Features of the development of memory in children. How to develop memory and attention in a child

Unfortunately, modern school education from the first grades is aimed at hammering facts and other "naked" information into children's heads, most of which will never be useful to a child in everyday life. But questions about how to develop memory and attention are almost not given time. The result is “deuces” in the diary, “porridge” in the head, frustration and grief.

To avoid "failures" and a negative attitude towards learning, it is important to develop the memory and attention of the baby even before school. Read below on how to do it right.

A little about child care

At an early age, children are not able to concentrate on anything for a long time. Later, by the age of 6-7, they will acquire this ability, but this does not mean at all that it is not necessary to develop mindfulness before this time. More as needed!

There are three types of mindfulness:

  • involuntary - occurs by itself when the baby sees something interesting;
  • arbitrary - is formed in a child at 6-7 years old and contributes to the assimilation of school knowledge;
  • post-voluntary - intentional attention that children show in relation to subjects of interest to them.

Nevertheless, there are quite a few reasons that distract children from any one given subject. This is because they - newcomers to this world - find too many interesting things around.

It remains for parents to help the child develop attentiveness and the ability to concentrate. You can offer your child games such as constructors, puzzles, or you can play special games with your child to develop memory and attention.


Games for the development of attention

It is necessary to engage in the development of a child's memory from an early age. As a rule, serious activities and games are designed for children from 2-3 years old. It is at this age that you should devote maximum time to the development of attention. Below are the main ways and games that will help you make an attentive person out of your crumbs.

  1. Study with your child the concepts of "a lot - a little", "less - more", "wider - narrower", "higher - lower". In parallel with the study, offer the child tasks: “Which pyramid is higher? Which box has more toys? Which cube is big and which is small?
  2. Searching for paired objects is a great exercise for training mindfulness in children. It is difficult for a 2-3 year old kid to concentrate and find a paired object, but after three years, children find this game very entertaining. An improved version of the task is to choose an extra one from a set of items. The child must not only know the properties of all objects, but also be able to logically establish the relationship between them.
  3. For children who already know how to write, you can offer a “wet letter”. Come up with a beautiful “legend” that this letter was meant for a superhero (for a boy) or a beautiful princess (for a girl), but the postman got caught in the rain and wet the paper. The essence of the "letter" is that the words will be deprived of some letters. The kid must insert them himself into the “soaked places”.
  4. "Hide and seek" in the usual sense is quite a fun game, but hide and seek for the development of attention is especially useful for children. Hide a few items in the room. To interest the child and motivate him, let it be sweets or toys. Ask the baby to find items. You can give hints (cold - hot).
  5. Search by features. This is a variation of the previous game of hide and seek. Give the child a task: to find an object in the room. It is large, yellow with lilac stripes. The kid according to the description must find the hidden thing.
  6. Game "What is missing?" requires the utmost care and concentration from the child. Put 5 different toys (they should differ in shape). Ask your child to carefully remember all the toys. After that, the baby should close his eyes, and you should remove one of the toys. Then the baby opens his eyes and says what is missing. You can complicate the task as follows: ask the child, without opening his eyes, to determine by touch which toy has disappeared. This exercise is designed not only for the development of mindfulness, but also for the development of fine motor skills of the hands.
  7. One of the most popular educational games for kids is Find 10 Differences. Two pictures are given with minimal differences that are imperceptible at first glance. The kid should note all the inconsistencies. Such pictures can be found on the Internet or you can buy a book in a children's store.
  8. Grown up children can be given the task to build a pyramid (tower) according to the drawing. You can draw a drawing yourself - it should include only geometric shapes (triangles, squares), and the child should have similar cubes for construction.

Also, the development of attention is facilitated by games with special devices. Suitable cubes, pyramids, puzzles, Kuizener sticks, Gyenes blocks.


We develop children's memory

Memory is something without which it is impossible for a sane intelligent person to exist. For a child to study well, go to college without any problems, and later find a prestigious job, a lot is needed, but memory in this list will be in the top ten of the necessary qualities.

Memory may vary. The following types are distinguished:

  • visual;
  • auditory;
  • tactile;
  • motor memory.

