A recent trip brought some downtime while Dad was driving. We started drawing letters on each other’s palms of our hands. I started by holding my son’s palm, and drew capital letters while he was looking at it. He is well versed in the alphabet and it was easy for him, at age 5. He then would draw back to my on my palm. He upped the challenge, he would close his eyes, drew numbers, and lowercase letters. Here is what got really fun, I held my 2 year old’s hand, extended his pointer finger and drew in his brother’s palm. This was a reinforcement of the way we traced on sandpaper letters, and they both thought it was fun. This game involved both of them, was sensorial, reinforced letter shape writing and recognition, and kept us entertained. It’s perfect for waiting at the dentist, doctor’s or even in line at the supermarket.
Category Archives: Montessori Style Games
Montessori Car Bingo
Montessori Car Bingo Match-up
You will need:
Print out the following file: Reading Bingo (The words are printed in lowercase print, however, I have the word also in Spanish and in capital letters. These help my son when he is sounding out words and he gets confused with “d” “b” or “e” “g”. It’s a way for him to self check. They are at the bottom so just cut them off if you don’t want them, or if your child is at a different level you can use those words instead – the game is still the same.)
1 – File Folder
2 – sandwich baggies
3 – velcro sticky dots (10) loops (32) hooks
1. Print out the reading bingo file, cut out the words and laminate.
2. Put your file folder open wide on your table, inside facing up.
3. Put your laminated cards face down on the table and place your hook side (the rougher side) sticky side down on the center of the cards. Then place the velcro loop side to connect ONLY 10 OF THEM, this will leave the sticky side of the loop side UP & EXPOSED.
4. You can then take those 10 cards and line them up in your file folder. Place them evenly down the folder in two aisles, see photo. Place the words down the left column and the pictures on the left column.
5. Put the left over photos and pictures in the baggies, one bag for photos, one for words.
6. Staple or tape the baggies on the left side of the folder so your child can store the words he/she isn’t searching for at the time. These are available so your child can change-up the game and not become bored easily.
7. Fold up your file folder and store in the car.
To Play: Have your child select five words and velcro them on the left column. Your child can then read the words and search for them while you are driving. Once found, your child can velcro them in and search for the next.
Blue Level Montessori Reading Bookmark Game
Using blue level words have your child find the words in an art appreciation book and bookmark the page with the word.
What you need:
- Print out the following PDF of blue level Montessori words.
- A book of many pictures, we used an art book called: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces at the Musée d’Orsay.
Directions:
1. Print out and cut out each word on the lines. You may laminate or not, it’s your choice.
2. Get a book that has the following words pictured in it, these words are perfect for an art appreciation book. We used: Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces at the Musée d’Orsay. (You can order this into your library, or it’s available for $5-$12 on Amazon.com. Just make sure you have a matching photo for each word, if you don’t PLEASE delete the word from your list. This will cause frustration in your child and this IS NOT the intent.
3. Have your child read the word and then look through the artwork and find the word. They then slip the word in as a bookmark and continue on until the list is done.
My Montessori I Spy Quilt
I started this quilt a long, long time ago, for a nephew. I didn’t finish it and recently found it. So, I decided to finish! Little did I know when I started this quilt it would be for my own children! This is awesome for reading sounds, but also as we’re talking about living/non-living and more. Plus we travel a lot, what a great car ride game! I also included fabric from my older son’s baby blanket (the border). It’s very easy, just squares connected with rectangles. Let me know what Montessori items you make!
Montessori Reading Scavenger Hunt
Here is a scavenger hunt card matching game for the house.
You will need:
2 - 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper
10 - velcro sticky dots
1. Print out this list (or use your level cards – just pick ones that are findable in the house). Or, just copy the words onto 3×5 cards, whatever works best for you.
2. Laminate a background sheet to apply velcro sticky back dots. My laminator handles max size 8 1/2 x 11 and these words fit on there just fine. Apply velcro stick back dots in two columns of five each, evenly spaced and so the full words will fit under each other. Make sure ALL the dots on this sheet are ALL hooks or ALL loops. This way all of the cards will fit anywhere on your sheet.
(Please note: these words are not green level of Montessori, I was just in a scrapbooking mood and this was the paper I had chose.)
3. Laminate the words and attach velcro to back of cards, again, make sure they are ALL the hooks or ALL of the loops, just the opposite of the 8 1/2 x 11 sheet.
4. Tell your child you will be going on a scavenger hunt, the need to read the word and search for the item. When they find it, they put it in a central spot (we had a red bucket in the living room) and attach the word to the list to mark it found.
5. They get to search the house until all ten are found and again if the wish.
Variations: Now you have a laminated sheet and more options for them to search, but please you will have to do some legwork to make sure these items are “findable.” No need sending them on an impossible mission! Scavenger hunt through books, magazines, books featuring artwork, or have miniature items in a bowl filled with many other items – like a treasure chest to dig through.
See our “treasure chest” that we dug through below.
