Construction play is a terrific source of sequencing. Describe what your child has built: “I see that you put a big block in back of the triangle. Look at how you also put a little block on top of that big block. " Encourage your child to answer open-ended questions. You might say, “Nina, what do you want first, the scissors or the glue stick?” “Who was the first student at school today?” “What is the last thing left in the shopping bag?”
For example, as the child is getting dressed to go outside, you might say, “First, put on your jacket. Next, put on your hat and mittens. Then, we will be ready to go to the playground. " You could also have the child talk about the process of tying their shoes. Put the shoe on the child’s foot and tie it while they describe what to do first, next, and last. Ask the child to explain what to do first, next, and last during events throughout their day such as eating lunch, cleaning up, going to the bathroom, or having a fire drill. Let the child talk about each step as it is happening.
Read the story to your child, with pauses in between each event to ensure they understand what has happened. Ask your child, “What happened first in the story, next, and last?” Or you might ask, “What did Goldilocks do first: eat the porridge or fall asleep in Baby Bear’s bed?” If your child doesn’t know the answer, help your child find the answer in the story.
Ideally, there is a task the robot is supposed to do, such as make a jelly sandwich. The child has to give a command, and the robot will do it, even if the direction is incomplete! This can lead to funny situations. For instance, the child may forget to tell the robot to reach inside the bread bag, or open the top of the jelly jar. They forget to mention that the jelly goes in the middle of the sandwich. This game reinforces concepts of sequencing, but also how to communicate instructions clearly and completely.
Purchase ready-made puppets or make your own. You could also use flannel or felt board characters. Print pictures of storybook characters and attach Velcro to the back of each one. Ask the child to tell the story in order of sequence, and put the characters in order on the board. If they skip a step, redirect them to give them a chance to see why the answer is incorrect.
On separate sentence strips write sequencing questions: What happened first in the story? What happened next? What happened last? On separate sentence strips write an answer for each question. Read the story to your child. Read the sentence strips with the sequencing questions. Read the sentences strips with the answers (out of order). With your child select the correct answer for each question. Reread sections of the story if incorrect answers were selected.
For instance you might say, “I spy a spoon. I use a spoon to eat oatmeal. I eat oatmeal to be strong and healthy. I want to be strong and healthy so I can run and jump. ” Use higher-order questioning when playing games like “I Spy. ” Ask the players to keep going until they can’t think of anything else to add.
You can take turns leading the song and pausing, or being the one who fills in. Some songs to use include “Old MacDonald,” “This Old Man,” or “The Itsy Bitsy Spider. "
You might say, “The large red square is first. The blue triangle is second. The yellow circle is after the blue triangle, and the red triangle is last. ” Or you might say, “The red square is first. The blue triangle is next to the square. The yellow circle is after the blue triangle, and the red rectangle is last. ” Then, have the child put the items in order and tell you which is first, next, and last. You can also do this with toys.
You might say, “Place the blue ball first, and the bear second. Place the car third, next to the bear. Place the timer last. ”
Help your child self-correct misplaced pictures by asking, “Would that make sense?”
Encourage them to pay attention to their size in each picture, and other distinguishing characteristics. Use words like younger, older, shorter, taller, smaller, larger. Ask your child to describe each photo. For example, they might say, “This is when I was a tiny baby,” or “This is when I learned to play soccer. ”
