Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Alphabet Bins - Object Boxes
I photographed all of the items inside the initial sound boxes in my alphabet bins. I had extras for several letters which don’t fit inside the box, so I photographed those also to give you more ideas. Of course, you do not need this many items in your object boxes! This just happens to be a little addiction of mine, and I’ve been collecting them for about 8 years.
I will list them in alphabetical order, though the Montessori way is to group them: MSAT, FNDE, CRPI, HLBO, WKGU, JVQ, XYZ.
These are objects for all of the initial sounds (and vowels only with their soft sound - except for U).
The * indicates the objects I made myself, mostly using Sculpey clay and paint.
I collected these items from: household items, specialty buttons and beads, “Toobs”, Barbie or Polly Pocket accessories, small toys, dollhouse miniatures, Crazerasers, jewelry charms, Legos, tiny Christmas ornaments, a plastic anatomy set (organs), magnets, stickers, scrapbook accessories, and printouts when I got desperate.
I hope this helps you in finding or making some objects of your own!
amethyst, amazonite (stone), ambulance, antlers, Allen wrench, anvil*, alligator, atlas*, apple, astronaut, ampersand, at, anteater, ant, Africa*, ax, abacus*
bee, bear, binoculars, butterfly, buffalo, backpack, baseball, bat, bag, biscuit, basketball, boot, broccoli, basket, battleship, bobcat, bishop
Additional ideas: amulet
...acrobat, alphabet, antelope, antenna, ashes, athlete
Additional ideas: bead, Band-aid, bull, brain, bark, brush, button, bladder
...balloon, bananas, banjo, bath, bed, bell, bird, blanket, boat, book, box, bridge, broom, brush, bubbles, bug, bus, butter
A
B
C
caterpillar, carrot, coin, cube, cork, cupcake, cauliflower, comb, car, cake, castle, camera, crab, coconut, coyote, candle, compass, cactus
Additional ideas: cap, caribou, crocodile, clothespin, castle, cougar, cone, cow
...calculator, camel, candy, canoe, cat, clock, cloud, coat, cookie, corn, Corvette, cotton, crab, crib
D
dog, doctor, dynamite, dragon, drum, diamond, die, donut, duck, dinosaur, deer, dove, dress, door
Additional ideas: diploma, ... diaper, dictionary, disc, doll, dolphin, drill
E
envelope*, engine, explorer, evergreen tree, eggs, excavator, elbow, eggplant*, escape key, Empire State Building, exclamation point, elephant, Eskimo, El Camino
Additional ideas: ebony, elevator, elf (Lego), elk, elm, ember, embroidery, emerald, Emmet (Lego Movie), emperor, emperor penguin, engine (of a car), entrance, escalator, espresso, essay
F
flag, fish, football, frog, flashlight, fly, French fries, flipper, firetruck, fork, flamingo, fox, four wheeler, flower
Additional ideas: fabric, fairy, fan, farm, feather, fig, fire, flute, foot, fruit
G
golf ball, grasshopper, gorilla, guitar, gasoline, grapes, ghost, girl, goblet, glue, goose, green beans, girl, goat, glove
Additional ideas: garlic, gate, gift, grapefruit, grits
H
hand, hanger, hamburger, heart, Hummer, heart, hammer, helmet, holly, hen, hippopotamus, harmonica, horse, horseshoe, helicopter
Additional ideas: high heel, hat, hammerhead, hot air balloon
...hair, ham, hawk, headphones, hexagon, highlighter, hive, hoe, house, hummingbird
I
infant, Indian, insect, igloo, inchworm*, inch, iguana, intestines, Impala (car)
Additional ideas: impala (animal), incense, Incredibles, indigo, instrument
J
jaw, Jack-in-the-box, juice, jade (stone), Jack o’lantern, jewelry, jar, jet ski, jackstone, jellyfish, jug, jasper (stone), jingle bell, jacket, jaguar, Jaguar (car), jeep
Additional ideas: jam, Japan, jeans, jedi, Jello, jelly, jersey, jester, jet, joker (card), judge (Lego), jumprope, Jupiter
K
kitten, kiwi*, king, kazoo, kayak*, kangaroo, kidneys, kettle, koala, key, killer whale, kaleidoscopekitten
Additional ideas: kale, kebab, keep (a castle’s strongest tower), keg, kelp (seaweed), kelpie (Austrailan dog), kennel, kerosene, ketchup, keyboard, keystone, khaki, kid (baby goat), kilt, kiln, kingfisher, kit (baby fox, beaver/ferret), kite, koi (ornamental carp), Komodo dragon, kookaburra, Kremlin, krill
L
leather, lock, leopard, leaf, Lego, leg, ladybug, liver, lips, lizard, lid, lipstick, lion, ladle, lightbulb, lava lamp, lantern
Additional ideas: longhorn, luggage, lasso
...label, lace, ladder, lamb, Lamborghini, lamp, lemon, leprechaun (Lego), letter, lettuce, light, lighthouse, lilac, llama, lobster
M
magnifying glass, moon, moose, mushroom, mummy, mirror, mitten, musher, marshmallows*, mug, mask, milk, medal
