11Ways to improve your child's memory power
Memory is an important part of building a solid foundation for learning, both in and out of the classroom. Having a great memory can help your child do better in school, do well on tests, and achieve better grades.
But sharp memory skills are not something people are born with - these skills develop and improve the more they are used. Like any other skill, practice makes perfect.
In order to become a memory expert, it is important to make sure that your child regularly works on his memorizing muscles.
Improve students' working memory
Active memory is divided into two parts :
short term memory
long-term memory
Short-term memory helps students process and retrieve new information so that they can process the task at hand.
This information is transferred to the student's long-term memory, where it helps him develop a deeper understanding of the topic.
Students with memory problems typically have difficulty organizing information and developing a purposeful understanding of a topic. This can cause children to fall behind in class, leading to ongoing conflicts in the class.
The good news is that there are a number of memory strategies for kids that you can use to help improve your child's short- and long-term memory.
11 ways to improve a child's memory
Use these 11 exercises and tips to help boost your child's memory power .
Encourage questions
Understanding the topic is the first step to being able to remember the material. Encouraging your child to ask questions helps ensure that they develop a deeper understanding of the topic. This also helps students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Create rhythms and songs
Help your child make a rhyme, poem or song out of the information he is learning. Our brains are designed to remember music and patterns, so using music or rhymes can help your child improve their memory and recall.
Make learning exciting
Encourage your child's enthusiasm for learning by taking a trip to the library to see books or videos on different topics. You can also visit a museum or art gallery. If your child is interested in the material they are learning, it will be easier to remember them in the future.
Encourage active learning
Make learning more engaging for your child by having discussions on different topics, and asking your child what they think. This encourages students to keep information in their minds long enough to answer questions about it, and helps them develop critical thinking skills while improving memory power.
Use visual aids
Encourage your child to use visual aids to help him remember information he has recently read or heard. Create flashcards with words or pictures — they can be used to match exercises or to practice word definitions.
Have your child give his or her own examples
When your child creates his own examples by relating them to his personal experiences, it makes the material much easier to tackle. Communicating the material in a meaningful way helps your child remember information.
Create mind maps
Create a mind map of the different ideas and how they relate to each other. Building connections between words and topics helps children engage effectively with the material and develop deeper understanding, an important part of memory.
Create a list of keywords for an idea or topic
Create a word list and use it to build connections between each of the words and concepts. The more unique the associations, the easier it will be for your child to remember them.
Ask your child to teach you
Encourage your child to explain the information he is learning to you (or to his sibling or friend). Make it a challenge to see how much he can remember. Then go back and review any material your child wasn't sure about.
Use all the senses
Take a multisensory approach to learning using sight, touch and sound - read aloud, have a conversation, and use props. This helps to involve your child in the material in more ways than one, making it easier to connect with the material.
Breaking down information into smaller blocks
Small amounts of information are easier to remember than to process a lot of material at once. Start small with the basics and build understanding from there. Organize the information with headings, lists, and colors to make it easier to remember later.
Use these tips and exercises to help boost your child's memory so he becomes a better learner. For more memory tips, check out the 5 memory tricks the professionals use.