A DIY Mini Montessori Alphabet Box is an affordable way to create a hands-on learning tool to help your preschooler learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet. I’ve wanted to make one for some time now! This summer I finally started to gather my supplies and put it together just in time for the beginning of this school year. Now that we’ve had a chance to use it I’m so excited to finally share it with you all!
DIY Mini Montessori Alphabet Box
The supplies came from a number of places to keep costs down or to find a variety of items, including The Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, Michael’s, High Pie Supply on Etsy and Curious Minds Busy Bags on Etsy. This post includes Amazon Affiliate links to some items for your convenience, please see my Disclosure & Privacy Policy for more information.
To set up your own DIY Mini Montessori Alphabet Box you will need the following supplies:
- Drawer Storage Cabinet with at least 26 drawers (I found this mini one at Wal-Mart for $11!)
- Clear packing tape
- Scissors
- US Zaner Bloser Alphabet Poster Chart
- Alphabet Beginning Sounds Poster from Homeschool Creations
- Miniature Items for each letter (I gathered ours from various sources, details below)
- Alphabet Magnets (from Wal-Mart and The Dollar Tree)
- Tactile Alphabet Cards (I found these at The Dollar Tree!)
- Felt Mat
To put together our DIY Mini Montessori Alphabet Box I followed the directions outlined by Wildflower Ramblings. It is so simple to make! Head on over there to see how it’s done! Then come back and check out the objects we used in our mini drawers! I’ll wait…
Ok, now that you have your mini drawers labeled, it’s time to check out what to put in them! This is the fun part! I gathered our small alphabet objects from a number of places, including around the house! Some items include:
- Safari ltd Animal Toobs
- Craft Supplies
- Nature items
- Trinkets from Etsy Stores- High Pie Supply or Annie’s Market
Aa Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, acorn, astronaut from Safari ltd Space Toob, anteater from Safari ltd Rainforest Toob, wooden apple cutout from Michael’s, alien and tiny ant from trinket kits
Bb Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, baseball bead, butterfly bead, tiny bat, tiny boot, bumblee bee charm, tiny baby bottle, tiny brush from trinket kits, buttons, wooden bell and bus cutouts from Michael’s
Cc Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, cow from Safari ltd Farm Toob, mini clothespin, candle, crown charm, carriage charm, and mini car from trinket kits, cat from Safari ltd Pets Toob
Dd Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, dinosaur from Safari ltd Dinos Toob, dolphin bead, dolphin charm and dog button from trinket kits
Ee Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards (missing), Alphabet Magnets, googly eye, Eskimo from Safari ltd Arctic Toob, elephant bead from trinket kits, miniature eggs from Michael’s
Ff Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, football bead, tiny flower bead, tiny flip-flop, flip-flop charm, tiny fork charm, and two frog charms from trinket kits, feather, Fireman from Safari ltd People Toob, Fish from Safari ltd Coral Reef Toob
Gg Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, gift from trinket kits, Gorilla from Safari ltd Wild Toob, Goat from Safari Ltd Farm Toob, golf tee
Hh Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, Hippo from Safari Ltd Wild Toob, Hedgehog from Safari Ltd Pets Toob, holly sprig, hammer charm, heart beads, heart charm, and horseshoe charm from trinket kits, miniature hose from Michael’s
Ii Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, Iguana from Safari Ltd Rainforest Toob, ice cube from trinket kits, Igloo from Arctic Safari Ltd Toob
Jj Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, Jaguar from Safari Ltd Rainforest Toob, jack
Kk Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, kazoo and key charm from trinket kits
Ll Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, ladybug eraser, lock charm, lightening bolt charm, lips charm, leaf charms, lizard and lips from trinket kits, wooden craft Lion from Michael’s
Mm Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, mustache magnet, tiny mustache bead and tiny moon bead from trinket kits, marbles, Mouse from Safari Ltd Pets Toob, tiny milk bottle from Michael’s
Nn Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, necklace and plastic needle from trinket kits, toy nail
Oo Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, owl charm from trinket kits, Otter from North American Safari Toob, Octopus from Coral Reef Safari Ltd Toob
Pp Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, Pig from Safari Ltd Farm Toob, Penguin from Safari Ltd Penguins Toob, Police Officer from Safari Ltd People Toob, popcorn bead, peacock charm, pink pencil charm, paper clip, and puzzle piece from trinket kits
Qq Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, question mark and play quarter from trinket kits
Rr Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, Raccoon from Safari Ltd North American Toob, Rock, rattle trinket, rhino bead, rocking horse trinket and ring from trinket kits
Ss Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, seagull, snake from Safari Ltd Rainforest Toob, spider, seashell, starfish, star bead, safety-pin from trinket kits, wooden school from Michael’s
Tt Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, tooth, treasure chest, train bead, teddy bear charm, telephone charm from trinket kits, tiny Tractor, Turtle from Safari Ltd Pets Toob, wooden tiger from Michael’s
Uu Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, two unicorn charms, ultrasound picture and umbrella charm from trinket kits
Vv Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, Veterinarian from Safari Ltd People Toob, volcano bead and velcro from trinket kits
Ww Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, whistle, wheelbarrow from LEGO set, wrench from LEGO set, Wolf from Safari Ltd North American Toob, wheel, worm and whale eraser from trinket kits
Xx Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, X-Ray picture, Xylophone charm from trinket kits
Yy Drawer– Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, yo-yo from trinket kits, yarn and yellow crayon
Zz Drawer- Tactile Alphabet Cards, Alphabet Magnets, wooden zebra from Michael’s, zipper and zero from trinket kits
That completes our alphabet objects set. I tried to have at least three objects for each drawer, I may switch some objects around and add more in the future. There are a number of objects that could be used for your drawers. Just try to remember to look for objects with the same beginning sound as the letter it represents.
Check out Counting Coconuts and Wildflower Ramblings for ideas on how to play and use your Montessori Alphabet Box. I’ll be posting some of our ideas soon.
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This is so very cool!
Thank you!
What great little collections you have! This would be something fun to make for my little guy!
Hi! The etsy shops you mentioned to by small objects from are not active since a long period now. You can also find a great choice of miniatures at MIMIAbyMIA. She has various options at a great price. https://www.etsy.com/es/shop/MIMIAbyMIA
Thanks for letting me know and sharing another option for small objects!