You can also say that it happens:

  • long-term and short-term;
  • voluntary and involuntary;
  • logical and mechanical.

Memory for dates, numbers, faces, sounds, words… The list is endless.

To properly teach a child, you should use as many types of memory as possible. For this, special techniques and games for the development of memory have been developed.


Memory games

We can say that all the games presented above that develop mindfulness in children are also useful in this situation. But there are other ways to help both develop a child’s memory and discover many other abilities in him.

  1. The easiest way for the youngest children is to remember the events of the past day. Help the child and start first. “Yesterday we woke up, washed ourselves, had breakfast…. What was for breakfast? This game develops attention to detail and the ability to memorize small details.
  2. "Thimbles" is a favorite game of station cheaters and young children. Take three cups and hide the ball under one of them. Move the cups slowly at first, then increase the pace. The child must follow the cup with the ball and at the end of the game choose it.
  3. Associations. Name the child a few words: apple, tree, house (words can be any, but the baby must know their meaning). Ask the child to describe what associations the named words evoke in him.
  4. Reading is one of the best ways to develop a child's memory. Read fairy tales, stories, poems with your child. Answer the child's questions and ask him to retell what he read in his own words.
  5. Poems are another sure-fire way to develop your baby's ability to memorize. It is better to start with simple quatrains (S. Marshak, A. Barto). You can also learn funny children's songs.
  6. "Draw the past day." Such an exercise involves some creativity, but for children, as a rule, it is not difficult. Ask the child to draw the past day: what did he remember the most? What was the most pleasant, and what, on the contrary, did not like? Do not criticize the child's drawing, even if it does not correspond to reality (in your opinion), rather praise the creativity and creativity.
  7. You can buy the game "Memory". Its essence is that the child must remember the location of certain cards and indicate them when all the cards are upside down.

Art develops memory very well, and in particular painting. Visit the gallery with your child, and then find reproductions of the paintings you have seen. Discuss with your child the details of each picture. Ask what the baby remembers best.

Conclusion

- a powerful tool for improving memory and attention. It is very important to devote enough time to this issue so that by school the kid can easily focus on the information offered and memorize it well.

Memory is one of the most important mental processes. It makes learning and development possible. Memory helps the child to learn the world and establish connections between objects, events, phenomena, people. Without it, no purposeful activity is possible. The development of memory in children is interconnected with the development of speech, thinking, perception, attention and motor activity. Adults can “help” this process by understanding the age-related nuances of memory formation.

Memory development in children 1-2 years old

A one year old child lives for today. He does not remember what happened yesterday, and is not able to imagine "tomorrow" in his imagination. All his attention is focused on what surrounds him at the moment. The kid is able to distinguish familiar objects, sounds, smells, tastes, surfaces. Based on the knowledge received from the senses, he learns to quickly recognize objects around him.

  • On a walk and at home, show your child as many different objects as possible. Name them and talk about them (what it is, what it is, what it does). Pay attention to properties: smells good, soft, cold, ringing, red, etc. Let the baby properly "enjoy" the object under study. Numerous repetition will lead to the memorization of new words denoting the names of objects, their properties and actions.
  • React to everything that is interesting to the crumbs. Follow his active pointing finger, naming everything that attracts the baby's attention.
  • Of the toys for this age, multi-colored pyramids (in 3-4 rings), cubes, different containers that are nested in each other are suitable.

Games

"Guess"

With a child, you can play the game "What is it?" or "Who is this?" First, point to the object yourself and ask: “What is this?” After waiting a few seconds to get the baby's attention, name the object. Once the child understands that everything has a name, he will want to learn as much as possible. Therefore, soon he himself will begin to point with his finger and pronounce some sound with an interrogative intonation, and then ask a question on his own. This game develops vocabulary and trains memory.

"Names"

Since a child at this age is actively exploring his body, parents will help him in this by asking questions: “Where is your nose (eyes, hands, fingers, heels, knees, etc.)?” As you master the material, the game can be made more difficult by asking “where is dad’s nose?”,

“And what about mom?”, “And what about the boy in the picture?”. And by the age of 1.5, the baby, as a rule, will know the parts of his body well.

