A dilemma always hovers around “Flashcard Learning”. Are they good or are they useless??
Flashcards are GOOD for babies & toddlers ONLY IF used in alignment to the understanding of baby’s brain development. Traditionally, the flash method involves physical flash cards, which you either make yourself or buy, and “which you show rapidly to your child”. The utmost important point is that flashing cards at a speed of less than one second per card (contrary to holding it for minutes and minutes till the time baby gets bored or your arm starts paining, and yielding no learning ) is an effective method of teaching babies, for two reasons:
Information presented at speed is more easily apprehended by the right hemisphere of the brain. Unlike left-brain memorization, which requires conscious, directed effort, right-brain learning is unconscious and effortless.
Children, and especially babies, learn at an extremely rapid pace - much faster than adults; much faster even than adults can imagine. The way to keep a child's attention is to move quickly.
Let’s understand the concept little more deeply.
WHEN TO START
Reading Flashcard can begin any time from the age of 6 months.
SELECTION OF WORDS
Start with words that are familiar or interesting to your child - words in his environment, words that you use often, e.g. people's names, objects around the house, common everyday vocabulary.
Choose words that you know your child will enjoy or find interesting. Short words that look alike - e.g. "cat," "hat," "sat" - are boring. Words like "spaghetti" or "refrigerator" are interesting.
Do include long and unusual words. It's easy to confuse words that look alike; much harder to confuse a word like "spaghetti" with another word.
PREPARING FLASHCARDS
Initially, make the words big. A card should be about the length of one and a half pieces of A4 paper, with the word filling most of the card. Explains Prof. Glenn Doman, "In order to understand language through your ear, it has to be loud, clear and repeated… In order to read a language, it must be large, clear and repeated."
Write the word on the back of the card for your own reference (you can write it small) - you will say the word at the moment you flash the card to your child.
Organize the words into categories (e.g. "home," "animals," "colors").
PRESENTING FLASHCARDS
Flash the cards rapidly, showing each one to your child for less than one second. There is a natural rhythm to the way we human beings learn, and the rhythm for tiny children is much faster than it is for adults.
Glance at the word on the back of the card, and say the word while maintaining eye contact with your child.
Be sure to retain a lively tone to your voice. Also, be sure to enjoy the presentations yourself! If you're having fun, your child will be that bit happier to participate, even if she is only a few months old.
Show the cards in sets of five. Shuffle the cards before every lesson. Little kids are brilliant at sequence.
RULE OF THUMB
If your child looks unhappy when you pick up the cards, postpone the lesson. If your child looks unhappy during a lesson, stop the lesson. If a particular word makes your child look unhappy, put away the card -destroy it even!
Studies show that babies taught with flash cards develop their senses of sight and hearing faster than other children. As the presentations stimulate your child's brain development, they will unlock her amazing hidden potential!
Comments