Memory is a vital part of building a foundation for learning. Working on improving your child’s memory will be beneficial for them not only in the classroom but wherever they go. Whether your child studies in an international school in Manila or elsewhere, having good memory can help them perform better in school and beyond. Here are a few simple steps you can take to further enhance your child’s memory:
Establishing a routine can be an ideal method to enhance your child’s memory. Instilling a set of scheduled activities can help your child recall and remember things easily. How your child increases her memory via routines is through repetition. Repeating tasks can also serve as a way for them to sharpen some of their skills, such as familiarizing themselves with words or numbers.
If your child knows that she gets to read a book every night before going to bed or gets to play with her toys after lunch, she will start looking forward to the activities which stimulate her mind. This can be an opportunity for parents to ask questions that can reinforce their memory. Questions such as “What book would you want to read before we sleep?” or “What happens after lunch?” This creates a link between memory and language.
Children are excellent when it comes to painting images in their minds and retaining visual memory. Their memory can easily be fortified when you constantly ask them to create a picture of what they’ve heard or read. You can ask them to draw a picture of something they saw or about a certain event that happened. For example, you can ask her to draw about her favorite activity or what both of you did during a vacation.
Making use of visual aids such as flashcards and illustrations can help them remember information with ease. You can point out the body parts of an animal, letters in the alphabet, numbers, or colors to help them exercise their memory. The use of flashcards can also be used for matching exercises and to practice defining the properties of an object.
Active reading can make learning more engaging for your child. Acting out verbs in a phrase or using expressive tones can help stimulate your child’s imagination. These patterns help induce memory retention. You can also ask your child questions on what she thinks about the decisions of the character in the story or what she speculates will happen next. This helps children keep information in their minds long enough to answer your questions. It not only improves their memory but their critical thinking as well.
You can highlight sentences or phrases in a storybook and paint a picture for them via actions. If you read the same storybook again, they can associate the highlighted portion with a certain action, which helps cement the statement in their mind. They’ll recall how you portrayed that part of the story. Reading out loud and asking questions can be the best strategy to help strengthen their memories.
Whether your child studies at an international school in Manila or elsewhere, enhancing their memory starts at home. Getting them used to particular patterns can help them build both their short-term and long-term memory.