Ideas on Increasing 4 yr olds attention span?

[Bookaddict]

My DS does an informal Pre-K program at home with me. I draw from ideas in WTM, we learn while we play, read a lot and do some worksheets. I would say as regard to "academics" he does well.

I do not think it is any sort of "delay" or inability to focus nor is it necessarily a strict behavior problem (he listens, follows instructions and is pretty well,behaved). I think it is a skill he needs to learn. I know he can do it because his obsession with Legos and tractors leads to looong periods of focused building. He loves laying on couch listening to audio books and loves us reading to him.

 

I am looking for suggestions on building focus/attention skills even when he doesn't want to. He has a minute or two when doing Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise or,even listening to his T Ball coach show him how to throw a ball.

[Mom2TheTeam]

Time and maturity.

 

He sounds totally normal for a 4 year old.  They have a short attention span for things they don't deem as fun. 

 

Give him at least a year, probably 2.  You'll see a major difference.  :)

[mom2bee]

Activities that engage his attention but require concentration are helpful. It is, of course, a gradual process, but it can be done. Though how much more effective it is as opposed to just letting him mature, is debatable. I tend to think that you can, in fact, train focus and actively develop attention span.

 

Asking him to explain to you about his favorite game or item , or show you something is a great way to determine the childs' current ability to communicate to you. It gives you a good idea of he describes things, what sort of detail he notices etc...It helps to determine the benchmark and goals you should have in mind for anything else, though you might not want to expect him to have as great of an interest or ability in anything besides his one-true-love, but it gives you an accurate, unbiased and authentic idea of his capabilities.

 

Cooking and baking come to mind. Setting out 4-6 items, 2-3 utensils and giving him verbal instructions that he must follow.

Drawing instruction.

Word games that engage him.

Playing board and card games are great for training kids to focus and concentrate.

Doing verbal, informal reviews of something that he's learned during school or in a book throughout the day (Do you remember what the fisherman said in the story? What color was Maggies jacket in the book? What sound does 's' make, can you show me 6 legos...) indirectly causes him to recall things and use what you've been studying, which will leads to him to have more 'pegs' to hang new information and experiences on.

 

Shoot for anywhere from 5-9 minutes as your first goal mark. When he is reliably focusing for anywhere from 5-9 minutes on various tasks and things then, you can gradually extend it to longer periods of time.

[Kerileanne99]

I have an almost 4 year old daughter doing 'school' at home with me, and we do some focus-building activities.

Before I come across as too harsh with a preschooler, let me clarify: I don't expect her to say, sit for longer and longer periods of time to focus on things. What I am interested in primarily is short blocks of time in which she devotes her attention to something...even if it is just 3 minutes, but she is actively focused rather than just 'there'.

Granted, this kid will request to actually sit at a table for an hour to 'do math', and any attempt to keep it short will end in tears, but has SO much energy that she literally vibrates around the house. It just depends on what catches her current interest...or if the activity falls into her areas of interest.

Unfortunately, there are times when kids need to focus on other things, right?

 

Definitely start with a short block of time and build up. Puzzles (especially when she picks out one that interests her!) are wonderful for this. I read somewhere that dot-to-dot pages are useful as well, as it keeps them engaged, so we do a lot of mazes. We really like the somewhat more complicated mazes in the Kumon world books.

Playing games like chess (for this age we have successfully used No Stress Chess), memory, and logic games. We also play a favorite game where you hide about 10-20 random objects in a bag, let them look for a set time period, then take a few away whilst their eyes are closed- let them try to tell you what is missing. Mine REALLY likes to have her turn at hiding them:)

I do think that working on the ability to intentionally concentrate for very short bursts, then work on building up the time she spends eventually seems to work for us...and of course, time will help as well!

 

I also think that minimizing TV time is important because regular TV seems to teach/encourage only superficial focus...which is why it is relaxing on some levels. We do a lot of do documentaries and more educational stuff, which tends to be slower and less 'flashy'. It also tends to be more interest-based, which she pays more attention to.

I DO think that intentionally and deliberately working on attention span and focus is a valuable skill, even starting at the earliest of ages. Hubby's Uni classes are filled with students that cannot focus on what he is teaching for more than five minutes!

[Bookaddict]

Thanks for these awesome tips! Definitely,a few suggestions we haven't thought of. Little guy does do puzzles at length but like above response said it is important for kids to be able to focus on things they don't necessarily want to. Will definitely try card games and the No Stress Chess.

[Spy Car]

My advice? Go look at some of the videos at "Education Unboxed" that illustrate some ways to teach math using Cuisenaire Rods and similar manipulatives to get a feel for how one can teach/learn this subject using hands on means. If it resonates with you (and you see rods working with a Lego loving child) then look into the Miquon Math Lab Materials.

 

This approach makes the child the active partner in learning, and the parent becomes the supportive facilitator (which takes more parental work, not less, I want to be honest about that). Reading the Miquon teachers books (initially the Notes and Diary books, and then the Annotations as things progress) is critical.

