Flashcards have been around for so many years now. I can remember my elementary teachers holding them out for math drills and recitations in class. They even used it on games where we have to form 2 lines and each team should answer the multiplication equations quicker than the other.
Hmm.. Those are really not my kind of flashcards. They have always made me nervous.
These are my kind of flashcards.
And NO, this is not a paid review. I just really want to share how this helped me teach good manners in a fun way.
They’re only P99 and I think it’s a relatively cheap investment if they will carry on the good manners for the rest of their lives. Don’t you think? The world will thank us if we can contribute well-raised individuals in our society. Naks.
Seriously, the daily reminders to say Please, Excuse Me, or I’m Sorry are sometimes not enough. That’s why these flashcards have been great tools for me. At first, I didn’t think they’ll have great impact, but they actually did. Mia would request it almost everyday.
“Good manners flashcards, good manners flashcards again!”
That’s heaven to my ears. And it will soon be for you too! Maybe because they can relate to the pictures. It’s always fun for them to see other kids do it too, even if they’re just illustrations.
So every once in a while, we will go through these flashcards during playtime. We turn it into a game where she’ll pick one and guess what it is. I can see that she’s having fun and she does apply it!
You would hear her say Excuse me in 8 out of 10 times that she sneezes or burps. Yes, there will still be times that we need to remind them. She says Please, Thank You, Pardon Me, Good Morning, I’m Sorry, name it!
That’s why I highly recommend it! You should buy one now. ( hard sell? LOL.)
Now you might say it’s still too early to teach these things. Well, I had the same hesitations. But Mia is my living proof that early learning is possible. It may seem that they’re not absorbing the lines you read to them, but trust me, they are SPONGES.
Here’s one example.
You see the similarity?hehehe That flashcard was her peg.
The entire time we were packing relief goods for earthquake victims in Bohol, she was reciting “Be kind, polite, and helpful to everybody.” I assigned her the noodles (coz they’re lighter) but she insisted on the bags of rice just because she wanted to do exactly what the boy was doing in this flash card.
Here’s another one.
She probably doesn’t understand “Listen to God’s word” per se, but every time she can’t stay put at church, I would say this line, and she’d willingly copy how the girl is quietly seated beside Daddy and Mommy.
Halfway along the mass, she would always say, “Go home now!” and this is when the next flashcard comes in handy. When I say that line, she would pause, try to remember how it looked like, and she would happily go back to her seat. Whew! These cards are my saviors!
It was actually that effective that I bought the next one, Good Health Habits. And the 3rd one too which we haven’t opened yet, Good Safety Habits.
JOYTOY should probably thank me..Hehe! Anyway, each box contains about 32 flashcards and you might not want to overwhelm your child with it. It’s up to you if you just want to show 5 or 10 cards at a time, depending on your child’s interest.
I know it says in the box that it’s for 6 years old and above, but I learned that we can never underestimate how fast they can absorb. It really worked for us.
I hope it works for you too.
Just don’t forget to model it. Seeing us do it is still the best way to teach our little copycats.
Do you know any similar product available in the market? Please share in the comments below. 🙂
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