Beginning Letter Phonics Cards

Hello everyone! I wanted to share with you Vito’s current favourite printable, our Beginning Letter Phonics Cards.  You might have seen these in some of my letter-themed post.  These are card strips which contain letters and their corresponding objects (real images matching the  beginning letter sound).  The product comes in two sets: control cards and the activity cards.  Below is a glimpse of how we use the materials, which Vito would work on every day (sensitive period for letters)!

Match the letters to the Control Cards

How did I introduce the cards? I waited for some time when Vito is showing that he’s into letters and letter sounds.  When I started seeing that he’s reciting letters, identifying letters and making the sounds, that was the time I re-introduced the cards. Re-introduce because we’ve been using these since last year.  I would integrate one card at a time in our letter activities but those were the days when he would just identify the letters but ignore the images (meaning, he’s not interested).  I kept these because he wasn’t into it, until recently.

So to begin with, I would place 4-5 card strips on the mat, and I would present it by making the letter sound (pointing to the letters) and naming the objects while emphasizing the letter sound.  I only did this to the first card because he insisted that he will do it on his own. So his way of working through the cards is this:  name the letter “big Lllll, small Lllll” and he would proceed to naming the objects and he would get the matching letter (puzzle piece) and place it on top of the card.  (We are using HAPE UPPERCASE ALPHABET PUZZLE here)

When we’re done with five cards, he asked for more, requesting the letters A, B, C, D etc

And behold!! He worked on all these card strips! It was more than I expected.  Remember that I only took out five cards at first, and he keeps on asking for more until he worked on about 20 cards!  It was amazing!

What’s the Letter Sound

After working on the control cards for weeks, we tried the blank ones for a challenging game: what’s the letter sound.  I laid out a few cards on the table and using our Montessori Movable letters, Vito will place the correct letter that matches the beginning letter sound of the objects in the cards.  So we started identifying the objects, I would point to the picture and he would name it for me.  Something like :

Me:  Let’s look for the beginning letter sound of… (I point to the objects)

Vito: carrots, car, cat

Me:  They all start with the “cccaa” sound.  What’s the letter with the “cah” sound?

Around this time, he would look for the letter in our tray. This is his first time to work on a Montessori Movable Letters so navigating through the letters in the tray took awhile.  Then I pointed to the row where he could find the letter “c” just to give him a clue since he is showing a little bit of frustration (he can’t find the letter c!).  When he found the correct letter, he placed it on the top blank area of the card and would declare “I did it!”.  We worked on the rest of the card, and he lasted till about 10 sounds.

We’ll try a different set next time!

So just to show you how the cards look like, these are the control cards we use in practicing the sounds, letter recognition and vocabulary. I bounded these cards in a ring binder so we can bring them in the car during long drives, or whenever we pick up Mavi from school to beat the time while waiting.

These are the blank cards, exactly the same but without letters.  To work on these, you need some letters like Montessori Movable Letters, magnetic letters or the like.  But, if the child knows how to write already, it is also best that you let them write the correct letters on the blank space. Just laminate the cards and use dry erase pens.

This is such a simple yet fun activity that Vito and I would do in the morning.  I highly recommend working on about 5-10 cards only especially for younger kids just to jumpstart their day.  The cards and the activities have helped Vito’s vocabulary since we started this.  I’ve also identified some of his weak spots (letters Y, W, N, Q, U, I), he’s mostly confused of the sounds here so with practice he is getting better!

You can purchase the cards from my  TPT SHOP or click the image below for the link:

Follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus, Instagram or Twitter for updates!  More learning materials at Pinay Homeschooler Shop.

Pin this for later!