Ok, the part of the brain that is responsible for concentration and memory is the frontal lobe of our brain.It is also responsible for thinking, reasoning, managing emotions, problem solving and decision making.So the concentration skills can be improved by practicing some cognitive exercises regularly which can modify the existing brain cells. The exercises have more to do with the mechanism of how one learns, remembers things, solves problem and pays attention. Early intervention is always very effective. But it's never too late to help our children learn to focus.
· Various types of memory games can be played with your children. Arrange about 10 of the toys or any household things in a line in a particular order. Allow the child to observe for a couple of minutes. The child may form a mental imagery or use a mnemonics or any other way to remember the order. Now shuffle the order and ask your child to arrange the toys in the same order. For older children, use the order of books in a book shelf. After they observe the order for a few minutes, without their knowledge either remove a book or change the order of the books. Let them find the right order.
· Play the game of Name Chain. You can play with as many players as you want. Let the first player say a name. The second player should say the name the first player said followed by a new name. The third player has to say the first 2 names in the same order followed by another new name. So the game can go on for many rounds till one person makes a mistake in the order or the name.
· Play the game "Follow the leader" with a series of actions. Let one of the players be the leader and the rest the followers. The followers have to do the exact same thing the leader does and in the same order. If the child has ear for music, choose different utensils and things made of different materials such as iron, ceramic, glass,copper, plastic, leather. Let the leader use a plastic mallet or a wooden stick to tap the materials (not necessarily on all the materials) in certain order in a rhythm. Let the followers observe and tap them in the same order. Another variation to make it more complex is to blindfold the follower and ask him to hear the sounds and identify the material and retain it in memory. Remove the blindfold and let him try to tap the correct material in the same order as the leader.
· Change the things around the house from the usual. For example hang a photo upside down, put the cushion cover inside out, wear socks from 2 different pairs. Use your imagination to make the change and ask your child to identify the difference.
· Place a few things on a tray - Let the child observe the things. Now hide the tray. See how many things your child can recall. To make it a little more complex, remove few items and replace with some other items. See if your child can identify which items got replaced with the new items.
· Play I-spy with the clues that has minute details of the things in the house to make it really hard to find.
· Give a skein of yarn and a rubber ball or a small rectangular box. Let the child wrap the ball/box with the yarn so no part of the ball or the box is seen. Child will learn to pay attention to details.
· Have 3 long strings of yarn of same color. Put a knot at one of the ends of each string and mark them as A, B and C. Tie any toy or a treat to the other end of one of the strings and leave the other 2 string ends free. Now entangle the strings through a furniture such as dining table or chairs and hide the ends. Let the child trace the path of the strings to find which string has the ball/treat tied to it. Other variation is to just entangle the strings and let the child untangle the strings. This activity helps the child to stay on task.
· Finding the differences between 2 pictures, completing a maze, solving a picture puzzle, also help in improving the observation skills.
· Most of us don't give much importance to ART. Involving the child in different visual art forms helps the child focus better. Craft, painting, drawing, sculpting help them focus as well as improve their creativity. For example let the child observe any bark of a tree in a closer view and draw a picture of the bark with every minute detail. For smaller children, describe any object with words for the child to draw the details.
· Write a list of colors but use a different color pens for writing the color names. For example write RED with BLUE ink, PURPLE with GREEN ink and so on. Let the child say the color of the ink for each word instead of reading the names of the color. Eyes see a color but brain instructs to read the word. Focusing on the ink instead of the spelling is one of the good cognitive exercises to train the brain.
· Write a series of same numbers in multiple rows. In between the numbers write one or 2 different number. for example write a series of 8 like 8888888888888 and include a similar looking number 3 in between. 8888888888888888883888888888888888. Let the child find out all the occurrences of 3. Similarly you can make the child look for the number of occurrences of a particular alphabet in a sentence.
· Children who enjoy music can try to focus on one particular instrument in a music. This activity helps in learning to ignore the distraction from other instruments. Singing a harmony works the same way. Let one person start singing a song. The second person should start singing the same song when the first person is at the beginning of the second or the third line of the song. It will be quiet confusing at the initial stage. But the child will learn to remove the other distractions and focus on his lines. Enrolling your child in a school music band will help as they will be involved in playing ensembles where one has to focus on his instrumental rhythm and notes.
· Other activities that help children to improve their concentration skills are yoga, meditation, music and sports. These activities help in mind and body integration so child who have lots of energy will learn self-control. Play a game of "Statue". By forcing oneself not to move helps in controlling the body and mind.
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