How to Make a Sequence Game

Determine with your child what the sequence game's theme will be. Discuss if he wants shapes, animals, dinosaurs, the alphabet, colors or some other theme.

Create 10 pieces, approximately 3 inches by 3 inches in size. If the chosen theme is animals, each piece should have a different animal. Either draw pictures and color them in, use stickers or use color cutouts. Images should be on white paper and glued to cardboard backings.

Make playing cards in the same way you made the playing pieces, using white paper and cardboard--except that each individual picture should be smaller. If you decide to make 40 cards, create 10 cards for each of four levels. For level one, create 10 cards, each with a different sequence, using only three or four different animals. For example, a bear, raccoon and rabbit sequence or a rabbit, bear, raccoon and deer sequence could be a Level 1 card. For Level 2, incorporate five or six different animals; for Level 3, include sequences of seven or eight animals; and for Level 4 incorporate all 10 animals.

Teach your child how to play the game. Show him a Level 1 card for five seconds and then take it away. Prompt him to arrange the playing pieces in the same order as the images on the card. As he is learning how to play the game, provide him with only the three or four playing pieces that appear on Level 1 cards. Teach him some memory techniques, like saying the names of items out loud, to help him remember sequences.

Advance to Levels 2, 3, and 4 when your child has mastered the previous level.