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Give Me Five! Getting Your Preschoolers’ Attention

September 14, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Positive Guidance and Social Skills 13 Comments

hand

It is a common misconception that preschool children know what it means when you ask them to “listen”.  Grown ups constantly ask them to “listen” or “pay attention”, but a young child can’t comply with those requests until you explain what that will actually look like.  

I teach my little ones the “Give Me Five” signal.  When I need my very best listeners, I hold up my hand and say, “Give Me Five…Four..Three..Two..One” as I slowly count down with my fingers as well.  At “One” I put the single finger in front of my mouth for a quiet “shhh”.  The children usually follow along, shhh-ing as well, bringing us all to a quiet spot.  But listening is more than just being quiet, so I teach how  to listen using the FIVE.   The first time I use it, I tell them there are important parts to being a good listener, that they can remember as we count down.

5…Your eyes are looking.

4…Your body is still.

3…Your hands are to yourself.

2…Your ears are listening .

and 1…Shhhh. Your mouth is quiet.  We’re ready to listen!

(I’ve even made a big poster drawing of a hand and put pictures of eyes, bodies, etc. on each finger as a visual reminder.)

I’ll repeat this long version the first few times I use “Give Me Five”, often changing it up to reinforce those behaviors (5…Danny’s eyes are looking, 4…Oh, wow, Jill’s body is so still….), then I shorten to just counting, but pointing out children that are doing the specific behaviors once we finish counting, thanking them for being good listeners.

I don’t use this every time I want someone’s attention, I think they would tire of it.  But I use it frequently at the beginning, to teach listening skills, and then I use the “5-4-3-2-1 shhh” when I need to get everyone’s attention during a busy time (while they’re talking during snack, or a project for example).  I also use it as a quick reminder at times such as large group, using my hand as a signal and saying, “Who’s giving me five?  Oh wow!  Yen is such a great listener!”  Try this out with your little ones, and see if teaching them how to listen will help them to listen!

Photo Courtesy StillSearc.

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Comments

  1. 1

    Juliann says

    September 14, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    I like the countdown idea. These are some good ideas to pass on to my teachers.

    Reply
    • 2

      notjustcute says

      September 14, 2009 at 11:11 pm

      Glad to hear it’s something you can use! Let me know how it goes!

      Reply
  2. 3

    Catherine McMahon says

    September 4, 2010 at 8:34 am

    Love this technique! Used it in my classroom this first week.

    Reply
    • 4

      notjustcute says

      September 4, 2010 at 11:53 am

      I’m so glad! Thank you for letting me know!

      Reply
  3. 5

    Candice says

    September 11, 2014 at 8:01 am

    I love your Give Me Five! method–a very clear directive for preschoolers. I can’t wait to try it with my kids!

    Reply
  4. 6

    Sue says

    September 15, 2014 at 7:39 pm

    Thank you for these ideas. They are very like the methods that I’ve used for many years in my early-years classrooms. I’ve used “Whole Body Listening” like your five. Google whole body listening and you will find a range of posters to suit your level. The original idea (or maybe I just added it along the way!) included listening with your bottom, so that it was on the floor! I realise that a very directed approach doesn’t sit well with a lot of contemporary-informal approaches to teaching, but sometimes you need children to be still to listen well (no longer than 5 minutes!)

    Reply
    • 7

      Grace says

      September 17, 2014 at 12:54 pm

      Luckily it’s extremely possible to approach teaching/childcare from a less “directed approach” by offering lots of time for free play, solving problems non-punitively, etc… all while setting children up to succeed by having very clear (and appropriate) expectations and procedures, and even practicing if necessary. A lot of problems can be avoided when children know what to do and how to do it.

      The book “Teaching Children to Care” is a classroom management book that goes deeper into this idea (though I ignore the parts where the author recommends using time-out).

      Reply

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I’m Amanda Morgan. Here’s what I’m about…

In early education, there is too much distance between what we know and what we do. I bridge the gaps that exist between academia, decision-makers, educators, and parents so that together, we can improve the quality of early education while also respecting and protecting the childhood experience.

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