Tailor-Made Flash Cards for Your Child
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After hearing about the series “Your Baby Can Read“, I was really eager to buy the set -- the DVDs, the flashcards and the books. Unfortunately, none of the locations that sell them in Malaysia have any stock. The few locations of Metrojaya that I went to only had the Your Baby Can Learn books (which I already bought and unfortunately, Gavin is not that keen on because it’s not about trains or Thomas). Bebehaus is still waiting for stock to come in. I’m reluctant to buy online after my last experience of buying DVDs online.
I had tried the computer program by BrillKids which Gavin didn’t find too interesting. I thought of incorporating a Thomas theme to it or some trains, but unless I just don’t know how to use it properly, I don’t seem to be able to do that.
That was when a little brain wave hit me and I decided to use Microsoft Powerpoint to make my own flashcards. It works out pretty well because Gavin loves using the computer. Unlike the educational posters I made, I don’t have to rely on my mediocre drawing skills since I can source for just about any Thomas picture online. At any rate, the powerpoint slides and the educational posters can supplement each other and make the whole learning process more fun. I’ve even started a little book for Gavin which I’ll write more about in a later post.
As always, the most important critic is the person for whom all this is made for. If you want to know what he thought of it, you can check out the video below:
Needless to say, he really liked the slides and kept asking me to repeat them over and over. He’s only gone through it about three or four times but after that he could say the words without my prompting. The next step would be to remove the pictures and see if he can remember the letters and words without the pictures…
Below is a slideshow of all the slides I created on Microsoft Powerpoint (although I have since made some modifications as new ideas come to mind):
Honestly, I think this is probably the cheapest and easiest way to get your child interested in learning. Although I would like to see the format of the lessons on the “Your Baby Can Read” DVD, I think the gist of teaching your child to read works something like this.
The best thing about making your own flash cards is that you can tailor it to your own child’s personal preferences. For Gavin, it’s Thomas the Tank Engine. If your child likes Mickey Mouse or Winnie the Pooh, all you need to do is look for pictures related to those characters. With the letters that don’t have a corresponding picture in your theme, you can always choose an object you know your child will be interested in. For example, I couldn’t think of an “i” word from Thomas and Friends so I used the word “ice cream”, which works just as well for Gavin who loves ice cream.
The real key to early childhood education is to make the process fun. So even though most of the words Gavin is learning now are simply names of train characters from Thomas and Friends, I don’t really mind as long as they can help him learn colours, numbers and the letters of the alphabet.
Not only that, but these flash cards have the added benefit of being a reward to encourage Gavin to behave, since he considers these flash cards as something desirable and fun to have. Sometimes when I promise to make him more or to let him read through them again, he’s willing to to cooperate with me. And when we read through it together, he keeps asking for “more, more, more!”
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13 Comments on this post
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Michelle said:
You are so excited to see your child learn and that’s great! It’s wonderful to hear about a mom willing to take the time to help her child learn–But, please understand that while you are “trying to get your child ready to learn”–he already IS ready to learn! He’s “learning” everyday from the experiences you provide him. And also, I’m so glad you didn’t purchase the video series because I’ll tell you the secret that they won’t tell you—you can do the same thing (nurture your child’s early literacy) more effectively by just reading with your child and creating a rich print environment (label toy bins, shelves, etc.).
Your idea to create a book for your child is EXCELLENT because it creates an experience for you both (reading the pictures and talking about them together). Videos will not help your child really read anyway. While it will help them memorize words, they won’t really comprehend them or learn the letter sounds–all of which are foundational skills necessary for school. So, while some parents may choose to use expensive videos and flash cards to help their child “read,” they’ll be wondering later in school why they can’t spell out new words using just letter sounds.
Create books together–these will be not only more useful, but also wonderful keepsakes for you and your child!
December 17th, 2008 at 6:29 pm -
figur8 said:
Hi Michelle! Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. Having seen Gavin developing over the past couple of months since writing this post, I couldn’t agree more. I find it so amazing to see how children learn and develop that I think I’m sometimes a little guilty of turning my son into my little pet experiment – not that I think helping to facilitate his learning process is a bad thing. Plus, it’s a great chance for us to bond in a meaningful way.
Gavin loves to listen to me read and will “behave” if I promise to read to him or tell him a story I’ve made up about the Thomas trains. I’ve noticed that he now makes up his own stories as he plays and “reads” books to himself. It’s really delightful to watch.
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:56 pm
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