FAQ
Why use flashcards?
Why Speed Flashing cards?
Why start early?
How many cards should I flash to my child?
What is Flashcards time?
My child doesn’t pay attention when I flash the cards, is that normal?
My child doesn’t pay attention anymore, what can I do?
Why show examples of 100 flags, or a vegetable like a chive or an animal like a wombat? Is my child really going to memorize all this? Is it useful to flash things that they may never need to know anyways?
Why have such peculiar items in the flashcards, for example in transportation you have London taxi, NY taxi and Singapore Taxi, why not just use a taxi?
What is photographic memory? What is the value of it?
What is sequential memory? Is it the same as photographic memory?
Why use flashcards?
Flashcards are an effective teaching tool for babies, toddlers and young children. Glenn Doman, child brain development specialist and founder of the Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential®, is one of the experts that supports this theory.
Flashcards are an excellent tool for developing right brain capabilities for children between the ages of zero and six years old when speed flashed, that is, shown at a speed of one second or less per card. They are also a wonderful learning tool for vocabulary, memory and content. For this case no need to speed flash, only show the card about 5-10 seconds each.
Why Speed Flashing cards?
When speed flashing, the left-brain "shuts down" sort of speak, and the right-brain takes over. For children under four years old, that are right brain dominant by default, it is an excellent exercise to train the right brain at this precious moment, where best results can be achieved in the most natural, effortless way. For children four to six years old, that are shifting to left brain dominance is also a useful exercise.
For a live demo on how to speed flash, click here
Why start early?
An early start is crucial because from the moment a child is born until the age of six is when the right-brain is at its full blossom, ready to absorb information, and this is when we can make the most out of it. At around the age of three and a half, logical and linguistic thinking begin to develop, so the right-brain dominance starts shifting to the left-brain. By the age of six, a child's brain is completely left-side dominant. Flashcards are not to make competitive children, they are to take full advantage of their extraordinary ability to learn.
Dr Maria Montessori was the first one to expose that the child from birth through age six has an absorbent mind.
How many cards should I flash to my child?
We suggest flashing 200 different cards a day. It seems like a lot, and it is, but is worth the effort. If you use the same set every day your child will eventually get bored, so try to add as much variety as possible, this includes changing the language or the order. One day you can flash animals and fruits and the next fruits and animals in a different language. We recommend also to flash in subsets throughout the day, for example 3 times a day, 70 different cards each time.
What is Flashcards time?
Flashcards time is about engaging in a fun, loving activity with your child and at the same time, praising your child while they learn. Remember, first love, then fun and learning comes naturally.
My child doesn’t pay attention when I flash the cards, is that normal?
Yes it is normal. However, most children will be fascinated by the speed flashing. If your child doesn’t pay attention at all, try starting the session with a different activity, for example singing a song or dancing; something fun that can engage their attention. Then start with 10 cards at a time and a short break (5-10 seconds) to point out a fact related to the card (for example make the sound of the cow if a cow flashcard is flashed), before the next subset. You can also spread the exercise throughout the day. Remember never to push a child, if one day he doesn’t want to play with flashcards, that’s ok, it’s better to skip than to force. First love, then fun and learning becomes natural.
My child doesn’t pay attention anymore, what can I do?
Your child will tell you when they are bored, by looking away! Glenn Doman advises moving to new material when your child looks away, it might mean the child needs new information because they have already learned that.
Why show examples of 100 flags, or a vegetable like a chive or an animal like a wombat? Is my child really going to memorize all this? Is it useful to flash things that they may never need to know anyways?
Speed flashing does not utilize the traditional memorization method. When the child sees Wombat and hears Wombat each little bit of information is stored as a memory byte and synapses occurs to connect these bits of information. Connections in the brain mean activity and activity in the brain makes the central nervous system develops, grow and regenerate. Overall intelligence increases by keeping active memory bytes.
It is a training exercise for the right-brain, not a memory game. Do not expect your child to learn all the cards by heart. This scenario is uncommon and not the reason to speed flash.
However, when the child grows older, age four and above, and has developed the skill of photographic memory, when you show something longer than 0.5-1 second they will most likely be able to memorize it, but this is another exercise.
Why have such peculiar items in the flashcards, for example in transportation you have London taxi, NY taxi and Singapore Taxi, why not just use a taxi?
The idea is to give as much input as possible. Yes, we could have just used one taxi, but then the exercise is simpler. By using more items the exercise provides a wider scope and new elements are introduced that can get your child’s attention and ultimately achieve our goal: train the right-brain.
What is photographic memory? What is the value of it?
Photographic memory is the ability to accurately recall information, especially images. The value of it will depend on the importance you give it as an ability your child can develop and later use in life. We, parents as well, consider it a great tool for learning throughout a person’s life, regardless of if they become artists, engineers, doctors or athletes.
What is sequential memory? Is it the same as photographic memory?
Sequential memory and photographic memory are two different ways of remembering. Sequential memory involves remembering a STRING of items. Photographic memory involves remembering a number of items, all at once, as a PICTURE. For example, take a list of 5 items: a fish, the sky, a hat, an apple, a phone. Sequentially you’d memorize this list as a string, just as it is. As a picture the exercise would be: The fish who was looking at the sky, put on a hat and saw and apple phone. It’s easier to memorize when seen as a picture.