Organization Activities
Some video games are better suited at practicing organization than others (RPGs or role-playing games are ideal), but many apps are tailored specifically for that purpose. Either way, your child gets the most out of the organization practice they get from using apps and games when you get involved.
Talking about and playing video games with your kids not only gives them validation and support, it offers you opportunities to help them reflect on and make connections between the skills they use in the game and the skills they use in the real world. You can help them take that practice to the next level by working on one or more of these activities together.
Developing a hobby will most certainly encourage some organization practice. Some good examples are collecting game cards (like Pokémon) or sports cards, American Girl dolls, models, or rocks or shells. Suggest or support the use of “organizers” (a shelf, tackle box, or card sleeves) that will help to keep the collection organized.
Put away LEGOs or building toys in containers that are color- and size-coded. Organizing stuffed animals by size, type, and color is not a long-term strategy but will help children to think about relationships among items. Encourage children to develop some organizational schemes with you. Your role is to provide the materials and space necessary to engage in this type of organization and then to get them talking to you about their thinking.
Sit down together to complete a project. Visual instructions for a LEGO set or a piece of furniture can help children to see the steps of starting, organizing and completing a project. These models can help children construct their own “hard copy” for using illustrated directions or exercising their own visualization skills. Offer reminders of these tools and procedures when children have a multi-step project to do.
Your child’s rendition of a family story or account of a field trip to an amusement park can serve as practice in selecting, prioritizing and sequencing the most important details and topics. Ask questions to show how keeping the plot in order helps the audience to understand and enjoy the story. You could illustrate the consequences of disorder by retelling the same story or recounting one of your own with a mixed up sequence of events, emphasizing the irrelevant issues and glaring omissions. Have your child point out disorganization or lack of important information as you go. You could also try this with other shared observations, such as watching a television show, a movie, or dramatic incident at home or school. Encourage them to play narrative video games like Gone Home, Never Alone, or Gravity Ghost and discuss the origins of the story and how events unfolded.
