Working memory is information you hold in your brain for when you need it, like a shopping list, or a phone number, or reviewing your tasks for the day and organizing them in the most efficient way. It’s a crucial skill that will determine your child’s success in school. Here are a bunch of practical and fun ways to develop your child’s working memory capabilities.
1. Memory Games
- Card Matching Games: Games like “Concentration” where children have to find pairs of matching cards can help improve working memory.
- Simon Says: Have your child remember a sequence of actions: “Simon says: Touch your head, touch your knee then raise both arms.”
2. Chunking Information
- Breaking Down Information: Teach children to break down information into smaller, manageable chunks. For example, remembering a phone number as three separate chunks rather than a single long number.
3. Repetition and Rehearsal
- Repeating Information: Encourage children to repeat information aloud or silently to themselves. This can help reinforce the information in their working memory.
- Rehearsal Strategies: Use rehearsal strategies like repeating a list of items or steps in a process until they can recall them without help.
4. Visualization Techniques
- Mental Imagery: Encourage children to create mental images of the information they need to remember. For example, visualizing a story or a sequence of events.
- Mind Mapping: Use mind maps to visually organize information, which can help children remember related concepts and details. Here’s a good article on how to use mind maps with your kids.
5. Multi-Sensory Learning
- Engaging Multiple Senses: Incorporate activities that engage multiple senses, such as using tactile materials, visual aids, and auditory cues. Writing tasks on different colored sticky notes would be an example.
6. Sequencing Activities
- Story Sequencing: Have children put pictures or events from a story in the correct order. This helps them practice remembering and organizing information.
- Following Instructions: Give children multi-step instructions and have them repeat the steps back to you before they start the task.
7. Working Memory Exercises
- N-Back Tasks: These are cognitive training exercises where children have to remember a sequence of items and identify when a current item matches one presented N steps earlier in the sequence. Click for more information and an online demo.
- Digit Span Tasks: Have children repeat a sequence of numbers forwards and backwards. Gradually increase the length of the sequence as their memory improves. (You say: “6,2,9,3” and your child should say, “3,9,2,6” — make this a fun routine, have them do this before you give them a cookie.)
8. Physical Activity
- Coordination Activities: Activities that require coordination, such as remembering a set of dance moves or playing touch football, can also help improve working memory.
9. Mindfulness and Meditation
- Mindfulness Practices: Mindfulness exercises, such as focused breathing or body scans, can help improve attention and working memory by training the brain to stay focused on the present moment.
10. Educational Apps and Games
- Memory Training Apps: There are various apps and games designed to improve working memory through interactive games and exercises. Click for numerous suggestions for paid and free games.
11. Reading and Storytelling
- Reading Aloud: Encourage children to read aloud and then summarize what they’ve read. This helps with both comprehension and memory.
- Storytelling: Have children create and tell their own stories, which requires them to remember and sequence events.
12. Role-Playing and Pretend Play
- Role-Playing Games: Engaging in role-playing games where children have to remember and follow rules or storylines can help improve working memory.
13. Use of Mnemonics
- Mnemonic Devices: Teach children to use mnemonic devices, such as acronyms or rhymes, to help them remember information. For example, using “HOMES” to remember the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior).
We hope this gives you plenty of ideas. Remember the importance of consistency! By incorporating working memory exercises and activities into your child’s daily routine, you’ll help them develop stronger working memory skills, which will pay huge dividends in school and life.
