File Buz

Before I get into sharing our materials and Montessori lessons we use and will use, I want to write a little bit about introducing reading and writing to children. A childs readiness to start reading and writing is developmental. It should not be rushed, introduced too early, or forced. As a mother and educator, I greatly resent the misconception that seems to be out there that a child should be reading and writing at age 4. In todays society there is a pressure felt by both parents and educators that children should be reading and writing as early as possible, that earlier means better later on. Growing up, I didnt read until first grade, many other countries do not introduce reading and writing until age 7, and much research has shown that reading too early can actually hinder literacy. I was so happy to find this this article in my inbox this morning from Waldorf In the Home, in regards to introducing reading and writing. I would encourage everyone to read it if you havent because it successfully explains when and why a child is developmentally ready to start.

Montessori Beginning Reading and Writing:

I invested in some sandpaper letters (most of my materials come from Montessori Outlet or Alisons Montessori) These are used in conjunction with the the I Spy game. The child traces the letter (introduce 2 at a time, adding when those two are mastered), then the child draws the letter in a tray/dish of sand. I start with the letters of the childs name. Use the 3 period lesson to introduce the letter (if you google this term Im sure it will come up).

During my Montessori training we were required to create most all of the materials. My professor felt it would help us familiarize ourselves with it, children often prefer handmade materials, and Dr. Montessori herself made most of the materials used in her classroom. Ive collected over the years, purchased some and saved all of my materials. Many Montessoris divide reading and writing into color coded levels. Pink is the easiest (2 or 3 letter phonetic words), blue is next, and green is the most advanced with the most difficult words. I have a pink sticker on all of the phonetic material, as you will see. After the introduction to the Moveable Alphabet the child creates words. I have 4 boxes of objects (5 objects to a box). Each object is phonetic. My daughter (just starting this recently), chooses a box. We name the objects, she finds the sounds and creates the written word. The first time I sat with her and we worked through it, but after that we name the objects and I leave her to work independently so that she isnt second guessing or looking for me to answer and Im not tempted to help too much. (Objects included in our boxes are: cap, elf, lips, dot, fox, pig, bat, rug, pan, ax, log, six, mop, bag, hat, ant, hen)

The next step after using the objects to create words, is using cards. Montessori always begins with the most concrete form, working to the abstract, and pictures are more abstract than objects. There are 5 cards in a box and they are laid out and named. The child is left to work independently to create the words. I created these cards myself. Often times I used clip art or purchased an inexpensive phonetic coloring book and cut out and colored the pictures and mounted them on cards. (Words for these cards include: rat, jam, pen, bus, log, leg, mix, hat, tub, hot, jug, fix, ham, cot, hop, bud, gas, hut, ox, cap) I have 4 boxes of these.

The next step is without the moveable alphabet. The child matches objects and card. Just like previously, the child names the objects and works to read the card and find the match. Now, the child is reading. I have 5 boxes of these with 5 matches in a set. (Words include: sun, bib, peg, ant, can, cat, bug, bat, mitt, dog, mat, pin, nut, pig, web, rug, pot, fan, net, ram, man, bud, lid, jet).

The more abstract version is next, matching cards and words. I made these materials again using clip art or phonetic coloring books. I have 8 sets of these. Words include: pit, log, yak, gas, bed, hen, red, jet, pan, elf, pen ham, map, kit, dig, tug, well, bun, doll, bib, cot, mop, lid, bus, nap, van, mud, rag, egg, cab, pup, pig, ant, fin, wig, sip, peg, hen, ten, fig.

The next lesson used is matching picture sheets and word cards. The significance of this activity is to prepare the child for reading from pages of a book. I created 3 of these sheets. Words included are: net, ink, cup, ant, ten, zip, sun, rug, mop, egg, box, pot, tag, mug, can, top, cat, pad, bun, mat, pop, bag, pin, hug.

The cards are stored on the back of the sheet with a simply added pocket.

Word lists are the next step in reading. No pictures or objects are used, just a simple list. I have seven of these. Words include: dab, fit, dug, fed, mix, rut, get, dip, fed, ban, get, sub, jab, dad, rim, met, bit, met, yet, lug, act, fed, rim, mud, fog, beg, tip, gap, pet, hip, tax, wit, den, vex, cut, sob, rip, fat, jag, elm, pet, ink, us, hot.

Before this activity the child is introduced to Sentence Cards and Objects, however, apparently, I didnt get to making these in my training because I dont have it. Instead, shown here is sentence cards and pictures. The child reads and matches. Sight words like "the" must be introduced in some cases. I created these using a phonetic coloring book, coloring and pasting onto paper. I have 4 sets.

The introduction to books is helped through the use of handmade booklets. These are easy to make and fun for the child to read. The mini books, contain 6 words, one word to a page. I made 4 booklets.

Here is a photo of the boxes and containers I use to hold the cards and objects sets. Boxes work well, as well as recycled containers especially those that the child can see into. I store all of our pink materials in one plastic storage box. I know I havent covered much writing and hope to do so as my daughter starts working on it. There is a lot more in this area. I hope I havent missed anything or gotten anything wrong here, it has been awhile since Ive worked with this material! My hope is that anyone interested has a clear idea of an introduction to reading in the Montessori classroom. For more info on the very beginning stages before the actual letters are introduced I found this book very helpful and I have a small list of activities under the Montessori Lessons List download (language section) found on the side of the blog.