classic games like Perfection or Let’s Go Fishin’. Use timers to help kids stay focused on a task – reading, writing, drawing, whatever specific activity they like. Set the timer for 5 or 10 minutes and challenge them to do only the task at hand until the timer goes off. (Our favorite timers: hourglass timer, mechanical timer.) Encourage persistence and following multi-step directions with this scavenger hunt game. Color kid-friendly mandalas – complex enough to require focus and persistence, with a pretty payoff.
Regulating emotions	Child can stay in control of their feelings and respond to situations appropriately.	Mad Dragon – Great game for managing anger. Emojis + Emotions = excellent! Use the Body Engine Checker System. Teach your child to stay centered with focused breathing. Teach helpful phrases: 1) Can I have a turn? 2) When can I have a turn? 3) I’m using that right now; 4) You can have a turn when I’m done; 5) Keep my body safe! 6) Stop! 7) I can play with you later.
Self-monitoring	Child monitors their thoughts, behavior and actions.	Teach beginning self-monitoring skills with a morning routine chart. Have your child check off their tasks and monitor their progress and completion before leaving the house for the day. Same for an evening checklist. Keep it simple; create an impromptu checklist using words or pictures and have your child complete it. For example, 3 things they need to do before you play a game together; 3 toys they need to find; 3 things in the pantry that start with the letter ‘P’. Have them keep track along the way. Infuse a nightly habit of reflection – ask your child about their favorite part of the day, something that was hard, a mistake they made, or something they’re grateful for. Building awareness about our actions and feelings, Mindful Minutes are effective at developing self-monitoring skills. During meal times or a play time where there is a lot of commotion, practice having your child raise their hand when they want to speak. Use STOP! to reframe impulses during heated situations. Help your child understand the difference between tattling vs. telling.

Spread the Love!

Learn

Basic Concepts

Do

What You Could Do to Strengthen Executive Function Skills

Be a Plinkit Pro