As a teacher, you’re the epitome of a learning source for your students. If you are a teacher of little preschoolers, it’s even more interesting, as those little minds are learning and shaping their behavior from what you’re teaching them and what they are observing. In this way, your role has great importance. One of the most important skills that begins to form during these early preschool years is executive function in early childhood. This set of mental processes helps kids plan, focus, remember instructions, and manage multiple tasks successfully.
Therefore, teachers at High Achievers Learning Center try their best to promote the development of executive function in early childhood with the help of interesting activities. And by following this blog, you can do the same!
What Is Executive Function In Early Childhood?
Executive functioning, as the name suggests, refers to the performance of individuals in carrying out an activity or executing any task. More specifically, it refers to the ability of individuals to control their thoughts, emotions, and, therefore, the resulting behavior.
For kids, it is highly important to learn executive functioning in early childhood, as it helps in many different aspects of life growing up.
For example, when a preschooler waits for their turn during a game instead of interrupting, they show great inhibitory control development, an essential part of executive functioning. Similarly, when a child remembers the steps of a story activity or adapts to new classroom rules, it represents working memory in children, along with cognitive flexibility in kids. In simple terms, the development of executive function in early childhood helps children move from being reactive to being thoughtful and organized learners.
7 Simple Classroom Activities That Promote Executive Function In Early Childhood
If you’ve got the opportunity to be in a classroom with little preschoolers as a teacher, buckle up and get ready!
Because your little preschoolers with enjoy these activities that will help with the development of executive functioning in early childhood.
1. The “Memory Train” Challenge:
Memory train simply means a bunch of words in the form of a train that little kids have to memorize. For this activity, all you have to do is line up a group of preschoolers and start a simple memory pattern, such as “apple–banana.” The next child repeats and adds another item, continuing the sequence. As the chain grows longer, kids must focus, recall, and adapt, enhancing their executive function in early childhood and improving their attention and focus in early learners.
2. Switch-up Corners:
This activity will help a lot with the cognitive flexibility and problem-solving in kids. Additionally, you can easily perform this activity within the boundaries of the classroom.
Assign each corner of the classroom a specific emotion and a color. Then, ask the kids to shuffle and change their places in the different corners of the classroom. Then, call out a specific emotion or a color and ask the kids to move towards that corner.
To make it more fun, you can also play music and ask children to move freely. When the music stops, call out a color or feeling, and they must quickly move to the correct corner.
3. The “Stop and Go” Parade:
If your aim is to encourage inhibitory control development in little preschoolers, this activity is a must.
Play a parade song and let children march around the room. When you say “stop,” they must freeze instantly. Gradually add commands like “slow,” “fast,” or “spin.” This improves self-regulation in early childhood as children learn to control impulses and follow multi-step directions.
4. Story Sequencing Circle:
This language-based activity enhances preschool executive skills and problem-solving skills in preschoolers. All you’re required to do is read a short story and give each child a card that shows a specific part of the story’s sequence. Then, all the kids come into a group setting and discuss which card they got. Then, they arrange themselves in the right sequence of the story by the memory of the story they just heard.
It will help them learn teamwork and strengthen their collective peer-group bonds.
5. Emotion Detection Game:
If you aim to encourage emotional control in young children with an understanding of different emotions, this activity is a must.
Firstly, show pictures of different facial expressions, such as happy, sad, angry, disgusted, or confused, or use puppets to act out emotions to your little kids. Then, ask each child to identify the emotion and describe a time they felt the same way. Finally, you can discuss appropriate reactions to specific emotions and explain different coping strategies to help them practice empathy, reflection, and behavioral regulation.
6. Puzzle Relay Race:
For a puzzle relay race, divide the class into teams and provide each team with a puzzle. The main rule of this activity is that each child can place only one piece before tagging the next teammate. That’s how the complete puzzle will be solved.
This requires patience, coordination, and collaborative planning, skills that strengthen the development of executive function in early childhood.
7. The “Focus Jar” Meditation:
The word focus jar literally means a jar that you use to focus on something. For this activity, use a jar filled with glitter and water. When shaken, it represents a busy mind. As the glitter settles, explain how focusing and calming thoughts can help us make better decisions.
As a teacher, it is your responsibility to teach these concepts in a fun and interactive way to your little kids, so that they don’t get overwhelmed and understand it easily.
Final Thoughts
Developing executive function in early childhood doesn’t require complex tools.
You just need to be a little creative!
By incorporating these simple classroom strategies, educators can support the development of executive function in early childhood while also encouraging better learning behaviors and emotional balance.
At High Achievers Learning Center, we go beyond basic learning by integrating these principles into every educational program for preschoolers. If you want your little ones to experience learning in similar, and much more interesting ways, our educational programs for preschoolers are the best way to do it. Our preschool curriculum is thoughtfully designed to promote executive skills, social-emotional growth, and curiosity that will help every child to grow confidently in school and beyond.