Strengthening Listening Skills to Remember

Listening Skills

Directionality Concepts that Will Strengthen Your Child’s Ability to Listen

Let me start by explaining that until your child can listen to remember, they will continue to struggle to learn. From the very first lesson, you must check to see whether or not your child is attending. That is why I had you go through my program of Learning How to Pay Attention. Your child must attend 100%, if they are to listen to remember. Every program I offer the parent is cognitive in design which means every skill that I ask your child to learn will be remembered by the brain. I start with simple commands that are easy to follow. By the end of my program, you will be asking yourself whether you could sequence the same commands that you are asking of your child. Good luck!

You will be teaching your child’s brain to remember what is said. There are students unable to view images from the blackboard or a screen and make sense from whatever they read. For some students the images they view may be dancing about, appear upside down or appear backwards. These children need auditory reinforcement in order to learn. If your child is word blind, all the more reason to strengthen their auditory perception skills.

Word blind learners need auditory reinforcement. This means they need to hear the letter or word several times until the brain remembers. Trust me, this is the only way to help a visually challenged learner to read. Voice what is to be explained as clearly as you can with letters or words to be learned. Your child will need as many repetitions as necessary in order for the brain to remember. While in school, children visually challenged go unrecognized, many of whom are bright children who need individual help. I choose you! Once your child’s brain is taught to recognize what is viewed, there will be no inversions or reversals with the letters b d p and q. Being unable to recognize letters of the alphabet by sight can make simple one syllable words a difficult task for children to learn. Poor directionality concepts keep children from understanding basic reading concepts. These visual problems along with weak auditory acuity/memory skills must be corrected before the student will be able to understand and remember the printed word. I’ve given you the ammunition, get ‘locked and loaded’.

Let’s Begin

Starting with the right hand side, turn your back and lift your right arm over your head and make a fist. Then open your hand and identify each digit and then the thumb. Start by identifying the pointing finger as the ‘index’ finger. Then (you can turn around again) give the first command.

Do these first two sections (Commands and Concepts) from the right side, then come back and do them from the left side.

Commands From One Side

With the index finger on your right hand touch your nose, the right ear, touch your chin, your forehead and now the back of your head.
With the palm of your right hand: cover your right eye, with the palm of your right hand, cover your mouth, cover your right ear.
With your right index finger: touch your neck, right knee, your right ankle, the back of your right heel, now touch all your toes on your right foot, starting with the big toe to the baby toe.
Touch the bottom of your chin with your thumb.
With the middle finger of your right hand, touch your right middle toe.

Concepts of Upper/Lower, Front/Back Above/Below, Inside/Outside

With the right index finger touch behind your right knee, the front of your right middle toe, tap the right baby toe three times.
With your right index finger touch the upper right eye-lid, your lower lip, with your right index finger touch the right nostril.
With your right index finger touch the bottom right eye-lid.
With your right thumb touch the inside of your right ankle, then the back of the right ankle, then touch the bottom of your right foot.
With your right index finger touch the back of your right ear-lobe.
With your right baby finger, touch underneath your right big toe, now underneath the right middle toe, now the right baby toe.
With your right index finger, touch below your right eye, to the right of your right eye, point in front of you.
With the back of your of right wrist, touch the inside of your right hip.
With your right palm cover your nose and right eye.
With the palm of your right hand brush back your hair.

Now, Go Back And Repeat The Same Commands But From The Left Side.

Commands From Alternating Sides

With your left index finger, tap each fingernail of your right hand.
With your right index finger touch the bottom of your right eye-lid, with the same right index finger tap Mary had a little lamb on your left knee.
With your left wrist, touch the inside of your left ankle.
With the knuckle of your left hand, touch the back of your right heel.
With your left thumb, touch your right big toe, the inside of your right ankle and the outside of your right hip.
With your left palm, cover your right ear, the inside of your right elbow.
With the baby finger of your left hand, touch your left baby toe, then the top of your left foot.
Touching behind your left ear with your right thumb, touch the back of your left knee with the back of your right wrist, clap above your head.

Sequencing Commands, For Two, Then Three Commands

(This may be the most difficult lesson your child has faced up until now.) Explain to your child that they will be given more than one command, they must wait until all commands in the list item have been given before starting. Parents will need to be patient.

Wait until the last command of a list item

Tap the inside of your right knee four times with the back of your right wrist. Then with the inside of your left wrist tap your right knee four times followed by touching your left knee with your right thumb.
With the baby finger of your right hand, tap the toes on your left foot: starting with the baby toe, then big toe and then touch the two remaining toes.
Cover your left eye with your left hand, then with the middle finger of your right hand touch the big toe on your right foot while balancing on your right leg.
Tap your left wrist three times with your elbow; while counting to 12 by 3’s, then brush your hair from back to front with both hands.
Point to each eye tooth with each right and left index fingers, turn and face the wall on your right, point to the ceiling with the left hand.
Point to the wall in front of you with your right hand, turn and face the wall on your left, then point to the wall in front of you with your left index finger.

Your child will require excellent listening skills when it comes time to listen for and produce, the sounds of the letters of the alphabet.