Using Flashcards has, in the past, been viewed as a monotonous activity that does not yield as great results as it could. While, it has since been shown that there still is a place for flashcards in early childhood learning, there are ways in which you can enhance the activity to incorporate more aspects of learning.
Here are 3 engaging ways that you can use flashcards with your toddler:
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Clothespin Cards
For this, you will need some clothespins (pegs) and a little preparation.
To practice colours or shapes, use a marking pen or coloured clothespins.
For letter practice, write the uppercase or lowercase letter on individual clothespins.
Show your child how to match the relevant clothespin to the flashcard and pin it to the bottom. This becomes an excellent activity for quiet, individual learning practice. Load the entire kit into a small container or bag for an instant on-the-go activity.
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Flashcard Scavenger Hunt
This is an excellent way to use flashcards that involves matching and calls on the child to get creative.
Simply shuffle a deck of flashcards. Choose the top card and ask your child to find an item with the same colour, starts with the same letter or same number of items on the flashcard. For younger toddlers, you can use small pom-poms to match the colours of match animal figurines to the relevant flashcard. This can even be a way to make clean-up time both fun and educational.
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Flashcard Relay
This can be a fun activity if you are working with a group of children.
For this, you will need two of the same set of flashcards.
To set up: Designate a starting line, then put the matching cards on different sides across the room. Separate the children into teams.
To play: Call out the card that they need to get.
You can mix up the way they move such as hopping, crawling or even rolling. When they get back to the starting line, the ‘winner’ adds their piece to their team’s pile to keep score. The other team must put their piece back. You can make this activity even better by making use of animal flashcards and having the children act out the type of animal as they retrieve the cards.
A little creativity goes a long way to enhancing your use of the flashcards with your child. If you are looking to get started, check out our flashcards now!