This Not That - Toys: Munchkin Travel Flash Cards Review

Damien has a new toy in his diaper bag, a little early learning gem which I instantly fell in love with - the Munchkin Traveling Flash Cards.

I originally picked it up for its appeal in teaching Damien the uppercase alphabet and their sounds.

Here is what I love about this little book:

• Bright red uppercase letters with thick, simple font. 

• Twenty six animal pictures for each letter, but on cards separate from the letter, so you can show the letter and picture separately (ideal), or both at the same time if you want to.

• Great quality, clear, real-life animal pictures.

• Clear, bold words below the pictures in English and Spanish

• Variety of animals introduce some fun and interesting new vocabulary, like U for [sea] Urchin.

But wait, there's more! I actually didn't realize until AFTER I brought this home that it is not only an alphabet flip book, but also includes

• Numbers 1-10, represented by groups of fish pictures, the numeral, and the word 

• Shapes, including heart, square, star, rectangle, circle, and triangle (wish there were more, but these are good starters)

• Colors (on the shapes), including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple (again, there could be more, but still nice)

• All of these are in English and Spanish as well

The design is amazing, in my opinion. 

• The cards are laminated and durable.

• The thick plastic and rubber handle makes a great teether.

• It's small - about 3in x 3in and less than an inch thick, it fits easily in the diaper bag for travel or at home.

Some minor cons:

• Cards are sometimes slightly difficult to turn on the plastic rings.

• Would have preferred some more shapes (think diamond, hexagon, etc.) and colors (brown, silver, etc.). However since I purchased it for the alphabet portion this is not a big deal.

• The mirror on the cover gets scratched up and dirty easily.

So in one little flip book, you can teach your baby

• 26 alphabet names / shapes, 26 letter sounds, 26 animals (+26 in Spanish), 10 numerals, 10 quantities, 10 number names (+10 in Spanish), 6 shapes (+6 in Spanish), 6 colors (+6 in Spanish), for a total of no less than 168 bits of information clearly and simply presented. 

I am pretty sure that this is the best $5 I have spent in a long time. Sure, I could have made something homemade, but it wouldn't have been nearly as durable, portable, or cute, and would have likely taken a couple of hours to do so.

Are there any early learning gems you've come across worth sharing with other Doman Moms?

"My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly." 

Job 33:3

Thank you for your comments!

Damien is 9 months, 3 weeks old

Doman Quote of the Month: The Land of Knowledge

"At this moment there is a world - a world of great beauty, of great truth, an enchanting, beguiling, thrilling, bewitching, and enriching world of facts - out there in fact land. It is a land of great riches. There are riches for the soul, there are riches for the spirit, there are riches for science. It is a land beyond imagining, but strangely it is very uncrowded. It is crowded only in spots. There are lots of artists looking at great paintings, and there are lots of musicians listening to orchestras, and there are lots of scientists looking at space shuttles, and there are lots of doctors looking at hearts, and there are lots of mathematicians looking at numbers, but very, very few people are seeing it all... They're a group called "Genius"... True geniuses have always been few in number and immensely curious about everything."

Glenn Doman

How to Give Your Baby Encyclopedic Knowledge

Pet Stores and Encyclopedic Knowledge

Window shopping education. Who knew?

We have recently discovered the educational (and entertaining) joys of window shopping at Petsmart, a fun little venture that came about by us randomly wandering through the strip mall stores in town for lack of anything better to do and essentially, because it was fun.

We have been on little excursions to pet stores before. The last time I wrote about one was when we went to this little downtown shop, over two years ago. But although our previous pet-trecks have been great fun and also quite educational, our more recent visits to Petsmart have been all the more enlightening because of one simple thing: labeling.

See, Glenn Doman believed that, if at all possible, you should give your child the most exact, precise, and clear information you can. That means telling your child that "There is a pretty robin!" not just a "bird" (or even worse, "birdy" or "tweet tweet").

Even better than telling your your child there is a pretty robin would be to tell your child that "There is a pretty bird called an American Robin [its actual name] and the pretty bird's scientific name is Turdus migratorius!" If you have that information, of course.

They both take the exact same amount of time and effort. But as you can quite obviously see, they both don't have the exact same amount of impact or effect by far.

And while browsing through the awesome variety of reptiles, small mammals, arachnids and birds in the super store, we were delightfully enlightened by such precise, clear, discreet (and interesting) names as the veiled chameleon, the red-eared slider turtle, the rose-haired tarantula, the ball python, the bearded dragon lizard, the zebra finch, and the fancy green-cheeked conure, just to name a few.

