I recently tuned into a webinar given by the National PTA. One of their presenters cited a survey given to parents that asked if they believed their children had learned the skills required in that grade by the end of the school year.
80 percent of parents marked the box that said, “Yes, my child has acquired the expected skills.”
Sadly, teachers reported only about 40 percent of their students had developed the expected skills during the school year.
Why was there such a large gap between parents’ perceptions and teachers’ assessments?
Most report cards measure children’s participation in class assignments and projects, and their progress toward competence, rather than reporting achievement scores.
But with a little fun and games, you can boost skills by providing fun ways for your kids to strengthen neural pathways with these five activities.
Our brains are interconnected. For example, the caudate nucleus, a small area in both the left and right hemispheres, processes movement and learning. And this little nub is right next to the hippocampus, which stores memory. When kids learn the rhythm of that middle jump between skipping over a jump rope, I’ve found both their reading and math skills improve. No kidding! Bouncing a ball seems to have a similar effect.
But three out of the five games below require no equipment at all, and they do wonderful things for kids’ minds and families’ well-being!
Watch the 5-minute interview on “AM Northwest” in Portland to see a few of the games in action. 
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5 Games to Boost Kids’ Brainpower
- Jump rope.
If you don’t have jump ropes in the house, go get a couple, one for each child and one for you —Today! There are so many fun games to play, and jumping rope is GREAT for brain development.
Skipping rope not only offers an excellent cardio workout in a relatively short time, there’s magic in the jumping rhythm that boosts brainpower. (see above paragraph: Our brains are interconnected)
Once your kids are comfortable with skipping rope, which may take more than one session, you can add fun things to the jumping rhythm that will cement skills in their brains.
Math:
For little kids, see how long it takes to jump to 10 without missing, then 20, . . . up to 100.
For older kids, skipping rope is a great way to solidify Names for 10, addition and subtraction fact families, times tables, and division facts.
For example, help your child write multiples of 7 on a paper or white board.
Like this: 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70
You can take turns jumping to the rhythm while saying the 7s in order a few times and see who can get through the whole list without missing first.
Once you’ve jumped the multiples of 7 a few times, write the 7s as times tables on the white board or paper, and jump to the rhythm while you and your child say them.
7 x 1 = 7, 7 x 2 = 14, 7 x 3 = 21 . . .
When you and your child feel comfortable with the rhythm and the 7s (make take a few days), start jumping and asking each other times tables out or order:
7 x 3 = ____, 7 x 8 = ____ . . .
Kids tend to like this one the most, especially when YOU mess up!
Language:
You can use the jumping rhythm to take turns saying rhyming words: big, dig, fig, wig . . .
When you run out of ideas, yell “Change!” and start a new word to rhyme: cat, bat, sat . . .
Use the jumping rhythm to take turns saying words that mean the same thing (synonyms)
Big, large, gigantic . . .
Again, if you run out of ideas, yell “Change!” and start again with a new word.
Take turns saying opposites (antonyms): up – down, in – out, around – through . . .
For more brain boosting jump rope games, see Brain Stages: How to Raise Smart, Confident Kids and Have Fun Doing It, K-5.
- Bounce a Ball.
Bouncing a ball and playing the games listed above for jumping rope—that is, bouncing the ball to times tables or back and forth shouting synonyms (words that mean the same thing)—have a similar effect on young minds to create and strengthen neural pathways. Heck, you’ll find you can think faster too.
Remember, if you run out of synonyms or antonyms (opposites), just yell “Change!” and start with a new word.
- Add a Move.
Make a move, like clapping your hands or snapping your fingers. Have your child copy the move and add one of her own. Repeat your move and hers and then add another one. Keep going until one of you “misses” by skipping a move in the sequence. The person who wins starts the next round. Kids love to “out remember” their parents. This helps build memory, and the best part is you can play this game anywhere, and it’s fun! (from p. 141 in Brain Stages)
- We Got the Beat.
Come up with a sequence of fast and slow claps for your child to copy while waiting at red lights, in line at the grocery store, or at the doctor’s office. For example: fast, fast, slow, fast, fast. Ask your child to repeat the rhythm. Then it’s your child’s turn to clap a rhythm for you, siblings, or friends to repeat. (from p. 140 in Brain Stages)
- Treasure Hunt Game – My favorite!
I love the Treasure Hunt Game. You can play it anywhere, and the game develops all kinds of skills in math, language, logic, creativity, prediction, cause and effect . . . SO many things! And the Treasure Hunt Game can grow with your child.
In the Brain Stages book, the game is introduced in Chapter 5—Second Grade: Eager to Please (p. 143). Then in the third and fourth grade chapters, there are ways to build on the game as kids mature (p. 188 and 240, respectively). After fourth grade, kids tend to come up with modifications of their own because, by then, their imaginations are in full swing.
Here’s how to play:
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- Take your child on a descriptive mental tour in whatever setting seems appealing: a museum, a forest, or another planet.
- Pretend to find money throughout your journey, listing the coins and bills for your child to calculate.
- At the end of your trip, ask the amount of treasure you’ve collected.
If the two of you come up with a different answer, retrace your “steps” aloud and recount the money. Once you complete your tour by determining the correct amount of money, your child gets to make up a story about where he finds money, giving you a similar treasure hunt to compute in your head. Start simple with something like this:
I cleaned the living room this morning and found two one-dollar bills stuck between the couch cushions and a quarter in the dog’s bed. Then the vacuum started pinging, and when I turned it off, a nickel, a dime, and three pennies tumbled onto the carpet. I think I struck it rich! How much money did I find? (Answer: $2.43)
(For more information and ideas, see Brain Stages, p. 144.)
Have fun playing games with your kids, enjoying precious time together, and sharpening skills—all at the same time!
Do you have a fun game that you and your kids enjoy? Do you have a question or concern?
Please post a comment below.
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Best wishes for making fun memories with your family,
Trish Wilkinson
Coauthor Brain Stages: How to Raise Smart, Confident Kids and Have Fun Doing It, K-5
