The Spelling Cards
For younger children the brightly colored A, B, C, blocks and picture books have always been helpful in teaching the alphabet and simple words. These spelling cards have the advantage of self-instruction with no possibility of mistake, so that the child teaches himself accurately and uses the visual sense in doing so.
These spelling cards consist of a series of simple pictures on cardboard with irregularly shaped holes cut beneath, a hole for each letter in the name of the object in the picture.
The needed letters of the alphabet can be made from cardboard, each on a card of separate shape, so that it will not fit into any hole except where it belongs to properly spell the word illustrated. The holes in the picture will correspond to the shape of the cards which spell the name. In this way there can be no error. The child can take the picture cards and find the proper letter cards to fit the holes under the picture and thus learn to spell the name. These Spelling cards can be made by pasting pictures of common objects on cards about 4×6 inches. Then cut the odd shaped pieces for the principal letters of the alphabet, using the same shape for the same letters, mark the proper shapes for the letters spelling the name of the object on the card, and cut them out with a sharp knife.
The shapes for the letter cards can be similar to those suggested in the Game of Matching Cards in Book One.
Suggested objects for the picture cards:
Cat, Rat, Boat, Apple, Boy, Girl, Fan, Pig, Car, Dog, Bird, Rose, Bee, Egg, Spoon, Horn, Frog, Man, Cow, Ball, Baby, Chair, Watch, Saw, Hammer, Nail, Coat, etc.