The Game of "Listen and Do"

Dearest Guide,

Since my son is so young I haven't been particularly focused on any "academic" activities.  Just lots of art, play dough, books and puzzles.  Other than daily stuff like helping with cooking, gardening and household tasks, are there ideas you would recommend for someone so young?

Signed,  Hunkering Down at Home



Dear  Hunkering,

It sounds like your son's home life is already very rich and you sound enviably calm, cool and casual.  If your son enjoys counting, there is a lot of fun to be had there.  When you and your son simply recite numbers, but aren't counting anything in particular, you can do it in unison, or, if he is unsure of the order of the numbers, you can do a call and response sort of thing.   You say the number then he does from 1-10?  20?  Higher? Do it as long as it is fun for him or until the microwave popcorn is ready, whichever comes first.  To do actual "counting," you need objects.  Otherwise, as in the above scenario, it is chanting or reciting.  When counting, one is counting something.

What to count?  All the dining room chairs, all the chairs in the house, all the pillows, all the forks, all the pebbles in this small bowl, how many times I am clapping my hands, how many doors on the kitchen cabinets, how many pieces of mail arrived today (now wash your hands - 20 seconds, lots of rubbing), how many dog toys Fido has, etc.  With that bowl of pebbles, or dried beans or smallest Lego bricks, you can also do some grouping and arranging.  Make groups of 3 and line them up.  Count them.  You are counting by threes.  Count by other numbers.  Or your son may arrange the beans in some order only visible to him, enchanted.
   
          "Respect all the reasonable forms of activity in which the child engages
            and try to understand them."   Maria Montessori


Another game which nearly every child in our class loves is "Listen and Do."  This is a game from the language area and it is part of the most important group of the language area, which is Language in the Air.  To play, one gathers the children, makes eye contact with each player to ensure you have the group's attention and deliver a command; "Close the door to the Sunflower Room.....Eduardo."  Then wait while Eduardo follows that command. Once he returns, give another command; "Lay on your belly and hum..... Adam."  Adam does.  " Put one bean from the spooning activity on the top of the chalkboard rack and clap your hands 4 times...........Jasmina."

Did you notice how the commands were of differing difficulty?  That is because we have a range of ages and abilities in our class, as do all traditional Montessori schools.  In a home setting, with one child, you would not need such a range, but would stick to commands your child can do and a number of commands in a row that he can remember.  This may be one, two or three commands.  Commands are more difficult if they are unrelated.  For example, "open the drawer, remove a fork and place it in the sink" is easier than " lay on your back, stick your finger in the goldfish bowl and open the button box" even though in both examples, there are 3 actions.

To prepare for this activity, spend some time planning and writing down your commands.  You may not know how successful your child will be in following the commands, so even for one child, have a variety of commands, with  differing levels of difficulty so that you can be flexible.  If what you command at first is very easy for your child, after a few turns at that level, take it up a notch.  If your  child cannot follow the direction you gave, be prepared to scale back to something simpler.
Some examples? Easiest : clap your hands, pat your belly, touch your nose, smile, hug me, lay down, run around, walk to Mama, etc.   One step up would be to combine two of the above: smile and pat your belly.  Harder; use objects in your environment: Take the lid off my sewing box and take out a spool of thread. Crawl under the dining room table and touch all the chairs.  Jiggle a doorknob and flick a light switch. Again, actions that are related are easier than those that are unrelated.   Do one, two or three such commands, depending on ability. Preparation will help you to lead the game with confidence, but after a short while, you will be proficient at coming up with commands off the top of your head.  Now you always have a fun game with you to play anywhere!

Sometimes, kids cannot follow your commands.  They weren't listening, perhaps.  Did you notice how I name the child who is to do the command after I state the directions?  That way everyone is listening.  If I say the child's name first, that gives the others permission to lose focus.  Maybe your child cannot follow the directions because she did not understand some of the words you used.  Maybe she could not remember both of the actions you gave her.  Maybe she doesn't know where your sewing box is.  At school, I usually give another child a chance to follow the command.  Was anyone else listening? Can they show us all the actions?   But in a home setting, with a young child such as your son, I would help him to follow the command. An older sibling could do this as well.  Repeat the command or show him the object whose name he did not know or show him what you mean by "jiggle."  Make it fun!  Are you having fun?  If so, you are doing it right.

Besides the fun and bonding experience you will have with your  son, you are giving him an opportunity to work on so many important developmental tasks: his ability to process spoken language, build working memory, augment vocabulary of nouns, verbs and prepositions,  increase awareness of his surroundings,  practice large and small motor skills and work on his ability to master his will to such a degree that he can obey another.

           "To the casual onlooker the child seems to be learning exactitude and grace of action,
           to be refining his senses, to be learning how to read and write; but much more profoundly
            he is learning how to become his own master."     Maria Montessori

Gentle Parent, I hope you and your son enjoy all that counting and the game of "Listen and Do." I can tell from the rest of your letter that you are really enjoying your time at home with him.  Wishing you continued contentment in your casa, I remain,

Your Guide,
Doni