Audio Memory Games

Play regularly together with a smile to build a safe, happy experience

practicing listening to remember

Copy Cat

• Make a set of three sounds (with your mouth, your hands, or use instruments, have fun with it)

• Ask your son to copy the first sound; after success, jump to the last sound, and then to the middle sound, etc. until he can repeat all three successfully and consistently

• The key is to wait to jump to a different position (first, last, middle, all) until success is consistent

• Try using letters, then words, then whole sentences when your son has mastered sounds

Simon Says

• Give a series of three directions he has to follow• Make them playful, like, have three plastic cups out

and ask him to fill each with different number of a variety of items that seem funny/entertaining

• The key is to limit the number of objects to numerals he has mastered so he doesn’t waste memory, time, or effort figuring out what the numeral is or looks like

• Ex: Simon Says to fill the first cup with three cheetos, the second cup with eight chips, and the third with six pieces of popcorn or a green lego, four blue legos, and two red legos

• Add more steps to the directions as he improves

Lolly’s List

• Use a stuffed animal or puppet to be Lolly. Create her suitcase from a small box.

• Play Lolly’s Going to the _____ (fill in the blank with a location of your choice) by beginning with the sentence “Lolly’s going to the moon and needs a _________.”

• The next player has to repeat the first item to pack, and add another.

• Play continues by retelling each item going into the suitcase and adding another. Stretch as far as possible to build excellent listening memory!

Mommy’s Message

• On the drive to school, give your son a special message which he must recall and say on demand later.

• Give the secret word or hand shake or whatever signal you two pick for the recall when you pick him up from school, before dinner, and at bedtime.

• Start with a single sentence, then progress as he improves. • Have a special reward for recalling three times, a little

something for twice, and a thank you for one recall. Set the reward together so your son is invested and willing to play. Be consistent with this each day, and on the weekend, do Double Bonus action by challenging him to recall any/all of the week’s Messages.

Buddy’s Bedtime Story• Add this onto your regular bedtime routine of reading a story

together. After reading a story, ask your son to take Buddy (any stuffed animal or puppet will do) in his lap and tell him the story since he missed the original reading.

• Encourage more detail by reminding your son that Buddy might not understand why or how something he has said makes any sense. What else can he tell Buddy to make the story better? Make sure your son does not make up details that did not happen in the story.

• Asking direct questions like “Why did he say that?” or “What happened after that?” might help trigger a memory

• Your son is working toward three details from the beginning, three from the middle, and three from the ending, to include naming the character, setting, and problem/solution with as little prompting as possible.

Tech Savvy?• Record your voice as you read an entire children’s story

to your laptop, then burn it on CD• Play the CDs in the car and or let your son play it at home

on his own• Let your son retell the story while you make dinner or

during dinner, working towards the same details as Buddy’s Bedtime Story

• Or, let your son record his retelling and play back to back to compare, letting him see which details he got and/or missed

• Promise the actual book if he can get all the details noted (you already borrowed it from library to create the CD, right?), so he can read with the pictures.

Links for/about Auditory Memory• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-auditory-memory.

htm• http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/radical-teachi

ng/200904/top-10-list-improve-your-childs-memory• http://www.livestrong.com/article/196262-auditory-

memory-games-for-kids/• http://www.ehow.com/how_5857245_improve-kids-

memory-skills.html• http://www.brainbuildingfun.com/aupraume.html• http://simplysmarterkids.com/