Flash Card Fun

"We have really enjoyed the "See abc's" program in our family. My 4-year old and 2-year old like to play the flashcards together. We set out half ot the lower case alphabet at a time and then my 4-year old plays teacher as he asks his little sister to find the 'e' elephant. She looks and finds it and then puts in in her pile. Then together, they get out their choppers and say "Elephant says /e/," three times. It's a great way for my 4-year old to review as he is getting ready to read. He feels so big and important as he helps his little sister! And it's a great way for the 2-year old to learn. The best part is, to them it is just a fun card game!" - Chris Nethercott

I have also found this to be the case with my grandchildren as the older one teaches the younger two. The 2-year old especially loves playing card games with the "See abc's Alphabet Flash Cards." He feels like he is such a big kid now that he knows how to play cards!

Too many people who get the program ignore the flash cards and just focus on the books. So, get out your cards and use them. It is a great way to learn, review, and remember the letters. Some of you are asking, "How do you get a 2-year old to play cards?" Well, as Chris said above, put out half of the lower case letter cards (after taking out the long vowel cards, and the copycat cards which are cent, gerbil and 's' with a zipper tab on it). The whole alphabet is way too much to do at a time. Put them with the picture clue side facing up. Then I will say to my grandson, "Can you find the 'h' hat?" (Say the letter name before saying the picture clue so they can start making some connections.) He will look around until he finds the hat. Then I say, "Good job, put it in your pile." He then proudly puts it in his pile. Then we get out our "choppers" and "chop" the sound for hat three times in a row, "Hat says /h/."

My 2 and 3-year old grandkids are now to the point where I can put the cards down with just the plain letter side up and they can find it. I call this the "guessing game" and it becomes something new and different, therefore making it fun all over again! The 2-year old sometimes guesses wrong. When he sees he has chosen the wrong card, he just puts it back down and tries again. It has never frustrated him when he chooses the wrong one. If your child does get frustrated with it, continue using the picture clue side until he/she knows them better.

That's just a couple of the games you can play. When they know the upper and lower case letters, you can play matching games with the them. Play games with the short and long vowel cards. When they start reading, get the cards out and make words with them. Have your child put a different letter at the beginning of the word to learn about rhyming.

Just make up your own games. If you come up with something fun, share it with the rest of us!

Doreese