A wonderful field trip can be taken with your baby right in “mommy’s lap” by showing him/her your home-made flashcards. Go to an office supply place and buy a ream of white cardstock 8 1/2 by 11”. This will provide the stiff backing for 500 flashcards. Next, cut out pictures from old magazines and old thrift store books. Make sure to cut each picture at least one inch shorter than the edges of the cardstock. Tape completely around all the edges, so no edge can ever get caught and ripped while pulling flashcards in and out of your file and shuffling and flashing them in front of baby (to his/her utter delight). Talk about each picture with baby, point out things. Use a soothing, happy voice. This picture/talk exposure creates new highways in the brain. It increases the infant’s language development potential by quantum leaps.
If you don’t have time to make the cards yourself, you might divide the cards between grandmothers or friends’ older children and have them return them to you with large wonderful pictures on them, that they have found themselves. File them under headings like these: geography, animals, plants, people, places, transportation, etc. Read our Training Terrific Tots for other ideas for triggering the brain of a young child via preschool pizzazz.
Note: the scientific research of the benefits of this includes the work of Glenn Doman of the (formerly named) Better Baby Institute in Philadelphia.
