We often measure the success of early learning tools in academic terms: Do they improve recognition? Do they support memory? But when testing the ABC Learning Cards, I also wanted to look at something less quantifiable but just as important: confidence.
For young children, learning is deeply emotional. It’s tied to curiosity, play, and, perhaps most critically, a sense of achievement. In this round of testing, I set out to explore a simple question: Do the cards help children feel proud of what they’re learning? Do they experience small “I got it!” moments that motivate them to keep going?
The Setup
This time, I worked with a group of four children (ages 4–6) across two short sessions, spaced a few days apart. In the first session, I introduced a small set of cards (10 total, including letters like A, B, D, E, S, and M) and ran a simple letter-sound matching activity. In the second session, I brought back the same cards to see if any of the children remembered them, and more importantly, how they responded to recognizing them.
The focus wasn’t on mastery, but on how the children reacted when they got something right or remembered something they had seen earlier.
Session One: First Tries, Shaky Starts
In the first session, some children were shy to answer. When I asked, “What sound does this letter make?” they looked at the picture instead. One guessed “dog” for the D card, but couldn’t say the letter. Another saw the M card and said, “Milk!” with excitement, but when I asked, “Do you know the letter?” she said, “I forget.”
This is normal for this stage of learning. The important part was what happened next.
As we worked through the cards together, with repetition, gestures, and exaggerated sounds, their comfort grew. They began making guesses more quickly and confidently. Even if they weren’t sure, they wanted to try. That shift, from hesitation to participation, was the first sign of growing confidence.
Session Two: “I Remember That One!”
When we returned for the second session, I casually laid out the same cards. One child pointed at the “S” card and said, “Sssss… that’s snake!” without prompting. Another picked up the “A” card and said, “Apple! And A!” This time, she remembered both the image and the letter.
One of the children who had been quiet in the first session now flipped through the cards out loud: “Dog. Milk. Banana.” Then he stopped at “B” and said, “That’s B. Like my name.” (His name was Ben.)
He looked up at me, smiled, and said, “I know that one!”
That moment said more than any correct answer ever could.
Confidence in Small Wins
None of the children “mastered” the alphabet in two sessions and that was never the goal. What I did see was the emergence of small wins:
- A child remembering a letter after forgetting it the first time
- A child willing to try, even if they weren’t sure
- A child matching a sound to a picture without needing help
- A child proudly showing a card to a peer and explaining it
These may seem minor, but they’re foundational. At this age, confidence builds from repeated exposure, encouragement, and positive reinforcement. The ABC cards worked not just as a teaching tool, but as a source of validation, a way for children to see that they are capable of learning something new.
And it wasn’t just about letters. Some children invented little rituals with the cards, clapping when they guessed correctly, handing cards to friends, or organizing them into “correct” and “almost” piles. These were their own systems for tracking success, and they brought visible pride.
