SofiaWee:SarChar:There are really many fun ways to teach our little ones and Flashcard is just 1 way.
I am very pro on flashcards. I do know some parents are not but I AM.
DD2 is 6 now. DD2 was 16 months when we started flashcards. Over the years, I made more than 2000 flashcards. I spent 4-5 hrs every Fri day for years to make those cards.
I didnt do the flashcards to impact knowledge and I flash the A5 size cards really FAST so that she can remember the images and to focus (on what I was showing her). I flashed 2X 200-300 cards each day. Each topic set 8-10 cards.
I did topics like Things in Pink, Let's go for Holidays (so I had pictures of luggage, Airport, Aeroplane, Australia Map, Koala, etc), DD2's Family (we have pictures of Grandparents, Uncles and cousins...finally a baby picture of her). Many topics but nothing too difficult.
It came 1 point that she would remember the next card because I only flash the cards in 1 order.
Today....she is very focused on whatever she is doing and has mega memory. Because it was easy for her to remember what her teachers had taught her, she learns Hanyu Pinyin and can read around 5yrs old. She also enjoys school very much and teachers have commented on her progress positively.
We were not as experienced with DD1 pri4/10 yrs old. It takes a lot of my energy to coach DD1 now on her schoolwork.
So you are not Kiasu to start early. You are only making her life easier later in her early school life.
Have fun !
SarChar:
You are simply amazing! 2x200-300 flash cards per day??!! I could hardly get my daughter to sit through a set of 5 cards. Like you, I'm pro flash cards, but like what autumnbronze mentioned above, my baby may not be quite as pro flash cards like me. I've a few questions:
(1)May I ask if you only flashed pictures? Or do you include written words as well?
(2) How long does a set of 200-300 cards take you? Did you have to train your daughter gradually to sit through so many cards? How many cards did you start with for your initial sessions?
(3) How did you get your daughter to focus on the cards? That means not looking anywhere else, not going anywhere else.
I think that the training (fast flashing of flash cards) you gave your younger daughter since young has made a big impact on her brain development --- and accounts for her ease of learning in school now. I'm definitely heartened to know that I'm not starting too early with my baby.
@autumnbronze thanks
@SofiaWeeHeehee Amazing you said! I am amazed myself too. All my Friday nights for years after my girls went to bed were spent doing the cards! This was my passion!
(1)
I used only picture cards. No words at all unless it is a word set. I google to find the pictures or cut them out from books/posters/magazine.
I will paste photos of animals we took on zoo trip, for shapes, I cut shapes from different color papers and stick on the cards. I also pasted pictures on the card to tell stories etc.
Topics I have done before includes:
a)\tDifferent types of shapes
b)\tAnimals in the zoo
c)\tA-Z, a-z
d)\tTypes of Vegetables
e)\tMummy’s favorite dresses
f)\tGuess Who…..I cut pictures of her favorite characters like Barney, the 1st picture maybe the purple tail, 2nd picture, the word “Guess Who”, the 3rd picture, with a barney picture, we screamed “Barney” together….for this, I did a few common characters likely Micky, Minnie, Hello Kitty etc
g)\tEarly Morning…I pasted pictures of sun, waking up from bed, brushing teeth, breakfast, school bus, school, study etc
h)\tThings you can find in a mall…
i)\tThings you can find in kitchen…
j)\tEverything RED, Everything BLUE
k)\tCountries in Asia/Europe – for this you can do the flags/map (shape of country). Or just the flags or just the countries.
l)\tOpposite – long/short, far (a small Tree pic)/near (a big Tree pic) etc
(2) How long does a set of 200-300 cards take you? Did you have to train your daughter gradually to sit through so many cards? How many cards did you start with for your initial sessions?
Remember we flash the cards to the kids for them to to capture the images, NOT to impact knowledge. You have to do very fast, so you must knows your cards well. Always flash in 1 order only. We usually do each session in 20-30min. I just did it all at 1 time regardless whether if she was attentive or not. Sometimes we would have a lousy night when she did not want to listen, its ok.
For the day, I trained my helper to do it. For the night, usually around 8pm…I would do it. Try to do the flashcards at the same timings every day. You need to have many cards in order to be effective. Otherwise it will be very boring for them. A5 size is the best size to use. Don’t get too thin cards because it will difficult to flash/hold.
(3) How did you get your daughter to focus on the cards? That means not looking anywhere else, not going anywhere else.
Haha I was lucky. She was very focused after a few months. We did it every night from 16 months till 4 yrs 7 months. I told my hubby 1 night “I quit” …I was truly tired! By then she can read already so we move on to books and other activities.
Please dont do difficult cards. Pls use proper cards in the same size and a good crafty glue to stick the pictures. I had seen cards of flowers done by another mother but I cant even pronounce the words of these flowers! How to make it interesting for our kids!
Enjoy your friday nights! :rahrah: