Phonics - Concentration

Concentration

Anxious to build your child’s ability to pay attention or focus? There are many things that can be done to improve concentration skills. Theories and debates abound, but most agree to this basic list of do’s and don’ts to help strengthen concentration in children or adults.

Working on jigsaw puzzles or taking the time to build a model are good ways to begin. The market abounds with board games-find the ones that particularly appeal to your child and play them together. Building concentration skills and family memories at the same time- it’s a win-win situation! Computer games are also ok, as long as they are not the kind that only contain repetitive actions and require no real involvement of thought.

Reading with your child-or taking turns reading aloud-builds many skills, concentration among them. Books and stories on cd can also help, as they require paying attention so the thread of the story is not lost. Books engage the mind on many different levels, making them an invaluable resource for teaching and learning.

Grandma Lizzie's House
Free patterns for creative art activities and fun learning games.

Being active also helps memory. Physical involvement in things such as karate and tae-kwan-do give a child a multitude of assets-and improve focus.

The brain responds to stimulus, and some physical activity helps to jump-start cerebral involvement.

Some elements that improve concentration are so ordinary they may be easy to miss. Chores may not be riveting-anything but-yet they do improve the ability to focus on a task. Having some routines in the day is also helpful for the child. Knowing what to expect and roughly how long this routine will last is not only a comfort, but has built-in attention building strategies to assist the child and parent alike.