Car Headrest Flashcards

This was a project that took us a few days, and has taken me quite a while to tackle the blog post, as well.  So sorry for the long stretch without a post- we've been doing stuff, I just haven't been posting much.

We don't have a dvd player in the car, but I feel that a car ride is a great time to get in some extra learning.  I wanted to create a "pocket" where I could put flash cards for Dodson and I wanted to create my own flash cards to teach words that I thought he would find interesting or was currently interested in.

Here are the list of supplies you will need for this project:
foam frame
large piece of felt
whole punch
pipe cleaners
scissors
glue stick
construction paper cut to size of frame opening
pictures with corresponding words typed out in large type

The first day of the project I let Dodson create the flash cards after I printed out pictures and words.  To make the flash cards, I cut out the pictures and the words and spread them out for him to see.  I picked up a word and read it to Dodson "This says cat.  C-A-T spells cat.  Can you find the picture of the cat.  Great Job!"  Then I had the construction paper cut to fit the frame size, and gave a piece to Dodson to let him glue the picture on.  I helped so it would be straight and centered.  Then we glued the word below it.  We did this for each picture.

The next day, Dodson helped me punch holes in the felt.  I folded the felt in half and punched holes that we could later "lace" with the pipe-cleaners.  This would be what we would attach to the head rest on the car so that we could have a pocket to display the flash cards in.  I took the back off the frame and glued it to the felt (see final picture) (also, just a suggestion: glue the frame closer to the bottom of the felt than I did - I left too much room at the bottom, which put the frame too high on the head rest - see image)
Once the back was secure on the felt, I hot glued the rest of the frame on leaving the top open and unglued so that I could slip cards in and out.

To attach it to the seat, I simply folded it over the headrest, and used the pipe cleaners to attach it to the bottom of the head rest, and then laced up the sides.  It doesn't look real "neat" but it gets the job done.

We've had it in the car for a few weeks now and Dodson loves it.  He now can spell his name without looking at the card.  We switch out the cards every week or so, but make sure he's ready for a change.  I want him to master the word before removing it, so that it builds his confidence and helps him with word identification.

Big Project, Big Blog Post, but big payoff as well :)