Additional ideas: mascara, macaw, monkey
...magazine, magnet, mailbox, map, marble, marker, mat, mermaid, microscope, minion, motorcycle, mouse
N
nest, nib (calligraphy), nectarine, nickel, nut, newspaper, nutcracker, ninja, nut, nail polish, nail, notebook, noodle, necklace, needle, nose (Mr. Potato Head), net
Additional ideas: nail (as in hammer), napkin, Neptune, nettle, newt (part of the salamander family), nine, noose, novel, nugget, nun, nurse (Lego), nutmeg
O
omelet, obelisk*, octopus, octagon, olive*, ostrich, ox, onyx, ottoman, otter, (owl)
Additional ideas: ocelot, Optimus Prime
P
pajamas, pioneer, penny, purse, potato, pizza, plate, pliers, plane, polar bear, popcorn, penguin, pawn, praying mantis, pencil, pot
Additional ideas: pillow, pin, play, purple, pom pom, present, prairie dog, palm tree, peace
...package, paper, paper clip, patch, pear, pearl, pebble, perfume, pickle, pig, piñata, pink, planet, plant, police car, pretzel
Q
quadruplets/quintuplets, quill, quartz, queen, (could use chess set queen), quail, question mark, quarter, (Q-tip), quilt*, quotation marks, quiver*
Additional ideas: quart, quiff (a hairstyle),
quoin (decorative stones at corners of brick/stone buildings), quoll (Australian animal)
R
racquet, rotor, ribbon, reed (oboe), robot, ring, rabbit, rose, reindeer, rug, rainbow, ruler, rat, roadrunner, rhinoceros
Additional ideas: rock, rubber band, red
...raccoon, raft, raisin, rake, raspberry, rattle, robin, rocket, roll, rope
S
scorpion, sandwich, snorkel, soccer ball, soda, seal, saw, spider, spool, seashell, snowflake, skunk, sandal, spoon, stapler, snake, saxophone, sunglasses, spear, scissors
Additional ideas: spear, skull, string, slipper, seahorse, starfish, screwdriver, star, stove, sphinx, soap, skeleton
...salsa, satellite, scarecrow, snowman, sock, Spiderman
T
tee, toucan, train, tennis ball, tomato, toast, tire, toothpaste, toothbrush, turtle, tie*, trumpet, truck, temple, tug boat, tiger, top, torpedo
Additional ideas: teepee, trailer, tree, trophy, telescope, tail
...table, tack, tape, tea, teepee, tiara, tissue, toad, toilet, token, toolbox, toothpick, tray, trumpet, turkey
U
Utah, utensils, ukelele, U-boat (German sub), unakite (stone), Uranus, U-turn sign, unicycle, UFO, umbrella, United States of America, unicorn, ultrasound
(This is the only vowel I include the hard sound for.)
Additional ideas: ulna, umpire, undershirt, underwear, uniform, usher
V
vine, veins, volcano*, violin, Volkswagon, valentine, volleyball, vitamin, Voltron, Velcro, van, vest, velvet, vase
Additional ideas: vampire, vanilla, vegetables, video camera, violet, vacuum, vane (blades of a windmill/fan), vat, vault, veal, veil, vent, ventriloquist, Venus fly trap, vertebra, veterinarian, vinegar, viper, vixen (female fox), vulture
W
wagon, wizard, washer, whale, whistle, wings, wolf, watermelon, wand, walrus, whisk, windmill, water
Additional ideas: watch, watering can, wheel, web
...wallpaper, washcloth, wheat, whip, wig, window, witch, wood, worm
X
X-men, x-ray, taxi, sax, xylophone, x-ray tetra fish, ox, ax, six, fox, box,
xenon, xenon lights, xebec (sailing ship), xylograph (wood engraving), xiphoid process
X is a tricky letter. Only a few words that begin with X make the phonetic sound (only those that say the letter, like x-ray). Because of that, I included some objects that have the phonetic “cks” sound, even though they aren’t the initial letter. I would choose which way you want to present this letter and only include the objects that support that way.
More ideas: axis, borax, boxer, exit, fax, flax, helix, hexagon, index, mix, mixer, pixel, pixie, T-rex, taxes, text, tux, wax
Y
yield sign*, Yoda, yolk*, Yin-Yang, yam*, Yeti, yarn, yellow, yo-yo, yak, yogurt, yacht*
Additional ideas: yard stick, yabby (small crayfish - Australia), yeast, yew (tree from Europe, Africa, Iran & Asia), yoke, yurt (Mongolian tent-like building)
Z
zombie, ziggurat (a stepped pyramid), zookeeper, zodiac raft, zebra, zucchini*, zipper, Zorro, zip code* (it has our full address), zig-zag, zither (instrument), zero, zinnia
Additional ideas: zebu (cow with a big hump on shoulders), Zeppelin (rigid German airship), zest, Zeus, Zinc
I’m really excited about the quiver I made! I used the leather from one of my old shoes that I’ve been saving forever. (I knew it would come in handy.) I added super glue, rolled it up, and tied on a brown shoelace for the carrying strap. Now if I only had some miniature arrows to put in it!