Development of memory in children 2-3 years old. Persistent explorers

During this period, the development of memory in children is very active: the child masters the connections between objects, their properties, signs and actions. For example, if the baby is interested in the subject, now it’s not enough to name it - you need to say what he does (swims, flies, drives, barks, chirps, etc.) From the age of 2, the baby remembers small rhymes well; knows some numbers, letters, geometric shapes, animals, fruits, vegetables, berries. On the way to the playground, you can describe everything you see.

  • Keep satisfying your little one's curiosity. Name whatever interests him.
  • Answer his questions as simply and accurately as possible.
  • Learn poems and songs.
  • Look at the pictures and re-read your favorite books over and over again.
  • The more activities a child masters, the more associative connections that help memorization will be created.

Games

"Secrets"

Try to bury a secret (it can be a cut out picture from a magazine, placed under a piece of transparent plastic, or a button). "Secrets" can be buried near a conspicuous tree and memorized landmarks. After some time, invite the child to find the hidden. Help only in case of great difficulty. This is how memory is trained.

Numbers and letters

The kid is able to learn numbers up to 10 and some letters. To do this, you can level the snow and, using a stick, draw numbers or letters on it and pronounce them. And for better memorization, pay the baby’s attention to the features of the letter (what it looks like), and make associations with numbers - for example, how old is he. This exercise trains memory and expands horizons.

Development of memory in children 3-4 years old. Novice analysts

At this age, the child learns to clearly distinguish the primary colors, knows the basic geometric shapes, begins to compare objects according to various characteristics: size, shape, color, quantity. And learns to select a pair according to a given attribute. Masters such concepts as "little-many", "big-small", "high-low". Can match numbers up to 3 (sometimes up to 5) with the number of fingers on the hand.

  • It is important that the child speaks as much as possible. To do this, ask him to describe in detail what he saw. Play “What is he doing?”, passing by someone / something or looking at pictures, ask: “What is this grandfather doing?” The answer may be: "Goes" or "Sits and looks."
  • Expand your child's horizons. By the age of 4, he is supposed to know the basic vegetables, fruits, berries, trees, flowers, mushrooms, animals (and distinguish between domestic and wild), birds; clothes and shoes. The kid must navigate the time of day (morning, afternoon, evening, night), know the seasons.

Games

"Repeat"

An adult shows 1-2 movements in a row, and the child must repeat them in the same sequence. The game can be made more difficult by adding difficult moves. This will develop the muscle memory of the body.

"Memory"

Prepare 10 picture cards. The child pulls out three and looks at them for a while. Then he is given all 10 cards, and he must choose from them those that he pulled out.

"Find a Pair"

It is necessary to find a pair of the proposed pictures or objects. You should also make sure that the baby is able to classify objects into groups and give them names (apple, pear and peach - fruits; T-shirt, shirt and pants - clothes, etc.).

Memory development in children 4-5 years old. younger preschoolers

At this age, it is already clear what “talents” the child has, what is easier for him. Weaknesses are also visible - what the child does not know or cannot understand and what you need to try to explain to him.

  • Try to determine what is easier for the baby to remember - a picture (image) or words by ear. Help memorize new information based on different senses. Pay attention to what causes difficulty.
  • Teach your child poems, songs, counting rhymes. Discuss different professions (name, who does what).
  • Pay attention to how the child remembers the rules of the game. You can learn them in advance, pronounce possible game situations. And then at the right moment, the baby's memory "does not let us down."

Games

"Why"

On a walk and at home, you can ask your child different questions. “Is it possible to swim in the river in autumn?”, “Why do they brush their teeth in the morning?”, “Why do they wear a fur coat in winter?” etc.

Opposites

The child is invited to memorize pairs of antonyms: girl-boy, cat-dog, cold-hot, etc.

Seasons

The adult describes the season, and the kid should guess and name it as soon as possible. You can complicate the game by explaining what helped him guess and how else you can describe this time of year. If there are several children, then you can play at speed.

