Learning to concentrate is a skill that children need to do well in school. Interactive concentration games provide a way to have a good time while also increasing children's ability to focus on a specific task and see it through to completion. Interactive games will also teach children how to work as part of a team and will help boost their brain power.
Memory With Twist
The classic children's game of Memory requires children to use their memory to find as many matching cards as possible by turning them over to see what each one looks like. Children can play a variety of different matching games alone, with siblings or with friends. Make two copies of photos of family members and turn them into memory cards. Use seasonal symbols, such as snowflakes, suggest Kathy Charner and Maureen Murphy, authors of "The Giant Encyclopedia of Monthly Activities for Children 3 to 6." Write two of each letter of the alphabet on index cards and turn them over to see how quickly your child can find all the matches. Look online to find printable memory games featuring favorite cartoon characters or spelling words as another way to play this interactive game.
Word Associations
Word Associations is a concentration game that requires children to use listening and memory skills, reports Leo Jones, author of "Let's Talk 2." Children sit in a circle and one child is chosen to begin. That child starts by saying any word he thinks of. The next child must repeat the first word and then add a related word of his own. Each player repeats the first word and then adds a word that goes with the original word. If a player cannot list a word that relates to the original word, he is out. A child is also out if he lists a word that has already been used. The winner is the last player to come up with a related word. This game teaches children how to listen as well as how to concentrate on the meaning of words in order to participate.
Finger And Hand Games
Using fingers and hands provides children with an opportunity to interact with what they are learning about in a hands-on way. Thumb wrestling is one game that requires children to use intense concentration to keep their thumb from being pressed down while also trying to press their opponent's thumb down first, reports Martha B. Straus, author of "No-Talk Therapy for Children and Adolescents." Hand clapping games are another interactive way to build concentration. The leader claps a pattern and children must repeat that pattern with their own hands. Increase the complexity of the patterns as you go to keep them engaged and challenged. Shadow puppets are another way that children can learn to concentrate as they try to shape their hands into a recognizable animal for other players to guess.
References
- "The Giant Encyclopedia of Monthly Activities for Children 3 to 6"; Kathy Charner and Maureen Murphy; 2006
- "Let's Talk 2"; Leo Jones; 2007
- "No-Talk Therapy for Children and Adolescents"; Martha B. Straus; 1999
Member Comments