Fun and Learning with Montessori-Inspired I Have, Who Has? Games

I’ve used a few different “I Have, Who Has?” games with our themed activities. My oldest granddaughter, Zoey, loved the games so much at age 3½ that I decided in 2017 to create a Montessori-inspired I Have Who Has? preschool game pack. I designed it for various numbers of players, hands-on learning, and reinforcing a variety of concepts. I’m happy today to focus on our printables that use Montessori principles to reinforce preschool concepts through fun games … including a new cursive pack!

Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Montessori-Inspired Printables at Living Montessori Now

My daughter, Chrissy (a former Montessori child), and I have partnered 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.
• They typically use traditional Montessori colors such as red for consonants and blue for vowels.
• They emphasize 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.

Fun and Learning with Montessori-Inspired I Have, Who Has? Preschool Games Video from 2017

We love to play games like these! This 59-second video from 2017 shows just 3 of the games in the original print pack. In the video are Zoey at 3½, Chrissy (my daughter and Zoey’s aunt), and me.

More about the Montessori-Inspired I Have, Who Has? Preschool Games Video

Here you can see how we lay out the cards to start the game!

I designed these games for you to play with an order for presenting letter sounds that’s popular in Montessori schools. This is the order we follow:

s  m  t  a  p  f  c

r  b  l  i  g  n  d

h  j  k  w  o  u  v

y  z  x  q  e

So you can play the game with the first set only, the first two sets, the first three sets, or all the letters. In the video, we’re using the first two sets of letters combined. At the end of the pack, we have D’Nealian and cursive I Have, Who Has? games with all the letters if you’d like to use more than one font.

We used the sandpaper letters with the game to emphasize the sensory experience of writing and learning letter sounds. You can just use the cards if you wish, but tracing the letters is great handwriting practice (and a fun way to add interest to sandpaper letters).

Again, tracing the sandpaper numerals is wonderful handwriting practice in addition to helping children learn the numerals 0-9. Zoey doesn’t need to focus on identifying the numerals, but I like that this is a fun way for her to spend extra time tracing the numerals.

If you’re wondering how we end our games and why we’re all clapping at the end, it’s because everyone wins in our preschool games! I’m a real fan of cooperative games, especially for preschoolers, who rarely have the emotional maturity to handle winning and losing. Even if they do have the needed maturity, I like stress-free learning and cooperation as much as possible. See my post on “How to Use Cooperative Games to Teach Sportsmanship” for ways to adapt games to be cooperative learning activities.

Montessori-Inspired I Have, Who Has? Preschool Game Pack in Print 

This is a product in our Living Montessori Now shop!

Montessori-Inspired I Have, Who Has? Preschool Game Pack in Cursive

This is a new product in our Living Montessori Now shop!

The books in the photo:

• Montessori Shapes Work
• A Handful of Numbers
• Around the World from a to z
• Kids Like Me Learn Colors

Resources for Preparing I Have, Who Has? Games

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).

In the pack, you’ll find these I Have, Who Has games: Colors; Shapes; Red and Blue Rods 1-10; Numbers 0-9; Numbers 1-20; Bead Bars 1-10; Letters s, m, t, a, p, f, c; Letters s, m, t, a, p, f, c, r, b, l, i, g, n, d; Letters s, m, t, a, p, f, c, r, b, l, i, g, n, d, h, j, k, w, o, u, v; All letters in manuscript, D’Nealian, and cursive; Page of blank I Have, Who Has? cards

I typically use a wooden Multicraft tray and Montessori Services basket for materials or a Montessori Services small willow basket for cards alone.

After downloading the Montessori-Inspired I Have, Who Has Preschool Pack, just print the cards on cardstock, laminate if desired, and cut out.

Adding 3-dimensional materials increases the educational value of the materials by making them more hands-on. It’s also a great way to extend learning after children have been introduced to the traditional Montessori materials for teaching each concept.

Colors:

DIY Color Tablets (Note: My DIY material posts include presentation ideas.)

