Movable Alphabet

If you're familiar with the Montessori method, you know all about the movable alphabet. My daughter attended a Montessori school and I found this to be a fantastic way to teach reading. My kids are both in public school now, so I made my own to teach my son how to read.

A movable alphabet is basically loose letters that the kids can use to build words on a board or even on the floor. I used mine even with Emmy now that she's in First grade. I think she likes hunting for the letters and seeing if she can spell the difficult words I give her. I try to make it more like a game instead of a "learning activity".

If you can shop, you can make one for yourself; there is no crafting involved here.

What you'll need:

1. Loose Alphabet Tiles - you can buy them plain or with magnets on the back. I bought
                                          mine with the magnets so they would stay put on my board.
                                          I bought mine on Amazon here:
       http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-1986-Magnetic-Teaching/dp/B000FA6AY0/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1366920095&sr=1-2&keywords=letter+tiles

2. 11x14 Magnetic Board - really you can use any size but I think this one is a perfect fit
                                          for little kids or you could even use a Dollar Store cheapo cookie sheet
                                          I bought mine on Amazon here:
          http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-Pupil-Magnetic-Board-14inx11in/dp/B000F8XC9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366920030&sr=8-1&keywords=educational+insights+magnetic+board

3. Picture Cards - I bought my colorful cards a few years ago at Walgreen's but you can find
                                         these in pretty much any educational section. You can also draw
                                         your own simple pics on unruled notecards.

4. Carrying Case - You'll need some sort of divided container. I found mine at Joann's.

Some tips for success:

• Start with simple CVC (consonant vowel consonant) words like car, sun, dog
• Then start adding some blends like ship, shop shut 
• Keep adding more and more blends and reviewing ones they've already mastered
• A great way to reinforce spelling is to have your child write each word they've made on paper