Ways to Help Young Children Develop Executive Function Skills

Ensure that children have opportunities to engage in physical activity every day.

• Incorporate music, dance, and activity in the classroom.
• Scaffold new learning with visual supports.
• Support pretend play in which children take on different roles.
• Teach children to take turns.
• Help children learn to label and recognize their feelings.
• Help children persist with challenging activities.
• Systematically increase demands so that children can practice executive function skills.