Mirror Mystery Cards

My children love novelties, surprises, and "mysteries." My Little Angel especially loves them. I was trying to think of new ways for her to practice reading individual words to get the "automaticity" that comes with successful reading. My older children had just "discovered" the reverse image of mirrors when looking at writing on T-shirts they were wearing. This gave me the idea to create "Mirror Mystery Words."

I made small cards with 2 and 3-letter phonetic words (text in reverse). I folded each card and placed in a bag (I usually only put 10 cards in the bag at at time). She pulls each one out and holds it up to a small mirror to read it. It is also a great springboard to discuss how mirrors and cameras work... getting a little science worked in also!

She also loves making "scary" and silly faces in the mirror after she finishes reading all the words :)

I have pre-printed 2 and 3-letter phonetic "Mirror Words" available for free on Montessori For Learning. 


It did take Little Angel a couple of practices to hold the cards the correct way in front of the mirror and also to get accustomed to reading in the mirror. However, once she did, she was zooming through the cards. It can also help if you draw an arrow on the back of the cards so they know which direction the card should be held.