Friday, February 28, 2014

Activities That Boost Your Child's Brain Power

By Madeleine Bridgeman


If you are searching for ways to improve your child's academic success or just wish to improve their ability to think, reason and solve problems, there are many ways to achieve this goal. Children's grades and test scores tend to improve if they get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet and exercise, but there are also some additional activities that you can add easily to their schedule that have been shown to have important benefits.

One activity that studies have shown to improve thinking skills, verbal skills and even arithmetic skills, is chess. Chess also seems to help ward off the development of dementia in older adults, so this is a skill with lifelong benefits. Academic Chess is a company that provides easy, fun chess instruction to elementary-age children and older, and many schools have after-school Academic Chess classes. This can be a great way for your child to learn chess and socialize with other children that share their interests.

If you are searching for an easy way to improve brain function while enjoying more time with your children, consider establishing a weekly or bi-monthly game night. There are tons of board games out there to suit a child of any age, and most of them teach highly important skills. For instance, games such as Balderdash, Scrabble and Apples to Apples help improve verbal skills and vocabulary skills. Yahtzee, Pay Day and Monopoly improve math skills as well as teaching strategy. Jigsaw puzzles and games such as Boggle improve spatial reasoning. Of course, another benefit is that someone always wins and someone loses, so your children can develop into good sports or perhaps gracious winners.

You also could switch up your game night activities to include a Lego night. Using Lego blocks is a great way to develop those fine motor skills as well as building creativity. Playing with Legos can even help improve problem solving skills. Not only can kids play with Legos at home, many schools have after-school Lego classes, and there are even Lego summer camps where children can build machines out of Legos, learn stop-motion filmmaking with Legos and much more.

There are many benefits your child can derive from music lessons, and students who play an instrument have been shown to have better grades and higher tests scores than children not involved in a music program. Developing discipline and improving spatial skills and even math skills are other reasons why you might consider opting for music lessons. There are dozens of instruments to consider, from popular instruments such as clarinet, flute and violin to more rock-oriented instruments such as the guitar, drums or keyboard. Whether you want to learn a traditional instrument or something a bit more unusual, Los Rios Rock School has teachers that can provide top-notch instruction.

At this San Juan Capistrano music school, students not only enjoy a weekly lesson in the instrument of their choice, the tuition includes a true rock band experience. Student bands are formed and after weeks of practice, these bands perform at real local music venues such as the Coach House, the House of Blues or perhaps Stillwater. If you are searching for a Dana Point music school, a Laguna Niguel music school or a San Clemente music school, Los Rios Rock School might be the perfect place for your child to excel.




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