Practicing Planning at Home: Ideas by Age

Planning is an executive function skill with a big impact on a child’s ability to complete tasks and assignments at school, finish chores at home, or get ready for events like sporting games or practices. Some children pick up planning more naturally than others, but it’s an essential skill every child benefits from practicing and talking through. According to Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, planning draws on several cognitive processes at once, including attention, working memory, energy, initiation, self-monitoring, self-correction, time sense, prioritizing, and decision-making, just to name a few. No wonder it can be so difficult.

The good news is you can start practicing planning at home using everyday activities with your child. Choosing activities that are age-appropriate and functional in your child’s own environment is one of the best ways to build these skills.

Planning Practice Ideas for Younger Children

• Making a meal or snack
• Cleaning their room
• Doing a puzzle
• Completing a craft
• Getting ready to go to the park, pool, store, and so on

Start by telling your child what you’re going to do. For example: “Let’s make lunch together! We’ll make a PB&J sandwich.” Ask them, “How do you think we’ll make a PB&J sandwich?” Listen to their response, and use some of their own ideas to shape the steps from there. Use language to outline each step, for example, “First, we’ll get the peanut butter out of the cabinet, and then the jelly out of the refrigerator.” This helps your child visualize the steps before they take them. Once you’ve talked through all the steps, see how many they can recall on their own. Help them remember any they forget, this isn’t a quiz.

After you’ve made your plan, it’s time for action. Walk through the steps together and refer back to what you planned. Did everything go according to plan? Was anything trickier than expected? Were there any surprises along the way, like being out of grape jelly?

Planning Practice Ideas for Older Children

• Getting ready for a sports game
• Getting ready to go to a birthday party
• Getting ready to have a sleepover
• Planning how to complete a school project
• Planning chores on chore day

The process looks very similar to what works for younger children. Start by asking your child what they think they’ll need to do to complete the task, this lets you see whether they’re visualizing all the steps, and whether they’re likely to over- or underestimate how long it will take. Then, help them identify any steps they might have missed, or even steps that aren’t necessary.

Of course, plans don’t always go smoothly. You can start teaching problem-solving skills by having your child anticipate problems they might run into while carrying out their plan. Maybe their sports jersey is dirty, they can’t find an item they need for their project, or they’re out of a supply they need to finish a task. Practicing this kind of anticipation can reduce anxiety and frustration when problems actually come up, and gives your child a head start on solving them.

Finding What Works Best

Everyone plans differently, and children are still learning what works best for them. It’s okay to let them do things a different way, or even let them make mistakes in their planning so they have to retrace their steps and try again. Some kids benefit from lists or pictures, while others do better talking through their plans out loud. You can guide your child toward the planning method that fits them best as they grow and their needs change.

Does Your Child Struggle With Planning? Let ETLC Help With Executive Function Support

Does your child struggle with planning or other executive functioning skills? If you’re wondering whether they could benefit from extra support, reach out to Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center. It can be hard to know how to help your child, and we understand that every child learns in their own way. That’s why we build an individualized plan specific to their learning style. Ready to get started? Contact us today.