Want to learn more about Right Brain Education and how to practice at home with your child? Subscribe to our free newsletter and get a bonus Right Brain Education activity manual free!
6. Memory grid
Start with a 2×2 grid and four pictures that fit into each square, e.g. a tree, a rabbit, a hotdog, and a bike. Show the grid to your child for about ten seconds, then cover it.
Give your child a blank grid and four cards with the same four pictures. Ask your child to put the pictures onto the blank grid in the same order that they remember seeing them in on your grid. When your child is done, reveal your grid and check if the pictures are in the right order.
As your child gets better at this activity, increase the difficulty by increasing the size of the grid to 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, etc. You can also make it easier by using fewer pictures. For instance, you could have a 3×2 grid with four pictures placed in random positions and where two squares are left blank.
This activity trains the right brain’s imaging ability and helps to develop photographic memory. At least that’s what I think it does because the children are asked to take a picture of the grid with their minds.
There are also apps available for space memory activities:
More:
Jo says
sometimes I recycle the flashcard for memory grid, linking memory.
Em at the momet like block and puzzle. In the class she like the ESP, tangrams, japanese writing, flash card.
Alice says
Do I repeat the same memory grid exercise/ game until my son can arrange all in the correct position?
Shen-Li says
Jo – that’s a good idea. Spend so much time making flashcards sometimes that’s it’s good if you can recycle them.
Alice – No, you can keep changing the game. If he doesn’t remember the correct positions, just go through it with him by showing him the original and get him to rearrange his so that it is correct. The next time, change the pattern again.
Shraddha says
Hello! By what age can we start with this memory game? We start flash cards with as little as a new born baby right?
Shen-Li Lee says
Newborns can’t see very well, so you can use black and white images or wait until they’re a bit older? Like 3-6 months?
For the memory grid game, you can start when they’re able to sit up and observe you playing the game. Narrate what you’re doing as you play. Keep it short and repeat again the next day until it becomes a routine.