57 Fun Memory Games & Activities for Kids (Memory Boosters!)

Memory Activities for Kids: Discover a variety of fun memory games and activities designed to entertain and educate kids. From simple games to engaging tasks, explore ways to enhance cognitive skills in young learners.

Memory plays an essential role in the cognitive development of children. It’s the cornerstone that aids in learning new information, understanding the present and future based on our past, and navigating new experiences. 

One great way to enhance a child’s memory is through engaging in memory activities and games. These activities are not only educational but are also fun and enjoyable for kids of all ages.

What is Memory? Types of Memory

Memory is the cognitive ability that allows us to retain, store, and retrieve information. It’s the bedrock of learning and comprehension. 

There are three main memory categories with distinctive characteristics:

1. Sensory memory is the shortest-term memory that retains unprocessed or raw impressions of what we see, hear, or feel for a brief moment after the original event is over. Sensory memory holds this information for comprehension purposes or to move into another memory storage system. Sensory memory is not consciously controlled.
   • Each sense can generate different types of memory. For example:
     • The information we gather from our sight is retained in our iconic memory. 
     • Information we receive in the form of sounds is kept in our echoic memory. 
     • Our sense of touch provides information that we store in our haptic memory.
2. Short-term memory: This type of memory holds a small amount of information in an active, readily available state for a short period of about 10 to 30 seconds.
   • Working memory is a closely related concept. Working memory is a key executive function. It refers to the short-term storage of information required to manipulate the information we use for complex cognitive tasks such as reasoning, planning, problem-solving, or understanding. For instance, solving a mental math problem requires holding numbers in mind while performing operations.
     Poor working memory affects a person’s ability to retain and manipulate information over short periods. 
3. Long-term memory is a relatively permanent information storage system that enables one to retain, retrieve, and make use of skills and knowledge hours, weeks, or even years after they were originally learned. (Source: APA Dictionary of Psychology).
   • Explicit memory is long-term information that we can retrieve consciously, including:
     • The information that we learn, our experiences, and our memories. (Episodic memory)
     • Conceptual information that only humans can create through language. (Semantic memory)
   • Implicit memory comprises unconscious memories, such as skills and abilities.

Each type of memory plays a crucial role in how children perceive and interact with the world around them.

We will take these categories into consideration to curate a helpful list of memory activities for kids. We will also add activities that can help kids remember study information. 

Engaging in memory activities might offer a fun way to support a child’s cognitive skills, including problem-solving skills and attention span. 

Fun Memory Activities for Kids

Memory activities are a wealth of fun and learning, each catering to different memory types while ensuring a playful learning environment.

They stretch from simple games perfect for little kids to more challenging tasks suited for older kids and students.

Memory activities help nurture a child’s ability to recall information and apply it in different contexts, thus paving the way for academic success. 

Moreover, these activities often require interaction and collaboration, which also helps enhance social skills.

Let’s delve into a plethora of activities aimed at boosting the various facets of memory:

Working Memory Activities for Kids

Explore fun games and activities focused on honing short-term or working memory in kids. Through enjoyable games and tasks, children can improve their ability to retain and manipulate information in their minds over brief periods.

1. Memory card game (also known as matching cards game or concentration game). A classic memory game where children flip over cards to find matching pairs, promoting visual memory and attention (one of the best memory games!). 
2. Simon says: This classic game requires the child to remember and follow instructions in the correct order.
3. Pattern blocks: Create and remember patterns with colored blocks.
4. Story chains: Create a collaborative story! The first player starts a story with a sentence, and the next player continues by adding another sentence, recalling the previous parts of the story in the correct order.
5. Shopping list game: a fun and simple game where young children take turns recalling and adding items to a fictional shopping list. Example: The first player might say, “I went to the grocery store and bought apples.” The second person recalls “apples” and adds, “bananas.” The third recalls, “apples, bananas,” and adds, “carrots,” and so on, making the list longer and more challenging with each turn.
6. Musical patterns: Playing or clapping back musical patterns.
   An example of musical patterns could be drumbeats, a fun game where the first person creates a rhythm, and the next player has to repeat it.
7. Simon sounds gameplay: in this classic electronic game, players repeat random sequences of flashing lights by pressing the colored pads.
8. Number sequences: Children try to remember and recite sequences of numbers, which can extend to remembering phone numbers, enhancing their numerical recall.
9. Magic cup game: A small object is placed under one of three cups, which are then shuffled around. The child watches carefully and identifies the cup hiding the object.
10. Reverse memory: Recall a list of words or numbers in the reverse order from which they were presented, challenging working memory.
11. Copycat games: Mimic a series of actions or sounds made by another player, perfect for auditory and visual working memory. There are several ways to play copycat.
    1. Mystery copycat: One player is the “catcher” and leaves the room. Another player is chosen as the “copycat”. Everyone then starts mimicking the copycat’s actions. When the catcher returns, they must deduce who the original copycat is by observing the group’s actions.
    2. Sequence chain: Players stand in a line. The first player performs an action. The next player repeats the first player’s action and adds their own. The third player repeats the actions of the first two, and then adds a new one, and so on. Players must recall and perform the growing sequence of actions in order.
    3. Copycat Pat: The first player says one action but does another (e.g., says, “pat your elbow” but pats their wrist). The rest, as copycats, must follow the spoken instruction, not the demonstrated action. Players who mimic the wrong action are out.
12. Memory tray game: Memorize items on a tray, then recall them after they are covered or removed.
13. Go fish: Another great game that encourages children to remember the cards held by others and improve their numerical recall.

