Today, we are exploring letter M. Although Adrian knows all the alphabet letters, in the absence of practice, he will inevitably forget what he had learned since the implementation and application of the learned material will be lacking. So, I try to make it interesting and engaging to keep the enthusiasm going. Adrian really enjoys our Letter Series, especially the Phonetic/Sound Letter Hunt, where he gathers objects around the house beginning with that particular sound. In a Montessori Language curriculum, the letters are not presented by their names, but rather in association with each letter's phonetic sound. Introducing the phonetic sounds of the alphabet is one of the first steps in teaching a child spelling and reading.
"M" is for ๐ฉMommy (Mother), ๐Montessori, the Month of May, muffin, ๐melon, ๐ฎmail box with ๐ฉmail, Mozart and ๐ถmusic, โฐmountains, mat, mop, ๐บmug, Mickey and Minnie, moose, Macaw, ๐monkey, muskox, mitten, mustache, ๐ mouth, ๐ moon, mule, marbles, mirror, ๐ฐ๐ปmarried, ๐บ map, ๐ฐ money & a marshmallow.
According to Montessori Language curriculum, consonant letters are color-coded pink, so I used pink cardstock (buy here) to print the letter "m" template, and offered Adrian to trace the template with marbles, making letter "m." "M" is for marbles.
"M" is for monkey (buy here).
Tracing lower case cursive sand-paper letter "m" (buy here).
"M" is for Macaw (colorful parrot/buy here); also Mommy, mirror, mail, & money.
Adrian also pin-poked capital letter "M" with a push-pin (buy here).
Pin-poking teaches a child hand-control, fine-motor strength, proper pencil grip, and concentration. You will need padding such as felt, washcloth or sponge, which will allow the pin to poke through the paper and not into a table. (You can also use a golf-tee with smaller children since it is less sharp.)
Pattern-tracing lower case "m" with neon dot-stickers (link to a free pdf here).
Making letter "M m" with Wikki Stixs. (See a post about Wikki Stix Alphabet Cards here).
Tracing "M" in a polenta tray adds a sensorial dimension to writing.
For proper tracing, Adrian is referring to a Wooden Letters Set (buy here), which comes with double-sided control cards, showing proper tracing directions. Also, see here a video where Adrian is showing "How to Make this Montessori Sensorial โ๏ธTracing Tray."
"M" is for mouse, the Moon (buy here), mop, mirror, marshmallow, mountain, & macaw.
See here how Adrian wrote the letter M using a dropper and a LEGO block in a post "Dropper Writing Letter M with LEGO (Language 101 ๐ฅ Series ๐ Curriculum)."
With a previous "Letter L" (see a post here), Adrian made a Tactile Nature Letter "L" from ๐ฒ Spruce Tree Needles. Similarly, see here a post ๐ฅ "Making a Tactile Nature Letter "V" from Dried Flowers" and here a post about exploring "Letter V."
For more on Alphabet Letters, read here the main post "๐ Letter Series/Montessori Language" where you will find an introduction to Montessori Language curriculum, as well as other alphabet letters we have been exploring.
Stay tuned for the next letter …
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