Our kings and queens unit has been a lot of fun … it’s even become part of our Pi Day celebration! Because kings and queens go together so well, I have two free printables for you today. The king and queen do-a-dot printables are an instant download and super-easy to prepare!
Montessori-Inspired Printables at Living Montessori Now
My daughter, Chrissy Chitwood (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 focuses on kings and queens. I tell you a bit about the images used on the credits page. These are King Henry VIII and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, of England.
- 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 King and Queen Do-a-Dot Printables
To download the king and queen 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 King and Queen Do-a-Dot Printables
Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Tray with Q for Queen Do-a-Dot Printable and Crown Punch with Gems
Tray with Q for Queen Do-a-Dot Printable and Crown Punch with Gems
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, a miniature crown punch, and small, clear gems to look like diamonds. (Note: You could have a separate tray for the king do-a-dot page or put both do-a-dot pages on the same tray.)
I also included the letter “q” queen cursive font card (part of our Montessori-inspired kings and queens 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).
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.
Queen Movable Alphabet Word Building, Handwriting Practice, and Fine-Motor Work
Using a Crown Punch to Make Miniature Crowns for the Queen Do-a-Dot Page
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 /qu/ sound, while an older child could trace the letters, and build the word or words with the Montessori movable alphabet.
If you want to know how to introduce the short letter sound for q, check out my post on how to teach letter sounds using Montessori principles. Note: Some Montessorians introduce qu as a phonogram. Many others introduce q alone. I do that and as the child is ready, say that q and u together make the sound /qu/.
For a child who’s ready for (or already using) the movable alphabet, you could have the child build the word. 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.) I also have the phonogram card for “ee” on the tray with the image of Queen Victoria of England. You can see how I introduce it in my original kings and queens post.
Zoey traces the words with red and blue colored pencils and uses the movable alphabet to build the word for our do-a-dot page.
She was so excited to use the miniature crown punch! She punched out more than enough crowns for the 28 dots on the queen do-a-dot page.
Gluing Miniature Crowns and Gems on the Queen Do-a-Dot Page
Then Zoey carefully glued a miniature crown and gem on each dot. I think this was one of her favorite do-a-dot pages!
Royal Activities and Resources
Free Kings and Queens Printables and Montessori-Inspired Kings and Queens Activities
Pi Day Princess Crafts: How to Make a Pi Bracelet and Crown
Free Royal Tea Party Videos {Grace and Courtesy Resources}
How to Have a Healthy and Courteous Royal Tea Party
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.
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