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Children's Activities That Focus on Following Directions

As children grow older, we expect them to learn how to following directions. Help children learn the importance of listening and following directions with fun activities. Activities give the children a hands-on learning experience that will help them excel in school and college. Encourage the children by awarding small prizes, such as stickers, for a job well done.

Coloring Activities
- For an easy activity, give the children a coloring sheet and tell them to color the objects a certain color. Give them a coloring page of a flower. Tell them to color the petals yellow, the stem green and the center brown. Select two children to be partners. Give one child a sheet of paper and hand the other partner a coloring page. The child with the coloring page must stand away from his partner so he cannot see the page. He must call out how to draw, color and decorate the page to his partner. His partner must try to draw the same picture. Compare the two pictures to see how well each pair communicated.
Sequential Activities
- Make one slip of paper with an action on it for each child. You start the activity by clapping three times. On one slip of paper it will read, "After someone claps three times, you must spin around twice." Another slip of paper will read, "After someone spins around twice, you must hum a tune." Make a slip for each child. The children must pay close attention and follow the directions on their slip of paper. Turn this activity into a game by having the children participate until no one makes an error throughout the entire activity.
Craft Activities
- Write down directions on how to do a craft for the children to follow. An example is a beaded necklace or bracelet. Write down how long to cut a strand of dental floss, how to make the bracelet and what colors of beads to put on the bracelet. For added difficulty, write down a certain pattern in which the children must bead the necklace or bracelet. Create a variety of follow-the-instructions crafts like how to make a sock puppet, how to draw a star or how to tie a shoe. Paint by numbers crafts are also perfect for children learning how to follow directions.
Treasure Hunt Activities
- Conduct a treasure hunt by hiding small prizes around a room. Make each child a list of directions leading to his prize. Alternatively, hide one bucket of small prizes. Give the children one list of directions and have them work together to find the prizes. Another idea is to create a map of where the prize is located. Draw a map of the area and a line showing the children how to get to the prize.

Kids Games