In this class, we will enjoy a brief icebreaker or fun warm-up activity, then engage in a game that will challenge your learner's memory, focus, and thinking. When relevant, I will also teach strategies to increase these skills, and thus your learner's confidence. We will then engage in an active brain break to allow them to rest their minds, get the blood flowing, and arrive at our second game with a fresh focus. 

Along with increasing a child's memory, attention, concentration, and focus, some of these carefully developed games can also improve visual and auditory recognition, reaction time, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In a group setting, these games can also support skills such as communication, sportsmanship, and social skills. I will also ask students to share their strategies as we go along so they can learn from each other. The cognitive skill development supported in this class is important as a child matures.  They not only learn new information, but also work to remember, think more critically, and process and recall what they learn, then apply it in a progressive way. 

Please know that while I do my best to end after our 50 minutes, there may be days where we run a bit over our allotted time if students are doing well and certain games naturally continue. I will not go into the next hour. 

There is a lot of interaction in this class if your child chooses to engage. If I see that your child is engaged in the games, but simply more reserved and not wishing to share their answers, I may encourage them a bit, but will also respect their needs and comfort level and will not push for participation. There may be answer "shout outs" where everyone can answer on the count of three, though many times I will ask for hand-raises and keep careful track of who I've called on to be fair. If a learner wishes to direct message me their answers in chat rather than speaking, they can let me know this as well. 

I'm a teacher who is not only dedicated to having fun with my students as they learn, but I'm also sensitive to the fact that some learners dislike making mistakes or may believe they may look "dumb" to their peers when they do. I work hard to create a supportive classroom environment with no pressure to always be "correct." We are to simply try our best, whatever that may be that day. Our games are not meant to be competitive, but instead focused on group enjoyment and supporting each other. 

September 26th, 2022 note: I have added new games to this class. I dissolved a very similar brain games class and took the most loved and relevant games to add to this class. While I work to change the games up as I can for repeating learners, if your student took "Brain Games -- Test Your Mental Powers!" there will be repeat games now labeled as "It's all in the Details, Sound Matching, Dual Tasks, Memory Mad Libs, Memory Missions and Color Capture". 
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The games that we play in this class are as follows. Please see below this list to find your class schedule:

--What’s Missing? An array of objects are shown, studied, then 1-3 removed without learners seeing what they were. Students then need to recall what was missing. Learners will be asked what strategies they're using to recall objects, and I will also point out and teach some as we go.

--Name Game. Students will pretend they're going to a chosen location, bringing chosen items with them, but the items can only start with the letter their first name begins with. We will take turns and repeat all of the items that were stated before our turn and see how far we can go! 

--Photographic Memory. I will share a photo or video with learners for some time, then take it away. I will then ask questions about details in the video or photo, such as "What color was the man’s hat?"  

--Zoom Out! I will show learners a photo of a common item, animal, etc, but it will be zoomed in on one spot. I will zoom out slowly as needed to support learners in guessing what the photo is, then reveal the entire photo when it's been guessed correctly. 

--What’s That Sound? I will play sounds from different types of animals, along with their picture and name. I will then play only the sound, letting them recall which animal it is. Learners will write their answers on paper using a word bank. 

--Total Recall. A series of pictures, colors, shapes, or words will be displayed for a few seconds. Learners will then write, draw or share what the objects were, in the correct order. 

--What changed? Learners will be shown a photo, video, or look at something on me or in my room and asked to study the details briefly. Then, out of their view, something will change (bracelet removed, a color changed, small object added, etc). They will look again and decide what has changed. Learners will have an opportunity to take a turn changing something on themselves or in their environment for other learners to guess as well! 

--Number Strings. Learners will be shown a string of numbers. After ten seconds, the numbers will disappear, and they'll be asked to write the numbers in the correct order. Like many of the games, this will increase in difficulty as we go.

--Story Building. We will create a story together, taking turns and adding only four words each on our turn. We must repeat the story from the beginning on our turn, then add our four words. This gets silly!

--Name That Object! I will describe an object, slowly giving more information on the object until it is guessed. We will then switch it up and I will give learners a topic (food, animal, etc) that the secret word belongs to. They will take turns asking one question each turn to get closer to the secret word (e.g. Is it a dessert? Does it have four legs?) until it is known.

--What Can You Find? Learners will be asked to name things that they would find in a certain place, excluding the most common items (e.g. what do you find at a zoo that isn't an animal?) and see if they can beat the teacher! 

--Going on a picnic. The ultimate memory game that parents may remember from their own childhood! We will take turns naming one object that we're taking on a picnic, starting with A and getting as far into the alphabet as time allows. The tricky part is that before we give our item, we will try to name all of the objects stated before, in ABC order. 

--Same...Not The Same: Your job is to look at four things and ponder how they are the same, then reason why one of them is different. But...you may be able to find why more than one is different. Maybe they all are! This game uses both critical and creative thinking with no right or wrong answers. The way other learners interpret the puzzles should be interesting and can lead to great discussions! 

