FREE H for Help Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)

I couldn’t plan a friendship unit without thinking about the Daniel Tiger song “Friends Help Each Other.” So, not only is /h/ for “help” our featured letter sound this month, but it’s also the featured letter sound and word in today’s free do-a-dot printable.

This free do-a-dot phonics printable shows friends helping each other. As usual, this /h/ for help do-a-dot phonics printable is an instant download and very easy to prepare.

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

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!

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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 images of one friend helping another.
• 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 H for Help Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable

To download the /h/ for help 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).

H for Help Do-a-Dot Tray with Do-a-Dot Markers

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 /h/ sound, while an older preschooler could trace the letters and build the word “help” with the Montessori sandpaper letters or movable alphabet. You can also use it to introduce the cursive letter “h.”

For our /h/ for help do-a-dot tray, I used our new Ultra Bright Do-a-Dot markers along with the “h” for help font card from our Montessori-Inspired Friendship Pack. (Note: Our original Rainbow Do-a-Dot markers are now 6 years old and still work great!) I placed everything on our usual Multicraft tray. If you prefer, you can use a variety of tools for transfer activities, such as quick sticks, 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.

“H” for Help Phonics and Do-a-Dot Activities

This type of activity is wonderful for fine-motor development, increasing attention span, and reinforcing letter sounds. For older children or children who are ready, you can focus on blending sounds into the word “help” and/or spelling “help.”

It’s always fun to watch my 4-year-old grandkids, Caleb and Sophia, work together on activities. Here, they spelled the do-a-dot word together with the sandpaper letters and movable alphabet. 

Then Caleb and Sophia traced the dotted letters on their do-a-dot pages. They used triangular grip pencils to trace the letters. Triangular grip pencils are a great way to help young children develop the proper pencil grip. They took turns using the blue pencil to trace the blue letters and the red pencil to trace the red letters. 

After that, they chose the Do-a-Dot markers they wanted to use for their designs.

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 /h/ sound at the beginning of “help.” 

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 /h/ 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 Friendship Resources

• Free Friendship Printables and Montessori-Inspired Friendship Activities
• Montessori-Inspired Peace Education Activities
• How to  Prepare a Peace Corner
• Montessori-Inspired Friendship Activities
• Free Friendship Songs and Rhymes {Character Education Resources}
• Free Taking Turns and Sharing Songs and Rhymes {Character Education Resources}
• How to Teach Toddlers and Preschoolers to Take Turns and Work Together
• The Best Children’s Books about Taking Turns and Sharing
• How to Prepare a Montessori Peace Tray
• Montessori Services Peace Activities and Resources Review
• Our Favorite Picture Book about Inclusion and Friendship
• Does Your Preschooler Have This Fabulous Multicultural Children’s Book?
• Anti-Racism Resources for Parents and Teachers
• How to Prepare a Book Basket That Encourages Kindness
• Free Empathy Songs and Educational Videos {Character Education Resources}
• Fostering Kids’ Friendships Pinterest Board

Free Friendship Pack

Montessori-Inspired Friendship 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).

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.

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!

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.