During the summer months, a child’s brain can become very inactive. Older children can read or attend academic camps/programs to maintain cognitive activity, but it’s up to parents and caregivers to engage very young children in learning tasks.
My boys are 5 and 2, and I’m always on the lookout for activities and games that will stimulate brain development. I read to them all the time, and we play letter and number games. We love visiting the local nature center, going to the library, or just exploring our own neighborhood for bugs, flowers, and any other item they find interesting. My older child and I have even become pretty savvy at creating math games such as setting up all of his stuffed animals as a pet shop and using Dominoes as money. He’s required to add to give me my total, then I always give him too much “money” so he has to subtract to figure out my change.
Love Your Kids in a Flash is an adorable set of cards that can be utilized in a number of ways. One way to use them is to play a traditional memory game. For toddlers, you can play along with them to help them remember or find matches, but preschoolers can play the game on their own.
My five-year old quit taking naps sometime ago, but his pediatrician encouraged me to maintain a “quiet time” for him. So while the toddler naps, my five-year old goes into his room and has “quiet time”. He’s not allowed to play his LeapPad. He has to play in the traditional sense. Love Your Kids in a Flash is a wonderful game for him to play on his own.
Another cool aspect of these flashcards is that they are double-sided, meaning each side serves a different purpose. On one side is a cute and colorful picture used for a memory game while the other side is decorated with a rebus message. My preschooler thought the rebus messages were the coolest things ever. He’d played plenty of memory games before but had never seen a rebus message. He and I had a good ol’ time figuring each one out.
Check out Love Your Kids in a Flash flashcard system. There are three different versions. You can purchase Version 1 (set of 16 cards) for only $8, Versions 1&2 (two sets of 16 cards) for $15, or Versions 1, 2, & 3 for $21. You can purchase them on the company’s website here.
Happy learning. Hope you are enjoying summer so far!
In compensation for this blog post, I received Versions 1, 2, & 3 of the Love Your Kids in a Flash system. As always, opinions are 100% my own.
Great idea. I am that mom that makes my kids do workbooks over the summer, but at least they’re using their brain power 🙂
What a great idea! Anything to keep the kids engaged is great, and any activity for more than one to enjoy is also a great activity. Thanks for sharing!
Mitch
What a great idea. My kids would like this.
That looks like fun. Awesome learning.
These look great they would be great for the kiddies over the summer.
These are great and I agree, even though nap time may not be a daily thing anymore, quiet time is essential for personal growth! Pardon me, while I go yank the ear buds out of my tween…
These are such a great idea! Appreciate you taking the time to share them with us. Love this idea so much!
I’m sending this to my sister for her kids. Looks like a great activity for the summertime.
I think this is fantastic! It is better than them in front of the tv. At this age, their minds soak up so much info, that it is great to get them involved in development games.
My kids always had quiet time too. Sometimes they still fell asleep anyhow. I really like this activity idea for them.
Oh, what a great idea. They are so fun and I love that they are two sided!
What a great idea, I’m going to get them for my students to use on rainy days!
I actually have my kids on a schedule this summer and card playing is on their list to do each day. Right now they’re getting exercise using our wii.
What a great idea to have the quiet time. That would be great for my son.
Aww those are cute. My 5 year old would like to use them to play the memory game too.
Very cool game. That would be great to get in a routine and play these.
Flash cards are such a great teaching tool! Even though my daughter is going to be starting middle school, we still like to pull them out from time to time to feel the facts fresh in her mind!
I love to see games that are both fun and educational. These would be great for travel too.
Those cards are cute! Memory is a fun game to play no matter when it is, that’s one we love.
We do lots of flash cards here! And workbooks. And I have mine do quiet time daily and the oldest is almost 9
This is a great way to spend time wisely. Instead of kids spending countless hours in front of TV or playing computer games, flashcards would be a good alternative. 🙂
I remember that my daughter used to love flashcards. She is 17 now so no need for them. Lol. Bringing back memories here
My son loves memory games! He always beats us, LOL!
This is a great game. I used to love memory games as a kid.
I like that they’re double sided. Flashcards have always been a big hit in our house.
This is great! A fun game, but educational…and double sided so double the fun!
That is a cool idea. The summertime key for my kids is to make the learning fun….if you do that they prosper.
How fun and I love that it sends a positive message while be fun at the same time. Thanks for sharing!
Those cards are precious. 🙂 My daughter is four and also doesn’t like to nap so we do quiet time too.
What a great idea. I love the positive messages
Great idea! I love the messages. I’m a fan of anything that keeps my kids engaged and thinking!
I love this! There are so many “bleh” games out there right now- I like the though of something new!
I never thought of using flash cards as a game. Great idea.
How fun, my kids grew up playing with flashcards. They are older so no computers, smart phones or ipads. It is a wonderful way to learn and grow.
These are really cool cards. I know my grandkids would love these.
How fun! Perfect for summer! My kids would love these 🙂
Those look so cool! I love that it gets them thinking but they are also having fun!!
Now these are cute – and fun! I’m going to check them out for my little boy!
My toddler would love this. What a great idea, and a great way to sneak in learning as well.
These are super adorable! The grandchildren would love to use these.
These are really cute. My nieces and nephews would love them. Mine are too young for these right now though.