3 things you can start doing yourself right now to support your child with their listening skills.
/Being able to listen well in the 4+ Assessments has been very important again this year.
I have observed that my students who were able to listen perfectly well to my instructions and do exactly what was asked of them, were the ones who have been very successful so far in their 4+ Assessments.
Let me give you the example of my son and why he currently would not be passing many 4+ Assessments. He struggles with his listening skills. He doesn’t like to be told what to do (he likes to tell others what to do), he sometimes chooses not to follow instructions and he loses focus quickly if he is not interested in something. All of these qualities that my son currently has wouldn’t go down well in any 4+ Assessment.
Most parents are unaware of the reasons why their children didn’t pass their 4+ Assessments at their target schools. To me, it is obvious.
Listening skills are very important in the 4+ Assessments.
If your child is unable or resistant to listening well, it is up to you to ensure that you support them to the best of your ability to be able to improve these skills. It is not down to their nursery or pre-prep to do this. It is down to you.
3 things you can start doing yourself right now to support your child with their listening skills.
1. Sign them up to clubs
The more, the better. Being placed in an environment where they are expected to follow instructions and listen well will support your child to develop their listening skills. Do not start this 2-3 months before your child’s 4+ Assessments. Start it immediately.
My son currently attends Stage Coach once a week and I can already see a few improvements in his ability to listen well to the instructions of the teachers in the room.
Here are a few clubs that I’m currently looking into for my own son…
2. Explain your expectation to your child.
Before my son goes to his club, we sit down and talk about what I would like him to do whilst he is there. I say things like - ‘It would be amazing if your could listen to what the teacher asks you to do.’ and ‘I would love it if you put the toys back when you are asked to do so and not get upset about having to do this.’
If children are aware of the expectations, they will be more likely to remember to do it.
3. Model to them how you listen to others.
Your child watches every single thing that you do. You can show them throughout the day, examples of how you listen well to others and even how you listen well to them.
Strong listening skills will be very important in any 4+ Assessment.
Work on these consistently every day with your child to support them to develop strong listening skills.
In our weekly lessons, we work on listening skills every single week.
