Fun & Easy! Do It Yourself Flash Cards

I love finding fun (and inexpensive) ways to help my kids learn at home, and these flashcards are one way I save money AND stimulate my kids' minds. I've scoured the stores and all the flashcards I've found are either basic Alphabet letters (I already have two different sets of these), math skills, or boring pre-reading pictures. I was bored just looking at them! My son already knows the alphabet and I wanted cards that would help him sound out the letters and learn the word.

So.....here's all you need to make these fun & easy flashcards that serve a variety of purposes (more on that later).

MAGAZINES: Save your old magazines or better yet, visit your local library and ask for the 'give-away' magazine stacks. My local libraries have boxes of them for anyone to take so I can look through some I would never actually buy. There is a great variety; photography, family life, etc. Flip through looking for great pictures of basic things that your kid will recognize (or should be learning). The pictures need to be fairly small. You'll learn which are the best magazines. People magazine is entertaining to read but doesn't have the great pictures I can find in Martha Stewarts' Living or the Good Housekeeping magazines...ha....

TAPE: small and large clear varieties.

SCISSORS

SHARPIE MARKER

INDEX CARDS: I found the kind that are blank on both sides but regular ones with one blank side work fine.

Looking through the magazines, rip out any pictures that you want to use. Cut them to fit on the card and carefully tape into position using the small tape. I use just enough to secure the picture in one tiny area, where I won't be writing. Make sure you leave room on the card to write the word.

Use the marker to neatly write the word on the card.

Now using the large clear tape, carefully cover the entire picture. At this point it's fine if some tape covers the word. The tape acts as a 'laminate' for the picture and extends the life of your flashcards.

It's so fun to see what pictures and words you can use to make flashcards!

AGES 0 - 3; the child can review the pictures and learn what they are. I am always amazed at how many things Olivia (almost 2) actually correctly identifies!

AGES 3 - 5; as the child learns the alphabet you can start covering the picture at first and letting them practice sounding out the word. I love seeing how many words Samuel (almost 4) knows by either sight or sounding them out.

To switch it up for a pre-schooler, have them sort the cards by subject; "Which cards are food? Which ones are animals? Which ones are something you'd wear?"

A bonus for parents; take the cards with you and whip them out in those times when you need to entertain your child in a semi-quiet way (church, doctor's office, etc). My kids love looking at them during church and usually, I find nearby toddlers sneaking under the seat to join my kids and they all love looking through the cards!

I actually keep a record of which words I have on flashcards on the computer so I don't repeat the same word. This also helps me keep track of how many Olivia knows (about 25!) Currently I have 75 cards but that's because I've been doing this over a couple of months. I grab magazines here and there and do about 3-5 cards a week.

So have fun being creative and expanding your child's mind!

One last picture...this has nothing to do with the flashcards....here is Olivia with her 'laptop' set up by our computer, her bottle of water on the side...maybe she's updating her own blog? I love her!