What was equally delightful was that they not only had such wonderfully specific names below each creature's cage but also little bits and pieces such as its scientific name, its habitat, lifespan, species' characteristics and fun facts.

What a splendid (and free) way to not only enjoy the turtle munching lettuce or the mice flipping each other on the exercise wheel or the parrots having conversations but also to learn so much right then and there without any effort or researching on the parent's part.

All at just a stop at the mall.

"And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." 

Genesis 2:19

Hunter is 5 years, 3 months old

Babies Love Flashcards (Ro's First Maths)

Today, "Ro", my little crier, found comfort in something "most" adults would consider quite strange: math dots.

Now, granted, I have been around a lot of babies and a lot of little kids and it comes as no surprise to me that tiny tots love flashcards. Babies, especially, seem to have a special love affair with the math dots (quantity cards) which tend to produce smiles, laughs, and intense concentration and fascination.

But even Ro (nineteen months) surprised me today with his initial introduction to the math dots. Being my little crier (who doesn't appreciate being away from his mama) the quantity cards seemed to have an instant effect on him beginning with the usual peculiar yet fascinated focus, followed by smiles and then laughs. Typical response, really.

The surprising part? When I put them away, he started crying. When I got them back out and continued showing them to him, he would smile and giggle, and then burst with laughter and dancing each time I got to ten. Rewind and repeat fifteen times before I finally distracted him by showing him some presidents bits to look at on his own.

Yes, babies love flashcards. And Ro, well, he really loves them.

"For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy..."

Ecclesiastes 2:26

"Ro", daycare child, is nineteen months old

Old Video of Hunter Naming Presidents, Age 2

Hunter (and monkey!) naming some of the presidents with one his favorite (and first) bit cards.

And making fun of Andrew Jackson's big head.

Hunter, in video, was 2 years, 10 months old

Early Numerical Stimulation (Mathematical Mondays)

"Never forget that when you are giving a child visual, auditory, and tactile stimulation with increased frequency, intensity, and duration that you are actually physically growing his brain. We have never met a neurophysiologist who didn't know that - as we have rarely met a professional person who actually deals with kids who did."

-Glenn Doman

"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts."

Isaiah 28:9

"Ty", daycare child, is 9 weeks old

Vintage Toys and Encyclopedic Knowledge

Hunter has been quite interested in this old toy of mine lately.

It was produced by Vtech and is called World Wizard Traveler, something you might be able to find on ebay but the technology is not all that good so I'm not going to say I exactly highly recommend it.

Hunter on the other hand could care less and this is his toy of choice lately. It's basically just a little box with forty-some cartridges and eight option buttons. The little black and white LED screen flashes you a letter (which corresponds to a picture on the slide you just put in) and you're supposed to select the correct answer of the name of that picture with a little button on the right hand side. If you're right it plays a happy, ascending tune and, if you're wrong, the opposite. But, the nice thing is that, when you are wrong, it immediately tells you what the right answer was. So a little trial and error can make anyone a pro at this game, even if you're previously clueless about the content.

The slides he can toy with include:

• Countries of the world 
• Countries of Europe
• Provinces of Canada 
• Territories of Australia
• States of the USA
• Architecture styles
• Famous inventions
• Parts of the brain
• The human respiratory system
• Dinosaurs
• People of ancient times
• Chemical elements
• Types of triangles
• Parts of a flower
• Leaves
• Ocean fish
• The anatomy of a shark
• Desert wildlife
• Flightless birds
• Constellations
• Space vehicles
• Space pioneers
• Flags of the world
• Authors of famous classic literature
• Parts of an animal cell
• Monkeys and apes
• World musical instruments
• World coins
• Ancient artifacts
• Endangered species
• Types of clouds
• The planets

It is a toy Mommy likes having around even though the tune is somewhat on the annoying side. After all, learning is play, right? 

"I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker."

Job 36:3

Hunter is 5 years, 0 months old

No Comment

"Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else."

Isaiah 34:16

Hunter is 5 years, 0 months old

Dendrology

den·drol·o·gy

[den-drol-uh-jee]

–noun

1. the branch of botany dealing with trees and shrubs.

2. the scientific study of trees and other woody plants.

A couple of weeks ago we were thrilled to notice beautiful trees all over the base flowering in the spring sun. This has led us to talking about how the flowers on trees will turn into some kind of fruit, whether it be berries, oranges, or whatever. Now whenever Hunter sees a tree with flowers on it he excitedly yells, "Mom, those are going to turn into fruit!"

