Sunday, September 16, 2012

ChildUp Early Learning Game Cards: Review and Giveaway! (Closed)


ChildUp is a company which provides education and resources for parents who seek to raise successful, balanced and happy children. Their program is grounded in the principle that the brain is a learning machine, and that the best young pupils perform well not because they are inately "gifted" but because they were better prepared at an early age than their classmates.

ChildUp offers both online parenting classes and early learning tools, and also maintains a blog of hand-picked articles highlighting the importance of parental involvement in the development of bright and happy children.

I had the opportunity to review the ChildUp Early Learning Game Card series - specifically Teach Your Child to Count to 10 - Math & Logic 1 and Teach Your Child to Count to 20 - Math & Logic 2.



Product Information:

Both card packs are intended for boys and girls age 1 to 5, and each contains 48 Child's Cards and 16 Parent's Cards. The Parent's Cards describe the ChildUp Early Learning Method and include early learning and parenting advice, and the Child's Cards help children learn to count while discovering four different series of animals.

More information on Math & Logic #1:

Helps parents to teach:
  • Numbers from 0 to 10
  • Numbers as quantities and symbols
  • The first steps of addition
Helps develop the child's:
  • Math and logic skills
  • Learning and cognitive skills
  • Listening and memory skills
  • Attention and concentration skills
  • Language and social skills

The Child's Cards in this pack are divided into four series, each of which features a different group of popular animals and contains 10 "regular" number cards (with the numbers 1-10, represented in symbolic form on one side and amount form on the other), 1 animal card (showing the animals depicted in the series on one side, and information on each animal on the other side) and one "0" card (showing the number 0 on one side and the animals' empty environment on the other side).


The red series features domestic animals (dog, cat, horse, etc.), and each card only shows one type of animal. The orange series features african mammals and each card shows 1 animal of one type and (n-1) animals of a second type. The green series features birds and each card shows an even/close to even division of two types of animals. Finally, the blue series features aquatic animals and each card shows three types of animals.

The Parent's Cards suggest (as a primary activity) first showing the front of a card to your child and counting all the animals together and then showing the back and repeating the number. The goal of this exercise is to help children count and associate numbers as symbols with their corresponding amounts. The cards also suggest other appropriate learning activities at this level, such as counting objects in day-to-day environments and using the cards to learn about and categorize animals in different ways (e.g. by the sounds they make, how they move, where they live, etc.)

More information on Math & Logic #2:

Helps parents to teach:
  • Numbers from 10 to 20
  • Odd and even numbers
  • First additions and subtractions
  • Categorzing, sorting and comparing
Helps develop the child's:
  • Math and logic skills
  • Learning and cognitive skills
  • Memory and problem solving skills
  • Concentration and self-control skills
  • Language and social skills

Similar to Math & Logic #1, the Child's Cards in this pack are divided into four series, each of which features a different group of animals. In this pack, however, new animals are featured and each series contains either 10 or 11 "regular" number cards and 1 animal card, and only one of the series contains a "0" card.


The blue series features 8 mammals and 2 marsupials and includes odd numbers from 1 to 21; the brown series features reptiles and includes even numbers from 2 to 20 (plus the 0 card); the purple series features 8 insects and 2 arachnids and includes higher numbers (up to 25) and the pink series features mammals and includes all numbers from 10 to 20. Most of the cards in all series depict two animal types, however a few in the blue series depict one type alone and the first in the pink series shows all 10 types together.

The Parent's Cards in this pack also suggest (as a primary activity) the amount / symbol association exercise described previously (i.e. count animals on one side and then repeat the number on the other side). The cards also suggest numerous more advanced counting, adding, sorting and grouping activities, using both the cards and objects in day-to-day life. 


My Review:

First of all, I've come across a number of opinions from both sides of the formal/no formal camp - i.e. those who feel that "formal" education is mandatory at an early age, and those who feel that education should come primarily (or exclusively) in the form of free play over the first 2-3 years. My own intuition and experience have led me to believe that while free play should have predominant focus for toddlers and preschoolers, more structured, parent-led education can certainly be beneficial as well. To realize these benefits, however, I feel it's very important to be in tune with your child - which means selecting "study times" when the child is happy and alert, being willing to go with the flow and veer away from a desired "lesson plan" (if/as applicable) and knowing when it's time to stop. Bottom line - play time (structured or not) should be enjoyable for a child!

The heavies outta the way, on to my actual review. :)

First of all, some basics. The cards are quite sturdy and hold up well to fairly rough play. Our daughter S (21 months) has certainly subjected them to the gamut of toddler activity - throwing, stomping, grabbing, biting and crunching - and despite all this, they're showing very little wear. (That said, we do try to encourage her to play nice so she can continue to enjoy them for a long time!)

Another nice thing is that the illustrations are bright, crisp and colourful. Here is an example number card (front and back) from Math & Logic #1:



And here is one of the animal cards from Math & Logic #2:


Our daughter LOVES her cards! She wants to play with them regularly and they hold her interest for quite awhile - generally 15-20 minutes or longer. At this point, I like to do a combination of free play and guided learning and, to my earlier point, keep a close pulse on her mood and attention level. When we do guided play, I prefer to use the Math & Logic #1 cards right now, however when she's playing more independently I alternate the sets to maximize her interest. She is currently keen on finding/naming animals and is especially drawn to the animal cards and associated "0" cards.



