What this thinking game trains
I Spy: Space is a attention game from the Think & Remember track for children age 5-6. Find every picture that belongs to the group. The game is slow on purpose: research on preschoolers finds that strategy and memory games grow executive function, while quick-reaction games do not. There is no timer and no wrong buzzer; a wrong tap gets the name of what was tapped, then a glow on the right answer, then Golu points.
Why it fits age 5-6
By five or six a child can plan two steps ahead and check their own answer, so this is the longest version of the game.
How to play
Golu speaks every instruction in your child's first language, with the picture names in both languages. Five rounds make a marble. If it feels too easy or too hard, the same game exists for other ages on the brain games page.
If it feels too hard or too easy
Change the age under the ⚙ grown-ups button and the same game gets easier or harder. Nothing is ever marked wrong: a wrong tap names what was tapped, then the right answer glows, then Golu points at it.
The same game without a screen
The Harvard Center on the Developing Child recommends exactly these games as everyday play. Try it with real things: play I spy with colours in the kitchen.
Now do it for real
When the screen goes off, do something with your hands. Try 🌱 Grow a bean in a glass — an easy science experiment for ages 2-6, with every step read aloud in your language. You will need two or three chana or rajma seeds, a glass and a piece of cotton or tissue, water; nothing that needs a trip to a shop.
There are 56 more on the things to do at home page, and free printable worksheets if you would rather have something on paper. Ten minutes on a screen and twenty minutes off it is a good shape for a day at this age.