Teachers often spend hundreds of dollars a year buying resources and supplies for their classroom. You can’t buy everything though and so I am always looking for resources that are cheap and can be used in LOTS of ways. Here is a simple and cheap resource to infuse more hands-on learning in your classroom: bubble letter cards! Scroll to end of the post to get your FREE set.
Bubble letter mats are so versatile! Especially if you print a set of letter mats and laminate them or slip them into plastic sleeves and make a binder like the one below. Now, you can use the same set of letter mats over and over again! Here are some of my favorite:
1. Pom Poms
You can get these pom pom balls at local craft stores or on Amazon. I always put a set in a ziplock bag and students move them around to form the letters.
2. Seasonal Erasers
Want to add a special theme to your literacy centers? Buy some small erasers in the shapes of Christmas trees, hearts or shamrocks and turn an ordinary literacy center into a brand new SPECIAL themed center.
3. Dot Markers
Dot markers are like paint in a stick! They are large enough for little hands and not as messy as normal paint. Students push on the marker to make different dots all around the letter. If you do this one you’d have to print out enough tracing mats for each student because they wouldn’t be able to reuse the sheet.
4. Play Dough
Everyone loves Play Dough! You can even make your own with this recipe.
5. Stickers
Stickers are another fun way to personalize this activity. You can use stickers relating to the season or a holiday that is coming up. You could also use stickers according to student interest like basketball or Lego figures. Have students place the stickers in rows to form the different letters.
6. Small Toys
Use small toys to fill the inside of the letters. You could even put a set of different toys in a bin and student have to pick out only the toys that start with the letter they are forming. For example: S I might use a toy snake, a sticker, small scissors etc.
7. Beads
Students can use beads of all kinds to fill in the letters. They could even practice making a rainbow or a pattern with the beads (blue, green, blue, green) as an additional challenge.
Grab your FREE set of bubble letter mats!
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