No, this isn’t the 99th activity for auditory memory enhancement and it’s not a typo. It’s a humorous way to introduce today’s blog topic–how to do a super quick check of your child’s auditory memory. Auditory memory is a fundamental skill for learning. And for relationships. Just think of how frustrating it is when a friend or family member forgets things that you have said or asked, (or on the other hand if they never forget!) So how can you check auditory memory? Tell your child a sequence of any 3 numbers, such as 7 4 8. Ask your child to repeat them. This should be quite easy. Try a sequence of 4 numbers, for instance 5 9 3 6. Continue with a 5 number sequence and then 6. A rule of thumb is children should be able to accurately repeat a sequence of the same number of digits as their age; that is, a 2 year old can do 2 digits, a 3 year old, 3 digits, a 4 year old 4 digits and a 5 year old 5 digits. Some developmental psychologists advise that being able to repeat 6 digits is the minimum level for handling phonics and reading.
I’ll apologize in advance for sounding like a broken record but stories and reading are significant activities for enhancing memory. Kids love to hear favorite stories over and over and can often tell the story of a whole book.
Another way to promote auditory memory skills is by singing. Toddlers remember bits and pieces of songs. Closer to kindergarten age children can sing simple ones. Traditional ones such as Old Macdonald, Bingo, Twinkle, Twinkle, 5 Little Monkeys, Eensy, Weensy Spider, Hokey Pokey, Ten in a Bed, etc. seem to be universal but there are great new songs, too.
What songs do your kids enjoy?