Sometimes an item has run out or is not allowed right now: the bananas are eaten, cartoons come after dinner. The card is not deleted — it is made temporarily unavailable. It stays on the screen, crossed out and faded, and tapping it gives a short beep instead of speech.
First turn on showing them: three dots → “Settings” → “Show unavailable cards”. Without it, an unavailable card simply disappears from the screen, and the learner does not see that it is still there.
How: in the communicator, swipe the card to the right (with a mouse — press and drag). To bring it back, swipe it to the left. You can also swipe the card in the card list (three dots) or choose “Make unavailable” in its menu. If a set is open, the card becomes unavailable only in that set.
When to set a card aside: only when the item truly is not there or truly is not allowed — never in response to behavior. When the learner taps an unavailable card, respond calmly: “There are no bananas right now” — and offer what there is straight away. As soon as the item is back, bring the card back.
Why not delete it: the learner sees that the card is still there and the item will return, and you do not have to create it again.