INP Activity - Auditory Digit Span

Auditory Digit Span is one of the "games" we play throughout the day. I have a stack of about 100 cards that have 5 numbers on them in a random pattern. Each time we play the game I pick a new card to keep from repeating patterns. Kids are VERY good at memorizing and learning quickly and it defeats the purpose of the game if they begin to memorize patterns.

This game improves short term memory, attention span, his ability to follow directions, phonics, and maturity. This is really a good game for anyone to play. When you say the pattern, you leave one second inbetween each number. A child SHOULD be able to repeat back to you (without seeing the card) the number of digits per their age up to 7 digits. I believe they stop after 7 digits for this activity even for adults. Yes, someone can MEMORIZE more than 7 digits, but this is NOT about memorization. It is about regurgitating what you have stored in your short term memory.

We only play this game for 1 minute and he gets 3 tries to repeat it correctly. Then we move on to another sequence until the minute is up. We typically get through 3 sets before the timer beeps. At Rookie's age, he SHOULD be able to do 4-5 numbers, BUT that is a HUGE challenge for him. So, we are to do 3 digits. He can easily do 2, but three digits take some concentration. The goal is to do this game 3-4 times a day, but they can not be done closer than 10 minutes from each other. That takes a bit of scheduling and a handy watch on my part. Typically you would use cards that had the number of digits on the card that you needed to say and you would change the card for each new sequence. BUT, I am all about saving money. So, i figured I could buy the cards with 5 numbers on them and make my own patterns using the first three digits, the last three digits, the digits in the middle, and so forth. That gave me a lot more than 100 patterns to work from and we can keep the cards longer. Interestingly, they suggest you change the cards after a year because you CAN start to memorize them! Wow, our brains are so cool!

We are hoping that in these next four month, Rookie will be able to easily remember the 3 digits and get it right majority of the time on the FIRST try. Accomplishing this feat from 2 digits to 3 is HUGE. That is considered 1-year of behavioral development.