I used to think that the clean-cut, carefully-manicured, overly-pesticided environment of the base was going to be void of many nature experiences. But things continue to pop up from mushroom discoveries to insects to leaves to birds. It's not exactly a nature preserve but there is still much to be learned and explored.

Dendrology, aka studying trees, is one thing I am very excited about. There are so many interesting trees around here and such a great variety, I can't wait to put them in our tree book and start learning the names of some of them. Even just on the base, there is this peculiar and interesting mix of palms, pines, and deciduous trees in all these crazy shapes and sizes. Today we found a palm tree that looked like a ten-foot pineapple and one with cactus-like spikes on the leaves.

I want to make tree-study a year-long biology adventure (i.e. pictures of the tree in spring, summer, fall, and winter) but with my eminent disorganization and sidetrackedness at times, this goal never seems to be realized (this has been something I have wanted to do since Hunter was two and a half).

But maybe with our upcoming focus on biology this year for kindergarten, my motivation will be a little higher and my persistence more consistent. Maybe.

But anyway, even if I don't manage to get a perfect picture with every desired tree at every season, we are still going to be setting out and exploring trees, doing bark-rubbings, collecting leaves, flowers, and twigs for our nearly-empty book, and maybe learning a thing or two about each. I love free resources and I love the internet, so for those of you who feel the same, here are some of the super dendrology resources we will be using:

• Enature.com has a wonderful online field guide of over 900 trees. You can browse by category (like Palms or Needle-leaf Conifers) and then narrow your search by biological families or by location (choose from fourteen different North American regions). It is very cool.
• Arborday.org has a great Tree Identification Glossary. I really like this one and need to make up some Doman-style word cards with these.

For a physical copy you can carry around with you (you know, like when you're actually out there looking at the trees), we use the DK Smithsonian Trees Handbook. It's really nice and has tons of pictures, not only for learning about the species of trees themselves but for many dendrology topics in general, like identifying leaves and types of bark. It's very cool in my opinion.

Happy learning!

"As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth."

Psalm 103:15

Hunter is 5 years, 0 months old

Money Song

This is a very animated version of Hunter singing his little "money jingle". He got some toy money for Christmas and as a compliment to this blog post about it, I wanted him to sing the song just to demonstrate the tune. But instead of just singing it he decided he had to act it out for me, dramatically picking up each plastic coin as he said the words.

He is actually quite frequently this dramatic, but rarely for the camera.

He likes his toy money a lot, and has been acting out a lot of fun scenes with it, as well as playing math games with me (such as adding together coins or dollars with the use of the sliding game). It's really fun that he is so interested in it, because it makes learning a breeze.

He has known the little money song for a long time now but this is the first time we'll be doing a lot of math activities with money.

"For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it." 

Ecclesiastes 7:12

Hunter is 4 years, 9 months old

Teaching Buddies

"What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose." 

Psalm 25:13

Hunter is 4 years, 8 months old

Parts of the Sun

For science this unit we have been learning about the sun. It is the first theme in our science curriculum this year. We're doing earth science this year, but the curriculum we're using starts out with an introduction to astronomy, the sun being the first topic on the list.

We have been doing parts of the sun bits, with the core, radiative zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona highlighted on each flashcard.

Today he colored a coloring page that I printed out for him, and did a really good job. He did the whole thing without any input from me, and chose the colors orange, red, yellow, blue, and brown to color the various layers.

One thing that I thought was really interesting though was that he actually made his own chromosphere (the blue layer, picture shown at right) which was not on the coloring page. He just made it himself after only seeing the flashcards a few times!

Lots more exciting news about fun things we've been learning about the sun, soon to come!

You can download this coloring page from google docs for free.

"They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations."

Psalm 72:5

Hunter is 4 years, 2 months old

Look mom! It's Mozart! (Mobile Blogging)

Look mom! It's Mozart! (Mobile Blogging)

While we were at Barnes and Noble today I found Hunter with his chin resting on the edge of the shelf, carefully looking at the front of this CD case. When I walked over to see what he was doing, he said, "Look Mom. Mozart!"

It's always fun when he recognizes encyclopedic knowledge that I have taught him in random places like this.