"Guess"

Let's guess the word. Then, without naming a word, we give a description of the object, person, animal, phenomenon. For example, the sun. We say: "Big, warm, shining." First, let the baby learn to guess, and over time he will be able to choose the words he needs to describe.

Not far off at the kid entrance to the first class. And the load he expects is much more significant than in kindergarten years. And a well-developed memory can make it easier for him to adapt to school rules and master new subjects. The task of parents is to help the child develop this mechanism laid down by nature in time.

Important!

From 1 to 3 years, the leading activity is objective activity aimed at mastering the traditional ways of using things (i.e., you need to play with toys, put on clothes, eat with a spoon, etc.). It is she who has the greatest influence on the development of memory.

From 3 to 6 years, the leading activity is a role-playing game. There is a development of social norms and relationships between people, the arbitrariness of behavior is formed. Perception, which largely develops memory, at this age becomes more meaningful. The child begins to analyze what he saw and heard.

In childhood, it is important to comprehensively develop the child in order to lay a good “base” for the future life in the baby. Sports, music, drawing, games for the development of logical thinking and memory. These are the latter that will be discussed in this article - what to do to develop memory in a child.

Memory games

Regular memory training is as important as exercise. And easier to perform - no need to go somewhere or buy dumbbells. Regular memory training has a good effect on the general intellectual abilities of the child - the ability to quickly read, perceive information from the first time, and develop creative abilities.

In childhood, information is best absorbed in a playful way. That is why many methods for the development of memory are developed in the form. Remember that the child should be full, cheerful and disposed to classes.

The main methods for the development of memory and logical thinking in a child from 3 to 6 years old:

  • Associations. Choose 10 words that are combined in pairs. For example, summer-sun, green-grass. Name them to the baby so that he remembers. Next, the adult calls the first word of the pair, the baby must say the second. You can play in transport, on the way somewhere.
  • Shop. a list of 10 products, voice the child. Then the adult portrays the seller, to whom the child must name the shopping list.
  • Guessing. A blindfolded kid must guess the object that the adult gives him in his pen.
  • Show your child any picture with several elements. For example, the guys are playing ball. Then remove and ask to tell what is shown on the card. When in doubt, you can ask leading questions.
  • Magpie. Place 5-7 small toys on a chair, let the child see them. Then, the baby turns away, at this time the adult removes 1 of the toys. The task of the child is to name what exactly the magpie stole.
  • Give your child an unfamiliar toy or object. Describe it together. Then remove, and after 20-30 minutes ask to describe this object again.

Memory exercises

  • There is no logic. Tell the child any words that are not related to each other. Then together than these words can be combined. For example, curtains, a toothbrush, a TV remote control. The general theme is the house, all these things are in it.
  • Learn with your baby poems with movements. Our Tanya cries loudly - we show how the girl cries. I dropped a ball into the river - the movement of the throw, etc.
  • Take some empty boxes and place a button in one of them. The child's task is to remember which box the item is in. You can complicate the exercise - build towers from boxes.
  • On the street. Ask him to find all the red cars on the road. Or all women. You can also focus the baby's attention on a specific moment, for example, a beautiful cat on a bench. When you get home, ask your child to draw this cat.
  • Collect puzzles with your baby. You can just take it with a small number of elements on it, show it to your child. Then cut it into several pieces and try to put it together.
  • Mindfulness exercise. Put a few items on the table, let the baby remember them. Then the child closes his eyes or turns away and names these objects.

How to develop memory in a child: tips

Remember that memory problems can indicate health problems. For example, severe stress, sleep problems, poor nutrition. Before starting training, make sure that the above reasons are not present.

Observe the following rules:

  1. Regularity. Classes with the child should be carried out every day. If you learn a rhyme, do not forget to repeat what you have learned periodically during the day.
  2. Be sure to develop the child physically, at least 5 minutes of dancing. Any activity contributes to a better enrichment of blood with oxygen and improves its circulation throughout the body. Including the flow to the brain.
  3. Finger gymnastics also has a good effect on brain function.
  4. It is not necessary to learn poetry, you can compose simple

We terrorize preschool children with mathematical actions, syllabic learning to read, and clearly calibrated writing. Nowhere and never, neither before school nor at school, time is given for the development of a child's memory! And memory is a bonding solution on which knowledge bricks are held, forming a monolithically powerful wall of education. It is much more important to develop quick memorization skills in a child than the ability to speed read or add two-digit numbers in your head. A good memory is the key to successful study, a healthy mind and saving time. Therefore, it is better to focus before school not on acquiring the skills that the baby will learn at school anyway, but on developing memory. There is a second reason why it is worth it at an early age to engage in the formation of memorization skills.

