Flash Cards for Development

When I was pregnant, I spent a lot of time on bed rest and in the hospital. One of the recreational therapists there brought me in a project one week to make flash cards for the babies once they were born. She told me there were several studies that had been done showing that newborns loved patterns in black and white, and as they got just a little older, red as well. So, she handed me sharpies and index cards and off I went drawing hearts, circles, geometric patterns, etc. But, once the babies were born and I got home from the hospital I found there were several websites selling flash cards, but they were so expensive. So, I made some more of my own with my computer since my time was limited.

I was really shocked how much the babies seemed to engage in the flash cards. We would lay one on our lap and hold the cards up to them, and move them in different directions slowly, and they were entranced! I truly think it helped boost their minds as well as their vision, because it wasn't long after that before they started tracking things across the room more than they had before.

I decided for one of my first posts and projects here to create a set of cards just for my blog readers and post them, free of charge for anyone interested. All you have to do is print the cards out on 4x6 index cards, or regular paper and cut them to your preffered size. You can even punch a hole in the top corner and place a book ring through it to make them a little more organized. All I ask is that you not re-sell the cards and only use them for your personal use!

You can click the image above to download the file or, here is the download link: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24385021/FlashCards.pdf


Enjoy!
Heth