I love a bird unit at any time of year. Often, I’ve focused on birds in the spring, but it was fun focusing on them in the summer, too.
Even though we don’t design a free do-a-dot for each unit any more (since we have so many already), I have a new do-a-dot printable that’s part of a series for both younger and older kids. The free do-a-dot printable is a birds do-a-dot phonics printable … as usual, an instant download and super easy to prepare.
Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Often older children have fun with do-a-dot printables, so we’ve been preparing a free do-a-dot for each class of vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, fish, mammals, and birds) as we study them. (We already have one for amphibians, one for reptiles. and one for fish).Younger children can focus on the beginning letter sound of each vertebrate class while older children will focus on phonograms and spelling as well as cursive if desired.
This is also a great time for older children to review birds and the traits of birds. Younger children could simply identify the animals on the printable. You could say something like, “These animals are all birds.”
Note: Be sure to read to the bottom of the post where you’ll find lots of ideas for using do-a-dot printables along with at least one free do-a-dot printable for each letter of the alphabet!
Montessori-Inspired Printables at Living Montessori Now
My daughter, Chrissy (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 printable has a collection of birds.
- 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 Birds Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable
To download the birds do-a-dot phonics 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).
Tray with Birds Do-a-Dot Printable and Bird Punch Work
Tray with Birds Do-a-Dot Printable and Bird Punch Work
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, stickers, or some sort of transfer on the do-a-dot page and focus on the /b/ sound, while an older preschooler could trace the letters and build the word “birds” with the Montessori movable alphabet. You can also use it to reinforce the /ir/ phonogram in fish, the cursive letter “b,” to focus on the spelling of birds, or even to focus on the spelling of “birds” in cursive.
For our birds do-a-dot tray, I used a Multicraft tray with dove punch and bird punch, blue printer paper, glue, and colored pencils. I don’t know if the bird punch I have is still available, but you could always have your child use a 3/4″ circle punch or alternate the dove with a circle punch. Your child will need to punch out 27 birds or circles for the dots on the letter “b.” I also added /ir/ in birds phonogram card in cursive from our subscriber freebie birds pack. (Note: There’s also a/b/for birds card in print, D’Nealian, or cursive.) If you prefer, you can use a variety of tools for transfer activities, such as quick sticks (training chopsticks), sugar tongs, or toast tongs.
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 pencils. 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 pencils.
Scroll down to see lots of ideas for using our do-a-dot printables for a variety of ages and themes.
Bird Phonics and Do-a-Dot Activities
Working with Birds Do-a-Dot Page and Bird Punches
This type of activity is wonderful for fine-motor development, increasing attention span, and reinforcing letter sounds for younger children. For older children or children who are ready, it’s a great printable for working on “ir” in birds as well as spelling and/or cursive work. It’s also perfect for reviewing birds and their traits.
My 5-year-old grandson, Caleb (Chrissy Chitwood‘s son) is already a great reader. We’ve also done some work with the cursive movable alphabet.
Caleb used a triangular grip pencil to trace the letters.
This is a great time to review the /ir/ phonogram with children who are working on the green series (and even advanced readers). Caleb spelled “birds” with the cursive movable alphbet.
Then he used a general bird punch and a dove bird punch to make 27 birds.
After punching them out, he glued each bird on the letter “b.” Normally, I have hole punches that are 3/4″ or smaller to fit on the dots. These were a bit bigger, but it worked if the birds were glued on, alternating types of birds but facing them in the same direction. I wouldn’t make it this complex for a younger child, but it worked well with Caleb.
Do-a-Dot Work at Different Ages
For children under age 3, I typically use the do-a-dot printables for vocabulary, hearing the beginning sound of a word, and fine-motor skills. Generally, with toddlers, I’ll just focus on the /b/ sound at the beginning of “birds.”
For a phonics lesson with young toddlers, I might casually say that “birds” starts with /b/ (the sound, not the letter name). This is just to introduce hearing the phonetic sound. I don’t focus on the letter “b,” although I use the printable that we already have available. We often focus on the child hearing the beginning sound by saying something like, “Birds, /b/, birds.”