The mind of a small child is free, it is not constrained by various taboos, not limited by the framework of "this cannot be." He is not surprised that the gingerbread man can speak, the bunny builds a hut, the Baba Yaga living in the forests and the immortal Koschey are as real for a child as cooing pigeons outside the window. The kid believes everything, it is not a problem for him to imagine incompatible things, to “think up” fantastic images and connect them with implausible connections. And while he has not lost the enchanting ability to compose, it is worth teaching him memorization skills to revive.

What is memory? These are our images and associations. What do we remember over the years? What once amazed us, shocked us. Snowman of childhood, cobbled together with his father, instead of a nose - a carrot. And a bright orange vegetable against the background of grainy March snow is still remembered. The age-old noise of the sea, the slight tickling of tiny soles with warm sand, a salty-wet strand of hair that got into our mouths and unrestrained causeless happiness that took possession of us ... This is still alive, and the chemical formula of benzene and the decomposition of the trinomial are irretrievably lost in our memory, because behind them there are no images and sensations, they were dead for us at the stage of memorization.

Memories are based on images, associations and sensations, and the stronger they are, the longer we keep the memory of them. Therefore, it is in early childhood that one should take up the development of abstract and figurative thinking, as the basic foundation for the formation of a good memory. And help in this will be the ability of the child to easily neglect logical connections.

types of memory there is a great variety: operational, mechanical and logical, short-term and long-term, arbitrary and involuntary, direct and indirect. Memory is classified according to the type of information stored: visual, auditory, motor; memory for words, numbers, faces.

The principle of development of any memory is the same. The information that we need to remember should be bright and figurative. We remember what amazed and shocked us. Bright moments of life are captured, and in order to remember the required amount of information, we must color it, decompose it into visual, auditory and tactile images, and try to enter into what we remember.

Do not forget that the amount of information to be remembered should be interesting and understandable to the child. Information that "beats on the nerves" itself is remembered. Teach your child to listen to their emotions, to understand them. This kind of reflection on the feelings evoked contributes to a better consolidation of information.

The following are games - exercises who will teach you to invent associations and find similarities and differences in memorized objects and images, to organize the necessary information. Games will not only develop memory, but also color, enrich the perception of the world, teach us to see what used to escape our attention.

1. First you need to push the boundaries of the imagination. These unusual sentences will help this: “Imagine what a soft fluffy cloud sounds like? Draw an animal that no one has ever seen, what you can feel if you touch a rainbow, draw how mother's perfume smells.

2. First, name the child familiar words, for example: doctor, pen, smile, and he lists to you what associations arise in his imagination, describing them according to the scheme: shape-color, smell, what they feel and taste. You write down adjectives and then list them, the child remembers which word corresponded to which group of adjectives. The task becomes more difficult, and unfamiliar words are used to visualize the images.

3. After playing the previous game, complicate the conditions, list to the child, one or two, in your opinion, the characteristic details of the object, and the child must remember the object. For example, white, the baby remembers - this is a doctor, smooth-long, this is a pen, red-warm, smile.

4. Matches, buttons, small parts of the designer are taken, paper that can be cut, torn, crumpled. You dictate words to the child with a short interval, and he lays out images - associations for the words he heard and after a while, looking at the laid out figures, repeats what he heard.

5. A game to visualize words and concepts unfamiliar to the child. The kid either draws an image that has arisen in his mind, or describes it verbally. “What does abracadabra, electrification, submodality look like? And how do these words smell, what do they feel to the touch? In the game, you can use various terms and foreign words.

6. The kid selects any object and animates it, imagining that the selected object has intelligence, can speak and move. What he will tell you, where he will go, what he will do, among which objects he will feel comfortable. You can come up with a fairy tale about the life-being of a revived thing.

