Conversations with your child can be a time for telling great stories. Getting new information about a subject she is interested in helps her focus on listening. "What do you think your dad was like when he as a boy?" you might ask. Listen and comment on her response. Bring in stories that your child's grandparents have told about her father. Point out common traits and interests your child shares with her father. Ask her if she agrees or disagrees with your assessment. Her answer will reflect what she heard you say.
Listening to books together is another great way to use story for listening. Listen to and follow along with a good children's trade book. Stop the audio at times and ask a question, such as, "Do you think Jeffery is in trouble for doing that? What is going to happen?" Listen carefully to her answers, which can reveal not only what she heard but what she thinks.
Another great activity is making up stories with your children. One of you starts a story. One of your children continues the story, and the next child proceeds accordingly. Keep taking turns continuing the story until you come to a satisfactory ending. Listening skills are developed because each of you must listen to the other in order to continue and complete the story.
Traditional games are still favorites for working on listening skills. "Simon Says" is a very popular listening game. "Simon Says" is the necessary phrase to carry out a command from the game leader. Have children at arm's length from each other so they can move on the correct command. The leader says, for example, "Simon says pat your shoulder." Everyone who does this is still in the game; those who do not are out. The leader then might say, "Stomp your foot." Those who stomp their foot are now out of the game, because the leader did not say, "Simon says to stomp your foot." Continue playing until there is one player left in the game. That player is the winner.
"Telephone" is another traditional favorite. Someone starts by whispering a sentence into the next person's ear. That person repeats the whisper to the next person. The pattern repeats until the last person stands up and repeats what he has heard. It may or may not be similar at all to the original sentence.
"I See Something You Don't See" is a good game for listening as well. The first person gives clues about an object she sees. The next person is to guess what it is. She may ask questions about it. If she guesses and is wrong, the next person must guess. Whoever gets the right answer begins the next round.
Tape a recording telling your child what chores he is to complete on a given day. Keep instructions clear and brief. Be sure not to give him too many tasks. At the end of the tape, tell him what he gets for completing the chore list -- such as a trip to the movies. Don't mention the reward to him; see whether he brings it up, thus proving he listened to the end of the tape.
Music is a favorite of many people, and its use in developing good listening skills is a natural. For younger children, have them listen to music that gives them things to do, such as the "Hokey Pokey." Older children will enjoy listening to music for the story the lyrics tell. Ask them questions about the particulars of the lyrics. For example, you might ask, "What was the dream Eddy always had at night?"