Top 10 Reading Tips For Parents

Playing Memory Games Sharpens the Cognitive Abilities:

Without strong cognitive skills the child will not be able to acquire formal instruction. Accurate testing and skill based training programs can help to develop the cognitive skills that will help the child perform up to his full potential.

So, how do you improve the cognitive skills? Yes, through practice right and also reading along with him or her. However, the best way to sharpen the child’s cognitive abilities is by playing memory games with him. Your child will enjoy the interactive way of learning new words. Obviously, good memory is important for the child to remember whatever he is learnt at school.

Always reading to your child and asking them to write will make the learning process very boring. Playing some fun memory games help to develop the child’s memory when he is about three to six years old, and as we all know that to be good at academics you need to have good memory. This game is really interesting; you can arrange a tray with many objects.

• Keep the tray in front of him and let him study the objects.
• Now, remove the tray from his sight and ask him to tell the names of all the objects that were there on the tray.
• Keep a checklist of the objects in a sheet and mark off those he has already mentioned.
• If he repeats the name of same object twice encourage him to think harder.
• You can also remove one object from the tray and ask your child to spot the difference.
• This game is really enjoyable and it is also an accurate way to check the child’s cognitive development and visual memory.
• Through this game you will be able to analyze whether the child’s thinking pattern is organized.

Another game that also helps to sharpen your child’s memory is matching pairs.

• For this use a pack of playing cards and remove the numbers 6 to 10.
• Stack up the cards in eight rows of four cards each and place it face down.
• Each player tries to find matching pair by picking up two cards.
• If the cards he picked up are matching then he gets another turn to play.
• The player who has the maximum number of cards is declared the winner.
• This is group game you can organize by calling over your child’s friends.

How does this game matching pair help to reinforce your child’s memory? This game improves your child concentration levels since he tries to remember which card is placed where. It also helps to develop his numerical ability. While playing in a group he learns what healthy competition means. Instead of using a pack of playing cards you can use appropriate printable cards or flash cards available for preschool children. Children find these colourful printed cards attractive than the playing cards.

You can also teach your child Sudoku and other interesting memory games on the internet. However, prevent overplaying the internet games it might cause addiction.

Memory Train is another common game.

• Ask your child to imagine that he or she is going for a holiday and that you have already started packing the suitcase.
• Ask your child to name an essential item that you should carry.
• Then you add one more item and the game carries on.
• This game can be played in a group or one a one to one basis.
• You can make memory train more creative by building a storyline. For instance, you start the story and ask your child to continue and keep adding sentences. This makes the child think creatively and helps him to learn proper sentence construction.

Kids love repetition and by repeating the list the child’s memory improves. Memory train can be quite a challenging game and you will be surprised how good your child’s memory has developed after played this memory train game several times.

You can also play scrabble, cross word puzzles, jumble words and sentences, simple jigsaw puzzles and other memory games you find interesting and think will help the child in the long run. The focus should be on learning no doubt, but you have to make it enjoyable for your children. Games like magic cup and spot the difference are really popular among kids.

You have to play the games regularly and only play those games the child enjoys initially. Introduce one game at a time. Make sure your child wins the game otherwise he will become disinterested and stop playing altogether.

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