I love an Arctic (or Antarctic) unit in the winter. This year, we’ve gone deeper into our Arctic studies with an Inuit unit. Today, I have a free igloo do-a-dot printable for you along with ideas for using it with a variety of ages. It’s an instant download and super-easy to prepare!
Montessori-Inspired Printables at Living Montessori Now
My daughter, Christina (a former Montessori child), and I are partnering to bring you a series of Montessori-inspired printables. The printables are typically themed and use a number of Montessori principles (although you don’t need to be a Montessori teacher or homeschooler to use them):
- They use isolation of quality.
- They use photographs or realistic images to emphasize reality. Whenever I can, I’ll tell you the specific name of the object or animal featured on the credits page. This month’s do-a-dot has a traditional Inuit igloo. It’s important to tell children that many Inuit people now live in houses.
- They typically use traditional Montessori colors such as red for consonants and blue for vowels.
- They use lowercase letters, which are what we introduce letter sounds with in Montessori education. (Children tend to pick up the uppercase letters without being introduced if they’re introduced to the lowercase letter sounds.)
- They often feature themed printable versions of Montessori materials.
Free Igloo Do-a-Dot Printable
To download the igloo do-a-dot printable, click here and then click on the file image in the upper right corner of the PDF to save to your computer (just choose where you want it saved).
Montessori-Inspired Activities Using the Igloo Do-a-Dot Printable
Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Multi-Level Tray with I for Igloo Do-a-Dot Printable and Pom Pom Transfer
Multi-Level Tray with I for Igloo Do-a-Dot Printable and Pom Pom Transfer
Note: This is just one example of how you can use the do-a-dot printable. There are many ways to use our do-a-dot printables. Scroll down to see examples from previous posts. Just choose an activity that’s appropriate for your child’s age and skill level.
I used a Multicraft tray, 6 white pom poms, and toast tong. For my 5-year-old granddaughter, I normally would have used chopsticks as the transfer tool. But I’m in the middle of a big re-organization project right now and wasn’t able to find them in time for our work. Aaack!
I also included the letter “i” igloo cursive font card and cursive “oo” phonogram card (part of our Montessori-inspired Inuit pack – subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my free email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber).
For interest, I also added the igloo from the Safari Ltd. Arctic TOOB.
You could have a variety of transfer activities with do-a-dot printable. Or you could have a totally different type of do-a-dot activity. See ideas below. Again, just choose what is best for your child’s skill level and interests.
You could add a tracing activity to the printable. If you laminate your printable, you can use an erasable crayon like the Melissa & Doug Learning Mat Crayons or Crayola Erasable Crayons. If your page isn’t laminated, you could add a pencil or colored pencil. I often do that. For a 2-year-old or other young preschooler who’s not ready to write letters, you can just leave off the crayon or pencil.
Igloo Phonogram Work, Movable Alphabet Word Building, Handwriting Practice, and Fine-Motor Work
Concentrating on Her Work Building the Word Igloo with the Montessori Movable Alphabet
This do-a-dot printable can be used in a variety of ways, depending on the age and ability of the child. A younger child could just use do-a-dot markers or some sort of transfer on the do-a-dot page and focus on the /i/ sound, while an older child could trace the letters, study the phonogram “oo,” and build the word or words with the Montessori movable alphabet.
If you want to know how to introduce the short letter sound for i, check out my post on how to teach letter sounds using Montessori principles.
For a child who’s ready for (or already using) the movable alphabet, you could have the child build the word first. My 5-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, likes to use the movable alphabet to build the word. (We use the small movable alphabet. I have the movable alphabet from Alison’s Montessori, which I love. You can also get a movable alphabet from Amazon or make your own.)
Before building the words, we reviewed the “oo” phonogram. We also read about igloos in The Inuit (True Books: American History). Then Zoey traced the words with red and blue colored pencils. She was proud that she can trace exactly on the lines now. After that, Zoey used the movable alphabet to build the word “igloo.”
All My Arctic and Antarctic Activities and Resources
Montessori-Inspired Arctic and Antarctic Unit {Hundreds of Resources}
Free Inuit Printables and Montessori-Inspired Inuit Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Continent Activities – Penguins of Antarctica
- Montessori-Inspired Multi-Level Penguin Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Toddler Geography Activities with Baby Beluga
- Free Arctic Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Arctic Animal Activities
- Free Polar Bear Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Arctic Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Simple Arctic Sensory Bin with Vocabulary or Grammar Activity
- Free Penguin Printables and Montessori-Inspired Penguin Activities
- Free Penguin Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Penguin Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Simple Arctic vs. Antarctic Cut-and-Paste Activity {Free Printables}
- Free Arctic Animal Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Penguin Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Arctic vs. Antarctic Songs and Educational Videos
- Easy and Fun Antarctic Sensory Bin for Winter or Summer
- previous themed posts
- Kids’ Winter Activities Pinterest Board
- Antarctica Educational Resources Pinterest Board
MONTESSORI-INSPIRED PACKS – SUBSCRIBER FREEBIES
Don’t miss our themed monthly packs! You’ll get the link and password for the Living Montessori Now subscriber library with the current pack and all the past monthly packs if you subscribe to the Living Montessori Now weekly newsletter!
Free Do-a-Dot Printables and Ideas for Using Them
I love the versatility of do-a-dot printables! If you’re doing a month-long theme, you could easily change out the type of do-a-dot activity weekly to add interest. Here are four ideas of hands-on activities for any of our do-a-dot printables from my frog do-a-dot printable post (see post for details and materials used).
Just click on an image to go to the post with the related free printable!
Note: I’ve arranged the following gallery in alphabetical order, although some posts have two do-a-dot printables (and two different letters). Also, I don’t introduce letters in alphabetical order. You can find out the order in which I introduce letter sounds here. I deviate from that order for our unit studies, though, and focus on a letter that’s simply related to our unit. That’s in addition to our other letter work.
You can see all our free do-a-dot printables with the latest at the top here.
Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!
The Montessori at Home! eBook and Montessori at Home! eBook and Materials Bundle are AMAZING resources! You can learn more about them here. Buy them in the Living Montessori Now shop.
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