Related Reading: Working Memory Strategies for Kids

Long-Term Memory Activities

Dive into activities tailored for enhancing long-term memory in kids, aiding in the retention and retrieval of information over time. These simple yet effective tasks make learning enjoyable while promoting a lasting memory.

14. History storytelling: Encourages kids to remember and recount historical events or family stories, enhancing their long-term memory.
15. Memory timelines: Creating visual timelines helps recall sequences of events over time. Students are given a set of events or moments, and their objective is to create a chronological visual timeline. 
16. Role-playing historical events: Enacting historical events to make the memory more tangible.
17. Creating memory books: Making books of important or learned information.

Study Techniques for Kids

Employing study techniques can significantly bolster long-term memory, facilitating the transition of information from short-term to long-term storage. Through practice and the application of these techniques, students can enhance their academic performance by retaining and recalling information efficiently.

Examples of Study Techniques

Study techniques aimed at enhancing memory retention for academic material:

18. Spaced repetition: is an evidence-based learning technique where lessons are reviewed at increasing intervals (for example: after one day, then eight days, then 15 days).
19. Flashcards: Flashcards are an effective study tool to help memorize information.
20. SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review). This learning strategy was developed by Francis Robison to help identify important facts in the text and improve information retention.

Mnemonic Techniques

Mnemonic techniques like acronyms or rhymes provide a fun and easy way for older children to remember lists of words or other information. These are some examples of mnemonic techniques:

21. Memory palace technique: A memory palace involves mentally placing the information you wish to remember in specific rooms within an imagined physical space, such as a palace. Then, you mentally “walk” through rooms to retrieve the information when you need it.
22. Acronyms: Using abbreviations formed from the initial letters of the words that you wish to remember is another popular memory technique. For example: to remember the order of operations in maths, many teachers teach the acronym PEMDAS Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division (from left to right), Addition and Subtraction (from left to right.)
23. Rhymes: You can create a rhyme to remember information. For example: ‘My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Noodles’ could help you remember the order of planets in our solar system – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

Active Recall

24. Practice tests: Engaging in active recall by taking practice tests enhances memory retention and prepares older children for exams.
25. Teaching the material: Imagine you have an imaginary audience and pretend to teach the concepts you have studied in your own words. 
    Another fun way to do this is pretending to be a news anchor announcing breaking news (aka, the lesson you just studied!)

Visualization

26. Mind mapping: For older students, this technique helps visualize relationships between different pieces of information, promoting better understanding and recall.
27. Diagram drawing: Draw a diagram of the human heart to learn and remember its structure and function.

Chunking

Chunking is a memory technique that involves breaking down large pieces of information into smaller, manageable groups or “chunks.” This method helps to enhance memory and retention capacity by reducing cognitive load and making the information easier to process. These are some examples of chunking techniques:

28. Grouping information: Grouping similar concepts or topics together can make information more manageable. For example: a list of items to remember, like a shopping list, group similar items together, such as dairy products, fruits, vegetables, etcetera.
29. Breaking down information: Dividing chapters or topics into subtopics or important points can make studying more manageable.

Interleaved Practice

30. Interleaved practice (also known as interleaving) is a study technique that involves mixing different topics or subjects in order to improve learning and retention. For example: instead of doing all the math problems at once, mix in some history or science questions to vary the content and engage different parts of your brain. Or if you are studying maths, mix different types of mathematical operations.

