Shichida printable or buy ready-made Shichida flashcards?
Do I have the time to DIY my own?
When your child does their Shichida at home, they will do a minimum of 100 new Shichida flashcards per lesson. You will repeat the same flashcards for one week. That means you use up 400 flashcards every month.
In 1 year that will be 4800 flash cards. In 2 years you will need 9600 flashcards.
You can save time and buy your Shichida flashcards online or...
Should you make your own Shichida flashcards?
It depends. Do keep in mind, you need a lot of flashcards to teach your baby or toddler. Let's look at other options to obtain your thousands of Shichida flashcard materials. Here are your options:
Make your own flash cards.
Download and Printable flash cards.
Buy ready-made flash cards.
Here are 3 ways to source or make your Shichida Materials & flash cards.
1. Make Your Own
Get a stack of used magazines, cut the pictures and stick it on blank flash cards (280g to 350g) and write the word behind the blank cards. You can buy these blank flash cards from the paper mills, bookshops and also buy them online. This is a good option when you have the time to make your own.
According to Shichida, it is OK to use A5 size cards to make your own flash cards.
2. Print your own flash cards (PDF download / printable)
You need to get a printer first and buy blank cards. There are two types of printers for sale, either inkjet or laser printer.
I would recommend the laser printer because the pictures are sharper and it will not get blur/smudge/fade as the cards age. When you stack up to the inkjet-printed flashcards, tend to stick together and ruin the card pictures.
There are many resources to look for when it comes to looking for pictures and topics to print. Some websites "giveaway free" printable flash card images for you to print. We find those pictures not so attractive.
Another thing which is important. You got to purchase the right type of laser printer to print using the 280g to 350g paper. Most normal consumer printers can only print up to 100 to 105-gram cards.
For example, a Xerox Phaser 6700 (designed for small and medium enterprise) laser printer can handle max 220-gram max.
You need an A3 office laser printer specification (printer cost is above USD$1000) in order to print these cards.
Cost of printing: You are looking at a printing cost of USD$0.30 per card. So if you are printing 200 Shichida flash cards (1-month flashcard lessons), you are looking at USD$60.00. In a year, that will be USD$720.00.
Here is a tip: When you are looking for pictures/images that you want to print. Do make sure the pictures are realistic pictures and not cartoons. IT MUST BE REAL PICTURES. Make sure the pictures are sharp and attractive. If your cards are not attractive, your baby will not be interested in learning, or it will be hard to get your baby's attention/focus when you have your flashcard lessons.
3. Buy ready-made flash cards
The popular brand that makes "Shichida materials" is TENSEI. These quality products are very expensive and are limited in terms of quantity. However, it is a good start if you are teaching your child.
There are other e-commerce sites like Amazon, Taobao, Lazada, and many others
Conclusion
If you have the time to make your Shichida flashcards, then the options we mention are the way to go. However, do keep in mind that it is time-consuming, and it can be costly (printing cost + ink cost, blank cards).
Do keep an open mind and look for other ideas on sourcing out flashcards for your Shichida Method at home.
Are there other ways to get right brain flashcards online to teach your baby? Learn more...
