Flashcard/Baby can read/Leapfrog DVDs/Baby signing/Baby Einstein

[stonston]

Any parents who use any of e above for your babies? can share your experiences?

Currently i have all the above products....am using flashcards n baby signing....have yet to start on e rest...
just want some feedback fm other parents who r using e above...do you find it good?

i find e flashcards very good for my boi cos he is learning alot....he can recognise fruits and point to e right ones when we show him a chart with many many fruits....

e baby signing we just started, he dont know how to sign yet, but it is very fun learning as a family hopefulli he can grasp it soon so that he can tell us what he wants with sign language

[`julee]

i showed her body parts flash card and yes she learn from it fast. for other things, we just repeat to her. children learn fast..
for now at 26 months she can count to 10. of course hav to prompt her after #6..

[CynCyn]

Ston ston when did you start using this to teach yr dear son ? Flashcard etc. ?

Is it too early for me to teach my 9 mths old boy ?

[stonston]

cyn, i started flashcard when he was newborn....started with stimulation cards....then moved to picture cards...now doing a mixture of picture, reading n maths cards

sign language just started when he turn 8mths

last nite he told us he want milk by sign language!! so happy...now gonna work hard at learning e other signs to teach him....

[`julee]

Originally Posted by CynCyn Ston ston when did you start using this to teach yr dear son ? Flashcard etc. ? Is it too early for me to teach my 9 mths old boy ?

cyn nothing is toO early... you can start anytime you want. the earlier means you hav more time to teach. actuali as a stay at home mum you hav more time and everyday you just teach him a little and repeat over days till he gets it...

[rykiel]

wh0a.. reading on how you all teach your dear son really makes me feel lousy.. guess i must go get flashcards for my OLD baby .. HAHa.. he's 20mths .. he onli watches baby can read.. baby einstein , hi5 , boohbah .. n disney channel. and a few board books with children pictures and simple wordings .. and a book on different kinds of vehicles with those holes .. where do i get the baby signs?? is it a DVD ? or its also a flashcard? where should i get flashcards? what kind should i get? can tk picture of your flashcard sh0w me .. =X .. sorries im a lousy mummi ar.. i must get assurance frm mommies to CONFIRm !!.. ok .. i'm kiasU~~

[stonston]

rykiel, i buy flashcard fm BP at another forum....will try to take some photo n post when i got time

for flashcard my boi has finished fruits n veges...now moving on to animals....going to bring him to e zoo when i not so busy to teach him e different animals also...

baby sign language i order fm US...singapore's one very exp lei....1 DVD can last very long cos got 200++ different signs!!

[rykiel]

stonston,

can gimmi the details .. i also want go buy .. HEHEHE.. ! =X .. i waiting muh boy learn to walk thn can bring him to the zoo .. if not no point if he can onli sit n sit in the stroller . hehe. thankssSs =D

[stonston]

rykiel, dont say no pt just cos they dont know how to walk...they can see n actualli at the petting zoo for kiddos, they can touch n feed e animals....

my boi loves touching my dog n my friend's rabbits...they r very curious ....can bring..even in stroller also ok....

e BP was long over liaoz lei...but if you want you PM me, i give you e organiser's email add....but it is not cheap ...but i got no time to make, so no choice buy ...if you got time, you can buy blank cards n make your own ones...

[rykiel]

i know can bring stroller.. but i want him to run n walk inside.. hehe.. alreadi planning to bring him soon.. yes .. my dear son loves pets.. fish, chins, turtles, cats, birds, dogs.. oh my.. hehe.. idea.. i tink i make own flash cardds.. but do our own drawing will they understand? =x

[CynCyn]

In sg where to get flash cards from ?

[stonston]

you can find pictures fm internet to print...or cut out from magazines

if you wanna buy, popular/kiddy palace all got sell, but i find it too small n pictures very limited, onli got fruits n vege, transport, animals...

my set i got total of 700 cards...all use real pictures, not cartoons....

[rykiel]

i think real pictures would make the 'feel' more right.. cos in real life they dont seEe those cartoonised things .. haha.. thanks fOr all your help !! =D *cheErSSs*

[maine78]

Originally Posted by stonston rykiel, i buy flashcard fm BP at another forum....will try to take some photo n post when i got time for flashcard my boi has finished fruits n veges...now moving on to animals....going to bring him to e zoo when i not so busy to teach him e different animals also... baby sign language i order fm US...singapore's one very exp lei....1 DVD can last very long cos got 200++ different signs!!

stonston, how much is one set of flashcard? it's quite ex rite?

[stonston]

i paid $370 for 700 picture cards...but e quality is really nice....tink if print at hm will be much more exp ....n i dont have time to go find pics...if i am stay at home mum maybe can do my own ones ....
then i also bought reading (600) n maths cards (800), total i paid around $1k for all e cards....but very worth it....cos e cards can last probably for another few yrs...then can let my next baby use also...hehehe

[rykiel]

i found this in this forum . . =) one mommie was sharing this and i think i can post it here.. hope you all find it useful =).. very easy to use.. can use bank transfer !! =)

click on the picture to go to the babysigning homepage . .

[`julee]

flash card anywhere can get one. usuali say for this this age, but i just buy and show her.
for baby signing i tink my a lil too late already.. & i tink a bit useless cause till how long she want to sign? and wont it limit her talking? instead of talking she will prefer signing and if i teach her, our family are the only ones will understand. this is very popular in the US but not so in sg...

[stonston]

signing is good for baby around 8mths cos they can tell what they want, but they cannt verbalise...good for baby to tell us what he want...like milk, apple, food, sleep, etc....

signing should not replace talking...cos when you sign to baby, you should be talking at the same as signing so baby will also imitate n learn to talk
so far my friends' kids who use signing have no probs with talking...in fact, their kids all started talking early cos it encouraged them to say what they want/need....they know they can communicate their wants n needs n will start talking earlier....