 

Not using programs that are overly parent lead, not involving of the child in the process (ie "talking at them"), and using very boring materials are things that are unlikely to help. Where finding materials that excite, interest, and involve the child will likely help a great deal.

 

Bill

[boscopup]

Without doing anything, you will very likely see a jump in this area in the next year or two. Right now, he's acting like a perfectly normal 4 year old. Let him be 4. He'll be school aged soon enough. :)

[mathmarm]

This is something that I have been thinking about and dabbling in lately thanks to the 3yo in my life. Anything that you can do that engages them as an active partner rather than the passive subordinate, is helpful. I don't know what to recommend for this, as we've been using physical games and activities, as well as progressive activities to get the 3yos attention and require she engage. We did a cooking activity the other day and it went really,really well. Hubby taught her how to do a lot of cooking skills--hold a knife, spoon sauce and drizzle vs dump it, how to wash her hands thoroughly, gather all the items needed prior to starting, etc...We did a lot of things and it was detail oriented but she was engaged the whole time and eager to do the next thing so she had to pay attention. The end result was almost 90% of her efforts but it was edible, and we all liked it.

 

Don't just tell them what to do, describe to them what they should be doing and invite them to think about it, explain it back. Rather than just tell them to "mix this up" Hubby and I did something like this:

Adult: "Okay, now use the spoon to gently blend the ingredients. How are you going to blend them?"

Child: "Gently"

Adult: "What does gently mean?"

Child: "soft--not hard or wild."

 

 

[LucyStoner]

Turning 5, followed about a year later by turning 6. And so on and so forth.

 

Meet him where he is at. It you are not worried overall about his development, it sounds like being 4 more than anything in need of a remedy or skill building exercise. It will come in time.

[Korrale]

As a few people have mentioned I think actively engaging the child in executive function activities is important. Sure your child is acting like a typical 4 year old. But as a mum of an almost 4 year old very active hypo sensory child it doesn't mean that we can't play many fun games that will help facilitate attentiveness. This can be done in many ways.

Simon says is a popular physical game.

As is red light, green light.

Freeze, or dance freeze.

Hide and seek. It is very hard to hide with my son right now as he likes to giggle. Not that I mind, it is funny. But he is learning that quiet and stillness is essential for victory.

I also have a timer on my iPad that I out on for my son. The timer doesnf count down if he is wiggling and noisy. He likes to be as quiet answer still as possibly to have the timer end.

 

Another thing that I think is good is helpful are audiobooks. I know I lose focus and my mind wanders. I have started to play short segments for my son to listen too attentively as he lays in the couch.

 

Tools of the Mind is a learning ohilosophy used in pre-k classrooms that is having some amazing results with increasing a child's executive function. They employ a few strategies that I like. They do a talking and listening time between 2 children where the child that holds the picture of a mouth talks and the child that holds the ear listens without interruption. You can do this around the dinner table. Take turns letting everyone speak about their day, or something they like. Let your child know to be attentive and to really listen to what everyone has to say.

Tools of the Mind also have children write play plans. They are to write down a plan of what they are to play. For example if a child desires to play trains they will write a plan about how they are going to play trains, the duration, and as much detail as possible. The child is to stick to their plan. You can have your child plan out several activities. 20 minutes of trains, 15 minutes of blocks and 20 minutes dancing.

[Korrale]

As a few people have mentioned I think actively engaging the child in executive function activities is important. Sure your child is acting like a typical 4 year old. But as a mum of an almost 4 year old very active hypo sensory child it doesn't mean that we can't play many fun games that will help facilitate attentiveness. This can be done in many ways.

Simon says is a popular physical game.

As is red light, green light.

Freeze, or dance freeze.

Hide and seek. It is very hard to hide with my son right now as he likes to giggle. Not that I mind, it is funny. But he is learning that quiet and stillness is essential for victory.

I also have a timer on my iPad that I out on for my son. The timer doesnf count down if he is wiggling and noisy. He likes to be as quiet answer still as possibly to have the timer end.

 

Another thing that I think is good is helpful are audiobooks. I know I lose focus and my mind wanders. I have started to play short segments for my son to listen too attentively as he lays in the couch.

 

Tools of the Mind is a learning ohilosophy used in pre-k classrooms that is having some amazing results with increasing a child's executive function. They employ a few strategies that I like. They do a talking and listening time between 2 children where the child that holds the picture of a mouth talks and the child that holds the ear listens without interruption. You can do this around the dinner table. Take turns letting everyone speak about their day, or something they like. Let your child know to be attentive and to really listen to what everyone has to say.

Tools of the Mind also have children write play plans. They are to write down a plan of what they are to play. For example if a child desires to play trains they will write a plan about how they are going to play trains, the duration, and as much detail as possible. The child is to stick to their plan. You can have your child plan out several activities. 20 minutes of trains, 15 minutes of blocks and 20 minutes dancing.