First player says 'I went to the shop and I bought [item].' Each player repeats the whole list in order and adds one item. The list grows until someone forgets an item or the order. The sillier the items chosen, the easier they are to remember.

How to do it

1Start: I went to the shop and I bought a banana. Each player repeats the full list and adds one item.
2The sillier your addition, the easier the whole list becomes to remember.
3Miss an item or get the order wrong: a point against you. Play continues.
4Count how many items the winner held. Try to beat it next time.

Variations

If they won't join, you start alone — 'I went to the shop and I bought a banana' and keep adding items yourself — most kids jump in once they hear the silliness.
How it ends: at the final item, announce the total count and start a fresh list immediately — don't dwell on who lost, move forward.

💡 Parent tip

Let children add absurd items. A live elephant, a volcano. The sillier the item, the easier it is to remember. This is not chaos; it's how memory actually works.

What your child develops

Working memory — holding and manipulating an ordered list in mind
Sequence recall — the list must be in exact order
Word association — absurd items are easier to remember, which is a genuine memory technique