Friday, September 10, 2010

Leap Frog Letter Factory Flash Cards


I've really enjoyed Leap Frog's educational DVDs, mainly the Letter Factory that teach sounds each letter makes .
I've been looking online for flashcards that coordinate with the alphabet characters in the DVD for a while, and couldn't find any, so made some myself.

So far they've been great, and I was actually surprised how many sounds my son knew from watching the DVDs.  I think having the cards with the same clues helps him, and it's nice to review the same clues he's already familiar--not having to watch TV to do so.  It seems like he learns a lot more using the cards, since he has to recall info rather than just watch the DVD, but it's fun to have both that reinforce one another.

My mom gave us the Leap Frog DVDs for his 2nd birthday, but I saw them at Costco for $5.99 the other day.
So if you would like some ABC Flash cards to go with the Leap Frog sound clues, I'm sharing the ones I made!
**Keep in mind I just sketched them so take them for what they are--home made by a non-artist mom.**

Here's links to print your cards:
(I recommend you print them on card stock for durability)
Plain cards so you or your kids can color them:
Or if you don't want to color, save time by using these:


I did try in the sketch to emphasize the actual shape of the letter rather than all the clue crap around them, by drawing the letter in bold marker. 

Here's my add-ons once you've printed them off, colored them if you chose that route, and cut them apart.

1. Backed them with scrapbook paper.
Just cut 4"x4" squares, and used glue sticks to attach them on the backs of the cards.

2. Printed uppercase and lowercase letters on address labels.
I wanted to have just the printed letters on the back, so as he gets better at knowing his sounds, I can easily flip the cards, to test his knowledge of the actual text letters, rather than the cartoon clues.  Eventually just using the text backs when he's learned them all, but having the clues for reminders.
So I just printed them out and stuck them on, you could obviously print letters on regular paper and glue them on too.

4. Laminated for durability
I looked into having these laminated at office stores.  But it is expensive!  $3.00 per square foot, or buy many 8 1/2" x 11" sleeves for $2.00 each.
I found this laminator at Costco for $18.99, and it included 100 laminating sleeves.
So I decided it was worth it to just get the equipment, since one set of cards would have cost around $15.00 anyway.

It's really easy, I used the 4x6" sleeves for these cards.
Just slip in the card, put it in the machine, and it comes out great!

(I did have to trim the extra plastic on the bottoms)

After everything was done, I thought it would have been smart to have used a different, bright plain color on the back of the vowel cards.   Then when he's just practicing with the text letters, those would stand out as different.  It was too late on mine, but maybe an idea as you cut the paper on the back of your cards.
I just bundle the pack with a rubber band to keep them together for now, and they've been great having to wait at doctor's offices, and the post office.  They fit in my purse, so I keep them there and just grab a few while we're waiting.  They're still new and fun right now, so this entertainment may not last as long as I hope.
I also thought it would be a good idea for a gift to give the DVD with a set of these flashcards. 
Anyway, enjoy!

75 comments:

  1. no artistic ability?

    Who are you trying to kid? LOL!! They are adorable! My neighbor got me started on these videos about 5 years ago and we're still watching them with our younger children. Super Cute! Thanks for making them available to us! Can't wait!

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  2. These are AMAZING! I think I might print them right away. I didn't know my 3-year old was watching Letter Factory at daycare until one day he said to me, "Mommy, that's a K for Kickin! And an F for Flyin" -I was like, WHOA, what happened to my 3-year old! I am SO proud of everything he's learned and if these flashcards help emphasize that YAY!

    Thank you SO much for sharing your artistic talents!

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  3. THANK YOU!!!!!! This video actually helped my oldest start reading, he would sound out the letters when we read like they sounded on this video...and now I will have flashcards to match (very artistic cards I might add!) and I know he will recognize them from the movie. Thanks again, I love these!!!!

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  4. I got my cards in a box set from Target back in the spring. Your homemade ones are incredibly similar. WE love the entire series up until the most recent ones where they changed the animation. There is too much going on in my opinion...my older kids even told me that the new videos were distracting and that they couldn't recall the information as easily.

    My seven year old son learned to read by three with the help of The Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory, and the Code Word Caper.

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  5. I just have to tell you, as I was getting ready to print these my son came over and said "hey, I know those, those are from Tad" (that is what we call the movie)...thought that was cute ;)

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  6. I think the proof of your artistic ability is in the pudding...er, flash cards. :) These are wonderful! Definitely hanging onto them for when my little guy is old enough. Even if there is no more Letter Factory, these are awesome flashcards!

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  7. Wow, I may have to find the videos, seems a lot of people like them! Even though I don't have the video I love having cheap, homemade, educational toys for my kid. Thank you for sharing!! I love it!

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  8. great blog! Hope on over to envymycooking if your ever looking for new recipes or give aways!

