Try these 50+ fun ways to use flashcards to make using flash cards exciting for your kids every day!
Flash cards are one of the greatest ways to practice repetitive learning like words, alphabets, numbers, and math skills. You can purchase them fairly inexpensively online and in stores or you can make your own. Plus, the options for free printable flash cards are astounding.
But, now that you have these bags full of flashcards all over your house, what are some fun ways to learn with flashcards beside just flipping and waiting on the answer?
I have scoured the internet, interviewed experts, and searched my brain to come up with…
50+ Fun Ways to Use Flashcards
1. Have your child stand across the room while you hold up the flashcards. Show him a flashcard; every time he says the sight word correctly, he gets to take one step or a hop toward you. Keep going until he is close enough to touch you.
2. Create a fun game to see how many of the flashcards that they know – and how many in a row!
3. Flashcards are perfect for teaching a second language – you can hold up picture cards and have your child say the name of the picture in both their Native language and the new language.
4. While the child is out of the room, hide the flashcards in various locations. Have him come into the room and look for the cards. As he finds each one, he must tell you which word is on the card.
5. 3 Dinosaurs fixes up her flashcards with magnets and let’s her kids go word fishing! I really love this idea for sport-minded boys.
6. Another fun option is to place the flashcards face down on the floor. Have your child toss a beanbag onto a card. He can flip over whichever card the beanbag lands on and say the word that is on the card.
7. Try a Letter Matching Activity when your child can match flash card letters to written letters!
8. Make or purchase a duplicate set of flashcards and play a game of memory, including the rule that he only gets to keep the matching pair of cards if he can say the sight word written on them.
9. Spread all of the cards out on a table face up. You say one of the words and see how quickly he can pick up that card.
10. Living Montessori Now doesn’t just flip cards over. She turns them into a typical Montessori hands on experience!
11. Put number cards out and have your child match the correct number of manipulatives to the cards!
12. Have your child make sentences with their sight word cards!
13. Let them correct their own flash cards and then showcase their work.
14. Laminate your flash cards to turn them into a handwriting practice tool says Mama Miss!
15. Cut the cards up and allow your child(ren) to put the puzzles together and then say the word, letter, number, etc!
16. Match color words to color cards. If the word says “green” then match it to a card with a block of green!
17. Have your child match the lowercase letters to the upper case letters.
18. Put the flashcards into a hat and allow your child to choose one from the hat each school day. This helps you to determine exactly what letter to focus on for that day!
19. Flashcards are a great way to review the learned letters at the end of each week. As your child correctly identifies the word, color, etc on the card you can put it on a bulletin board!
20. Use seasonal sight word flashcards to go on a scavenger hunt!
21. Drill holes in alphabet flashcards and make a simple Alphabet Flip Book!
22. Play “I Spy” and let your child find a picture flashcard that begins with each letter sound!
23. Hide individual letter flashcards in the dark and play this fun Flashlight Alphabet Game!
24. Tape a shape flashcard to your child’s back and have him or her ask 5 Questions to figure out what shape it is.
25. Get a set of dollar flashcards and have kids match up play coins to the amounts on each card.
26. Practice alphabetizing words by putting sight word flashcards in ABC order.
27. Print black and white flashcards and let the kids decorate them with color.
28. Take spelling their name with flashcards to another level by doing this fun Clothesline Spelling Activity! It’s perfect for letter recognition and fine motor skills!
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29. Learn about animal sounds by tossing farm animal flashcards onto the floor and challenging kids to find the animal that makes each sound!
30. Build picture sentences by asking kids to put picture flashcards in order to form a complete thought.
31. Play “Around the World” with addition or subtraction flashcards. Have kids sit in a circle. Ask the two in the front to stand. The first one to answer the math problem correctly goes to the next child in the circle and tries again. The first kid go all the way around the circle wins!
32. Play “Slapjack” with sight word flashcards! Call out a word and ask the kids to turn over flashcards until they find the card you called. The first one to “slap” the card gets to keep it!