--Twisted (and Distracted!) Fairy Tale: I will read a strange version of a favorite fairy tale, then ask them to recall details in the story, BUT...there will be many twists to this game that add challenge and also relates to real life! It won't be as easy as it sounds. 

--Do You Recognize Me? This game will challenge learners to remember faces to increase facial recognition skills as well as work their memory and focus on details. Learners will see slides of people paired with names, which will also be read aloud. Learners will then see only the faces and need to recall the person's name, or see the face and need to recall the name with a list of choices available. After a couple of rounds with humans, the students will then vote to do the same activity with either cats or dogs for an added element of fun. 

--The No-Go Game: This game will challenge your learners' focus and memory as well as their brain flexibility and quick thinking. Learners will be given instructions on what to do when certain objects appear on the screen (and what to do/not do) when they see others...but nothing stays the same for long, and some things are downright strange and the opposite of what our brain would expect!  

-- It's All in The Details: I will show photos of around forty objects, one at a time, in quick succession. Learners will work to visually remember the state of each item as they see them. The objects will be shown again, yet some will be in different states (now open, different angle, etc.) and learners will need to identify which items have changed. In another trial, learners will be asked to choose which specific item they saw in a line-up of very similar items.  

--Sound Matching: Testing our audial (hearing) memory isn't something we do very often, our brain is much better at recalling visual information, but learners will challenge themselves with this twist on the classic "flip two" memory game using sounds only. 

--Dual Tasks: This game will challenge our focus, memory, and attention! Learners will master one mental task, then a physical task, individually. Learners will then work to combine those tasks, side by side, then, adding even more challenge. We will try for three tasks at once! This game utilizes a completely imaginary tic-tac-toe board on the floor, so students will need a bit of room to move. If your learner has physical challenges, please let me know and I will happily adapt our game for them.  

--Memory Mad Lib: In this hilarious twist on an Outschool class-related Mad Lib, we will fill in the unknown blanks with nouns, verbs, and adjectives, then work to recall those blanks from our memories as we go. This game naturally challenges our minds as it progresses, and often becomes funnier, too!  

--Memory Missions: Learners will be given both word and picture lists of items and a set amount of time to memorize as many as they can. After a brief distractor, learners will then write as many words as they can. I will teach strategies to increase this skill. I’ll be playing along as well, so we’ll see if anyone can beat the teacher! 

--Color Capture: Learners will be tested in several ways in this game. Learners will be asked to recall the location of various colors in a photo (tangrams, for example) after studying it and the photo is removed. Learners will also be asked to study a color, one at a time, then match the color they saw from a line-up of similar colors. This isn’t always as easy as it sounds for our human brains!

--Memory Draw: Learners will test their visual memory in several different ways during this game, studying photos for shapes, color, and placement as well as drawing a scene from memory. 

--Spot The Difference: 
Can you tell the slight differences between seemingly alike photos, side by side? Bring your best focus, patience, and attention to detail to this challenging game! 

–Riddles, Brain Teasers, and Mysteries: Learners will use their critical thinking in this game to find the answers to riddles, brain teasers, and mysteries in this game. Some riddles may seem very easy at first, but we must slow our thinking down to figure out what is *really* being asked.  These are great for growing the brain!

–Name That Noise: Learners will test their audial memory to recognize and then name everyday (and perhaps some rather strange and unusual) sounds without the support of visual cues.

–Find The Mistake: Learners love detecting little mistakes that adults and others have made! This game will challenge learners to use what they know to locate purposeful errors in text, pictures, and video via their critical thinking. 

–Mystery Bag: Learners will use their critical thinking and recall in this game to ask logical questions as well as to remember what has been said by others before them. This will help us decipher what mysterious item is inside each bag. 

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I expect that all of these sections will continue and repeat on the same day and time, indefinitely (summer, fall, and beyond). 

MONDAY 1:00 pm EST Class

September 2nd:  Same...Not The Same and Twisted (and Distracted!) Fairy Tale
September 9th: Number Strings and Story Building
September 16th: What Can You Find and Going on a Picnic
September 23rd: It's all in the Details and Sound Matching
September 30th: Dual Tasks and Memory Mad Libs
October 7th: Memory Missions and Color Capture: 
October 14th: Riddles, Brain Teasers and Mysteries, and Name That Noise
October 21st: No Go Game and Do You Recognize Me
October 28th: What’s Missing and Name Game
November 4th: Photographic Memory and Total Recall
November 11th: What’s That Sound and Zoom Out! 
November 18th: Name That Object and What Changed  
November 25th: Find the Mistake and Mystery Bag
December 2nd: Memory Draw and Spot the Difference

With sufficient learners, this section will cycle back with our games and continue into the fall, winter and beyond.
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TUESDAY 12:00 Class

