Meet Max

At our local big chain bookstore, I saw that Brain Quest came out with a set of their flash card books for ages 2-3. Or at least it's the first time I've ever seen one for this age group. I thought to myself, "Wow, Sasha is almost two. I guess she qualifies for this set now". I was looking for some educational materials for her, so I got it for her.

When I opened up Sasha's set, it was a little different than I was used to.
This set has a foam cut out of a monkey, named Max. Max is pointing his finger.

A set of parental instructions inside the box says that parents should use Max to point at the pictures on the flash cards, and parents should talk to Max about the pictures. This I can do! I have a great, high pitched voice I like to use when I make inanimate characters talk, and young kids seem to like it.

So we've been using Max and the flash cards, and Sasha LOVES it. She absolutely LOVES Max. One day at naptime, she even cried for Max, and fell asleep holding him in her arms:
Cuddling with "Max"
Max and the flashcards have helped her language development. She is already in a huge language explosion, and the cards have accelerated it even further.
Sometimes, we run around the house, making Max point at things, and I use my "max voice" to make him say "What's that?". Sasha likes to answer his questions. It's cute how she directly talks to him, not me.

One of these days, I'm going to have to write those Brain Quest people and let them know just how much my daughter loves their Max and his cards :)