Memory games for kids are a fun method to improve your child’s learning skills. While memory skills are important for academic achievement, they are simply the tip of the iceberg.
A research found that brain training memory games improve kids’ working memory, executive skills, and processing speed. As the organ responsible for storing, retrieving, and using knowledge, memory training is essential for kids’ lifetime learning memory games online.
Memory exercises improve memory and cognitive skills and are vastly superior than monotonous activities that youngsters dislike and do only half-heartedly.
There are several memory games for kids that you may play with your child. There are several fun alternatives available, ranging from online memory games to image memory games for toddlers to memory card games for kids.
Online, printed, and even mobile apps are all available versions of these memory games. Furthermore, several free memory games for kids are accessible. You may even make free memory games at home using everyday items!
You may make fun memory games at home using easy printouts or household items such as keys, money, colours, marbles, or your child’s favourite toys, among other things.
Throughout their school years, children are exposed to new, abstract ideas that require them to remember knowledge in both their short and long term memory – letter sounds, sight words, arithmetic tables, historic dates, the periodic word, and so much more. That makes memory skills crucial in the grand scheme of things!
These games and activities require students to pause, concentrate, think, plan, and remember, all of which are valuable abilities that we all need to use on a daily basis. There are activities that may be utilised with toddlers all the way up to youngsters in their late primary/elementary school years (honestly, my ten-year-old still gets a pleasure out of winning a game of Concentration!).
You can also download and print a copy of these games for your resource file at the bottom of the page (don’t forget to also get a copy of our kids memory game ideas set 2).
What is lacking?
Place a number of household items on a tray (the more items, the more challenging the game), so for smaller children, start with 3-4 items and work your way up.
Tell your child to examine the items on the tray closely. Name them together (the more you discuss the items, the more likely your child will remember them, so you may ask them what colour, shape, or function each item has). Wrap the items in a tea towel. Remove one item from behind the cloth when your child closes their eyes. Request that they open their eyes, remove the cloth, and tell you what is missing!
Memory/Concentration
A deck of matching picture cards for youngsters quickly becomes the traditional beloved game of Memory. Click through to find a selection of fifteen free, printable memory matching games.
- Check if your deck of cards has all matching pairings.
- Shuffle and spread all cards face down on a flat table.
- Players take turns selecting any two cards. If you make a successful match, you will be given another turn. If there is no match, the cards are restored to their initial place.
- Memory success is dependent on youngsters remembering where they saw each picture in prior turns – both their own and those of the other players.
- The person who has matched the most pairings is the winner.
When playing Memory games with younger children, mix up and face down the pieces of easy matching 2-piece puzzles, prompting your child to find the two pieces that make up one problem.
Image Bingo
Unlike Memory, players take turns selecting a picture card to match to a baseboard instead of matching pairs. Each player picks a starting board. The matching cards are shuffled and spread face down on a flat table.
Players take turns selecting a card. If the card matches a picture on the players’ board, they have a match and may take another turn. If there is no match, the card is laid back down. The first person to match all of the pictures on their base board is the winner.
Brain Boxes
My daughters like these brain box games. They come in a variety of topics, ranging from animals to fairytales to maths challenges.
Write a Message on My Back
Success in this game will require the child to translate a physical experience to a mental picture and keep a brief series of mental pictures in their brain in order to correctly identify the word.
One player’s finger is used to ‘write’ a word on the back of the second player. The second player attempts to identify the word. Players trade places and take turns being the ‘writer’ and the guesser.
String
Using numbers, like in The Shopping Game, makes this game more abstract and hence more challenging. Ideal for older children!
The first person mentions a single digit number. The next player repeats the initial number and adds a one-digit number. The third person speaks the first and second numbers, then adds a third. The game continues until a number is forgotten. That person is no longer in the picture. Play continues, and the winner is the last person remaining – the person who can correctly identify the longest string of numbers.
Total Recall
For a few seconds, display a series of graphics or phrases. Cover the images/words and have the youngsters write, draw, or tell a companion the right order of the things.
Increase the number of items in the series to make the game more tough.
Card games
Five cards are arranged in a series on the table in pairs (these may be playing cards or other picture or word cards). One player is allowed to remember the sequence. Then their partner removes the cards, shuffles them, and only four of them are placed back on the table. The first player must identify which card is missing.