7. This game is quite famous. The child lays out cards - pictures, remembers them, turns them over and calls them. The task becomes more complicated over time, there are more and more cards, and there is less time to memorize them. This game is a workout. The next stage, you dictate words with a pause, and the child lays out cards that are not related to your list of words, and then, looking at the cards, he reproduces the words he heard. A kid, for example, lays out a picture “ball”, you dictate the word “cupboard”, the child needs to quickly and firmly connect these two words in order to later name the word that he heard, but did not see.
8. Game on associations. A word is called, for example, “moon” and the child lists his associations to this word: moon - space - stars - planets - aliens ... Then the last word of the associative chain is called and the child must reproduce all the words-links on the contrary, from the last word to the first.

If we recall NLP and its classification according to the leading modality: visuals perceive the world through visual images, audials through hearing, kinesthetics through sensations, then it is clear that visuals will try to see what should be remembered - to see. Therefore, the parents of a visual child should focus on the development of tactile and auditory memory, which is the least developed.

These games not only develop memory, but also test the baby's abilities, showing his "weak" or underdeveloped types of memory. For example, a baby easily remembers visual images, but “slows down” when memorizing from hearing or in establishing logical associations. In order to help the baby, let's turn to the technique of memorization.

logical patterns help to connect the memorized information with a logical connection. If you need to remember a list of unrelated words or images, then a logical connection is invented, which subsequently helps to draw out word by word and restore the entire list. A connected story is compiled from disparate words, and then, during playback, the composed text is recalled, and the necessary words are isolated from it.

Sequential associations- not the words themselves are remembered, but the associations that are invented for them. This technique is used when something abstract should be remembered: foreign words or concepts, then an association is invented for each “saying nothing” word, so it is remembered.

phonetic associations. The essence of the method is in the selection of consonant associations. The method is good to use when memorizing foreign words. For example, when memorizing the English word "ball" - a ball, it seems that you were hit by a ball and you felt pain.

Autobiographical associations, associations with real experienced events. For example, you need to memorize a text that tells about the life of marine fish. Your trip to Egypt, snorkeling and a lot of bright fish swimming nearby pops up in your memory right there. And by "applying" facts and content to your memory, you can easily remember the text.

Coloring and aggravation. Transformation of information, black-and-white image - into color, small - into large, flat - into volume. Hypertrophied images are well remembered.

Entry- enter inside the presented picture, become its participant.

Co-feeling allows you to enhance the idea, to feel the roughness, taste, color, smell, sound of the image being presented. This method is called tactile, olfactory memory. Any “something” can be imagined as an object that has a size, shape, color, smell, texture, and we rarely use the next two components. And try to determine the word "genetics" by touch, and what does the word "transcription" smell like?

redundancy. For memorization, more information is used than is in the source material. Emphasis is placed on minor details. It involves the ability to see and feel more than it really is.

Alphanumeric code. Digital information is more abstract than verbal, so recoding is important, that is, revitalization. We represent the number from 0 to 9 in the form of figurative hooks. For example, 1 is a stick, 2 is a swan... 9 is an inverted lock. And when memorizing a number of numbers, we capture the images of numbers, linking them with the methods listed above. In order to avoid confusion in the reproduction of multi-digit numbers, for each number from 0 to 9, several images are invented - hooks. For example, 8 - nesting doll, glasses, bow, snowman.

Cicero's method. According to this method, remembered images and objects are located in a familiar room. Then it is enough to remember the room for the necessary information to emerge.
Combined method. The more associations are caused by acquaintance with new information, the stronger the memorization. Therefore, exaggerate, paint, make move, revitalize, become the protagonist of the information chain, replace in order to enhance the image, connect in an unexpected, impossible way in life. Make the information you remember unique, it should be a multi-colored firework of the lights of your memory. Having trained, you will begin to build associations so quickly that the memorization time will be almost equal to the time the information arrives.

How to choose a method for better memorization? First, you should work out all the techniques to automatism, and then ... relax and trust your first feeling, which will be the most vivid and memorable.

