10 Fun Learning Activities with Flashcards
Flashcards don't have to be boring! Okay, if you're only flipping through the same set of flashcards and having your kids repeat the words, then it can be boring. But it really doesn't have to be this way. You can do tons of fun learning activities with flashcards and here are a few ways to do it with your small children.
One little tip before we start - laminate your flashcards so you can use them over and over again!
Games for you and one child:
Roll The Dice. Choose a set of six flashcards you'd like to introduce and place them face down on the floor. Give each card a number from 1 to 6. Then give your child a dice to roll. If your child doesn't know the vocabulary card, introduce it and have your child repeat it. Flip the card back. If you can answer it correctly, you can keep the card. Play until all the cards are removed. Alternatively, you can keep replacing the cards with new cards.
Flippety Flip. Choose a set of flashcards and go through them with your child. Take turn to select one flashcard and flip it very quickly for the other to guess what's on it. You can keep the card if the guess is correct. Play until all the flashcards are gone and winner has the most cards.
Peek-a-boo. Go through a set of flashcards with your child. Cut several holes randomly spaced in an A4 sheet of paper (or have your child do it). Cover a flashcard with the sheet. Ask your child to guess what the picture is. If they can't guess, slowly remove the sheet to reveal the picture bit-by-bit. To make it easier, you can cover half of the card and have your child guess what's on the card.
Games for you and one or more players:
Kaboom. Place the flashcards and the Kaboom 轟炸 (Jyutping: gwang1 zaa3) cards into a box (or a grab bag, or a magician's hat,...). Take turns pulling the flashcards out one at a time. You get to keep the card if you can correctly read aloud what's on the card. If you draw the Kaboom card, you have to return all your cards to the box. My daughter loves to yell "轟炸!" and then collapse on the floor before returning all her cards. The crazier the better, really. You can play for a set amount of time. It's important that the Kaboom cards look exactly like the others. So here are some Kaboom cards you can use with our flashcards. This is also a game for more players.
Memory. Print out and laminate a set of flashcards twice. Spread the cards on the table face down. Take turn to flip two cards open at a time. You must read aloud what is on each card. You can keep the cards if they're the same and you can correctly read aloud what's on it. Play until all the cards are removed and the one has the most cards wins.
Games for you and more players:
Race to The Card. Go through the flashcards that you want to introduce. Place 3-5 of the cards around the room. Call out one of the cards, players race to grab the correct card. Keep replacing the cards with new cards. Play until all the cards are removed. Winner has the most cards.
Kissy Kissy. It's kind of like Race to The Card game but with an additional element that I really enjoy. Place a couple flashcards around the room. Make sure you stand in the middle of the room, then call out one of the cards. Players race to grab the correct card, run to you to give you the card and a kiss. One point for each correct card. My daughter loves this game especially when daddy pretends to be all jealous.
Flashcard Musical Chairs. Arrange a circle of chairs and stick a flashcard on each one. Play the music and have players go around the circle of chairs (you may want to let the music go a bit longer so players have a chance to check out the flashcards on all the chairs). Once the music stops, call out a card (you may want to have your back to the chairs so you don't know who's in front of the cards). The first player who puts their booty in the correct chair gets one point. The first to achieve a set amount of points wins.
Slap. Go through the flashcards and then spread them out on the table face up. You call out a card. The first player to slap the correct card gets to keep it. The one with the most cards wins. You may want to layer a blanket on the table first as kids may slap the cards (and the table) really hard when they're into the game. Or you can give each player a flyswatter to hit the correct card with.
Mr Fox. It is a version of "What time is it, Mr Wolf" really but the Cantonese version is 狐狸先生幾多點? (Mr Fox, what's the time?; Jyutping: wu4 lei4 sin1 saang1 gei2 do1 dim2). Players line up against a wall and you stand at the opposite wall. You show the players a flashcard and ask them questions about the card. Every time players answer no, they have to take one step forward. When the players are closer to you, ask them a question that would get a yes. When players answer yes, you try to tag them out. Whoever is tagged is out of the game. The more players the merrier!
You can find CantonSponge flashcards on this page here. I will continue to grow the flashcards collection so feel free to let me know any themes you'd like in a comment.