With preschoolers who are working on their letter sounds, we follow the order shown in this post along with adding the featured letter. I don’t worry about going out of order for the monthly theme.
If you want to know more about how to introduce the /b/ sound, check out my post on how to teach letter sounds using Montessori principles.
I only use printables with children under age 3 that can be used for hands-on work, such as do-a-dot work, scissor cutting (cutting strips), or another type of printable that can be made into a manipulative. Printables when used with manipulatives are great for fine-motor development, work on important skills, and fit with the hands-on activities that are developmentally appropriate for toddlers.
For older children who already know their letter sounds but still enjoy do-a-dot work, I often add the print movable alphabet word building, phonogram work, another hands-on activity to go with the do-a-dot work, and/or cursive movable alphabet and word analysis work. (Note: These examples have more than one type of additional activity, which I like for older children.)
More Bird Resources and Activities:
Montessori-Inspired Bird Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Montessori-Inspired Backyard Bird Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my newsletter to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Free Bird Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bird Activities
Free Backyard Bird Printables and Montessori-Inspired Backyard Bird Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Bird Unit
- Montessori-Inspired Life Cycle Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Arctic and Antarctic Unit {Hundreds of Resources}
- Montessori-Inspired Continent Activities – Penguins of Antarctica
- Montessori-Inspired Multi-Level Penguin Activities
- 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 Penguin Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Arctic vs. Antarctic Songs and Educational Videos
- Easy and Fun Antarctic Sensory Bin for Winter or Summer
- Free Owl Printables and Montessori-Inspired Owl Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Owl Unit with Free Printables and Activities
- Great Horned Owl Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download
- Montessori Nature Tray with Owl-Themed Craft and Art Appreciation
- Free Owl Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download
- Free Nest Printables and Montessori-Inspired Nest Activities
- Free Nest Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Montessori Nature Tray with Bird-Themed Nest Building and Art Appreciation
- Free Bird Sounds, Songs, and Rhymes for Circle Time
- The Best Nest Books for Kids
- Free Nest Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Montessori-Inspired Fun with Easter Eggs and Oviparous Animals
- Free Duckling Printables and Montessori-Inspired Duckling Activitie
- Free Make Way for Ducklings Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- The Best Duck and Duckling Books for Kids
- Fun 100 Board Extension – Count 100 Ducks {Free Printable}
- Free Duckling Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Oviparous Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Oviparous Animal Activities
- Free Oviparous Animal Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Egg Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Oviparous Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download
- Penguin Game, Puzzle, and Editable Tracing Pack in Print or Cursive
- Bird Unit Study Pinterest Board
FREE Warbler and Yellow Warbler Do-a-Dot Printables (Montessori-Inspired Phonics Instant Download)
FREE Backyard Bird Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download
Helpful Animal Classification Posts
- Living and Non-Living
- Plant and Animal Sorting
- Montessori Animal Classification
- Free Zoo Printables and Montessori-Inspired Zoo Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Animal Units
- Montessori Vertebrate Resources for Preschool Through Elementary
- Free Amphibian Printables and Montessori-Inspired Amphibian Activities
- Free Reptile Printables and Montessori-Inspired Reptile Activities
- Free Fish Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fish Activities
- Free Bird Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bird Activities post
- Montessori Invertebrate Resources for Preschool Through Elementary
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). You’ll find at least one free do-a-dot printable for each letter of the alphabet!
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.
For complete themed alphabet do-a-dot packs, see our Animal Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pack, Spanish Animal Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pack, and Healthy Food Alphabet Do-a-Dot Pack available for purchase in the Living Montessori Now shop.
If this is your first time visiting Living Montessori Now, welcome! If you haven’t already, please join us on our Living Montessori Now Facebook page where you’ll find a Free Printable of the Day and lots of inspiration and ideas for parenting and teaching! And please follow me on Instagram, Pinterest (lots of Montessori-, holiday-, and theme-related boards), and YouTube. While you’re here, please check out the Living Montessori Now shop.
And don’t forget one of the best ways to follow me by signing up for my weekly newsletter. You’ll receive some awesome freebies in the process!
Leave a Reply