Being able to focus and attend to tasks is one of the most important thinking skills for success, whether it be for schoolwork, sports, or music and arts. It keeps children from procrastinating and allows them to redirect their attention to a task at hand despite the presence of distractions. With effective focus and attention, children are able to follow directions and complete activities without getting lost or sidetracked.
In the classroom, children are expected to pay attention, follow directions, and attend to assignments. Whether in group settings or individual work, it’s essential that children are able to guide themselves toward achieving each part of a task. This requires strong listening and comprehension skills that first starts with focus and attention. For instance, when a teacher provides step-by-step instructions to complete a project, such as first cutting out pictures and then gluing them to paper, a student must finish the first of cutting before moving onto the next step of gluing. However, getting distracted without being able to refocus will prevent the attention needed to finish cutting. As a result, students can fall behind when they aren’t able to maintain progress with the rest of the class.
At Little Thinkers Center, we use thinking games that tackle various aspects of focus and attention. From Visual Thinking to Social Thinking and everything in between, our enrichment activities exercises foster attention to details and high level of focused learning. We tailor our games so they are just challenging enough to maintain the focus and attention of each child without being overly simplistic or too overwhelming. By having a range of activities each session, we provide children with a safe space to explore and strengthen their focus and attention skills, further enhancing their resiliency and self-confidence.