Hello everyone and welcome to another class at Elf Academy! Today’s lesson is about memory training.

Elves go to school for over 400 years so they have to have really good memories. They strengthen their memories by:

• learning and developing new skills
• Playing memory games
• Getting Lots of sleep

Here are some Memory Games to help you on the way.

GAME 1: Christmas WHAT’S MISSING?

To play

Place a number of Christmas items onto a tray (the more items, the more challenging the game so for younger children start with just 3-4 items and increase from there).

Tell your child to have a close look at the items on the tray. Name them together (the more you discuss the items the more likely your child is to remember them so you could ask them what colour or shape each item is or what it is used for).

Cover the items with a tea towel. Ask your child to close their eyes and as they do so remove one item from under the cloth.

Ask them to open their eyes, remove the cloth and tell you what’s missing!

Variations

For older children, use more items and allow them to look at them for a full minute. Then cover them up and ask them to write a list or draw as many of the items that they can remember.

 GAME 2 – I WENT CHRISTMAS SHOPPING…

The aim of the game is to remember as many Christmas items purchased at the shops as possible!

To play

The first player starts the game by saying, “I went Christmas shopping and bought a ____,” identifying an item they would buy.

The second player continues, “I went Christmas shopping and bought a (names the first player’s item) and a ___ (adding a new item to the list).”

Players continue taking turns to remember the items purchased in order as the list gets longer and longer. The winner is the last person who can correctly name all of the items in sequence.

Variations

This game can be adapted to many different scenarios, for example, “I went on holidays and packed…” or “I went to school and took …”

GAME 3: DRAW A CHRISTMAS WORD ON MY BACK

Success in this game requires the child to transfer a physical sensation to a mental picture and retain a short series of mental pictures in their head to correctly identify the word.

To play

One player uses their finger to ‘write’ a  Christmas word on the back of the second player. The second player tries to identify the word. Players switch positions and take turns being the ‘writer’ and guesser.

Elves need to have good memories because they have lots of things to remember. If you don’t get enough sleep your brain does not operate at its best. That’s why elves make sure they go to bed early!