I believe in flash cards. When I was a kid, I learned my times tables using them, and when I got older & went to high school I created my own to study. So I may or may not have purchased color flash cards for Shane when he was like, a year old.
The thing is- and I learned this very, very quickly- three year olds aren’t really into flash cards. They start out super excited about them, but then after five or so cards they get bored & move on to the next thing. I truly believe in the value of them, but they only work if you actually use them. So how do you get your kids to use {and maybe even love} them? With Hot Dots Jr.!
Hot Dots Jr. is basically a flash card game. There are packs of cards with different themes and each card has an easy to understand question and three answers underneath. The child determines their answer & then uses the Pen- either Ace or Kat {a dog & cat, respectively} to select what they believe is the correct answer. If they get it wrong, the pen’s eyes turn red & a buzzer sounds, along with a phrase like “Try again!”. If they get it right, though, the eyes turn green and they are awarded with praise!
Shane loves Hot Dots Jr. so much that within a week of receiving Ace & 1 set of cards to review, we had already purchased two more sets! {We now have Beginning Phonics, Numbers & Counting and The Alphabet.} He gets so excited when he gets an answer right & it makes him want to do more cards!
Green eyes- he got it right!
You may have to participate in this activity with your child depending on their age because some reading is involved. You’ll have to tell your child what the question is for the card- for example, the phonics set has both the questions “What has the same beginning sound?” and “What has the same end sound?”, so if your child can’t read yet they won’t know what question they need to answer. However, I love doing things like this with Shane anyway so the participation is actually a benefit to me! And, some of the other sets don’t really require any reading, like the numbers one that shows a picture and you select how many of the item are in the picture. Either way, anything that gets Shane excited about doing flash cards is perfection in my book!
This activity is great for a large age range and is geared toward kids 3-7. But older kids can have fun too- in fact, they have another whole line just called “Hot Dots” for older kids ages 7 & up.
Buy It: You can find Hot Dots Jr. Card Sets & Ace and Kat pens on the Educational Insights website. Card sets are $14.99 each & pens are $12.99 each.
Win It: One lucky reader will win their own pen & card set! Just enter using the simple form below. Good luck!
Note: I received the products mentioned to faciliate this review. All opinions are my own.
Lisa Burk says
I like the Hot Dots Jr. Beginning Problem Solving Card Set!
Nicole L. says
I like the shapes set.
Fawn H says
I like the Beginning Science set
kelly tillotson says
Hot Dots® Learn to Solve Word Problems Set Grades 1-3
*kelly
[email protected]
Harry Cammry says
To get kids excited about flashcard, I think you need to have a good method and application. My kid is 5 years old. I had tried many teaching methods, and I found that Superflashcard is good for him. Whenever I don’t have to do housework, I play these games with him. My kid is very interested in this app with well-organized database.
Nicole Robinson says
I like the Beginning Science Card Set.
Maryann says
looks like a great set for young kids.
Laurie J says
I like the Beginning Science Set.
Jessamine Marie Ricafort Dungo says
I like the beginning phonics set 🙂
Austin Baroudi says
I like the Hot Dots® Jr. Card Set Numbers & Counting!
Marysa says
Beginning Science.
Marysa {at} marysa {dot} com
Ty @ Mama of 3 Munchkins says
Looks like a great set!
Vanessa: the queen of swag ! says
looks like a great learning tool! great review.
Tricia Nightowlmama says
adorable i bet my preschooler would luv this
Sarah says
I like both the number/counting set and the alphabet set! What a great product!
Christine says
I like the Hot Dots Jr. Interactive Storybooks – 4 Book Set with Ace Pen.
Thanks for the chance!
Kristen says
I’d like beginning science.
harolde says
I like the Phonics Fun
Candice Hull says
I like the Hot Dots® Jr. Card Set Beginning Phonics
Thank you!
Laura Unger says
I like the Beginning Phonics set.
Leslie L. Stanziani says
The Hot Dots® Jr. Card Set Beginning Phonics set is my favorite followed by beginning science.
susan smoaks says
Beginning Phonics is my favorite set
Sand says
My favorite is the Hot Dots® Jr. Card Set Patterns & Sequencing.
Laurie Emerson says
I like Hot Dots® Jr. Phonics Fun.