Manipulatives, in the education world, refer to any number of small objects that children can use to play, count or build, basically things they can manipulate with their hands. Manipulatives are essential in teaching basic math skills. Children can count at an early age much higher than the quantities they can understand. A kindergartener may count to 20, but not understand how much 20 really is. Manuipulatives then can be used when counting, so the child can physically see and feel how many items correspond to each number instead of rote counting or guessing. You can use flash cards or just your voice to call different numbers and have the children show you how many manipulatives make that number. Kids who have mastered this can begin to use the manipulatives for basic adding and subtracting.
Music can make learning anything fun. Pick a fun song or CD to dance to. Explain to the children what you are looking for: a certain number or letter, living or non-living things or identifying members of a certain group. For example, you would tell the children in advance that you are looking for vowels. If the card you flash is a vowel, they begin to dance. If not, they must freeze. You can do the same with pictures of objects for them to identify living things or by showing foods to identify certain food groups like fruit. Or you could have the children say a food, and if it fits the category, to dance. You can vary this and conduct it like the "hot potato" game as well. The child who has the potato when you stop the music will have to tell you the name of a fruit or something beginning with the letter you are looking for.
The easiest way to encourage better memory in kids is by making them an active part of a story or activity. Anytime you read a book, give them a chance to act it out when you read it the second time. If the kids can do it on their own, you follow along the pages of the book. Or you can read it, and they can act the story out alongside you. Children can participate and build their fine motor skills by creating props and costumes for the dramatization as well. They will ask you to do it over and over again.