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  9. Yay! I will definitely be making myself a set of these cards since we use this video every week when I introduce a new letter sound in preschool! Thank you for taking the time to do this so I can benifit greatlhy!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are the best!!!!

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  10. You're awesome, thanks! Have you seen the Leap Frog fridge magnets? We LOVE them as well as those DVDs. I bet you're happy you aren't having to deal with the construction on the way to your mom's! :)

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  11. How long ago did you get your laminator? That has been on my want list for a while now...I am just to lazy to haul all the kids over there to see if they have it ;) just to find out they don't...haha.

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  12. Thank you, thank you! I had this movie for my now 7 yr old and brought it out for my 3yr old a few months back. He love the whole series and when I checked in on your blog and saw these cards I knew I had to print them. We just printed, cut and laminated together. He loves them :)

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  13. Wow, thanks so much for the download! I think that this is going to be a project for my 6 yr old to make for her two younger sisters for Christmas. They will LOVE it. I have never seen those movies but will have to check them out.
    Have you seen the Zac the Rat phonics vidio games online? My kids are loving those right now. We do those games instead of tv lately and they are learning their phonics. Pretty neat. Thanks again!

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  14. BTW: I have blogged about these and linked others to your blog, my son is in LOVE with theses and he LOVES to read them in the car (continual learning)! THANK YOU!

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  16. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!! My friend got a set of cards free when she bought a box set of the dvds. I have been searching for some for quite a bit. This will make my son very happy. Did I say thank you?

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  17. These cards are fabulous!! We can follow along with the video and work on our letters. My daughter with autism LOVES these. God bless you for sharing them with others on your blog!!!!

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  18. Hi! I Just found your blog and landed on this page...how awesome! Theses are just amazing! You are a talented lady!
    I am sharing your project with my FB peeps here:
    http://www.facebook.com/LearningIsChildsPlay
    Come by and say Hello if you like! It would be an honor :)
    Thanks for these neat cards!

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  19. My daughter was just introduced to The Letter Factory and I can't believe how many sounds she knows now! As a reading teacher of kindergarten students, I wanted to find flashcards of the characters, especially for the vowels, to help the students connect the letters and sounds. I googled and your blog came up. I love it and am now a follower! Thank you so much for posting these!!
    ~ Mrs. Mc
    http://littleliteracylearners.blogspot.com/

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  20. Hi!
    I just shared your blog and the link to this page on my blog.
    Thanks!
    ~ Mrs. Mc
    http://littleliteracylearners.blogspot.com/2011/03/letter-sounds.html

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  21. oh my gosh! These are amazing! We LOVE that video and I can't wait to print these. I am going to try to think of a creative way to display them in the playroom. I'll link up to you for sure! Ahhhh so excited!

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  22. Your cards are amazing! Wonderful illustrations. My little ones love the Letter Factory & I can't wait to print these cards out to review the alphabet letters.
    Thanks,
    Shauna
    http://myshaenoel.blogspot.com/

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  23. These are great! Thank you so much!

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  24. My kiddos LOVE this movie! I am so excited to use your flashcards! THANK YOU so much for sharing!!! =)

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  25. Thank-you SO much!
    We lost a few of our flash cards that came with our DVD's and I was searching to order more and stumbled upon your site!

    Thank-you so much for sharing!!!

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  26. AMAZING!!!!! I would have to argue the no artist ability! :) My Kindergarten kiddos are gonna love these! Thank you so much for sharing!

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  27. I LOVE these! I can't wait to print but for some reason I am having trouble with the colored document (it is coming up blank?). I have tried the B&W and it looks like that one will work but I would prefer the colored. Thanks for any help you might be able to give.

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  28. Never mind, tried it again and it printed beautifully!! Must have been having a "mommy moment" ;-) Thank you so much for this!

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  29. I LOVE these. Thank you for sharing. I can't wait to use them with my kids.

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  30. Oh my- this is adorable! New follower- coming over from Activity Mom.

    Jen
    Creative and Curious Kids!

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  31. Muchisimas gracias!!! A mi pequeño tambien le encanta leap frog.

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  32. WOW! I loved these cards so much, I had to feature your post on my blog. The post will publish tomorrow morning. Thanks again!
    http://lessonsfromboys.blogspot.com/

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  33. These are awesome... I guess you were just trying to be modest when you said that you don't have any artistic ability. Usually the hand-drawn ideas are the best! Thanks for these and now I will go look for the Leap Frog dvd.

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  34. You truly are AMAZING! What great drawings and how AWESOME of you to share! I made mine into laminated flashcards with traceable letters on the back for my son to practice his handwriting on! I just linked to your blog and to this post on my new blog, SwellChel: http://swellchel.blogspot.com/2011/08/learning-at-home-letter-factory.html

    Thanks again for sharing!

