Elementary school in many school systems in the US encompasses kindergarden through grades 1-5, or from about the ages 6 to 10. This is a critical time for the development of foundational Executive Function skills. These include:

Self-regulation – managing strong emotions and inhibiting impulsive behaviors

Attention – sustaining focus, especially for multi-part tasks

Task Initiation – starting a non-preferred task

Organization – maintaining materials at home and in school

Planning – mapping out multi-step tasks such as longer-term class projects

While some children seem to develop these skills seamlessly, many struggle and benefit from a level of direct 1:1 instruction and support that is often unavailable in most Elementary schools.

Parents often begin to see signs of Executive Function challenges in their child in Elementary school, when the student faces new expectations for sitting and working quietly and following classroom rules.

Parents and teachers may notice:

Behavior or emotion management challenges – the student seems to lack the same degree of self control as peers, is easily frustrated, anxious, and/or has difficulty settling down to do work

Academic challenges – the student may lack persistence or often not start or complete even small assignments or have trouble locating materials for schoolwork

Social challenges – the student may have trouble cooperating with peers or participating in group activities, leading to challenges in making and maintaining friendships

Parents of Elementary school children who are struggling may wonder:

Why does my child take so long to do homework?

How can I help my child calm down?

How can I reduce my child’s temper tantrums?

How can I help my child become more organized?

As an adult, it’s reasonable to think that being an Elementary student is the easiest life around — no bills to pay, no worries about your career, no responsibilities other than some homework and a couple simple household chores. But can you imagine being a child whose everyday world of school and home feels overwhelming because they lack the Executive Function skills needed to keep focused, manage their time, and stay organized? 

Consider the stress that’s a daily part of the life of an Elementary student with Executive Function challenges in these three typical scenarios:

Situation #1: Focusing in Class

Imagine yourself as a fourth grader, fidget toy in hand, in the first weeks of school. Your teacher is at the front of the class, explaining the directions for an activity. You realize about halfway through her explanation that you hadn’t really been listening, because you were distracted by the fact that your classmate was wearing the same Minecraft shirt that you have.

When the other students open their notebooks and start writing, you just sit there, frozen at your desk, not knowing what to do, scared that you are about to get in trouble for not doing your work. You come home feeling worried that your teacher is annoyed with you – and more and more you start to dread the next day of school.

Situation #2: Budgeting Time for Homework

You’ve been assigned a worksheet on fractions, and you have to write an outline for a persuasive essay. You sit down to start the outline, but then you notice your cat is staring at you with those adorable big green eyes and you simply must play with her now! You go back to your outline for a while, but then you realize you are hungry and need a snack. At this rate, writing your outline is taking what seems like forever.

By the time you leave for soccer practice, you’re only halfway done with the outline, and you haven’t even started on that math worksheet. You recollect the easy days of second grade, when all you had to do was read for fifteen minutes.

Situation #3: Cleaning Your Room

You’ve just finished a tough week at school and now your parents are expecting you to get your room clean. You know where everything is, sort of. Anyway, how on earth do you even start such a massive job? It’s just too overwhelming to think about. Maybe if you distract your parents by picking a fight with your brother, they’ll forget all about this room-cleaning thing.

The transition from Kindergarten to Elementary school means that a lot more is required of students in terms of focusing in class, budgeting time for homework, and even taking on more responsibility at home. Students with weak Executive Functioning can experience stress and frustration when they have trouble meeting those increased demands.

It’s good to know that with the right tools, strategies, and support, students can learn the Executive Function skills that are needed in Elementary school and beyond.

While these challenges may seem relatively minor in Elementary school , they have increasing relevance as a child matures, ultimately playing a central role in shaping student achievement.

Unaddressed, a deficit in the critical foundational area of Executive Function skills can have long-term effects on a student’s success and, consequently, their self-confidence as a learner. These skills form the basis of a smooth transition to middle school, where academic demands increase rapidly.