I love Montessori manipulatives. They are so beautiful but so expensive! I especially wanted a moveable alphabet because I think it really helps children to understand how words are made: patterns, letter combinations etc. A small moveable alphabet costs about £27 (not including shipping or the storage box) from Absorbant Minds but I really don’t want to spend that kind of money!
I decided to make my own at a much cheaper price. I went on eBay and bought 4 pacts of wooden letters. I bought two tester bottles of paint for £1 each of blue and red. If you have children who enjoy loom bands, you probably already have a plastic container to store your alphabet.
I painted the vowels blue and then put a layer of mod podge on them to protect them and give them a shiny finish.
Next, I painted the consonants red and did the same thing.
I will show you the finished product in a later post, as well as how I’m planning on using it. As you can see, you can have a moveable alphabet for about £15!
Great idea. I have been thinking about how to make something similar recently. I have the alphabet in many other forms but not this one yet. I think I might try a craft store as well. Thanks!