5 little games to exercise your preschoolers’ brains

Little Eva is happily playing with her electronic pet. Every time the electronic pet on the computer made a sound, the two-year-old girl was able to name the pet and pinpoint the exact animal on the screen. Although Eva is only two years old now, she already knows more than a dozen animals and can accurately name 30 colors. Three-year-old Tyler is playing \”camping\” with his dad. Their tent was made of sheets, pretending to be surrounded by woods. In the game, Tyler plays the father, and the father plays the child. \”Dad\” not only has to cook for the \”child\”, but also sings to coax the \”child\” to sleep after the meal. Which of the above two activities do you think is better for preschool children’s brain development? Little Eva has a great time learning about animals and colors. But Taylor\’s games can better train children\’s brains and prepare them for future learning. Why? Psychologists believe that \”learning ability\” is not just intelligence and memory, but a whole set of abilities. They call this set of abilities “executive functions.” “Executive functions” include 4 abilities: – Attention. – Self-control. – Memory. – Planning ability. If these four abilities are well developed before children enter school, their learning career will go more smoothly. In the \”camping game\”, Taylor can exercise this entire set of abilities. The best thing about \”executive ability\” is that this ability can be cultivated later in life, and even some small games can cultivate this ability in children. Here are 5 small games that can cultivate children\’s \”executive functions\”. 1. Play House The “camping game” played by Tyler and his dad is a kind of house game. In this process, children need to remember their own and other people\’s roles, which exercises their memory. In addition, they had to stay in their roles, which exercised their self-control. Through this game, children can also learn some social rules and practice social skills. 2. Listening to stories Listening to stories requires children to listen intently for a long time, which requires them to have a certain amount of self-control and not do other things. When listening to a story, children also need to remember the different characters and the stages of development of the story. As the story continues to develop, they also need to integrate new information into the story progression. 3. Some parents may not be familiar with this Obstacle Course game, so here are some pictures. For babies who are just learning to crawl, you can place a few sofa cushions directly on their crawling path. If you have items at home that can create \”obstacles\”, you can also use them. Older kids can play this \”dodge the laser rays\” game. Obstacle course games develop children\’s planning skills as they must plan in advance to decide which actions to take to overcome obstacles. Parents can keep changing obstacles, and children can keep changing plans. This game can also exercise children\’s physical coordination. 4. Timing games for preschoolers are not only veryWaiting is unbearable and they have almost no sense of time. But there\’s a way to make their wait a little easier. Give your children a timer, or a watch, or an alarm clock, and ask them to watch the timer while waiting. Tell them that when the pointer reaches where it is, there is no need to wait any longer. This game is mainly to exercise children\’s self-control. The timer makes invisible time tangible. When children can \”see\” time, waiting becomes easier. During this time of waiting, they can learn how to calm themselves down. However, one thing to note is that it is normal for children to have short endurance. Do not criticize your children because they cannot play this game well. 5. In the bag-finding game, put familiar items into a cloth bag (note: do not put items that may harm the child). Have your child reach into the bag, touch the items, and then guess what\’s in the bag. This game as shown below will exercise children\’s memory. In addition, it requires children to connect the information they receive from their senses with their image memories. In addition to the above games, there are many games that can improve children\’s \”executive functions.\” Parents can develop it themselves, including making cookies with their children, doing crafts together, etc. Developing \”executive functions\” is not a race. Every child has his or her own characteristics. Some are emotionally sensitive, some are physically fit, and some are curious and like to explore. Since each child\’s characteristics are different, the time when \”executive functions\” develop may be different, and the methods that are suitable for them will also be different. Parents can explore games with their children that are suitable for them.