Since my oldest daughter doesn’t go to daycare or preschool, I still wanted her to have some ongoing learning.  I want to give her the best chance for a strong start when she eventually goes to school.  I started scanning the internet and found that it has some wonderful things to offer.  There are many sites that have free, printable flash cards that can help your child learn.

I printed off flashcards of the alphabet, shapes, numbers, and animals.  I started going through the flash cards with my daughter and she loved it!  I sang a song as I did it (one of those made-up mommy songs).  “The more we learn about shapes, the easier it gets…and this shape is a ____?”.  She now often asks me for the flashcards.  She now knows all of her shapes, and many numbers.  Her animals she was already good at, but the alphabet will take some work.

Many educators love flashcards because of their repetition and review.  It really helps young and old to remember the content of what you are studying.  As the child gets older, you can customize your flash cards to whatever they need to study ( multiplication, science).

Flashcards were a great way for my daughter and I to do a fun activity together, but at the same time something educational.  Give it a try!