In terms of counting skills, over the last few months S has progressed from calling everything "two" to rhyming off numbers until about 14 with ease. I'm confident that the ChildUp cards have played a key role here, as they have given her the opportunity to hear these number sequences many, many times. We're still working at associating each number with its corresponding amount and symbol, however. She's good at 0, 1 and sometimes 2, however she'll often point to an image with, say, 3 or 4 animals and count much higher. :) But all this will come, and we don't want to push her too much at this point to "get it right".

Here's a video of S and I having a "mostly guided play" session together which demonstrates some of her current abilities and tendencies.


These cards have the inate potential to be extremely versatile. As I mentioned earlier, they can be used to learn counting, number symbol/amount association, animal names and facts, adding, subtracting, sorting and grouping, and there are many variations possible on how these skills can be taught/reinforced. The Parent's Cards include some great suggestions, but numerous other techniques could certainly be envisioned as well. Due to this, I feel these cards could, indeed, continue to be both beneficial and interesting to children all the way from 1 to 5 years of age.

The one bone to pick I have with the Child's Cards pertains to Math & Logic #2 in particular. I don't love that the series within this set aren't internally or externally consistent - i.e. that each features entirely different collections of numbers, and that only one contains a 0 card. I'd prefer something like two series odd (1-19) and two even (2-20), or perhaps even all four from 11 to 20 (and then they could be used in conjunction with the Math & Logic #1 cards). I'd also like to see one whole series here feature just a single animal per card. All this could just be me, however; others may be all about the variation that's been included in this set.

A little more on the Parent's Cards. I feel that both sets do a great job overall introducing the Early Learning Method, describing the fundamental approach to using the cards and providing practical learning ideas. That said, I do have a few suggestions which I feel would make these cards even more valuable:
  • Convert them into a booklet. I don't see a specific benefit to having this section in card format, but a downside is that they can get out of order quite easily (inevitable with a resourceful toddler! ;)
  • Cite references. A few of the cards mention studies and/or study results; citing specific references here would provide more credibility and allow the parent to find out more (if desired).
  • Provide (loose) guidelines around when a child is developmentally ready to begin some of the more advanced activities suggested. (The cards do suggest that children are ready to start learning how to count by/before 1 year of age - but when are they ready to start learning basic addition and subtraction, for example?)
  • Enhance the "how to use these cards" section as follows:
    • Suggest how/when to use each specific series (or use all together)
    • In addition to the instructions for teaching numbers and counting, include similar plans for teaching basic addition and subtraction.

Overall, I highly recommend the ChildUp Early Learning Game Cards to parents who believe in the potential benefits of early education and are in search of tools to help their children get a head start.


Buy It:

ChildUp Early Learning Game Cards can be purchased either directly from the ChildUp website (note - you need to register for an account to order) or from Amazon. Cost is $7.99/set plus taxes & shipping. Order from the website now and take advantage of their Back to School Promo: FREE shipping until September 30th! While you're there, you can download their Early Learning Game Apps for iPhone/iPad - free from the App Store!


Win It:

One lucky Manager to Mom reader will win both sets of ChildUp Early Learning Game Cards (Math & Logic #1 and #2) of their own!

To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Ensure that you follow all instructions within each entry option to ensure your entries are valid. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure:  The prize is being provided to the winner by ChildUp.  I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive the sample items free of charge.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours. 

65 comments:

  1. How to raise a successful and happy child



    I want to win this for my grandchildren.

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  2. I'd love to have this for my 2 year old who loves counting and knows her numbers 1-13. We've just started to introduce the concepts of addition and subtraction. I'd also hand it down to #2 in a couple of years.

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  3. I learned that both boys and girls are born, almost without exception, with the ability to do well in mathematics, which is a good reason to discover and develop the subject prior to beginning school.

    I want to win this for my daughter and I am most interested in building the counting skill

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  4. I liked the emotional development

    ontariohappychick at gmail dot com

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  5. I am most interested in counting and these would be used with my daughter :)
    amymccarty at hotmail dot com

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  6. I would love these for my grandson who is now showing a great interest in adding and subtracting.

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  7. I'd like to win this for my two year old granddaughter. She can count, but we need to work on number recognition.
    My rafflecopter name is Julie G.

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  8. I want these for my two 2.5 years olds. We're working on everything so I don't have a preference. Great and thorough review!

    Thanks for making this open to Canadians.
    Besos, Sarah
    Zookeeper at Journeys of The Zoo
    journeysofthezoo at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I would like to win these cards for my daughter.And I am interested in building about counting the most.

    polo_wataga at yahoo dot com

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  10. I learned that Children at the top of their kindergarten class in reading will keep this advantage for life. I would love to win these for my granddaughter, her parents are going to homeschool her and she could use anything that would be helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  11. They need to hear words hundreds and thousands of times —a critical stage in language learning—before they begin to repeat their first ones, within 10 to 18 months.
    I want to win these for my son. He loves to count so we need to start with adding/subtracting.

    pamelajmcbride at yahoo dot com

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  12. i learned that any child boy or girl can be good at math.

