What are Executive Function skills? The ability to plan, initiate, organize, and carry out tasks while regulating emotions, focusing attention, controlling impulses, resolving conflicts, shifting gears when necessary and monitoring one’s efforts ito do so. Just that!
These important set of skills are typically not identified and taught to children; yet, children and adults alike are required to use these skills almost every moment of each day. In fact, a large part of “school readiness” hinges on this set of skills.
Consider this clip from one of my trainings on Executive Functioning for preschool staff here.
An important fact: the part of the brain that is believed to be crucial for the development of these skills is not fully formed until the early thirties! Yes, really. Although children may demonstrate moments of using these skills, they cannot be relied upon to perform them consistently due to the lack of neural circuitry in their brains.
Unfortunately, many of the children labeled as “challenging” are likely deficient in one or more executive functioning skills, but are never given targeted support for developing them.
EF skills have been called the “how” of learning that support the “what” of learning. Given their importance, it seems like more needs to be done to help adults understand these skills and learn how to teach them to children.
This training can be adapted for Pre-K through high school age staff or parents with children in this age range.
For more about this important topic, click on my Resources page to read my article on EF skills!