Listening Activities for 3 1/2 - 5 year olds

Listening is a skill humans develop all their lives. Listening supports the development of speech and language as we learn to talk by experimenting with sounds and words.

Children develop the ability to filter out different noises between the ages of 8 months and 3 years. However, some children may still be developing this skill when they are 4 or 5 years old. It is therefore important to keep background noise to a minimum so that they can concentrate on what you are saying, allowing time to process the sounds and communicate with you.

Make sure there are quiet times throughout the day with no T.V or CD on. Your child may be attending playgroups/nursery/school, where they are part of a larger group of children. They will need to be able to start to developing skills to listen as part of a group – instead of having instructions given one-to-one. This requires stamina and concentration.

The activities listed below are an ideal way of developing extended listening skills. Repetition helps! It is important to read/sing/ the same story/song/nursery rhyme several times. This helps your child to gain confidence and increases their spoken vocabulary. Do not be put off if your child does not join in speaking or singing in some of the activities. Children often take a long time to join in – they are busy listening. Praise all efforts with a kind word, a hug, a smile. Ensure your child is looking at you when you are talking to them – eye contact helps to keep the listener’s attention.

The important thing is that it should be FUN for both of you!

Join the local library and go to the Story Time sessions. It is good practice for your child to listen with other children to a different adult reading a story.
Read and listen to repetitive rhymes and stories eg Old MacDonald Had a Farm … (for more rhymes click onto the nursery rhyme section)
Dance, sing and beat out a rhythm using the body and objects; stamp, march or clap. The type of music you are listening to does not matter as long as you are enjoying yourselves. You can sing when doing house work, like the washing up or when taking the washing out of the machine.
Help your child to listen for differences between sounds. For example, the difference between the Hoover and the telephone or the miaow of a cat compared with the bark of a dog
Watch a video (with a purpose) ie listen out for toot of Thomas in Thomas the Tank Engine
Sing songs using large actions, for example, The Okey Cokey, I Am the Music Man
Your child can listen to taped stories or use interactive books so they can concentrate on listening to the speaker.
Bedtime: read a story and/or sing a lullaby at bedtime. Your child may want the same story again and again. This is to be encouraged as they become familiar with the story and can attempt to “read” by following the pictures. Your child can also play some of the characters and try out different voices.
Encourage your child to use climbing frames and equipment in the park and sing songs or talk as they are using them. Combining these skills is making mind and body work together.
When out walking, listen to the environmental sounds around you and name them. Talk about what type of sounds you are hearing – loud, soft, crackling, and how near or far those sounds are to you.
Give your child one instruction at a time. Get close and down to your child’s level, keeping eye contact and praise their efforts. .
Encourage your child to play imaginatively with card board boxes, saucepans and have a meal with dolls and teddies and pretend or play dough food and drink. Make sounds to accompany the play to develop your child’s listening skills.
Let your child help you with simple household chores/shopping as they like to imitate you and will use the same phrases you do. Ask your child to find some of the items for you. Eg.’ Find the beans. Find the bread.’ This will help with listening and vocabulary.
If your child is playing with technology such as a computer, X-Box, Play Station etc, spend time playing some of the games with them. Ask your child to talk you through what they are playing. Play with them and enjoy being taught by your child! Keep time on these games to a maximum of 30 minutes per day.
Play ‘what can you hear’ Turn off all background noise like the television or radio. Listen carefully. Ask your child ‘what can you hear?’ Spend time focussing on sound both near and far away - the heater, cars outside, even your own breathing. This helps to ‘fine tune’ your child’s listening skills.