Beginning Sounds Flash Cards

Teach your child letter sounds the Montessori way with these 52 phonics flash cards—each letter paired with an animal from alligator to zebra—perfect for ages 4–6 learning to read.

📦 What's Included

• 52 flash cards total: 26 uppercase/lowercase cards + 26 lowercase-only cards
• Animal pictures A–Z: Alligator, bear, cat, dog, elephant, flamingo, giraffe, horse, iguana, jellyfish, koala, lion, monkey, narwhal, octopus, penguin, quail, rabbit, snail, tiger, urchin, vulture, walrus, x-ray fish, yak, zebra
• Color-coded letters: Blue vowels, red consonants (matches Montessori Moveable Alphabet)
• Card format: Ready to print and laminate

💡 Learning Benefits

• Phonics foundation learning letter sounds (not letter names)
• Beginning sound isolation hearing /b/ in bear, /c/ in cat
• Visual association connecting sounds to letters
• Reading readiness preparing for phonetic decoding
• Vocabulary building learning animal names

🎯 How to Use

• Introduce 3–5 letters at a time, not all 26 at once
• Say the sound (not the letter name): "/b/ bear" not "B bear"
• Practice: "What sound does bear start with?"
• Use with Montessori Moveable Alphabet for letter formation
• Progress from uppercase/lowercase cards to lowercase-only
• Play matching games or sound hunts around the house

📚 Teaching Tip from a Montessori Guide

In Montessori, we teach letter sounds first, not letter names. Why? Because when children start reading, they need to know that 'c-a-t' says /k/ /a/ /t/ = cat, not "see-ay-tee." These cards use the phonetic approach—each animal's name starts with its letter's sound. Once your child can decode simple words, then we introduce letter names.

🔗 Pair This With

• Beginning Sounds Matching Cards – Practice activity extension
• Phonics Collection – More reading readiness materials

📚 Explore More

• Flash Cards Collection
• Language Collection