Maple Landmark has made a unique alternative to typical flashcards with their Teach & Play Tiles. Made in the USA, the Spanish & English set comes with 12 tiles made from birch plywood. Each tile is double-sided which gives a total of 24 flashcards. The thin, wooden cards, which measure 2 ¼” square, have four tiles in six different themes. The themes are people, space, things, animals, buildings, and vehicles. The tiles have the Spanish word, an adorable picture of the word, and the English spelling. The ink used on each tile is bright and colorful. They are finished with a lacquer that makes them smooth and slightly shiny. Included in the set is a cloth bag to store them in and an instruction sheet with tips and ideas for use. The tiles offer basic foreign language recognition and aide in visual and verbal identification skills, reading, spelling, grouping, and storytelling. It sells for $13.

The Spanish & English tiles are intended for children between the ages of 2-7 years old but can be used by older children as well. These tiles are fun to look at and the perfect size for little hands. We used these tiles by simply playing with them and reading them together. They are great for homeschoolers and easily transportable.

We enjoyed these little tiles. The bright images are cute and things that my young children already know in English, making the connection deeper. My very verbal two-year-old loved handing me tiles and repeating the words I said. My almost five-year-old and nearly seven-year-old liked it as well. I feel that it is a complete set but would love to see more sets available to further add to their Spanish and English vocabulary once they’ve mastered these. I like that they are made out of wood. It makes them much more durable than typical flashcards. It also makes them more of a toy or game rather than another set of paper flashcards that my kids tend to only see as work.

I would recommend these tiles and plan to purchase more as gifts for friends as well as more for my own children. The fact that they are not made out of plastic and are made in the United States makes them even better. The quality is great, and the possibilities for learning are endless.

-Product review by Leslie Talley, The Old Schoolhouse®Magazine, LLC, July 2017