Hunter is 4 years, 2 months old

Bit Time Videos

I created this fast-paced video for Hunter to go over some of the bits we're learning. I had gotten in the bad habit of allowing him to do the mouse clicking when we watched bit presentations on the computer, which made for quite slow learning, and because of the slow pace he often didn't want to sit for very many of them. In video format, I can show almost 200 bits in under two minutes. Impressive, isn't it? The video was actually originally under two minutes, but then I added applause segments at the end of certain clips and introduction spinning words at the beginning of certain categories (history, art, music, etc.) so it ended up being about four minutes. Once I added the Bible memory reading, it came out to around seven.

But now with these videos he will be able to see many of his bits in a very small amount of time and will not have to be so distracted with the mouse-clicking. With the fast speed, it locks his attention on the screen and keeps him interested - any slower and he would look away very quickly because, little kids learn instantly: they don't need to stare. Hence, if information is presented to them slowly they will quickly decide they don't have time for it and will look away, which is why most people have falsely assumed tiny kids aren't capable of learning. The truth is we've just been too slow for them.

The other benefit of seeing the bits shown so quickly (less than a second each) is that images shown at this speed stimulate the brain to activate the photographic memory or rapid fact absorption, at which tiny kids are experts. Some people call this "right brain learning" but that term is not entirely correct, as both hemispheres of the brain work together and are not as choppy and simplistic as "right = creative, left = logical". But nonetheless, little kids (under six) are experts as this type of rapid, photographic learning, and if utilized enough in the early years they will retain this effortless learning as they get older.

This particular video is quite choppy: it doesn't have all eleven divisions (anatomy, art, biology, general science, geography, history, languages, literature, math, music, scripture) because some of those divisions I am using the actual cards for right now (languages, literature, and biology are excluded from this video). It also has more than one set in some divisions, such as three sets in science and five sets in geography. The geography one is interesting because I am teaching two sets of flags, two sets of outlines, and only one set of locations. This is because last week I taught locations but not flags or outlines, so this week I'm catching up and teaching double of outlines and flags.

This is the first of hopefully many videos to come. I am looking to share these home videos freely on the web for other parents to utilize if they need to. However the up-coming videos will be more organized, with one set in each of the eleven divisions so that it won't be as random as this one. My hope is that it will bless many.

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning."

Proverbs 9:9

Hunter is 3 years, 5 months old

Idaho?

Today I introduced Hunter to some state outlines. He saw them once, then I put them away.

Later when I showed him the second set of state outline cards, as I was going through he said "No!" and I stopped. "Go back" he said, and I backed up to the one I had showed him before. "No, no" he said until we got to Oklahoma. "That one!" he said. "Oklahoma?" I said. "No, it's not Oklahoma." he replied. "Yes, this is Oklahoma Hunter." "No" he said, and then proceeded to take the card and turn it sideways so that the long end was turned up.

"Oh" I laughed. "No Hunter, you're thinking of Idaho" I got Idaho out from the other set and showed him. "Is this what you were thinking of?" "Yeah" he smiled. "Oh, well this one here is called Oklahoma and this one is Idaho." It made me laugh. He's very particular about stuff like that. But, it was an honest mistake. Kids come make the funniest observations.



"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."

Isaiah 30:21

Hunter is 3 years, 4 months old

What We're Learning

Here's the fun things we'll be learning in the next week:

Bits:
Paintings by Pablo Picasso
Constellations
Kings and Queens
of England
Parts of a Flower
Birds
Countries and flags of Europe
Japanese colors
Organs of the body
Telling Time

Math:
Greater than and less than with numbers 0-100

Reading words:
Parts of the body
Family names
Spring words (from Word Birds Spring Words by Jane Belk Moncure)
School words (from Word Birds School Words)
Creation words (from Genesis 1:1-3)

Literature:
Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson
Beatrix Potter books

Stories from Genesis chapter 1-10
Memorize: Psalm chapter 6:7-10 & 7:1

Music:
Beethoven's 5th symphony
Perfect pitch and note reading: G#, A, A#, B, C,
Hymns:
Fairest Lord Jesus from Munster Gesangbuch
Jesus Loves Even Me by Philip P. Bliss
The Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key
My Country, 'Tis of Thee by Samuel F. Smith
Onward Christian Soldiers by Sabine Baring-Gould

Writing Letters and Braille: A, B, C, and D

"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little"

Isaiah 28:9-10

Hunter is 3 years, 3 months old

Much Needed Help

Help came at just the right time yesterday. To say the least, I've been bogged down trying to get materials at the rate Hunter is learning them: he learns everything faster than I can keep up with!

But just as I was feeling discouraged, I remembered a set of Fandex cards we had downstairs of "Explorers". I thought these would be great as portable bits to use on our trip to NC this summer.