Ideas for Optional Matching Materials: 24 Crayola Crayons (24 are needed to get the 11 Montessori color box 2 colors), DIY Montessori color box 2 color tablets, or Montessori Color Box 2

Shapes:

DIY Geometric Shapes

Ideas for Optional Matching Materials: DIY geometric shapes, traditional metal insets, or plastic insets (which work especially well for a small space)

Red and Blue Rods:

DIY Number Rods and Alternatives

Ideas for Optional Matching Materials: DIY Number Rods and Alternatives (including small printable number rods), Montessori Numerical Rods, or Montessori Numerical Rods,

Numbers 0-9: 

Inexpensive and DIY Sandpaper Numerals

Ideas for Optional Matching Materials: DIY Sandpaper Numerals, any of our themed number cards, or Montessori sandpaper numerals

Numbers 1-20:

Main Blog Resources:

Inexpensive and DIY Sandpaper Numerals

DIY Cards and Counters

DIY Montessori Teen and Ten Boards

Ideas for Optional  Matching Materials: Any of our themed number cards from the zoo pack onward, DIY Bead Bars, Montessori bead bars, or Montessori Teens and Tens Boards

Bead Bars 1-10:

DIY Bead Bars

Ideas for Optional Matching Materials: DIY Bead Bars or Montessori bead bars

Letters (Letter Sounds):

Main Blog Resources:

Inexpensive and DIY Sandpaper Letters

DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics for Preschoolers

Ideas for Optional Matching Materials: DIY Sandpaper Letters, Movable Alphabet Letters from any of our themed packs, or Montessori sandpaper letters

You can also keep the materials separate, using a basket for the I Have, Who Has cards with the letters, metal insets, or other materials in their regular place on your shelves.

I Have, Who Has? Dinosaur Game Pack

You can find the I Have, Who Has? Dinosaur Game Pack in our Living Montessori Now shop.

I Have, Who Has? Dinosaur Game

I like the Montessori Services small willow basket for storing the I Have, Who Has? Dinosaur Game. You can use it for just the photo cards with background, dinosaur drawings (as shown), or both. I store both in ours, since I Have, Who Has? games are popular with Zoey. We just decide which version we want to use any time we play the game.

Here are Zoey and Christina playing the I Have, Who Has? Dinosaur game (using the photos of the dinosaur models). Zoey loves discovering the named card and then asking for the next card.

Here are the directions for the I Have, Who Has? Dinosaur Game:

Before You Begin: Listen to the pronunciations for dinosaur names you’re unsure of. See pronunciation links on credits page.

For most preschoolers, the game will be played by the child matching the dinosaur images rather than reading the words.

• For cooperative play (recommended for preschoolers), pass out the cards, laying them out in front of each person.
• For each person’s turn, (with adult’s help as needed), the player “reads”: “I have____. Who has _____?” Then the players look for the named dinosaur. When a player finds the dinosaur, the used card is placed in a stack with all the other used cards. It’s now the turn of the player who has the named dinosaur.
• When the last dinosaur is called, it should be found pictured on the card at the bottom of the stack (the first dinosaur named). Everyone wins!

Advanced preschoolers on up can just read the cards and play the game without help. For competitive play, the first player to use up all his or her cards wins.

Here are some related blog posts:

How to Teach Vocabulary and Concepts Using the Montessori 3-Period Lesson (a great way to teach names of dinosaurs (or almost any vocabulary)

Dinosaur Posts and Resources:

• Montessori-Inspired Dinosaur Unit
• Montessori-Inspired Dinosaur Fun with Free Printables, Water Beads, and Glass Gems
• Montessori-Inspired Dinosaur Activities Using Dinosaur Replicas
• Make Fossils from Montessori at Home!
• Free Dinosaur Printables and Montessori-Inspired Dinosaur Math Activities
• Literature-Based Dinosaur Activities for Preschoolers
• Dinosaur Ice Melt Science Experiment for Toddlers and Preschoolers
• Free Dinosaur Printables and Montessori-Inspired Dinosaur Language Activities
• Free Dinosaur Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
• Free Dinosaur Cutting Strips {Montessori-Inspired Instant Download}
• Dinosaur Unit Study Pinterest Board

The Living Montessori Now Shop

 

We have some wonderful products for you in our Living Montessori Now shop! Be sure to check them out while you’re there. The prices are very reasonable, and you’ll find lots of help for Montessori at home or in the classroom.