Is your beginning reader ready to practice Spanish vowel sounds? I’ve got a fun way they’ll want to try again and again – using colorful puzzles!
It’s a magical time when a new reader begins to match letters to their sounds and decode words! You can see your child’s eyes light up when they start to really get it. They’ll gain a newfound confidence and start to feel like they really can be a reader.
If your child is ready to learn letter sounds in Spanish, las vocales (the vowels) are an excellent place to start. With an understanding of vowel sounds, your child can begin to start putting sílabas (syllabes) together using known consonant sounds.
So let’s get practicing Spanish vowel sounds! These simple and bold puzzle cards feature four Spanish words that begin with each vowel to get your child naming simple words and isolating the beginning vowel sound.
Getting the Puzzles Ready
You’ll want to download, print, and prepare your puzzles for extended use. Here’s what I recommend:
- Print the puzzles on colored cardstock paper. (I used a different color for each vowel, to add another level of difficulty, print them all in the same color.)
- Laminate for extra durability (I have and recommend this at-home laminator).
- Store the puzzle cards separately by vowel or all together in a recycled bag or box
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Using the Vowel Puzzles
These puzzles are a great way to help your beginning reader practice phonemic awareness – an ability to identify and manipulate sounds in words. Phonemic awareness is a critical component for learning to read!
First, point to the puzzle piece together and name the picture. Then, ask your child to say the picture word and to listen for what sound they hear first, or at the beginning of the word. This practice, called phoneme isolation, helps your child understand that each word is made up of different sounds and that they have an order.
When your child names the initial sound of the word, help them connect it to the correct letter piece. As your child becomes familiar with the puzzle practice, allow them to complete them more and more independently!
Add some extra fun with las vocales by adding a song! This one is by one of our favorites, 123 Andrés!
More Reading Resources
I hope these simple and bold initial vowel sound puzzles will be fun and helpful for your child! Please enjoy, share with a friend, and let me know what you think! You can find more Spanish reading resources in my Shop, and more bilingual parenting and Spanish articles right here on the blog!
- Create a Print-Rich Home with Object Labels
- 10 Ways to Boost Your Child’s Reading Motivation
- Spanish Early Readers for Kids
- Spanish Alphabet Printable
