At Joy Town Development Foundation, a simple game is making a big difference in the classroom.

The National Association of Domino Bodies (NABD) has introduced a programme is not only capturing students’ attention but also nurturing essential skills like problem-solving and critical thinking.

Pauline Powell, a dedicated teacher at the school, shared her enthusiasm for the domino programme, highlighting its impact on student engagement and cognitive development.

“This domino initiative is a very good idea. I mean, it helps the children to focus more plus they were very interested in what they were doing,” Powell said.

“The most important thing was that the interest was there and I think if it continues, the children will learn. For the students who might have a difficult in learning, this domino programme is more of a visual thing and it will certainly help them. It will help them to think,” she further stated.

Powell also stated: “What I knew that was coming out of it was the thinking process. If this continues, it will help them to focus because I think what it entails them to do less talking and focus on what they are doing. That is one of the things that one wants to build is their attention span.”

Humbert Davis, president of the NADB, also shared some inspiring words about the impact of dominoes on individuals and communities.

“To invest in our human infrastructure, we must start in childhood and continue through life, and these exercises are also expected to build confidence and self-esteem in the young ones,” Davis told the Jamaica Observer.

Davis also highlighted the multifactorial benefits of playing dominoes.

“It improves cognitive intelligence because it involves planning effective strategies to cope with new situations and being able to overcome difficulties. Dominoes also boosts memory and engages the brain and mind, facilitating information encoding, storage, and retrieval,” he said.