If you want to help your child become an effective learner then one really needs an active way to help them succeed by frequently playing memory games with them. The benefits of playing memory games with your child are huge. Children who have a good memory do not fear in learning historical facts and dates and much more. So here are the few memory games that you must play with your kids. These games will help in improving their memory skills before they even start formal education.
1. Kim’s Game
Keep 5 items on a tray, such as a pen, pencil, small toy or an ornament. After placing the items ask your child to study them for few minutes. Put a cover over the tray and then see how many objects can your child remember? Children love this game and it can be played with more or fewer items depending on your child’s age and capability. Once your child becomes very good in this game you can go to the next level by taking the tray out of sight after your child has studied the objects, then remove one object and ask your child if they can tell which one is missing. Kim’s game helps your child grow visual memory, which is a vital skill for learning to read and spell.
2. Matching Pairs
Take a normal pack of playing cards and take out the numbers 6-10 from the pack. Place the leftover cards face down on the table in eight rows of four. Each player tries to find a matching pair by turning up two cards. If it is not a matching pair, then the cards are placed face down again in the same position. If they do match, the player keeps this pair of cards and has another turn. When all the pairs are found, players count their pairs. The one with the maximum pairs of cards wins the game. This game really helps in boosting your child’s memory training as it takes a substantial amount of concentration for a young child to watch and recall where each card is.
3. Memory Train
This is a very common and popular game that many of us have played during our childhood. First of all, tell your child to imagine going on holiday. Start off by saying, “I packed my suitcase and put in my…hairbrush”. The following person repeats the saying but by adding an extra item, eg: “I packed my suitcase and put in my hairbrush and t-shirt.” And so on. You can play your own variant of this game. For example, you could go to the superstore to buy groceries or visit an amusement park to go on rides. The memory train game surely stimulates the memory of a child as it includes repeating the same list over and over and adding one item to it each time.
4. The Magic Cup Game
For this game, you must have three plastic cups and a small item such as a coin. Place the item in a cup, assuring your child knows which one it’s under. Move the cups from one place to another and ask your child which cup the item is under. Your child can then have a go at moving the magic cups. Through this game, children learn to concentrate really hard as they try to follow the cup with the object under it.
5. Spot the Difference
Ask your child to study you by giving attention to what you are wearing. Leave the room and change one thing. For example, you could take off an earring, tie your hair back or change your t-shirt. Come back in and ask your child to spot what you have changed. You can also play this game on a whiteboard. Draw a person or scene and take out one thing out when your child is not looking. This game helps to form concentration and visual memory skills as your child will have to form and remember a visual picture of what you looked like before you made the change.