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  35. MOMtrepreneur Crafter of the Day: Leap Frog Letter Factory Flash Cards make great flip books

    http://barbarasbeat.blogspot.com/2011/08/momtrepreneur-crafter-of-day-leap-frog.html

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  36. WOW! These are incredible! Wanted to let you know that we featured your printable letter flash cards at our blog, Preschool Printables! We were sure to give idea/photo/creation credit, as well a link back to your blog for the download/post, but we'd love for you to take a look at it!

    Let us know if there are any problems!

    Thanks so much,
    Kayla Johnson

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  37. Thanks! I haven't seen the DVD, but plan on getting it soon for my daughter! I am excited to have these to go along with it! :)

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  38. The Happy Buddy is ADDICTED to that Letter Factory movie!! These flashcards are just perfect! Thank you so much! Our favorite letter is 'W-w-w-what's happen'in, dude?!'

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  39. Those are amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! I love things having to do with learning, especially for children. When I have children I want to homeschool them so thanx for this!

    Natalie
    www.projectdowhatyoulove.wordpress.com

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  40. I just want you to know that I love these and featured these on our blog in the past! Thank you for sharing these WONDERFUL resources!!

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  41. Thank you so much for sharing these! They are awesome!

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  42. These are great! Thanks for sharing! I especially love the idea of gifting the dvd with the cards!

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  43. Hello, you used to write magnificent, but the last several posts have been kinda boringกK I miss your great writings. Past several posts are just a bit out of track! come on!
    ECCO Women's Biom Golf Shoe

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  44. These look super fun. Thanks so much for sharing.

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  45. Thank you so much! My kids love the Leap Frog videos and I have a son who is ready to learn his letter sounds. You did a fantastic job with these.

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  46. I m choosing these cards for my special kids i m sure they love these cards.

    Hank Hendricks

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  47. These are amazing!! Thank you so much for taking the time to draw these and sharing these with everyone!!

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  48. I think instead of paper plastic cards printing is perfect as it makes them durable and long lasting..

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  49. Thank you SO much for sharing! These are awesome!!

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  50. These are great Beautiful designs Thanks for sharing...
    Plastic card

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  51. I was going to make these myself for my Kinder classroom and saw this. Thanks a million...you saved me so much time and they are way better than what I could have done!!!!

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  52. I was going to make these myself for my Kinder classroom and saw this. Thanks a million...you saved me so much time and they are way better than what I could have done!!!!

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  53. Thanks for the sharing. Excellent your Educational Dvds related goods education dvds toy & games onlie shopping in singapore here lamkins Enterprises.

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  54. Wonderful designs..i appreciate your work and like it.
    Plastic Card Printing

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  55. These are amazing!!!
    I can't wait to share with my class tomorrow morning!

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  56. Hi there, I just wanted to say that I downloaded these a really long time ago, probably before i even knew what a blog is. My daughter was just playing with them (again, as she's done for years)and I suddenly remember that they must have come from a blog so looked you up. Wanted to say, thanks! They're fabulous and I've shared the link on my FB page. Now Pinning! :)

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  57. Muchisimas gracias por estos imprimibles.

    Yo los imprimi hace tiempo, y recientemente he vuelto a revisarlos.

    Ojala hagas mucho mas material como este!!!

    saludos cordiales

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  58. These are amazing! Thank you SO much!!!

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  59. Those are absolutely beautiful!!! Thank you so much for sharing them with us! Our 3 yo daughter loves them!

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  60. Appreciation and upload. Produced by ideas Relating to grown loads of struggle a description of your prized caress influences figure therapeutic approach. Visit : alltimeprint.com

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  61. Amazing! Thanks for sharing. It's really helpful

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  62. Thank you so much! My low kindergarten babies will benefit greatly!

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  63. Thank you so much I've been using this video at breakfast time with my 3 year old love the flash cards!!!

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  64. Your contents are too straightforward to browse and easy to understand.Arcadia Paper

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  65. Thank you!
    Please, help me to recognize the sounds of letter!
    What say I? The sound [i]?
    A ?
    U ?
    Y ?

    Thank you very much!

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  66. Hey, It really is incredibly fantastic and informative website. Good to discover your site Very well article! I’m simply in love with it.
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  67. I have been using these for years! I am sharing them on my youtube channel. thank you https://youtu.be/Orlb_os-lf8

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  68. These are amazing! I have the DVD and magnets and I love to keep things consistent for my three year old. Would you happen to have these all on one or two pages? I would love if you could email me: kimiequa@hotmail.com Thank you!!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Kimberly, unfortunately the format of 4 per page is the only printable I have available. Thanks!

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  69. This is amazing! I have the Leapfrog DVD and the magnets and like to keep things consistent. Do you have this smaller to fit on one or two pages? Thank you!!

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  70. Hi there! does the link still work? I can't see to open anything and would love to use these with my daughter!

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    Replies
    1. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the links on my end. I'm using google chrome?? Good luck and I hope they help!

      Delete

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