Sometimes Maria doesn’t listen carefully when her parents, grandma, teachers and friends speak with her.
When Maria doesn’t listen, she makes mistakes. Sometimes she misses out on fun; sometimes she makes others miss out on fun.
Last week, Maria was invited to join Kathy, Annie, and their grandma, Grandma Maureen, for the new movie opening at the “Can Do” Theater on Saturday. When Kathy invited her, she said, “Maria, we will meet you in front of the theater at 2 PM. The movie starts at 2:15 PM. Be sure to ask your mom if you can come and call me and let me know.”
Maria was so excited about being invited to the movies, that she only half listened to Kathy’s directions. When Maria got home, she asked her mom if she could go to the movies on Saturday. Her mom said yes and she called Kathy and gave her the good news.
When Saturday came, Maria reminded her mom that she needed a ride. She needed to meet Kathy and Annie and Grandma Maureen at 2PM. When they got in the car, Maria’s mom asked where Maria needed to meet everyone. Maria thought a minute. She wasn’t quite sure, but she told her mom they were meeting at Grandma Maureen’s house.
When they got to Grandma Maureen’s, Maria’s mom waited in the car while Maria went up to the house and rang the bell. Grandpa John answered and looked surprised to see Maria. “Why Maria, you are supposed to meet Grandma Maureen and the girls in front of the movie theater. It’s 2 PM now, and the movie starts at 2:15 PM. You are going to make everyone miss the opening of the movie. You better hurry. I will call Grandma Maureen on her cell phone and tell her you are on your way”
Maria ran back to the car and told her mom that she got the directions wrong. They drove to the theater and saw Grandma Maureen and the girls waiting for them.
As Maria kissed her mom goodbye, her mom told her they would have a talk about taking directions when she got home from the movies.
Maria ran up to everyone and apologized for being late. Kathy turned to her and said,”Maria, if you made us miss the opening of the movie, because you didn’t listen to my directions, I am going to be so mad at you!”
When they got into the movies, the coming attractions of other movies were still being shown. Lucky for Maria that she didn’t make everyone late for the opening scene of the movie they came to see.
When Maria got home, her mom sat her down and they went over what had happened that day because Maria hadn’t listened to directions. Her mom said,”To understand what people are telling you to do, you have to be a good listener. You must listen carefully to directions if you hope to remember them and use them successfully.”
Then Maria’s mom gave her these hints on being a careful listener:
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Don’t talk when you are supposed to be listening. Your ears work best when your mouth is closed
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Look at the person giving you directions. When your eyes and ears work together, it is easier to understand things.
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If you don’t understand what is being said to you, ask questions. It’s better to ask when being given directions than make a mistake later.
Maria listened carefully to her mom. She promised to practice careful listening and use the tips her mom gave her about listening to directions.