Montessori Reading Musical Chairs
Set up musical chairs but add reading to it.
1. Set up the chairs in your room, have the same amount of reading words or sentences as you have chairs. (link to pink level and sentences)
2. Have your child select the pictures he/she would like to use and lay these out on a nearby table with space to match the words or sentences to.
3. Get the appropriate matching sentences (or words) and have your child walk around and place one per chair.
4. Start the music (you can link to the world’s national anthems from my blog here) and when your child stops they get to read the sentence (or word) and walk over and match it up. Have them continue until the sentences (or words) are all used up. We just left all the chairs up and if he landed on a chair without a sentence we’d just go again. He usually made sure he landed on one. Of course, you can delete as you go as well.
Montessori Reading Match Up Game
I’ve seen such success with Montessori reading. My son reads and matches items instead of me forcing a book on him that he might think is dumb. He’s become so proud of himself when he successfully reads his “clues.” Here is another reading game I’ve come up with.
What you need:
- Reading strips (words or sentences whatever level your child is at)
- Matching pictures (Here are pink level words with matching pictures, here are pink level sentences I made)
- figures with a destination (we use vehicles with blocks for parking garages, use whatever your child is into, animals going into their caves? princesses walking to their castles? I even thought this would be fun with a golf putter and golf balls – we’ve yet to try that version)
- destinations (blocks, paper, felt, fabric, yogurt cups, you get the idea, use what YOU HAVE ON HAND)
Object of the Game: To read the sentence/word strip and take the “destination figure” to its matching “destination.”
1. Print out and cut out your words or sentences and matching pictures.
2. Place all your “destination figures” behind a starting line. We use a jump rope and line up vehicles behind it. Have your child place the sentences behind each “destination figure.”
3. Place all your “destinations” around the living room floor (again, vary this to your needs, it doesn’t matter, just wherever your child is comfortable working)
4. Place a picture that matches each sentence/word strip on each destination.
5. Your child then reads the strip behind the “destination figure” and moves it to its matching destination featuring the matching picture.
My son has read full sentences very happily and proudly so he can park his vehicles in their appropriate garages. Start slowly, my son did all ten sentences the first day, happily, but this morning knocked it back to five. I know it’s a lot of work for him, and MAKING him do ALL ten would defeat the purpose here.
Montessori Animal Prints Match-Up
Here is another use for your tin or pan that your child draws letters in (we use cornmeal, but I’ve seen sand, tang, flour, etc.) Take out your animals and make footprints. For my 2 year old, this was fun enough. He would just make a print and we’d clear it. It became fun with our snakes, dinosaurs with tails, sharks, and more.
For my almost 5 year old we made it a bit more challenging. He’d close his eyes, I’d make a print, then he’d match the animal to it (He would also do the same for me). He could check the print as a self-correction, but frankly, he’d usually just get it without wanting to check. I asked him how and he said he could tell by the size or orientation of the animals legs (not in so many words). I then made the prints into paths, and he’d match the animal to the trail they’d leave.
Finally, I would make two trails and he’d match each animal to its trail. Just remember to let your child self-correct with their animals, don’t just say “your right” or “your wrong.”
Montessori Word Match Treasure Hunt
So, my son is really enjoying the command cards, reading them like mad and I’m trying to encourage him to read his pink level cards. He CAN, but he’s bored with them, in fact I don’t think he’s ever used them, so I created this game. I hope any of you with boys can use this. I’ve noticed they like a little action!
You will need your picture and word matching cards, one note card and enough envelopes for all of your pictures. That’s it!
1. Take your pictures/photos and tape them onto any size envelope (a baggy would work too). Keep the words in a separate pile. We started out with six of them. Every picture needs to be on an envelope and have a corresponding word.
2. Designate one picture as your “treasure.” I drew on a note card “You have found your treasure.” We also put an X because of course it marks the spot! (We didn’t put any money or candy inside, I didn’t want to encourage him to read for prizes, but just for the fun of it. He was completely fine with this. In fact, he told me this is by far his favorite Montessori game. (Sweet!) )
3. Slip your “found your treasure” card into ANY envelope and set aside. Now slip your rest of your words into any envelopes and you’ll have one extra word left. This will be your first clue. PLEASE NOTE: Make sure you DON’T MATCH the word to the SAME envelope picture. This is very important. I just start with the word that would match the “treasure” envelope and work backwards.
4. “Hide” your envelopes around the house, classroom, yard, wherever. The pictures NEED to be visible, at least in the beginning. We started hiding them later as my son wanted more of a challenge.
5. Go back to your first clue card, (the word card that was left out of all the envelopes) and let your child read the clue (the card). Then he/she finds the matching picture on the envelope placed around the house. When he/she searches and finds the picture, he/she opens the envelope and reads the next clue, which then sends them to find the next picture on the next envelope and so on, until the end. Then we find our treasure and start again. It’s just picture matching with walking.
Please ask any questions, I hope this makes sense. My son is loving it! So much so that you’ll notice in the photo he wrote his own clue word as well.