How and when to practice? The development of memory should be treated not as painstaking work, but as a game. And you can play anytime, anywhere. Therefore, games for the development of memory do not have time limits, just remember that a child's attention on one type of activity can be kept for 15-20 minutes. Bring in the spirit of competition: who will remember more, who will name faster, who will come up with the most implausible image.

Memorization of verses. An adult slowly reads the poem aloud. The kid listens with his eyes closed, drawing each line in front of his inner eye, saturating it with details, and the more minor components there are, the brighter the poetic image will be. Oversaturation with details leads to the fact that the baby gets used to the picture he has drawn, becomes the protagonist of the story. It is wonderful if the baby begins not only to see the lines created by the poet, but also to smell, temperature, feel the surface of the objects described. And subsequently, the child only needs to describe the world created by his imagination. So that reading a poem for memory does not resemble a retelling close to the text, when it is possible to replace a word with a synonym, teach your child to listen to the sound of words, rhyme and rhythm of the verse.

If the baby is ripe for a systemic perception of a certain amount of information, for example, you decide to read a children's encyclopedia followed by a retelling of individual chapters, then set aside certain time for your studies and invite the baby to come up with a ritual that allows him to concentrate, enter a state of maximum concentration of attention. It can be any gesture or a few deep breaths. Having repeated these movements several times before classes, the child will anchor, connect the rite with the subsequent fixation of attention. And later, when he needs to quickly concentrate, it will be enough to repeat the familiar gesture, the ritual.

Then the text is read, at the same time the name and author of the text, facts, actions, main content are fixed in the mind. The child first answers your questions: who is the author, what is the name of the read story ... Having polished the ability to answer the questions posed, the baby will begin to automatically give answers to these questions when retelling. When working with a text replete with a large number of facts and concepts, give the child paper and pencil, let him draw and write what will help him fix the information. And there is nothing to worry about if you cannot make out his “squiggles”, the main thing is that they help the child reproduce the text.

When memorizing a large amount of information draw the memory card using multi-colored pens and felt-tip pens, starting from the middle of the page. The main idea or topic is written in the center, then there are branches indicating which parts, blocks the text is divided into. For each branch, write a keyword. These words should reflect the essence of the idea, awaken the memory. Do not forget to highlight the facts in a separate color. If the content of the text is clear, then one's opinion about what is read or heard appears, personal attitude and comments on the text also help in retelling. Add symbols and pictures to make it easier to remember later. The key points should be displayed in the memory map: who does what, when, why, where, how. This will keep the information in the active memory zone longer.

From what age to practice? There are games for the development of memory for children (10 months - 1.5 years), for example, "Find a toy", "Where is mom?", "What is missing?" ("What is missing"). The rules of the game are already in the title. Someone or something is hiding, and it needs to be remembered and found. For older children there are games "Recognize the object", "Magic bag". In these games, the child must identify the object by touch. At the same time, tactile memory develops, and for the development of motor memory there is a game "Do as I do". The kid repeats the movements of an adult, the pace accelerates over time, the movements themselves become more complicated.

In addition to games, reading books, memorizing poems, solving riddles, puzzles and rebuses also perfectly develops memory.

Remember, the more attention parents pay to the development of various types of memory, attention and imagination of the baby, the higher the intellectual potential of their child.

As soon as the child goes to school, parents inevitably face situations when the child becomes absent-minded, detached. And even if in the evening the whole family learned the verses given by the teacher, in the morning he can hardly remember a couple of lines. In full growth, the family is faced with the question of how to improve the child's memory and how to distinguish memory problems from other problems, mainly of a psychological nature, and banal laziness.

In this article, we will tell you how to test a child's memory and how to help him improve it.




Age Features

With the beginning of schooling, a new and unusual responsibility falls on your son or daughter: before, everything was simple and clear, now the child is required both at school and at home. From this, most children fall into the very period that is called the crisis of 7 years. They are afraid of not living up to the expectations of the people dearest to them - their parents, and are already beginning to fear ridicule from their peers. The nervous system suffers from constant nervous tension, children become forgetful, distracted. Temporary memory impairment at this age is a variant of the developmental norm.