The Rhyming Word Game for Children
This memory game may be played as soon as students finish first grade.
Make a concise remark at the start, emphasizing one word in particular. “You need a bat to play sports,” for example.
The next participant answers by repeating the word “bat” and using a rhyme. They may say, “Bat, cat,” for example.
Participant repeat each rhymed word and add a new one as the game advances. The third participant will say “Bat, cat,” followed by an extra noun such as “hat,” and so on.
The Money Memory Exercise
This is a great game to play at home, in class, on a plane, or on a bus. It may be played wherever there is a tray or a desk. You might start this game in first grade when parents and instructors educate kids about money.
- Collect a variety of coins for yourself and your rivals.
- Spread out some coins on a tray.
- Arrange the coins in the following order: three cents on top, four nickels below, and one-half at the bottom.
- Inform the players of the location and order when the setup is complete. Allow them time to go over it.
- Hide or remove the coins.
- The players must place the same coins from their coin choices in the same configuration as they did on the tray.
- This game might carry on indefinitely by altering the order of the coins!
The Money Memory Train
This is a common game that may be utilised when students’ memory develop. The third or fourth grade is an ideal time to include this gem into the curriculum. It’s a memory game in which you have to remember a long list of things.
- To start the game, say, “I’m packing my luggage because I’m going on vacation.” “I intend to”
- Choose the first few selections. “I’m packing my suitcase because I’m going on vacation,” you may remark.
- Please take my toothbrush.”
- The person who comes after you must repeat the introduction and your item before adding one of their own.
- So they’ll say something like, “I’m packing my suitcase because I’m going on vacation.” “I’ll bring my pyjamas and toothbrush.”
- Each player will repeat the previously specified things, as well as any new ones. If a player cannot recollect or identify the erroneous object, they are eliminated.
- The remaining players continue until there is only one left at the end, and that player is the winner.
The Game of Storytelling
This game and the memory train game are quite similar. However, as the game advances, it gets more complicated. As a result, the narrative game is best suited for fourth or fifth students.
- The players have formed a circle.
- The opening line of a story is written by one individual. “There was once a fairy princess with red hair,” they’d say.
- The next player must continue the tale by saying that identical line. As an example, the next participant may remark, “A fairy princess with red hair used to live there.” She drove a pink car.”
Matching Word List Game
Memory games complement word lists well. Word lists promote learning and make memory more active. If you have a complete list of new vocabulary, you may build a matching game out of postcards.
The Word Memory Game
This game is another example of a fun learning activity at home suitable for students in the second and third grades.
- On a big sheet of paper, write a list of words in a precise order. Put the list somewhere where everyone can see it.
- Inform the students that the correct word order must be remembered.
- After everyone has had an opportunity to memorize the words and sequence, go through the list.
- Ask the students to list the words on a worksheet in the sequence they appeared.
The Memory Game of Missing Items
Another excellent game that may be taught as early as preschool.
- Arrange commonplace items such as keys, a pen, lipstick, and a spoon on a tray.
- Allow students to investigate the materials.
- Determine how long you want the user to concentrate on the tray. Younger children may need more time than older youngsters.
- When the timer has run out, cover the tray and quietly remove one of the things.
- Inquire with the kids about what is lacking.
- Anyone who can identify the lost item will be given a modest prize.
Memory Games for Kids Set 1
How to Download and Print Memory Games for Your Children
Memory Games for Kids Set 1 may be downloaded here. The PDF will be asked to be saved to your computer. Open the PDF file and print the pages that you require. When printing, select “Fit to printable area” (or something similar) to verify the page is compatible with your printer type and local paper size.
Do you have problems accessing or downloading the file? Please use a different web browser. Please keep in mind that all printables are for personal use only; you are not permitted to use any aspect of this material for commercial reasons, including selling the document, giving it away to advertise your company or website, or printing the file to sell. These papers may not be shared, loaned, or redistributed. Teachers may make several copies for their pupils in the classroom.
Conclusion
Kids will love exploring the infinite depths of their brains with these memory game exercises. Remember that when we utilise our brains more, they become more strong and durable. Skill-based education is vital because it enables students to achieve academically and in today’s environment. Wouldn’t it be great to have fast recall while acquiring some unique skills?
