Concentration exercises for children

Especially at the beginning of school, children often find it difficult to concentrate because they still have to learn how to do it. There are many things that can help your child concentrate. If you observe the following basic things, you can offer your child a good working atmosphere:

• A quiet workplace in a pleasant environment
• Avoid disruptive siblings, ringing phones, or other distractions
• order on the desk
• Rituals: fixed workplace, fixed time, fixed order of tasks
• air the room
• Drink right
• Read to the child regularly

With small concentration exercises you can also playfully train your child’s ability to concentrate. We have put together a few exercises for you that your child can do before they start their homework.

Concentration exercises in the fresh air

Send your child outside; there it can run around the house or through the garden. Any kind of physical activity in the fresh air promotes concentration and thinking. Movement helps in the renewal and networking of nerve cells. This concentration exercise also increases blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain.

Mental concentration exercises

Your child closes their eyes for a minute and imagines that they have an apple on their head that must not fall. Or he tries to imagine that he is holding a huge ball, which he throws up and catches again. These concentration exercises also encourage imagination and help to train body awareness.

Concentration exercises for blood circulation

With the window open, let your child rotate their arms or jump up and down for a minute. These concentration exercises promote the blood supply and the oxygen supply to the brain, which means that your child can concentrate better. Your child can also hang upside down from the bed or do a headstand, as this also increases blood flow to the brain.

Unusual movements

Your child takes one hand and rubs his stomach with it in a circular motion; with the other hand he pats himself on the head. You can also have your child write their name first with their usual hand, then with the other hand or with their foot. Unfamiliar movement sequences irritate the brain, which means that these concentration exercises increase attention and receptivity.

Meditative concentration exercises

For example, let your child draw lying figure eights on a piece of paper for one minute or color in mandalas for meditation. This will help your child relax and focus on new tasks. Special yoga exercises for children have also been shown to increase their ability to concentrate.

Balancing concentration exercise

Balancing, for example on a thin line, a small wall or on a balancing beam on the playground, also promotes your child’s attention. Other concentration exercises are: keeping your balance on one leg or balancing with your eyes closed.

Skill games are concentration exercises

Games of skill like pick-up jacks or building a house of cards train your child’s brain, sense of touch and patience. This also allows it to concentrate better. Jumping rope or throwing up a ball with each hand and catching it again are suitable concentration exercises that also promote dexterity.

Memory games and puzzles as concentration exercises

You can also try out memory games like “ I’m packing my suitcase ”, memorizing a poem or saying the alphabet backwards with your child as concentration exercises. Riddle games, such as number puzzles, jigsaw puzzles or search images, also make your child fit for future tasks.