Concentration is a very important skill for a child, because it provides an ability to focus, drive away distractions and help control momentary impulses that act as obstacles for normal attention and focusing. A child’s ability to concentrate depends on several issues like his or her commitment, enthusiasm for the task, skill at doing the task, his or her emotional and physical state and surrounding environment. However, it is also heartening to note that children do concentrate. Nevertheless, it is always short lived.

Low concentration levels are a common problem amongst school going children these days. More and more children are suffering attention disorder, where they find it difficult to focus on a single thing, for too long a time. This creates a problem, especially when a child is expected to focus and further to reflect on their learning. Poor concentration skills make them loose their interest in reflecting on a particular thing. If the children will suffer from poor concentration problem, they would find it very difficult to critically analyze the things and thus, it will hamper their creativity.

Children are not born with a high degree of concentration skill. In fact, it is the duty of an effective teacher to teach his or her student the invaluable benefits of developing concentration. In fact, this could be a very tricky and difficult task for any teacher. However, developing and improving the concentration of a child is not an impossible task. With the right type of skills and knowledge, a teacher can help children develop the ability to concentrate on important things in life. Just remember that, your student needs immense help and assistance to manage his or her interests and hobbies, all the while striking a balance in between a number of other traits and characters. Also, remember that the main actor in motivating your student to develop the art of concentration and focus is a teacher.

The more time a teacher spends with his or her students and the more deeply they understand their students, the more ability they develop in concentrating on important things of life. When you show an interest in what your student is doing and when you appreciate them for their efforts, he or she will start showing an active interest in a number of things and tasks. However, patience is the main keyword here. Because, teaching the qualities of concentration and focus is a life-long act.

There are numerous activities that appeal to children and improve their concentration as well, thereby enhancing their memory and mental sharpness. Good concentration skill can be developed in the children by means of various  games and puzzles that are fun and that can increase the attentiveness of a child to a greater extent. Here are some games that can help in developing good concentration skill among school kids.

Improve Concentration Activities for Children 

• Board games improve concentration and are fun to play with. Children love to play them too. Therefore, the best way to make them learn something is to teach them through games. Card games also help in increasing concentration levels.
• Story recalling also helps improve concentration. You can read a story to your students. Just before reading it, ask them a few questions. This would enhance their attention towards the story, thereby increasing the concentration levels. Once you read something that is also the answer for the question you asked, they will immediately recognize it. What you are doing is helping your students become an active listeners and thereby, improving their concentration.
• Missing Numbers is a great concentration game for any child who knows how to count. You count from one to ten, leaving out numbers every so often. When you leave out a number, the child should call out the number you left out. For example, you might go “One, two, three, five,” and by the time you are saying “six”, your child should have called out “four”. This would enhance learning as well attentiveness.
• A tricky variation of missing numbers particular game, for older children, involves counting by multiples for example, three, six, nine, twelve, etc and occasionally leaving out one of the multiples. This is also beneficial in improving the attention of the child.
• A game of opposites is great for preschool kids. You call out a word and let your student give you the opposite. With young children especially, be sure to pick words they know. It would not only improve their word power, but would also increase their concentration.
• Nothing can improve concentration better than a round of tongue twisters. They have a dual purpose. While they enhance the clarity of your voice, with each word spoken clearly, they also improve your concentration. This is because it requires a lot of attention to speak them out clearly.  
• Other activities that build concentration include: doing puzzles, drawing pictures, making models, learning karate, and helping with family chores.