Montessori sandpaper letters ??

[annlaura]

Has anyone used these? Did you like them? Is there a reason that the traditional ones have pink consonants and blue vowels?

[FFkm]

I have a set, but haven't used them yet. I think it's an interesting approach -- learning to read/write in a multi-sensory way (the way the letters sound phonetically, the way they look, and the way it's supposed to feel as they write it out). I'm also curious to see how anyone's done with them.

 

And I think the vowels are blue to give them a special emphasis, since they are so important when learning phonetics.

[helena]

Has anyone used these? Did you like them? Is there a reason that the traditional ones have pink consonants and blue vowels?

 

I have, they're wonderful. They're blue so that without even realizing it they are learning that aeiou are special letters.

You trace with pointer and index fingers to prepare the child to hold a pencil.

You have the child trace the letter the same way you would write it, so that when they begin printing there's a familiarity there.

 

Kids will find in each new lesson (in any Montessori work), some familiar element. The child will have at least some level of success because of this. So everything you teach has a purpose.

 

If you use them, read up on them so you don't waste any teaching opportunities. They look basic, but they can go a long way!

[Guest TheBugsMom]

You can make your own set. Just use sandpaper to cut out consonants and felt for vowels. I made a set when my oldest was in pre-k sixteen plus years ago and they were still usable for my youngest 3 yrs ago.

[kiwi mum]

You can make your own set. Just use sandpaper to cut out consonants and felt for vowels. I made a set when my oldest was in pre-k sixteen plus years ago and they were still usable for my youngest 3 yrs ago.

 

Yes, this is what I did too. But I used sandpaper for all of them and glued them onto two different colors of card.

[annlaura]

Thanks for the replies. :) I think I may use some with my boys. I realize the vowels are a different color to emphasize their importance, but I'm still wondering if there is any importance to the choice of pink and blue. Why not green and orange? Or purple and red? KWIM? ;)

[MamaReads]

I like the sandpaper letters and several of the other montessori mainpulatives as well. The choice of pink and blue coordinates with other montessori language manipulatives. It just keeps things consistent through the program. If those are the only tools you are using it shouldn't be a problem to change the colors.

 

If you are looking for a resource on how to implement montessori techniques at home I really enjoyed Basic Montessori: Learning Activites for under fives