Miniature Objects

Miniature Objects are used in many Montessori language lessons such as:

• I Spy
• Beginning Sound Sort
• Moveable Alphabet with Objects
• Phonetic Object Boxes

Doll-house furniture works great for these. Toys and other objects from around the house can also be used.
There is a very helpful article on assembling a collection of miniatures at What DID we do all day? and another at Living Montessori Now.

Objects for learning beginning sounds

Here are some ideas for objects that would work well for most of the I Spy games and for Beginning Sound Sort:

a alligator, ambulance, ant, apple, astronaut, axe
b baby, banana, bandage, baseball, basket, basketball, bat, battery, bean, bear, bed, bee, bell, belt, bib, bicycle, bird, boat, bone, book, boot, bottle, box, bow, bowl, braid, brain, bread, brick, broom, brush, bug, bus, butter, butterfly, button
c cage, cake, camel, camera, candle, candy, card, carrot, cat, caterpillar, clock, cloud, coat, comb, cookie, corn, cow, crab, cracker, crayon, crown, cup
d deer, desk, dice, dinosaur, dog, doll, domino, doughnut, dragon, dress, drum, duck
e elephant, egg, elf, envelope
f fan, feather, fire, fish, five, flag, flower, fly, football, fork, four, fox, french fries, frog
g ghost, glass, glasses, globe, glove, glue, goat, gorilla, grapes, guitar, gum
h ham, hammer, hand, hat, heart, helicopter, hen, hippopotamus, horse, hot dog, house
i igloo, iguana
j jar, jeans, jeep, jellybean, jellyfish, jet
k kangaroo, ketchup, kettle, key, king, kite, kiwi, koala
l lace, ladder, lamp, lawnmower, leaf, leg, Lego, lemon, lighthouse, lightning, lily, lime, lion, lips, lizard, lobster, lock, log, lollipop
m map, marshmallow, mask, match, medal, microphone, microscope, milk, mint, mirror, mitten, monkey, moon, motorcycle, mouse, moose, mop, mug, mushroom
n nail, necklace, needle, nest, net, nut
o octagon, octopus, olive, ostrich, otter
p paint, pan, pear, peach, peanut, pen, pencil, pepper, piano, pie, pig, pin, pinata, pineapple, pizza, popcorn, pot, potato, pumpkin, purse, puzzle
r raccoon, rake, rainbow, raspberry, rattle, reindeer, rhinoceros, ring, robot, rock, rooster, rope, rose, rubber band, ruler
s salt, sandwich, saw, saxophone, scale, scarf, scissors, scorpion, screw, seahorse, seal, seven, sink, skirt, skull, skunk, sled, slide, slug, snail, snake, snowman, sock, spider, sponge, spool, spoon, squid, squirrel, stamp, stapler, star, stop, straw, strawberry, sun, sunglasses, sushi, swan, sword
t table, taco, tambourine, tank, tape, tea, teeth, television, tent, tie, tiger, tire, toaster, toilet, tomato, tongs, toothbrush, top, towel, tractor, train, tray, tree, triangle, tricycle, trombone, trophy, truck, trumpet, tuba, tulip, turkey, turtle, two
u umbrella, underwear
v vacuum, van, vase, vest, violin, vulture
w wagon, walrus, wand, wasp, watch, watermelon, web, well, whale, wheel, whistle, wig, windmill, window, wine, witch, wizard, wok, wolf, woodpecker, worm
y yak, yarn, yo-yo
z zebra, zipper

sh shark, sheep, shell, shield, ship, shoe, shovel, shrimp
ch chair, chalk, cheese, cherry, chicken, chimpanzee, chip, chocolate, church
qu quarter, queen, question mark, quilt
th thimble, thistle, thread, three, throne

Two or Three-sound objects with short vowel sounds

These are objects that would work with the Sound Blending Game, I Spy, Moveable Alphabet with Objects and Phonetic Object Boxes.
These are sorted by vowel sound:

a ant, bag, bat, can, cat, fan, ham, hat, man, map, mat, pan, ram, rat, tag, van
e egg, bed, bell, elf, hen, jet, leg, net, pen, web, well
i bib, fig, lid, lip, pig, pin, wig
o box, dog, doll, fox, log, mop, pot, top
u bug, bun, bus, cup, gum, jug, mug, nut, rug, sun, tub

Make Your Own

One way to make the objects is to sculpt them out of clay and then paint them:

Source: Glue Sky (Check out this blog post for a more detailed description of how this was done.)

Where to Buy

Montessori N' Such -- Lots of sets of objects
Montessori Services -- individual objects
Montessori Services $62.95 set of 100
Primary Concepts $99.95 set of 150
Lakeside -- Lots of sets of objects
Curious Minds Busy Bags -- Lots of sets of objects