And the skill of the week is… Memory! 

For this skill adventure, we’re working on memory! Memory is a crucial building block of early learning because it helps our brains store information. Working on your child’s memory will also help cultivate their problem-solving skills, and improve their ability to pay attention and follow directions. We’re sharing ways you can incorporate memory activities into your child’s flexible learning routine. 

Check out tips for implementing memory into your child’s learning routine below!

Focused Learning Time (15 – 30 minutes) 

Work on memory skills by completing these activities in HOMER.

Ages 2-3: Paint Pot

Ages 3-4: Paint Pots or What Comes Next

Ages 5+: Sight Word Memory Game

Whole Body Movements (5 – 15 minutes)

Ages 2-3: Play and sing If “You’re Happy and You Know It.” Run through the song three times, with three different activities (for example: clap, hop, stomp.) Then sing, “If you’re happy and you know it, do all three!”

Ages 3-4: Play and sing “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes”, but remember to leave out one more word each round! (For example…[silence] shoulders, knees, and toes…. [silence 2x] knees, and toes…)

Ages 5+: Create an exercise circuit. Challenge your child to remember the sequence and count! (5 Jumping Jacks, 5 hops, 5 twirls)

Fine Motor Activity (10 – 20 minutes)

Ages 2-3: Work on patterns with a simple bead stringing activity. Start with a simple AB pattern (2 colors), then ask your child to continue it.

Ages 3-4: Making your own matching game! Draw the same number of a particular shape on two notecards (for example, 3 squares on each). Then, Have your child color them in as best they can, using the same color for both cards in the pair. After you’ve completed several cards, you can play the game together.

Ages 5+: Make your own matching game—For older kids, having them cut and paste shapes onto the cards provides an extra-fun challenge to the activity above!

Yoga or Stretching (10 – 20 minutes)

Ages 2-3: Create a stretching sequence! Start by giving your child a simple stretch to do (for example, “Touch your toes.”) Then, add a second stretch (“Reach up to the sky.”)  Have them do the pair of stretches a few times to make sure they’ve got it down before adding a third.

Ages 3-5+: Create a simple yoga flow! Starting with a simple stretch like downward dog, take your child through a short series of poses. Then, see if they can repeat the movements on their own!

Free Play (15 – 60 minutes)

Ages 2-3: Set up a station with stacking toys, shape sorters and puzzles (all of which help flex memory muscles!)

Ages 3-4: Challenge your child to create their own patterns with blocks, crayons, or paint.

Ages 5+: Play a game of 20 questions. Challenge your child to remember the clues in order to guess the answer. If this feels too tricky, you can give them a little help by keeping notes on a board or piece of paper.

Reading/Story Time (15 – 30 minutes)

Ages 2-3: Read a story with repetitive text and challenge your child to chime in with what happens next (for example, if you’re reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar, they can chime in with “still hungry!”)

Ages 3-4: We know your child has a story they love to hear again and again. Help them work their memory muscles by encouraging them to tell you what comes next!

Ages 5+: Play “I’m Going on a Picnic…” and take turns coming up with items to bring. Here’s the trick— every time you add an item, you have to remember (and say) all the items that were listed before!

Family Helping Time (10 – 20 minutes)

Ages 2-3: Give your child a fun memory mission by asking them to help put things away where they belong without asking for directions.

Ages 3-4: You can work on multi-step directions by asking your child to complete a routine on their own. Tomorrow morning, see if they can remember what to do first, next, and last, as they head to the bathroom to brush teeth, wash face, etc.

Ages 5+: Set your child up with some simple chores; start with one and work your way up to three-step directions. You can even make a chore chart that reminds them what to do next!

Making Memories (20 – 30 minutes)

Ages 2-3: Encourage your child to draw a picture of something they love. On the next day, ask them to name the picture from the previous day and then add a new one!

Ages 3-5: Encourage your child to be a little meteorologist by creating a weather chart. Each day you can ask them to note today’s weather, recall yesterday’s, and predict tomorrow’s!

Snuggle Time (15 – 30 minutes)

Ages 2-3: Challenge your child to set up for the snuggle time routine. Do you have a favorite book you like to read together or a favorite place you like to sit? See if your child can lead the way!

Ages 5+: Have a snuggle time chat about your day. Encourage your child’s memory skills by asking them follow-up questions as they recount their favorite moments of the day.

Caregiver Gets Some Work Done Time! (30-60 Minutes) 

Ages 2-4:  Play a matching memory game with playing cards or pictures of things that interest your child.

Ages 5+: Play a memory game on HOMER.