WASHINGTON — Online learning is very challenging for kids. With the summer camps closed and the uncertainly of a timeline for schools to reopen, parents are looking for ways to keep their kids occupied and their brains sharp. So why not find some items around the house and turn them into "brain games"?
Maureen Loftus, Executive Director of LearningRX says being creative with common items can be fun for both the parents and the children. Loftus says, "Parents are digging the old games out of the closet, and that's a great start, but you want to do something a little bit more creative without breaking the bank".
Every family has a "junk drawer" in the kitchen or pantry filled with items like tape, rubber bands, paper clips, nutcrackers, and much more. Loftus says, "You can put the items in a bag, dump them out, and have your child alphabetize the items."
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Great Day Washington segment: Getting creative with household items to create brain games for kids.
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"This helps give executive function, it helps (your child) with alphabet, processing speed, planning and organizing", adds Loftus.
You can also use those items to tell a story with those items. Loftus says, "So let's pick up a random item and say, 'I wanted to add some nuts to my ice cream', so I got my nutcracker to add nuts to my ice cream. After that I decided I was gonna do some arts and crafts so I got out the glue stick and decided to use the glue stick." Then you can have your family members make a story out of other items and see if everyone can remember each other's story in order.
You can also make a game out of Skittles, M&Ms, or any candy items that have different colors.
Have your child organize the candy on a grid with different color schemes each time. You can add as many rows to the grid as you like.
Playing cards aren't just for adults! Grab that deck of cards and have some fun with your children. You can start off with sorting the cards by numbers, suits, and/or colors.
"Sorting once again helps with processing speed, it helps with executive function and it also helps with sustained attention, and you can have two deck of cards and your kids can race each other."
You can also use the cards to help with counting skills.
"A great thing you can use with this is calculations, just to keep those math skills sharp. Math skills slide over the summer and i'm afraid that with the extra two months of COVID-19 or maybe even more the slide of math skills is gonna be even greater," adds Loftus.
So have some fun and grab the items in your house. It can help pass the time and keep those learning skills sharp for your children.
LearningRX is offering remote training and testing. For more information call 866-BRAIN-01 or click here.
