5 ways to use flashcards with kids

Flashcards can be used in so many ways, from simple matching games to story-telling and inspiration for arts and crafts. Michelle Urquhart, co-founder of Bee a Little Wild, a local business creating nature-inspired flashcards, shares some simple ideas.

Bug hunting

Bury toy minibeasts in rice (or lentils, pasta, couscous, old breakfast cereal – whatever you have!) and ask the kids to see what they can find. Get the kids to use a brush to uncover the toys, and add a magnifying glass if you have one – kids love using these! Place the flashcards around the edge and ask the kids to match up the minibeasts as they find them. Older children can sound out some of the familiar words on the flashcards. This is a great activity for fine motor skills (using a brush, picking up toys), good for encouraging vocabulary (ask younger children what the minibeasts are, what colour they are) and counting (ask children how many of each have they found).

Credit: @outdoor_nature_tots_playkits on Instagram

Spring sensory play

Put together a tray with anything spring-related you can find – think chicks, Easter eggs, bunnies, carrots, lambs and flowers. Use rice, pasta, straw, grass, soil etc as a base. Basically, anything goes! There’s lots of ways for kids to play with a tray like this: they may match colours up, dig around in the soil, mix it all up, make up little stories. There can do so much with this type of tray.

Credit: @beealittlewild on Instagram

Play dough buzzy bees

Using yellow play dough and an assortment of pipe cleaners, dried beans, buttons, glass marbles, sequins, get the kids to make a buzzy bee. A good one for fine motor skills with picking up small items and placing them in the ‘right’ place. You could also encourage counting, by asking kids to give the bee one, two or three stripes or ask them to count how many beans they have used. You can also try making ladybirds, snails, butterflies, worms…

Nature spotting

Take a set of flashcards out with you next time you go for a walk or are playing in the garden and see what you can spot. It’s a great way to talk about nature, what things we can see, what colours they are, how many legs/ petals/spots/eyes they have, where they live and lots more. Just be prepared to answer lots of those ‘why’ questions!

There are four Bee a Little Wild flashcard sets available: minibeasts, mammals, birds and spring. To place an order, get in touch with us on facebook.com/beealittlewild or Instagram.com/beealittlewild or email beealittlewild@ gmail.com. Flashcards are £9.50 a set, with free delivery in the Deepings.

Credit: @beealittlewild on Instagram

Art inspiration

Get out the crayons, colouring pencils or paints and use flashcards as inspiration for some artwork. Or try some natural artwork, using leaves, sticks, acorns and flowers to make pictures. A really easy activity to encourage imagination and creation. You could even make stories up about the pictures you have made.

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Proud to be standing for Lincolnshire County Council as a Conservative, Andrew Halfhide is committed to enhancing both our handsome town and the beautiful villages that surround it.

‘My pledge is to work with the town and parish councils to support the community and build resilient Social Care, education and business while working with the PCC to increase policing in the area.

I believe that Millfield is one of the key open spaces in Market Deeping and I am committed to preserving it as such for future generations and will vote against any housing development on the site.

. I see the improvement of the highway infrastructure as a key part of my role; targeting potholes, street lighting and safety related issues for car users, cyclists and pedestrians.

As a businessman working in the care sector I understand the diverse needs therein and believe that I can bring a wealth of understanding to the importance of a robust care sector and to provide a strong voice at LCC.

As a grandfather with grandkids schooled in the Deepings I am concerned about their welfare following the pandemic and the chaos it has wrought on their young lives; I am keen to support moves to improve facilities both inside and outside of school. I will work with local sports and youth groups to provide a voice for them at LCC and of course to maximise the benefits of the planned new leisure facilities. Our local business community will need ongoing support not least the reinstatement of some form of banking in the town as I believe this to be vital for a strong and vibrant community .I am delighted to see the success of the grant schemes launched by LCC Andrew Halfhide

and support them fully, I urge any local businesses that qualify to look at the funding available below. www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/grants-funding I am looking forward to working with Town and Parish Councils in conjunction with the LCC green masterplan.

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