If you have kids, you’ve probably heard of the term “Executive Functioning”. It’s the buzzword of the year and especially with the pandemic, something discussed more and more frequently as a support needed for children. Now more than ever children need to learn HOW to learn.
Here at Teacher Time To Go, we are going to simply break it down for you so you understand how to build the skills to best support your child. Executive Functioning can be best understood as a set of mental skills that are used regularly every day to learn, work, and manage daily life.
Teacher Time To Go recognizes the need to not only help students feel confident and prepared, but to set clear and measurable goals to help them succeed in their academics, extra curriculars, and their personal lives.
As a company, we use the SMARTS curriculum for Executive Functioning. During the first session, we work to establish a baseline with a set of student surveys and questionnaires. This helps us determine which of the executive functions to really prioritize and focus on. We have listed them below:
- Goal setting – setting academic and personal goals
- Thinking flexibly – which simply means processing in a new way
- Organizing Information – also known as categorizing and sorting information
- Working memory – understood as juggling information in the brain
- Self-monitoring – meaning recognizing mistakes and self-reflecting
After we establish which Executive Function is the first priority, we use a 4-step process to guide each student towards success. The steps are: Teaching Explicitly, Modeling, Allowing for Autonomy, and Reflection. It is during this process that we are able to build up a child’s independence, confidence, and problem solving. This is the foundation that will assist in the success of your child’s education and beyond.
Typically, we recommend 8-10 sessions to truly build the foundational skills, and aim for 1-2 sessions per week to deliver the instruction. However, every child is different, and we recognize that this will be customizable to meet the needs of each child. To learn more about our process and approach, please reach out to schedule your free consultation and together, we will work with you to put a game plan together that will help your child succeed.
To learn more about Teacher Time To Go, head to www.teachertimetogo.com. View our flyer for our Executive Functioning program.
Email info@teachertimetogo.com or call 610.212.9440 to set up a free consultation!
Live.Love.Learn,
Jenn Shemtob
Owner
“SMARTS Executive Function Curriculum, © 2014-2021 ResearchILD, a proprietary research-based tool developed by the Research Institute for Learning and Development”.