Teaching Expertise

Executive functioning activities will get your students to develop their executive function skills while having fun. Executive function skills assist us in learning new things, work efficiently, and managing our daily tasks. These are all cognitive skills we need to navigate our daily lives. It is critical to encourage your children to gain executive functioning abilities at a young age.

Here are 20 Executive Functioning Activities for Middle School Students.

1. Hearts Card Game

This card game is a great way to teach your kids how to strategize and plan each action they take to boost critical brain skills. Most card games teach this, and Hearts is a popular example you can take advantage of. Here is a tutorial on how to play.

Learn more: Gather Together Games

2. UNO

Another card game that is an efficient way for children to learn valuable executive functioning skills is Uno. This very popular card game helps your kids develop working memory and helps them to be more flexible mentally. Not sure how to play? Here’s how.

Learn more: Wiki How

3. Chess Game

For a more challenging activity, let kids play to the most popular board game, chess. Chess helps your children to foresee the opponent’s move and plan theirs accordingly. It teaches strategy and develops mental flexibility and attention span. You can use this video to teach your kids how to play.

Learn more: Bright Side

4. Bridge Game

Bridge is a concentration card game your kids can play to help them learn executive functioning skills. It’s not one of the most popularly known brain games activities for kids, but it's also quite popular. Need a simple tutorial on how to play? Tap here.

Learn more: Gather Together Games

5. Soccer Game

Playing organized sports teaches your children to understand and master complex rules to play smoothly. Soccer provides the benefits of exercise as well. Your children would learn how to think quickly and respond to challenges flexibly. For an in-depth look at the rules of the game, you can watch this video.

Learn more: Simply Soccer

6. Volleyball

Volleyball is one of the best collaborative games. Playing games like this one helps kids watch and strategize before acting. Also, coordinated actions like these would help your children grow in all areas of executive functioning. Watch a clip on learning how to play.

Learn more: Sohanna Vball

7. Minecraft

Computer games are a favorite among children. Minecraft is another of the executive functioning activities in a digital classroom that helps with the kids' skills. An imaginative world with its own rules will only help your kids, especially with their attention to detail. This is how to play.

Learn more: The Chopper

8. Dungeons and Dragons

D&D is also a way for your kids to learn executive functioning skills. It's one of the activities meaningful for kids, as adults still play and have fond memories. It's a good fantasy game for kids. They get to learn about new places and characters while playing. Here’s a video on how to play.

Learn more: Sherlock Hulmes

9. Playing a musical instrument

We suggest letting your kids learn to play a musical instrument. Why? Learning how to play an instrument will help them grow in selective attention and focus. It also helps in challenging their minds and memory as well. This is a tutorial video on how to play the guitar.

Learn more: The Yoshimuras

10. Singing

If a musical instrument doesn’t appeal to you or your child, then maybe singing would. Singing lessons & activities are accessible executive functioning activities for kids. It's so good as it requires your children to concentrate and remember lyrics and coordination. Watch this video for some lessons.

Learn more: Meli Music Lessons

11. Laser Tag Competition

Everybody loves laser tag. And one great thing about it is that your kids can gain from it as well as enjoy it. Laser tags would help your children react quickly to situations and also observe and adapt to their environment. Here’s a look into how to play.

Learn more: Lasertag Net

12. Paintball Competitions

This has similarities to laser tag, both in how the game is played and the benefits gained in respect to executive functioning skills. "Fun and educative" has always been a great combination, and this is another prime example. Watch here to see how the game goes.

Learn more: Danger Man

13. Jump Rope Activities

One might wonder how this popular game could aid your children in executive functioning. But it does. Learning the chants while focusing your mind on jumping through the rope. Those are skills gotten in executive functioning. Take a look at this video to see what we are talking about.

Learn more: Min Kids TV

14. Contemporary Dance Class

Learning and memorizing choreography moves are activities for students to improve executive functioning skills. They must know how to coordinate their body with their brain, which requires focus. You may watch this video on contemporary dancing.

Learn more: Ti & Me TV

15. Rubik’s Cube Activities

Devising and deciphering how to solve the Rubik’s cube is a great way for your children to develop executive functioning skills. Reasoning and solving problems are good brain tasks. Here’s a video on how one tries to solve it.

Learn more: J Perm

16. Crossword Puzzles

Crosswords are word games to work words and letters in various ways (horizontally, diagonally, vertically) for brain power. It is another good way to develop executive functioning skills in your children. Look at an example of solving a crossword.

Learn more: Howcast

17. Mahjong Games

Poker is a good pick for family game nights.It holds skills necessary for the brain development and I think you should join your child in playing games like this for laughs and some healthy banter as well.They can do so here.

Learn more: South China Morning Post

18. Poker Games for Kids

Poker is a good pick for family game nights. It holds skills necessary for the brain development and I think you should join your child in playing games like this for laughs and some healthy banter as well. They can do so here.

Learn more: Wiki How

19. Ghost in the Graveyard

This game is played in the dark and enables your children to monitor their environment while honing their reaction time. Not familiar to you? Here’s how it goes.

Learn more: Wiki How

20. Sudoku Puzzles

I can’t mention puzzles and not bring up Sudoku. Your student plays with numbers. It takes close attention to play and will help your kids' attention span. Watch a tutorial on how to play Sudoku.

Learn more: Learn Something