First Words Flashcard Set (54 Cards)

Use a small number of cards at a time to avoid overload. You can name the picture, point to the image, or encourage your child to choose a card when you say a word.

Cards can also be used during daily routines, such as mealtimes, getting dressed, or play, by matching words to real-life objects around you.

We’d confidently keep these for a South African child
leaf, moon, stars, ship, lamp, door, tree, nose, mouth, eye, ear, black, square, blue, sun, yellow, white, triangle, red, green, circle, water, stone, airplane, car, clock, sky, fire, land, wood, bicycle, flower, orange, bananas, tomato, candies, apple, egg, milk, plate, spoon, fork, ball, book, crayons

Some images may not fully reflect everyday South African context

• house – shown as a toy style playhouse rather than a typical local home
• mountain – image reflects a landscape not commonly seen in South Africa
• window – architectural style may not reflect most local homes
• river – image shows a landscape style not typical of many South African rivers
• train – model shown is not representative of common South African trains
• shoes – shown as gender specific dress shoes
• clothes – image shows a shirt; in South African English we would simply call it a shirt
• pants – image shows jeans; locally we would refer to these as jeans or bottoms
• cake – image shows a cupcake rather than a full cake

Language nuance to consider
“Candies” would more commonly be called “sweets” in South Africa.

Children build stronger vocabulary when what they see on a card reflects what they see around them.