“I-Spy with my little eye, something in Annie’s hands that begins with the sound /n/ – net!”
In my previous blog post, Essential Guide To 4 Fun Letter And Sound Activities, the first lesson is I-Spy, a phonemic awareness activity.
Studies have shown that phonemic awareness helps prepare young children for writing and reading success.
The beauty of the I-Spy games is that you genuinely don’t need anything to play it, and you can play I-Spy with your child wherever you go!
For several months, I brought my 4-year-old daughter, Annie, to a kids’ farm class, and she loved to play I-Spy with the things we found on the farm after she turned 3.
I would say, “I-Spy with my little eye, something sleeping in the barn that begins with /g/.” Annie would shout, “goat!”
In this post, I will share 4 variations of Montessori I-Spy games, as I learned from my teacher training. I’ll also share how the lessons went with Annie at home!
Great information and resources! One note, in the Margaret Homfray training videos she said the moveable alphabet should be in print, NOT cursive.
Hi Loretta,
Thank you so much for your comment! It depends on the Montessori school, teacher, or parent if they choose to use print or cursive. The most important thing to remember is that if you use the print sandpaper letters, you need to use the print moveable alphabet for consistency (same thing if you choose cursive). In the Montessori world, there is a debate on print vs. cursive, which comes down to personal preference. I support both.
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Back again to read this over as it’s just so helpful!
Your blog posts make me so much more interested in monsterroi school. Thanks for sharing this about phonemic awareness!
I love the idea of games to bring learning to life. Thanks for this detailed post !
This is a really educational read, I was not aware of the benefits practicing Phonemic with children using play could have on their success in reading and writing. Thank you for the tips and game idea, love I spy.
Such a creative way! Love the step by step guide.
Super interesting! It has been so long since I sounded out letters intentionally instead of just reading subconsciously. This is such a helpful resource for me to use in a couple years. Thanks!
Oh wow, this is what exactly we need now! It is really important to strengthen the kids’ phonetic awareness, as this serves as a basis for reading and writing later on too! Thank you very much for the great hints!
Such a cute idea! I-spy is a big hit in our house.
Love your detailed steps and information for this game. Will share with my friends and family with younger kids.
This is a good strategy to keep in mind when it comes to teaching younger kids. I wasn’t familiar with this term.
This will definitely help the little one’s with their language and social skills. Thank you!
I’ll have to try these games with my daughter! She is great with beginning sounds but is still working on end sounds.
Hi Patricia, I’m glad you found the phonemic awareness sound games helpful. We tend to focus on beginning sounds, but it’s also good to practice ending and middle sounds!
This is such a great way to help the little ones. I’ll send this to a friend in hopes that it helps her and her family.
I love how detailed this is – super helpful. Thank you!
Sound games are such an important component to building strong reading skills
This technique is so much helpful to let the kids learn how to read. They can a both have fun whilst learning.
This I-Spy game sounds extremely educational and beneficial for children! Thank you for sharing 🙂