Since I graduated college six years ago I’ve been educating young children in some capacity or other. I started out as a therapist for children with autism. I then combined that with a job teaching at an academic preschool. When I had my first son I left the preschool job and did private tutoring with a little girl with developmental delays. I knew long before I had children that teaching them the academic skills they’d need for life was high on my priority list.
I was, therefore, interested to learn about ChildUp Early Learning Game Cards. The company very specifically points out that these are not flash cards which are designed solely to help children memorize symbols (numbers, letters, dots, etc.). ChildUp Early Learning Game Cards come in 2 series. The first teaches numbers and concepts associated with 1-10, the second 10-20. These cards are designed for parents, teachers, and caregivers to teach young children ages 1-5 in a fun interactive way.
Here is what ChildUp has to say about their cards:
By using the Child’s Cards included in Teach Your Child to Count to 10 – Math & Logic #1 and Teach Your Child to Count to 20 – Math & Logic #2 with an adult, any child will, in a matter of a few months, learn to count to 10, then to 20-two fundamental steps in arithmetic-, to differentiate even and odd numbers and to do basic additions and subtractions. At the same time, the discussions about numbers and animals will be of great help to develop the child’s vocabulary and language skills.
In using these cards I found, like as with almost anything with children, consistency is key. The ChildUp Early Learning Cards give you a variety of concepts to teach your child. You can teach number recognition, addition or subtraction, and quantity recognition all with one card. Pretty darn impressive if you ask me. These are, in fact, the most comprehensive flash cards I have ever seen!
Both of my boys have really begun to love their ChildUp learning cards! Right now my 4 year old is learning even numbers and counting by two’s, and my 2 year old after just three days of practice (about 5 minutes each session) can identify by, touching and saying numbers 1-5. He has also started pointing out those numbers when he sees them around the house!
Though each set only teaches 10 numbers they both come with a multitude of cards to enable you as the parent or caretaker to teach your child a variety of different concepts. The only potential drawback I see to the design of these cards is that younger children may initially be confused as to the numbers of animals on the front of the card.
For example, when I taught my 2 year old, I’d first show him the picture on the back with the animals. I have him count the animals and then ask him how many. He tells me how many he counted and then I flip the card over and show him and tell him the corresponding number on the front. Once he has the hang of it, after counting the animals on the back of the cards, I ask him the number on the front. Though this hasn’t been a problem for my son, I can see a young child potentially being confused that directly below the number on the front there are pictured only 2 animals, or sometimes 3 (see the cards above). But, like I said, this hasn’t been a problem for my son so perhaps it won’t be a problem for others.
All in all I am extremely pleased with the comprehensiveness, quality, and effectiveness of the ChildUp Early Learning Cards. At $11.99 per set they are much more expensive than a set of flashcards, but given the educational mileage you’ll get out of these, they are well worth it.
Win It!
One lucky reader will win a complete set Series 1 & 2 of ChildUp Early Learning Cards!
Disclosure: I was provided with the above-mentioned products at no cost to myself, in order to facilitate a review. The opinions expressed are honest and are entirely my own.
About Amy @ Oh So Savvy Mom
