Flashcards for little 'uns.

[staceym11]

Now my dd is very little still (only 17 month) but she is quite bright when it comes to words.

she has a lot of first word books but she knows all the words in those, even if she cant say it she will do a sign instead (toothbrush is a finger in the mouth doing a brushing action).

i was just wondering if anyone thought introducing picture flashcards to her would be too early? she loves being able to name things and i think it might bring her speech on even further.

shes just started saying words like tractor and butterfly (which is still in a bu-bu-by stage atm but shes getting closer!)

any thoughts??

TBH she might find flashcards a little boring compared to picture books and seeing and identifying real life objects. Best way to help encourage her language and vocab is to talk and read all the time, and to keep pointing things out in books and when out and about. More of what you are doing I think.

Only if she enjoys it.

wouldn't bother - you can point things out all around you in everyday life. no need for flash cards imo

On the other hand Usborne do a nice range in these! which my dd has had since about age 1, she happily enjoys strewing these around the room, whilst occasionly reading them, hours of fun for all

Have to admit that we also have some Usboune ones too. had them since DD was about 16 months. Bpught them to make stories up on the flight when we went on holiday.

I don't think they are any better than books and real life for encouraging vocab though.

The best thing is just to chat to her. I used to be talking constantly to them when they were little - in fact, I haven't ever stopped tbh. I hate these pseudo-educational things they are unnecessary - but that is just my point of view. You used to be able to buy ladybird books that had pictures in them and I used to read them and ask her to point at the bird or the tree. You can do it in the park too and it is free!

we do do a lot of this but sometimes she gets a bit confused, all birds are ducks atm as they look similar and i thought showing her the difference might be useful, but i suppose i dont need flashcards for that!

i have always talked to her constantly which is why she chats liek a mad woman! and im amazed by what she comes out with sometimes.

i have recently found out im pg, she told me i was having a baby by pointing at my belly and saying baby even b4 my period was late and she named the baby twinkle by doing her star symbol, now when i call her a baby she says, not baby big girl then points at my belly and says baby.

i suppose from stuff like that i should guess i dont need to have special aids to teach her things!

I also think the Usborne ones are lovely

(I sell them though so slightly biased!!!)

i made a few for her yest and she seems to like them, she was laying on the floor and i asked where the baby/bottle/highchair/mummy/daddy were and she would find them and put them in a row, think il get her some, thanks for all the advice!!

DS2 had flash cards when he was 1 and loved them, just to play with really, he did learn to read his numbers early. He also loved his alphabet vtech fridge magnets that my cousin gave him - they sell them in argos, that (along with countdown) has helped him learn to recognise almost all of his letters. DS also likes playing cards and clocks. I'd get her the flashcards to play with and if she learns something it's a bonus

Stacey - all children do that duck thing... It's something to do with the way language develops. A basic concept is formed of an object (ducks / birds are a good example of this) i.e. it has a beack, wings, feathers = duck (usually the first bird children come into contact with regularly IRL and pic books). The separation of different types of the same object comes a bit later, and the best way I have found is simply looking for other birds and saying yes - bird... This one is called a robin (or whatever) and they pick it up quite quickly when they reach the appropriate stage. The same applies to things like 'all wheeled objects are "cars"'

Oh - and my opinion is just to keep chattering away to her pointing things out in shops, parks, from the car window etc. If her vocab is good now, it will grow exponetially, whatever you do. My girls were the same.

second/third/whatever Usborne ones. They do them in several languages too ! We had some great first word books by Brimax too (got ours in newsagents ) - simple clear pictures with smaller ones around the edge so you can spot the same animal in the centre one. Clear text too .

Hi, I think that anything you do with your child will benefit her. They are never to young to learn as long as you don't force her. If she can do it I don't see what the problem is. Good on you for making the effort!

I was taught to read through flash cards – by the time I was 19 months I could ‘read’ 15 words. By the time I was two I could ‘read’ books my mother made for me (I still have them – the pictures are on the next page so you can’t cheat)….and there is no way I would have done the same to my dd. I always struggled with spelling because I learnt to read by shape alone and, although I was a good reader at school, I don’t think I was any better for the early start. With my own dd I surrounded her with books, read to her a lot – and now at 6 she is a better reader than I was at 6, and an excellent speller for her age.

My mother did a lot with me when I was tiny – the flash cards are the only thing I think that failed. We fed ducks, played with real musical instruments, saw lambs being born and cows being milked, went for long nature walks, went to masses of children’s activities, sowed seeds, hunted for easter eggs, did art and craft, got messy, played with bricks and lego, and built imaginary towns, drew letters in the snow. The rest was far more valuable in the long run.

Catbert you beat me to it re the duck thing, but you missed out the "Daddy" overgeneralisation where they think "Daddy" is the word for man so shout "Daddy" at every unfortunate passing gentlemen when out and about

Stacey, my dd (20 months) has flash cards but we don't use them in the "traditional" way. She likes to scatter them all over the floor and then I'll say "where's the car/duck/whatever" and she'll find it. She looks so pleased with herself when she gets it right too!

Just carry on with the picture books. Is there a benefit really to reading so young? My dd is the same age very bright and likes practicing sounds when she watches her brother doing sounds but she will do all this when she goes to school anyway and early reading is not necessarily linked to academic performance later on unless someone can show me evidence that proves otherwise. I agree with others really that there are lots of things that you can do.