MEMORY & CONCENTRATION
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Doing exercises or activities that promote memory and concentration skills will boost learning,
motivation, increase confidence in recalling information and allow for positive neuroplasticity.
(Neuroplasticity: the continued neuronal growth of our precious brain).
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Memory Segments Age 4+
Materials:
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white or coloured paper
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pencils
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coloured pencils
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markers
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Children are shown a circle divided into four sections, each segment having a different colour.
Parents touch the different coloured segments following a pattern of their choice.
The children have to pay attention to the demonstration and repeat the observed pattern from memory. If they get it right, parents continue the game by adding more moves and increasing the pattern's difficulty, thus raising the demand and challenge.
Too easy? parents can raise the difficulty by increasing the number of segments (e.g. 8), hence the number of possible combinations; or by assigning a sound to each segment and instead of physically demonstrating the pattern, parents can give an auditory instruction (e.g. 'pi, pa, pe, po') to prompt the children's physical demonstration.
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Blind Drawing Age 6+
Materials:
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white paper (at least 2)
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pencils
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coloured pencils
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stopwatch
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This activity is played in teams. Each team will consist of one artist and one instructor, who will sit with their backs against each other.
The instructors will have a previously created drawing (abstract/geometric if possible) and will instruct their artists to produce an identical copy.
The artists must pay attention to the instructions and draw step-by-step what is described to them.
Each team will have 2 minutes to produce their masterpiece. If the space available for the activity is small, the game will happen by turns.
Once the time is over, the drawings will be compared and points will be awarded for each correct component.
The team with the highest score wins.
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Zip, Zap, Zop Age 7+
Materials:
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open space
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many friends
All players stand in a circle
Each player, in his/her turn, may point at the person on their left and say 'ZIP', or at the person on their right and say 'ZAP' or look at their victim in the eyes and say 'ZOP' (without pointing).
The player who has been targeted may choose one of the three actions described above, and so on.
Three things can happen:
1. One player aims at the player to their left and says 'ZAP/ZOP' = strike! for saying the wrong command
2. A player looks at another player, says 'ZOP' and the other player does not respond in time. The attacked player becomes a victim and receives a strike!.
3. When there are two 'ZOPs' facing each other, the duel phase begins. Both players must stand on their backs, take three steps, turn, aim and shout 'ZOP' before their opponent. The slower player will receive a strike!.
When a player accumulates 3 strikes he/she will be eliminated, and the rest will continue. The last player standing will be the winner of this game.
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