Listening and Memory Skils

A repost for someone:

these can be played very, very simply or made as complex as your child likes.

1. Play ‘Repeat’ – Tell your child you are going to play a secret game. A game with a secret word and she can’t tell anyone else the word but you and she has a mission to tell you this word anytime you ask her. say a word (like ‘cookie’)and have your child repeat it. Have a secret code word that whenever you say, she knows to say her secret word. Like whenever you say “poppadiddle’ she says her secret word. . Tell her the secret word and have her repeat 5 times in a row. Wait 10 seconds –say YOUR secret word and have your child repeat HER secret word. Increase the time between “Secret Word”. Go for 10 secind, then 15 seconds, then 45 seconds, then repeat it over and over and tell her you will ask her again in 5 minutes…… then 15 minutes
Go as long as you and she want and have time for. Later increased from 1 word to a 2 word phrase.
You can also use just SOUNDS.. have her secret word be the making the sound of a car or dog, or making the sound of a secret letter. (boys are good with this one)

2. .Play the classic simple game of Memory Match- with the cards that you have to find matching pairs by remembering what you have turned over.. but start with half the cards. Or 5 pairs- something smaller- with less to remember.

3. Play “Hidden Treasure”—hide 50 cents. Show her the money first. Then hide it. Tell her where it is. Have her repeat back where it is. Ask her to draw where is it according to what you have told her. Wait 20 seconds (OR however long you think would be good for her) then tell her to find the hidden treasure by remembering where you told her it was. Gradually increase elapsed time and details of where it is hidden (like instead of “under the blue pillow on the couch” have it be “ 5 feet from the cat’s bowl”… or “turn LEFT at the chair and walk 3 feet then turn right and measure 18 inches”…

4. Play the word Card game (or picture card or number card).. have a card with a word/picture/letter, etc…. show it to her, have her tell you what it is. Then turn it upside down on the table and have her tell you what it is and turn it over to show her. Then wait 20 seconds and ask her what is on the upside down card. Turn it over to show her. If she got it correct, wait longer next time, if she got it wrong, don’t wait as long for the next time.

5. Hand Letter- write the letter of the day on her hand. Frequently throughout the day ask her to look at her hand and go over the letter sound with her. Soon, JUST ask her the sound of the letter in her hand without going over it with her.

6. Put a little red X on one of her toes . Just one toe, either foot. Throughout the day ask her which toe it is (without her looking), then she can take off her sock or shoe, etc to see if she is correct.

7. “What’s Next” At the beginning of the day give her a small itinerary. “after breakfast we will read a book. After we read he book we will go for a walk” While you eat breakfast talk about what is next (the book) and what is after that (the walk). Then when breakfast is done, ask her what is next--- see if she can remember it is the book. If she can, ask her what is AFTER the book… the walk. Increase your list as she gets better with it.

8.“what’s missing”—have a tray with 3-5 items on it (unless your child can handle more). Take the tray away- remove one item, show the child and have them tell you what is missing. As you increase, you can have 10 things and remove TWO and see if the child can tell you both missing items…..and increase as your child is ready

9. “Sequence”—have 3-5 items. Call out the names of two items (make sure they are NOT next to each other) and have your child touch them (or pick up and place in front of them) in the order you called them out. Increase to saying 3 things in order, then 4 then 5…… We do this with letters and numbers and words, too. OR, instead of calling out the names of the items, have your child carefully wacth as YOU touch a sequence of items and then they have to touch the same things in sequence.

10. “What did I say”? Say a list of 3-5 words to your child and have her tell you the FIRST word you said. Make sure you tell her how to play the game first- tell her- “This is a game where I say 4 words and you have to tell me the first word I said.” Then give her an example. “If I say the words ‘cat, bear, cup, ball’- the first word I said is CAT- so that is what you need to say back to me.” ---If 4 is too many, start with 2 or 3.

11. how to make a sandwich- Pick a task (making a peanut butter sandwich or making a bed) and have her describe EACH STEP involved. Write down the steps she says, then do them like she said them. So if describing a sandwich and she says- get out the bread and put peanut butter on it” you would get out the LOAF of bread and set the peanut butter jar on top the loaf- Then help her learn the specific steps in detail—you get the loaf of bread out of the drawer. Set the loaf on the table, open the bag, take out a slice of bread, put it on a plate. Get the jar of peanut butter out of the cupboard and put the jar on the table. Get a spreading knife out and set next to the jar, take the lid off the jar and set it down. Pick up the knife and scoop peanut butter out of the jar with the knife….”