September 10th: No Go Game and Do You Recognize Me? 
September 17th: Memory Draw and Spot the Difference
September 24th: What’s Missing and Name Game
October 1st: Photographic Memory and Total Recall 
October 8th: What Can You Find and Going on a Picnic
Same...Not The Same and Twisted (and Distracted!) Fairy Tale
October 15th: What’s That Sound and Zoom Out
October 22nd: Number Strings and What Changed?
October 29th: Name That Object and Story Building
November 5th: It's all in the Details and Sound Matching
November 12th: Dual Tasks and Memory Mad Libs
November 19th: Riddles, Brain Teasers and Mysteries, and Name That Noise
November 26th: Find the Mistake and Mystery Bag
December 3rd: Memory Missions and Color Capture

With sufficient learners, this section will cycle back with our games and continue into the fall, winter and beyond.
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TUESDAY 6:00 and 7:00 pm EST Classes

September 3rd: What Can You Find and Going on a Picnic
September 10th: Name That Object and Story Building
September 17th: Same...Not The Same (and Distracted!) Fairy Tale
September 24th: It's all in the Details and Sound Matching
October 1st: Dual Tasks and Memory Mad Libs
October 8th: Memory Missions and Color Capture
October 15th: No Go Game and Do You Recognize Me?
October 22nd: What's Missing and The Name Game
October 29th: Photographic Memory and Total Recall 
November 5th: What’s That Sound and Zoom Out
November 12th: Riddles, Brain Teasers and Mysteries, and Name That Noise
November 19th: Find the Mistake and Mystery Bag
November 26th: Number Strings and What Changed?
December 3rd: Memory Draw and Spot the Difference

With sufficient learners, this section will cycle back with our games and continue into the fall, winter and beyond.
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THURSDAY  3:10 EST and 6:00 p.m. Classes

September 5th: What’s That Sound and Zoom Out
September 12th: Number Strings and What Changed?
September 19th: Name That Object and Story Building
September 26th: What Can You Find and Going on a Picnic
October 3rd: It's all in the Details and Sound Matching 
October 10th: Memory Draw and Spot the Difference
October 17th: Riddles, Brain Teasers and Mysteries, and Name That Noise
October 24th: Find the Mistake and Mystery Bag
October 31st: Dual Tasks and Memory Mad Libs (no 6 p.m. class)
November 7th: Same...Not The Same (and Distracted!) Fairy Tale
November 14th: Memory Missions and Color Capture
November 21st: No Go Game and Do You Recognize Me? 
November 28th: No class
December 5th: What’s Missing and Name Game
December 12th: Photographic Memory and Total Recall 

With sufficient learners, this section will cycle back with our games and continue into the fall, winter and beyond.
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FRIDAY 4 p.m. EST

September 6th: No Go Game and Do You Recognize Me? 
September 13th: What’s Missing and Name Game
September 20th: Photographic Memory and Total Recall 
September 27th: Same...Not The Same and Twisted (and Distracted!) Fairy Tale
October 4th: Memory Draw and Spot the Difference
October 11th: Riddles, Brain Teasers and Mysteries, and Name That Noise
October 18th: Find the Mistake and Mystery Bag
October 25th: What’s That Sound and Zoom Out
November 1st: Number Strings and What Changed?
November 8th: Dual Tasks and Memory Mad Libs
November 15th: What Can You Find and Going on a Picnic
November 21st: It's all in the Details and Sound Matching
November 29th: Memory Missions and Color Capture
December 6th: Name That Object and Story Building

With sufficient learners, this section will cycle back with our games and continue into the fall, winter and beyond.
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FRIDAY 8 pm EST Class 

September 6th: Memory Missions and Color Capture
September 13th: Same...Not The Same and Twisted (and Distracted!) Fairy Tale
September 20th: No Go Game and Do You Recognize Me? 
September 27th: Photographic Memory and Total Recall 
October 4th: Number Strings and What Changed?
October 11th: What’s That Sound and Zoom Out
October 18th: Riddles, Brain Teasers and Mysteries, and Name That Noise
October 25th: Find the Mistake and Mystery Bag
November 1st: Memory Draw and Spot the Difference
November 8th: Name That Object and Story Building
November 15th: What Can You Find and Going on a Picnic
November 21st: It's all in the Details and Sound Matching
November 29th: Dual Tasks and Memory Mad Libs
December 6th: What’s Missing and Name Game 

With sufficient learners, this section will cycle back with our games and continue into the fall, winter and beyond.
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SATURDAY 12 pm and 7 pm EST 

September 7th: It's all in the Details and Sound Matching
September 14th: Dual Tasks and Memory Mad Lib
September 21st: Memory Missions and Color Capture
September 28th: Name That Object and What Changed
October 5th: Memory Draw and Spot the Difference
October 12th: Riddles, Brain Teasers and Mysteries, and Name That Noise
October 19th: Find the Mistake and Mystery Bag
October 26th: Number Strings and Story Building
November 2nd: What Can You Find and Going on a Picnic
November 9th: Same...Not The Same and Twisted (and Distracted!) Fairy Tale
November 16th: No Go Game and Do You Recognize Me?
November 22nd: What’s Missing and Name Game
November 30th: Photographic Memory and Total Recall 
December 7th: What’s That Sound and Zoom Out!

With sufficient learners, this section will cycle back with our games and continue into the fall, winter and beyond.