Contextual Learning

31. Real-world applications: Apply physics principles to real-world scenarios, like calculating the angle at which a basketball should be thrown to make a basket.

Sensory Techniques

32. Multi-sensory learning: While studying anatomy, use a 3D app to explore the human body, listen to lectures, and physically act out certain bodily processes.
33. Color-coding: Color-code notes by topic, for instance, use blue for important definitions, yellow for key concepts, and green for examples.

Conceptual Understanding

34. Deep learning: Rather than memorizing formulas in physics, understand the underlying principles and how the formulas were derived.
35. Discussion groups: Join a discussion group to delve deeper into the philosophical implications of a novel you are studying in literature class.

Sensory Memory Activities

Sensory memory activities engage the brain’s ability to capture and briefly hold sensory experiences. Through these activities, kids can sharpen their initial perception and recognition of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations, forming the basis for further cognitive processing.

We utilize our senses to gather information from our surrounding environment, thus many activities previously listed can be categorized as sensory memory activities. However, I will include a few more sensory-focused activities to our compilation.

Visual Memory Games

A visual sensory activity engages and enhances the ability to process and retain information obtained through sight.

Some of the games we have already mentioned would fall in the visual memory game category (memory card games, go fish, pattern blocks or memory tray), but let’s add a few more examples to practice visual memory skills:

36. Color matching games: Match colors from memory.
37. Shape sorting games: Sort shapes by matching them to the correct slots.
38. Visual tracking games: Follow visual objects and recall their paths.
39. Spot the difference: Find differences between two similar pictures.

Auditory Memory Games

An auditory sensory activity focuses on sharpening the reception and retention of information captured through hearing.

Let’s add to the sound-matching games we already mentioned a few more games where we use the sense of hearing to store information:

40. Listening and recall: Listening to a story or song and recalling details.
41. Rhyme and rhythm games: Reciting rhymes or rhythms from memory.
42. Sound bingo: Identifying and matching sounds to pictures on a bingo card.
43. Instrument recognition: Recognizing different musical instruments by their sounds.

Tactile Memory Games

A tactile sensory activity aims at improving the processing and memory of sensations perceived through touch. These are some examples:

44. Material sorting: Sorting different materials by touch.
45. Tactile memory boxes: Identifying small objects placed in a box by touch only.

Olfactory and Gustatory Games

An olfactory sensory activity cultivates the recognition and recall of different scents and smells. And a gustatory sensory activity focuses on distinguishing and remembering various tastes and flavors.

46. Smell identification: Identifying different scents while blindfolded.
47. Taste tests: Identifying different tastes while blindfolded.
48. Herb and spice recognition: Recognizing different herbs and spices by smell and taste.
49. Food memory games: Remembering and identifying different foods by smell and taste.

Kinesthetic Memory Activities

Kinesthetic memory, often referred to as “muscle memory,” involves the memory of motor skills and procedures. It’s a form of memory that helps us remember how to perform physical tasks such as riding a bike or playing a musical instrument. Through repetition and practice, the body learns to do complex tasks automatically or with little to no conscious effort.

50. Movement patterns: Remember movement patterns.
51. Dance sequences: Learn and recall dance sequences.
52. Sports drills: Practice and recall different sports drills.
53. Obstacle courses: Navigating through obstacle courses from memory.

Other Techniques and Activities to Improve Memory

Explore a range of other techniques and activities aimed at enhancing memory. These methods provide additional avenues to foster memory improvement in an engaging and effective manner.

54. Mindfulness meditation: Practice mindfulness meditation before studying to clear your mind and improve concentration.
55. Relaxation techniques: Practice deep breathing to reduce anxiety before an exam.
56. Exercises: Exercise is beneficial for overall well-being, but research also suggests it could help boost our memory
57. Learn by Doing!
    Reading is an excellent tool for acquiring new knowledge. However, studies suggest actively engaging in a task enhances recall more effectively.
    Research comparing the effects of reading, imagining, seeing, and doing found that physically performing tasks leads to the best recall because we create more detailed and vivid images in our memory, and we involve our motor system, adding another layer of memory encoding.

Incorporating memory activities into a child’s routine can be a fun way to support their cognitive development and offer enjoyable learning experiences. Whether through simple memory games, a deck of cards, or engaging in more complex brain games, these memory activities can complement their regular learning, encouraging them to think differently. For parents or primary teachers, these activities can also be a chance to spend quality time with kids and understand their learning preferences. If a child faces occasional challenges with focus or memory, introducing these memory games can offer a helpful and enjoyable change of pace.