When my daughter was around 18 months I picked up these phonic flashcards that I just so happened to come across at a park fate. I don't remember exactly how much I paid for them at the time but they are currently available on amazon for £5.55.


The idea of these cards are very simple but we, so far have used them for many other functions that they are not specifically designed to do. The cards are called phonics flashcards so generally you would assume they are for teaching children the different phonics. Since my daughter was 18 months we have had full function of these and they were not used to teach phonics.


18 months - At this age we used the cards simply as a picture aid so that my daughter could learn new words vocally. We would hold different cards up and try to get her to learn new words by using the pictures as an aid. I found this to work excellently well and is, I think one of the best uses of the cards.


3 years - At this age we used the cards as an aid to reading. We would simply hold the picture up for my daughter to see and then show her the word written on the back to try to get her to remember what the words look like and what picture/item to associate them with.


Future - We have slowly started to introduce her to the phonics, by introducing her to the phonics and teaching her how the words sound she is begging to have more of an understanding of how they are spelt and how to understand them in reading terms. We are however early in this process and I guess these cards will help her for several more years.


The cards have helped us with all of the different learning developments mainly because of the way they are presented. Each individual card has a large, clear and concise picture on the front, along with this is the word split into the different phonics on the front. On the back of the card is the single word presented with nothing else or no other distractions on the card, this really helps for reading practice.



There are 44 cards presented within this set, each one has a recognisable and simple picture that children will be familiar with. These pictures are also easy in terms of readability for young children and easy for learner talkers to learn. These include; dog, cat, milk and an array of other simple first words.


I have found this set to be excellent and we use it frequently, my daughter really enjoys it and she has learnt a great deal from using them. The cards are excellent quality, they have had frequent use for several years and they are all still in one piece, despite the box looking a little worse for wear it is still fully functional.


I would highly recommend these, they are excellent to use for a range of developmental stages. They are small, compact and easy to store or travel, and best of all they are ridiculously cheap.