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  13. They'd be great for my 5 year old, she sometimes mixes up getting to 20 and we're working on the addition stuff now :D

    I learned that they are ready to learn the basics of math before school and formal "math" :D

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  14. I learned they are ready to learn math LOMG before I thought they were!

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  15. HORTON111@AOL.COM

    I WOULD LIKE TO WIN THIS FOR MY GRANDDAUGHTER

    ReplyDelete
  16. i would like to win this for my nephew, and counting
    gkuroda(at)gmail(d0t)com

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  17. I would love to win for my daughter!

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  18. I would love to win for my daughter!

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  19. I'd love to win this giveaway for my 22 month old son. I also have a two month old daughter, so I would be reusing the set with her before too long.

    abby dot k dot winstead at gmail dot com

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  20. I'd like to win this for my sons to practice adding and subtracting.

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  21. I learned that Children at the top of their kindergarten class in reading will keep this advantage for life. Thanks so much for the fantastic giveaway!
    Reneewalters3@yahoo.com

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  22. I'd use this for learning counting with our little one.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  23. I want to win these for my son and I want them to teach him counting skills.

    sreis1987 at gmail dot com

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  24. like to win for my nephew and most interested in sorting skills

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  25. I'd love to get the interactive reading for my niece.

    abbegirl1977 at gmail dot com

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  26. I want to win this for my toddler to work on his addition and subtraction. He knows his numbers up to 20 already and loves to learn.

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  27. I want to win this for my daughter so we can work on counting.

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  28. THis is for my 2.5 year old son and I really want him to learn his numbers and maybe sorting. These look great!
    shiebs24[at]gmail[dot]com

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  29. I want to win his for my daugter who is 3 1/2 yrs old and might use later for my son who is 8 months now.I am looking forward for the subraction skills

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  30. My son is so bright and loves to learn! He would really like these cards!

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  31. Math and logic skills can be learnt with these cards...I'd like them for my little nephew!

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  32. I would use these for my son or students.

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  33. i learned that 4-IN-10 KIDS STRUGGLE TO READ BASIC WORDS

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  34. I'd like to win these for my little cousin and I like them for counting and animals!

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  35. I'd love to have these to help teach my 2 year old basic counting skills!

    RickiReviews at gmail dot com

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  36. I would love to win these for my youngest daughter to help develop her math skills.

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  37. i learned that i can start now to teach my child math! which is great

    tuckersaver at hotmail dot com

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  38. i would love these for my children and i would like the sorting ones

    tuckersaver at hotmail dot com

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  39. I would love these for my daughter so we can practice her counting skills.

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  40. I would love it for my little granddaughters to help with counting
    hrddiana556@gmail.com

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  41. I learned that 4-in-10 Kids Struggle to Read Basic Words.
    I would love to win this for my 18 mo granddaughter. I want to start as soon as possible on teaching her the basics.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I would love to win these cards for my daughter she would love them

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  43. I would get it for my 2 1/2 yr old daughter. I would like to work on counting more with her.

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  44. i would like to win this for my daughter who is 2

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  45. I want these for my 4yo so we can work on math!!

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  46. Here is my tweet (rafflecopter would not let me paste it in): https://twitter.com/Beckee13/status/252156686981296128

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  47. I would like for my son and daughter to improve their counting! Thank you for the giveaway!!

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  48. I'd like to win these for my nephew...I'd like him to build counting skills. jenniferpeaslee at gmail dot com

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  49. I would like to win for my 3 year old. Would definitely focus on the adding and subtracting :)

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  50. I would love these for both of my children. I am homeschooling my 5 year old, and I think my 3 year old could really benefit too!
    mommysap@gmail.com
    Bocomomma O Frey

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  51. i would like to win these for my 2 year old son to work with his counting skills

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  52. I liked reading about basic math skills making your rich. Thank you

    candieluster(at)gmail(dot)com

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  53. I would like to win these for my niece and nephew (twins). I think that I would like Animal Identification/Learning. kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you.

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  54. I would like to win these for my mom's class -- they would like any sort of skill building! jessicapeeling@yahoo.com

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  55. I learned that children could learn several words a day and this would be perfect for my little cousin.

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  56. I would like to win these for my 21 month old daughter. She is learning to count and these would be GREAT!

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  57. I learned that 4 in 10 kids struggle to read basic words. I would like to give my Grandson some help in this area! Love the Counting/sorting & animal ident.((Holly)) Thanks for the chance....

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  58. They would be for my grandson and he needs help with adding and subtraction.

    vikki.billings@yahoo.com

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  59. I learned that they are ready to learn the basics of math before school and formal "math"

    I would love to win this for my son. He has down syndrome and this could be very beneficial for him as he is a visual learner

    ReplyDelete