These past few weeks, we’ve been working on the Letter “M”. Here are a few ways we’ve integrated learning the letter and the sound “mmm” into our daily routine.
Integrate Movement
I used a red painter’s tape and created a big M on our floor. Then my two-year-old and I “walked the line”. Great for balance, too!

Make it Accessible
We collect all things “M” and place it into the basket. So far we have a monkey, milk, a picture of meat, a mouse, a maraca, a construction mallet, a cow because he “moooooooos”, a picture of me (“Mama” and “Marnie”) and my sister Meg, a picture of daddy who is an “M” an, a picture of the moon, a picture of a mailbox, a picture of a mountain and the states of Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Montana.

Playdough – I made some fun black playdough. We worked on creating a big “M” and a little “m”. We’ll decorate with mini moons I cut from foam and rubber mice I purchased for Halloween activities.
Art – I drew an M on a piece of construction paper, gave him candy corn (’tis the season), gave him glue and had him fill in the outline if the letter.

We’re also going to make the letter ‘m’ with popsicle sticks.
States that begin with M
This exercise is a new one. Lucky for us, my two-year-old loves his Melissa & Doug USA puzzle and he has a lot in common with the states that begin with the letter “M”. I grew up in Maine and my mother still lives there. My husband’s parents live in Massachusetts. We visited my sister in Michigan last year. One of our sitters grew up in Minnesota, and, well, Montana, we dream and talk about a lot around our home.

Make it Engaging
This exercise is a new one, too. Like many children, my two-year-old loves the moon. Lately, he has been talking about how “a piece is missing” or that “a piece broke off”. Asking who took it, etc. So, I figured we might as well introduce the phases of the moon. I used the internet and an iPad app to help us with this concept. I also cut out the different phases of the moon with white felt to demonstrate on our felt board.
Make it Personal
This exercise is my favorite. :-) We talked about first names. “Meg” and “Marnie”, how we’re twins at 34 years old, how I married Dad, how Aunt Meg is a doctor, how Aunt Meg lives in Southern California, and how I grew two babies in my belly.

I also talked about where we grew up, conveniently in Maine, what I studied in school (economics and business), and some of our favorite things to do like running, writing, yoga, travel.
Thanks for visiting…
Marnie