33. Work on number order by mixing up number flashcards. Ask your kids to put the numbers in order from least to greatest or from greatest to least.
34. Mix up addition and subtraction flashcards and challenge kids to match up the addition card with the corresponding subtraction card to make a fact family. For example: 12-6 and 6+6.
35. Ask your kids to look at a set of alphabet flashcards with pictures and think of other pictures they could use for the same letter. For example, if the “A” flashcard has an apple, help them think of another object that begins with “A”. Then they can make their own flashcards!
36. Play store with picture flashcards. Lay out cards with household objects and assign each a dollar value. Ask your kids to guess how many objects they can buy for $1, $5, etc.
37. Play “Greater Than/Less Than” by laying out number flashcards and identifying which of the two are greater or less than.
38. Elf Reading Christmas Printable Flash Cards are a great way to introduce holiday flash card fun!
39. Get two sets of animal flashcards and teach kids how to make simple math patterns!
40. Have your child tape letter flashcards on objects around the house that begin with each letter.
41. Hold up a number flashcard and ask your child how many ways he or she can make that number. For example, you can make the number 6 by adding 3+3, 2+4, 5+1, or 6+0.
42. Toss sight word flashcards into the air and see how quickly kids can find the words you call out and collect them!
43. Play a game of “War” with number flashcards. Divide the stack of cards in half and have kids lay out one card each. The higher number card wins!
44. Tape number flashcards to a wall and ask your child to toss a beanbag at the one you call out.
45. Cut a set of sight word flashcards in half and challenge your kids to match up the word halves!
46. Print out these Printables Halloween Flashcards for Halloween fun.
47. Introduce your children to the solar system by showing them how to line up solar system flashcards in the correct order!
48. Lay number flashcards on the floor and teach your child to “dial” your home phone number by hopping on the correct numbers in sequence.
49. Draw a hopscotch court on your driveway with sidewalk chalk. Toss a different number flashcard into each square and have your child call out the number he or she lands on.
50. Give your child a dry erase marker to trace over alphabet flashcards. A simple way to practice writing letters!
51. Use shape flashcards as shape tracing templates by giving your kids string to lay on top of the shape outlines.
52. Challenge your kids to make sentences out of flashcards! Lay out two or three sets of cards featuring numbers, letters, and colors and rearrange them to make simple phrases.
What are all the different ways to use flashcards?
The great thing about using flashcards is that you can easily turn it into a fun activity. If you have a flash card set that you bought at the store, using those are a good method for active learning. Math flashcards are great for teaching new concepts and are a way to keep learning activities fun. (they’re great for learning multiplication tables!)
For even more flash card practice, you can pair them with your favorite board games to create new ways to game.
If you have blank index cards, using them as a study aid for any subject matter is never a bad idea and only take little time to get set up. This is a great way to help with the learning process as well as work on handwriting and language skills, too.
A simple deck of flashcards is an easy way to try fun activities during the school year as well. Use them to help with a foreign language, or to work on vocabulary words in a fun way, but also an effective way.
What ages can use flash cards for learning?
That’s the great thing about flashcards! They’re really about using them during the right time and right place, and age doesn’t even matter. Little ones can use flashcards for matching skills and learning how to read while older kids can use them to work on math facts or to help with a study session.
Even adults can use them as a great tool to help with memorization of presentation, or as a good way to plan out the day or week.
If you start out using flashcards when you’re younger, you might just find that you’re used to that type of learning fun. It’s because they’re able to be molded and used in whatever way the active learner wants to use them, making them a really great and versatile learning tool for all ages.
Where to find Flashcards:
There are so any places around the web for free printable flashcards for seasons, Dolch sight words, letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and more.
You can also make your own cards using your computer or some index cards!
Here are my top picks from Amazon:
shelley
Thursday 23rd of February 2017
Such great ideas to make learning fun! Thanks for sharing at Over the Moon. We look forward to seeing you again next week.