Lately I've been finding it a real challenge to keep James focused during school time. He's so easily distracted, which I know is normal for this age, but it makes teaching him a bit trying. I was looking through my teaching manuals and came across an easy and interactive memory game.
Here's what I did: I set up a tray of owls (you could chose anything, obviously, I just liked the excuse to use these owls I made a couple years ago!) in the living room, then I wrote down the numbers 1-13 on individual pieces of paper and put them in a drawstring bag.
James randomly selected a piece of paper, looked at it, and without showing me or saying a word, he took a little basket to the living room to collect owls based on the number indicated on the paper. The key here was that he had to stay focused on the task at hand and keep in mind the number while walking through three rooms to get to the living room. When he returned to me I counted the owls and I'd say, "I think that piece of paper has a (#) on it!". James would get so excited when I guessed correctly! He'd then have to bring the owls back to the tray and we'd start over again.
As I said, this is a very simple game, and at first I wondered if James would think it too easy and boring. While it was very easy, it definitely wasn't boring for him. He really enjoyed it and wanted to play it several times over. I think it was the constant motion that he liked best. :)
As I said, this is a very simple game, and at first I wondered if James would think it too easy and boring. While it was very easy, it definitely wasn't boring for him. He really enjoyed it and wanted to play it several times over. I think it was the constant motion that he liked best. :)
~Thank you for your comments!~
5 comments:
Ohhh the constant motion is hard to keep up with! Another game that I found in a Montessori Album was to sperate the pink tower cubes onto different mats and then they have to build the tower moving from mat to mat to find the right ones! My 5 year old, who long masted the pink tower thought this was fun. And it kept her working for a while! :) Happy Schooling!
This sounds like a great way to learn. I love your owls!
LOVE this! Perfect! x
This sounds like a great game. I'll have to remember this for my younger (as of now) son when he starts learning his numbers.
Oh, I love the little owls! You've inspired me to make some for my girls. I have this idea we'll use them to learn arithmetic, but they usually come up with even better ideas than I do. :)
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