Ms. Grandma Reads: F is for Focus

Hello, my precious friends,

Today, we are stopping for a moment on the fantastic letter F in Alphabet Town. Our clever friend, Charlie the Cat, helps us learn about the mental skill of - FOCUS!

To better understand this critical component for learning, think about FOCUS as being like a flashlight for our minds. This flashlight shines brighter on the thing we are trying to do and helps everything else fade into the background so that we can be successful in completing a specific task. Our friend Charlie, teaches children that when he focuses on something, like building or solving a tricky riddle, he can accomplish amazing things. If Charlie can focus and accomplish the things he sets his mind to, so can our children. This is such an important lesson. So important, in fact, that Focus is a key skill in preparedness for kindergarten or formal education.

Now, my little dear ones, focus is not something children are born knowing how to do. Nor is it a something that we learn once and are always skilled in. Being able to Focus is a skill that grows little by little and requires continued practice, just like learning to tie shoes or ride a bike. It is what we consider a life-skill.

In early childhood, a child’s brain is still building the "attention pathways." These "attention pathways" are like major highways in the brain that promote a child and adult’s ability to stay attuned to the task at hand. Research in Neuroscience tells us that the prefrontal cortex - the part of the brain that helps with planning, decision-making, and yes, focusing - is still under construction for many, many years!

This is why young children are naturally wiggly, curious, and easily distracted. Their brains are still leaning how to focus. Parents, it is this the focus practice you want to protect and nurture! You can recognize children focusing when they are trying to stack a block on top of others, working to finish a puzzle, or listening carefully during a story, even when it is noisy. Consider encouraging them to slowly finish a picture they are drawing, rather than rushing to complete it. Every time a child tries to stay present in one of these types of activities, they are strengthening and increasing those focus highways, in the brain. 

Our children can relate to Charlie, in Alphabet Town, as this curious cat gets distracted by a fluttering butterfly or a bouncing ball. Distractions will come but you can actually see success as Charlie smiles, takes a deep breath, and gently brings his attention back to what he is working on.

Dear Parents, please - do not minimize the power and necessity for your child to be able to focus. A simple and fun way to help build focus at home is through a "Listening Game."

Choose a small sound, such as tapping a spoon or crinkling paper, and ask your child to listen closely and guess what it is. As they get better, you can layer in background noises to make it a little trickier!  You might try telling your child to close their eyes and then lay out silverware in a pattern. Let them look for 5 seconds then close their eyes again while you scramble the silverware. Next, have your child try to remember the silverware pattern and repeat it. 

Activities like these, help children learn how to tune their attention or focus - a skill that will serve them beautifully their whole lives.

Be careful though. Focus is not about being perfect. It is about practicing being in the moment and disciplining our brains to be in attention.  

In Alphabet Town, we believe that focus is a gift that every child can continue to grow, if given encouragement, patience, playful practice, and a loving grown-up, by their side. You see, I am still a wiggle worm and paying attention demands much from me. Perhaps you are the same, so we can empathize with our little ones who have ants in their pants. Even the wiggliest little ones can learn to shine their beautiful brain flashlights exactly where they need to, if you are close by.

Oh, Precious Parents – I see you raising those kids so wonderfully. I am proud of you and you should be too.