Do they see what I see?

A newborn baby’s vision is not fully developed at birth.  Because of this, infants show a preference for high contrast images because they are easier to see.  Babies love the blades of a fan in contrast to the ceiling and the dark trim of a window in contrast to the bright light shining through.

As I began to prepare Sarah’s movement area shortly before and after her birth- I realized that visual contrasts was an area that I lacked a go-to resource, so I made my own!

Not wanting to develop something that would only be used for a short amount of time, I put thought into designing a multi-purpose card.  I wanted a product that I could use in more than one way over a period of time.  With almost daily use for more than two months now, we have come up with half a dozen ways to incorporate them with both Sarah (2 months) and Tomas (21 months).

The High Contrast Geometric Image for Infants and Toddlers is a set of 20 geometric images that can be used in a variety of ways.  The cards combine 4 shapes (circle, square, triangle, star) with 4 patterns (solid black, black outline, black/white alternating, black/white/red, and geometric design).

On Display for Young Infants

Printed full size, the cards create 8 inch square images for display along a wall, on a shelf, or even over the changing table.  They can be displayed individually or grouped by shape or pattern.  Printed all at the same time and laminated they are quick to rotate to keep the child’s environment interesting.

Shape Identification & Sorting Cards for Toddlers

Printed 2 or 4 pages per sheet (in printer settings) these cards are perfect for practicing shape identification.  Using the solid black or outline version of the cards, they can also be used for a shape scavenger hunt!  As your toddler grows, the smaller cards can be used to sort by either shape or pattern.

On the Go

Both sizes of card are easily portable.  When we travelled to Chicago as a family recently, the flat large images slipped right into our suitcase.  We propped them up along a pillow on the bed to give Sarah some time to wiggle.  The smaller cards can be hole punched and slipped onto a ring to make a portable book of shapes to keep in our diaper bag.