While searching for the fandex cards, I literally screamed with joy when I found a large stack of jumbo size insect flashcards in the science room! These have splendid (large) illustrations of insects on them, several dozen cards in all, and I know Hunter is going to love learning about the world of insecta! I also found a stack of wildflower cards from the same company! What a gift from heaven, as I know that find saved me probably five hours of work!

But that is not all, as I also found a set of "Our 50 States" fandex cards (which I plan on using on our trip) as well as some astronomy flashcards and "edible plants" flashcards! It sure made my day.

I was then inspired to go to the bookstore and see if they had any such similar resources. I was pleased to take home the fandex sets of "Great Classical Composers" and "Birds" for only $10 each (each set has probably 50 cards). I also bought a book called "100 things you should know about gladiators" for just $6. This made my day!

And today I went back for some very nice field guides that were on clearance for $7, including Rocks and Minerals, Herbs, Insects, and Butterflies and Moths. We also got, at Hunter's request, "100 things you should know about elephants". And to top off my day, I found out that teachers (including homeschoolers) can get a 20% discount on everything they buy for their classroom (the store is Barnes and Noble)! I can't wait to go back and get some more fandex cards as well as some awesome books of great masterpieces of art that I saw.

The fandex cards are great in that they have wonderful pictures and a good deal of information. They're not full "Bits of Intelligence" cards with 10 programs of intelligence on the back (ten bits of information, including what they eat, where they live, interesting things about them, and their scientific name [for animals]). But they are a great start and do give a fair deal of good information about each item. And who can beat just $10 for 50 bits! Plus they're portable, great for cars, diaper bags, and trips.

Fandex is a great resource for the busy teacher-parent. On Amazon I found these categories: Human Body, Washington DC, New York City, the Civil War, American Indians, Cats, Dogs, Dinosaurs, Presidents, Shakespeare, Africa, Wildflowers, Mummy Gods and Pharaohs, Mythology, First Ladies, Butterflies of the World, Painters, and Wonders of the World.

" The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him."

Psalm 28:7

Hunter is 3 years, 2 months old

It's a Trapezoid, Mommy!

"It's a trapezoid, Mommy!" Hunter said holding up his cracker. He was actually eating triangle-shaped crackers, so at first I assumed he was wrong. But as I turned around to look, lo and behold, it was indeed a trapezoid as the top had been bitten off and the new shape was a four-sided form.

I had forgotten that he knew those shapes. A while ago I made him some cards with various shapes on them and showed them to him, but I never tested him so I didn't really know if he learned them. Guess he did.

When I made the cards, at age 2 1/2 Hunter didn't know any more shapes than a circle, square and triangle. Most children's books about shapes only have a few shapes and the list is rarely complete. So I decided to make my own.

Some people loath flashcards as if they're child abuse, but it is putting no more "pressure" on them than reading a book would. He loves the flashcards I make him because I show them very quickly (less than a second per card) and he simply gets the pure, straight-forward information in a fun and easy way without long, silly lessons or slow, boring drills.

Knowing the names of a variety of shapes makes him notice details in things, as in the case with this cracker today. As I've pointed out so many times before, useful encyclopedic knowledge is not just "trivia", but is indeed a springboard to a great big world of new learning. Being able to recognize and name a variety of shapes extends far more than just pointing out which card is which in a set of a dozen flashcards, but opens the doors to lots more learning all around.

"Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see."

Isaiah 42:18

I also have some cards of regular polygons. I never tested him on these before but I see now that he has learned them just as quickly and just as easily as he learned circle and square, being able to instantly see the difference between an ennegon and a decagon.

It's a great big world full of wonderful things to learn about. Shapes is a splendid thing worth teaching your child.

"And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks."

1 Kings 7:5

Hunter is 2 years, 10 months old

All Aboard!

Lately Hunter just loves to make sure that all of his "friends" are around when I show him his math, reading, and encyclopedic knowledge cards.

Whatever toy he may have been playing with before we do our cards, he always makes sure that they get to come along and watch.

"They really want to see them [the cards]" you know.

He lines them all up, and positions them where they can "see" good, as in this picture.

Indeed, he loves this special times of learning throughout the day, and is always sure that his toys will get to take part in the fun. Learning reading, math, and encyclopedic knowledge has certainly heightened his imagination, curiosity, and love of learning, not crushed it.

"...and thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the children of Israel together"

Numbers 8:9

Hunter is 2 years, 10 months old