6 Simple and fun memory games with LEGO DUPLO bricks
Learning Through Play
And the best part of little activities like these? While your child thinks they’re just playing a game, they’re really expanding their mind and learning at a rate you’d never believe!
1. Color matching
We loved this idea from The Imagination Tree! All you need for this super simple game is an egg box, some LEGO DUPLO bricks, colored pens or crayons, and some scrap paper. Draw a grid on scrap paper and ask your child to color each box in (different colors), put it in the egg box lid, then ask them to try and match the LEGO DUPLO bricks to the right color.
Want to make it a bit more challenging? Color a few boxes, show the card to your little one, then hide the card and let them try and recreate the sequence.
2. Build a tower, remember the sequence
We love this idea from LEGO® Foundation Six Bricks. First, make a little tower out of three different colored LEGO DUPLO bricks. Ask your child to memorize the order of the color sequence, and let them rebuild the tower. Then, try a longer sequence, and keep going until you run out of bricks! You can also add a competitive element if you’re playing with more than one child - choose a sequence of colors and race to be the first to rebuild it in the right order.
3. Tell me a story
Tell your child a story for example, start with “The children finished school and went to the park with their parents”. Ask your child to tell the same story back to you, using LEGO DUPLO people or animals - use whatever you have. This game helps your child understand sequences of actions in a story, but also in a day.
They’re working on their short-term memory and as a bonus, learning about time too!
4. Spot the difference
Make two similar LEGO DUPLO builds but change one or two things on the second one. Take the first one away and see if your little one can remember all the differences. Once your toddler is at ease with this game, change more things and use a larger number of bricks.
5. Where is the LEGO DUPLO brick?
We loved this suggestion from The Educator's Spin On It. Play this classic carnival game with three plastic cups and a LEGO DUPLO brick. This fun challenge will train your child’s visual memory and fine motor skills. You can make this more difficult for older children using more cups and even a few different colored bricks.
6. Find the missing item
This is a really simple game you can play anywhere with your child, as long as you have a couple of LEGO DUPLO pieces with you. Put four items in front of your child and tell them to memorize what they see. Ask them to close their eyes while you take an item away, and see if they can guess which one is missing once they open their eyes. To make it more challenging you can add more items, or re-order the pieces and guess where they were before.
You can even take it in turns and try this yourself… Ready to exercise YOUR memory too?