[stonston]

Originally Posted by rykiel i found this in this forum . . =) one mommie was sharing this and i think i can post it here.. hope you all find it useful =).. very easy to use.. can use bank transfer !! =) click on the picture to go to the babysigning homepage . .

this set is exp, even if buy in US...then each CD onli got a few signs ...

the one i have is 1 DVD n has 200 over signs...cheaper ...it is called "We Sign for babies and toddlers"....

[rykiel]

i have this thinking too... what if .. dear son prefers to sign after i teach him these .. than dont want to open his mouth how !?!.. he's already 20mths..start now also no point h0r? ... i tink ill just continue teachin him to talk .. =)

[CynCyn]

Originally Posted by `julee flash card anywhere can get one. usuali say for this this age, but i just buy and show her. for baby signing i tink my a lil too late already.. & i tink a bit useless cause till how long she want to sign? and wont it limit her talking? instead of talking she will prefer signing and if i teach her, our family are the only ones will understand. this is very popular in the US but not so in sg...

Illa , where you get yr flash cards from ?

[snort]

i may be the antagonist here and hope that no one starts sticking out their tongues at me ! I'm just very passionate about the early childhood years and how children learn and the effects of early experience on their later years.

my dear son is 21 months and everyone who meets him thinks he speaks very well (he has a vocab of more than 200 words), speaks in sentences and can apply his learning to different situations. he can already count up to 6 and can do simple 1-to-1 correspondence, meaning point to objects and count one by one. he is sociable and friendly. he can even order kopi-o po for me!

i'm an early childhood educator with a specialist diploma (not bragging but just to show my passion in this field which was a mid-career move for me to a seriously low paying job ) in this field and i did NOT use any flashcards or dvd or other so-called interactive programs out there in the market.

i simply spend a lot of time with him, going out to many different places and just talking and pointing things out to him whenever he showed interest.

the only thing i do recommend is baby signing and even then, no dvd is required. stonton is right that you want signing to aid in communicating. my dear son learnt basic signs enuf to communicate his needs and wants. but if you think about it, even our parents used signing with us... bye bye, drink, food, etc. dont't need elaborate signs!

at the end of the day, we want to ask ourselves why are we pushing our kids to memorise things they dont't even know about or experience and from such a young age? if they do learn something, it should be from experience becos experience is meaningful. eg, my son knows the names of at least 20 fruits including blueberry, raspberry and not from pictures but from having eaten them! he may not know the names of 20 different animals but he knows the names of animals he's SEEN and heard.

i hope i have not't stepped on any toes but just want to share that it is really not nec to 'flood' your child with knowledge so intensely. eventually, they will learn what they need to learn if you give them the right experiences to learn.

i highly recommend all parents to read this book called 'EINSTEIN NEVER USED FLASH CARDS' as required reading for parenting in today's high-pressured world. i know we all want our children to excel in life but studies have shown that whilst flashcards SEEM to give a child an edge up during preschool years, there is no difference by the time they enter primary school years. in fact, the child who learns through play remains creative and a thinker and problem solver... we need pp like that! but the opposite is true of the ones who had intensive enrichment... they are less creative and may even be stressed out.

if you think about it, when children play, they are learning math, science, language, problem solving, thinking. i see my boy play and i'm constantly amazed at the way he looks at things, solves 'his problems' and fixes things. and whilst i play alongside him to give him a little help every so often when he requires it, i do not do everything for him becos it is through his own manipulation of objects that he learns how to work something. at the playground i do not tail him closely but let him have free reign of the slides, etc. just being mindful to warn him of openings from which he can fall through. as a result, he has learnt to slide down in different ways, on his bum, on his back, climb up the slide himself. what does he learn? to be an independent learner...

in the end, let children be children and enjoy learning through play! it is through play that children build knowledge and through our 'scaffolding' that they understand the world in which we live, dont't you think so??!!

[tiziana]

where to get cheap flashcards?

[stonston]

snort....good post for us to reflect as parents....

my stand is parents need to teach n spend time with your kids...but how many parents now can b like you to specialise in childhood education? how many parents have e luxury of time to slowly read up about how kids learn? not all parents r like us, educators....
many parents r lost...they dont know what to teach n where to start...

flashcards etc r all teaching AIDS...they aid parents in teaching their kids (that's y i dont really like baby can read cos it is purely e VCD teaching baby, no parental involvement)....

for flashcards, parents still need to teach...but they have something to start on....
for e flashcards i buy, i buy those cards with pictures of items that r rarely found in singapore or hard to get....so i dont have to run round whole of singapore finding it just to teach him....can show him picture first...when we see it in our daily lives, then we can point out n reiterate what we taught him with flashcards

n unless you have e luxury of being a stay at home mum with enuf $$$ to go around showing all these 'real' things, flashcards r e next best ....for me i dont have time to bring my boi go find all these things to teach him...but when at supermarkets, we will show him e different fruits, veges, meat, fish, seafood....trips to zoo also limited cos it is so costly plus it is a logistical nightmare when we go there....so many barang to bring!!

1st hand experience learning is always e best, but how many parents can afford to do that for everything?

btw, my friends who specialise in early childhood education in aus unis also tell me that flashcards are commonly being used in lessons now as teaching aids....so if parents can do it at home as part of bonding time, isnt it great?

[stonston]

btw, my boi learns to playing with e flashcards too....he likes to trace e alphabets on the card when i place them on e floor in front of him....indirectly learning how to write? but he does it on his own, no one forced him into it