Many kindergarten readiness evaluations check if children can follow directions. Some children struggle with directions and it’s not because they haven’t been listening. Following an instruction is a thinking skill and just like other skills, it needs practice and repetition. Easter bunny to the rescue, not to deliver eggs, but a fun game for carrying out some directions.
First comes the story: Once upon a time, a little bunny wanted to help the Easter bunny but s/he didn’t know where to put the eggs. The Easter bunny said “Put the eggs in the basket.” But the little bunny put them beside the basket, “Is this where?” The Easter bunny said, “No, that’s not in the basket. Try again.” This time the little bunny put them behind the basket, “Is this where?” The Easter bunny said, “No, that’s not in the basket. Try again.” The little bunny carefully put them in front of the basket, “Is this where?” The Easter bunny said, “No, that’s not in the basket. Try again.” The story continues with little bunny trying under the basket, close to, far away from, etc. and finally gets them IN. If you have a couple of bunny stuffies you can use them to help tell the story and anything can be the eggs: a few paper ones, plastic ones or even some small blocks, containers, or other toys.
Now, let your child be the little bunny and practice putting the eggs IN the basket. Then, have the little bunny practice listening carefully while you tell him/her to put the eggs beside, behind, in front of, under, close to, etc. Use several different places to put the eggs. After the story, kids may want to place the eggs in the basket as the default but having to put them in different spots exercises the listening and thinking. For kids who are older, you can use more complicated instructions such as “Put 1 egg in the basket and 1 egg beside.” That’s a 2 part instruction. Kids will love the chance to be the Easter bunny and tell grownups where the eggs should go. They may also enjoy doing the story all by themselves. Did you and your child have fun with this Easter learning game?