Flash Cards

Let me preface this post by saying we do not use flash cards in a drill-and-practice/traditional sense. With that being said, I have really found them to be wonderful in helping develop S's vocabulary.  I keep these two baskets on a shelf in the playroom where he can reach them.  One contains board books that are concept oriented (colors, numbers, etc.) and the other contains flash cards.  I punch a hole in the corners and fasten them with a ring so that the sets stay together and I don't have to deal with the boxes.  We use the flash cards much like the board books, but they are even better because they are "pages" that can be manipulated.  We sort them into groups, spread them out on the floor and talk about the animals S is familiar with, match them with pictures in the board books, etc.  Some of them I have made (computer print outs, stickers on index cards, paint swatches from Lowes) and others I have purchased inexpensively (Dollar Tree, Michael's dollar bins, Target dollar bins, Half Price Books).