Fun Ways to Build Your Children’s Cognitive Skills {Tip 12 of 31}

We spend most of our time trying to “teach” our children new academic skills like reading and math. However, it is our brain that allows any of us to achieve academically. To build our brain skills power we need to take a look at all those skills that come from our brain.

Attention Skills: The ability to attend to incoming information

Memory: The ability to store and recall information

Auditory Processing: The ability to process and understand what is heard

Visual Processing: The ability to perceive, analyze, and think in visual images

Processing Speed: The ability to perform simple or complex cognitive tasks quickly

Motor Control: Includes fine and gross motor control as well as hand-eye coordination

Executive Functions: The higher level thinking skills such as planning, organizing, using strategies, being flexible and trying new approaches and skills becoming automatic.

Logic and Reasoning: Also, the higher level thinking skills that offer the ability to reason, form concepts, and solve problems using unfamiliar information or novel procedures

Now comes the fun part! Think of every game you know and notice all the cognitive skills you use to play them. For example, think about a jigsaw puzzle. Regardless of the number of pieces, you are using almost every skill is listed above. How about matching pictures like in a concentration game? Again, almost every skill listed above is used. How about coloring? What about “Simon Says” and other following directions games/songs? There are so many games. They can be found online via computer, iPad and smartphones, and in activity books. You can play anytime and spontaneously. You can have game nights. Brain games are everywhere and easily adapted for any skill level.

When we practice (play) with these skills, we become better with academics. Have fun!

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