But there are also guys who study easily and naturally.

However, they also have “gaps” in their memory, but they are rather associated with laziness to one degree or another. To understand why a child flies in one ear and flies out of the other, you need to carefully observe the child, talk to him more often, demand less and refuse any manifestations of categoricalness.


We conduct tests

You can check the ability to memorize, store and reproduce information on your own. There are some simple memory tests for this:

  • Luria test. This research technique will show how the child has developed arbitrary memory, it is she who is the most important element of the learning process. Conduct testing in a calm environment, preferably in a quiet room so that nothing distracts the child. Ask the child to sit comfortably and try to remember the words. Name without too much haste (with a pause of 2-3 seconds) ten words that the child knows well, but they should not be connected logically. Example: cat, school, spoon, swing, forest, jam, car, sea, milk, elephant.


Ask the child to reproduce the words that he remembered, and mark on paper how many words and which of them he remembered at once.

Then repeat the verbal series and give a second attempt, this will make it possible to understand which words the child “fixed” in the head in the second turn. Thank him and postpone the continuation of the test until later. After an hour and a half, ask the child to remember what words you called, so the state of the ability to reproduce new information (delayed memorization) will become clear.

If the child remembered 3-4 words at the first approach, this indicates a normal memorization ability. On the second attempt, a child with a normal memory should reproduce at least 6-7 words. After an hour, the child should remember at least 6 words. With high memorization abilities, the child after the second attempt will be able to name from 8-10 words, and with low rates - from 0 to 2.


  • Smirnitskaya test. This test will assess the state of visual memory, which is important for learning. Put 10 pictures in front of the child with a variety of objects (ball, strawberry, balloon, etc.), give him two minutes to carefully look at the whole row, and then ask him to turn away and remove 1-2 or even three cards. Ask your child to answer what is missing. If he succeeds on the first try, then everything is in order, but if even on the fifth attempt the child finds it difficult to say which cards are missing, this is a rather alarming sign.


  • Long-term memory test. To conduct the study, you can use the same cards with images of objects familiar to the child. Put them in a row, and then show them one at a time and name what is shown there. Then the cards are removed and the child is asked to list all 10 words that sounded. Then come back to this after an hour and a half and ask them to remember what was depicted on the cards and what words you called. The result is evaluated as follows: normally, the child remembers up to 7 words during the first viewing and listening. After an hour and a half has passed, he should remember at least 5-6 of them.


How to improve memory?

If the test results do not satisfy you, it's time to improve the memory and attention of your child. To do this, there are several simple "home" techniques that will help the child memorize the material easily and quickly in a month and a half, and reproduce it over time with great accuracy.

Make it a habit to ask him every day how he's doing.

Let him talk about his school day in the most detailed details, down to the color of the gum on the hair of a neighbor on the desk. Read with him, often ask clarifying questions about the content of books. Enroll your child in the sports section, make sure that he walks enough and breathes fresh air.


Effective exercises and games

  • "Journey to Africa". You can play this useful game in the evening, even at a family dinner or on your way to school. You start and say: “I went to Africa and saw an elephant there!”. The child’s task is to repeat the name of your animal and add a new one (“I went to Africa and saw an elephant and a monkey there!”. You or a third family member should list the animals already named and add one from yourself (“I went to Africa and saw an elephant there, monkey and ostrich") It is good if the length of the chain before the first mistake is 20-25 words.


  • "Detective Sherlock Holmes". You can play this game while walking, on the way to somewhere, and even in your own kitchen. Name an object that is in your field of vision of a square shape (a box of cereals). The child picks up the "baton" and names the second square object in your kitchen (photo frame). Then your turn, and then - again the word to the child. Once you have sorted through all the square objects in the room together, ask the child to close their eyes and hide one of them. The task of the child is to find the loss.



  • "A big difference". Offer your child two identical pictures that are cast only slightly (such can be found on the Internet and printed). Ask him for the allotted time (for 5 minutes, for example), to find all the differences. The exercise is constantly becoming more difficult, the child is offered more complex pictures, and less and less time is given to look for differences.