Sound memory, to make

There is a french version of this page.

The Sound Memory is a fun and educational game to make yourself with simple and inexpensive materials. It helps to stimulate the hearing and memory of children (and adults!) in a playful way. Here’s how to make and play it.

Making the Sound Memory

1 - Gather the containers: Find an even number of small opaque and resealable containers such as Kinder Surprise boxes, matchboxes, glue tubes, or plastic yogurt pots.

2 - Fill the containers: Fill the first two with a bit of semolina, the next two with nails, and so on. You can put anything that makes noise: staples, marbles, bells, rice, sugar, lentils, sand, etc.

Game Rules

1 - Preparation: Place all the mixed boxes on the table.

2 - Player’s Turn: A player points to a box of their choice. The game master (or another player, but this can be less fun, I’ll explain later) shakes the box for them.

3 - Pair Search: The player points to a second box, which is also shaken by the game master.

4 - Pair Confirmation: If the sounds of the two boxes match, the player wins the two boxes, thus gaining two points.

5 - Next Player: It is the next player’s turn to try to find a pair.

6 - End of the Game: The winner is the one who has collected the most pairs when all the boxes have been matched.

Practical Tips

- Game Master: It is preferable that a game master shakes the boxes to prevent players from recognizing the sounds by the movement of the objects (which would make it a "touch memory").

- For Young Children: Use easily distinguishable sounds: rice, nails, bells, marbles, etc. You can even let the children shake the boxes themselves, although this makes the game less about sound.

- For Older Children and Adults: Make the game more difficult by increasing the total number of boxes to match, making the game longer and more challenging for auditory memory, or with almost similar sounds: semolina, sugar, rice, lentils, sand, etc.

- Egg Box: If you use small boxes, like Kinder, store your game in an egg box.

- Openable Containers: Kinder or matchboxes are ideal because they allow the game master to easily check the pairs.

- Non-Openable Containers: If you use non-openable containers, you can put notations on them to confirm the pairs. For example, numbers recorded on a sheet (e.g., 3 and 11 form a pair).

Conclusion

Have fun with this homemade Sound Memory! It’s a great way to develop listening and memory skills while having a good time with family or friends. So, grab your boxes and have fun!

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31/05/2024