Letter Sound of the Week

We've tried something new this year in our primary classroom, and it's a hit!  My school follows Maria Montessori's teachings to the best of our ability through research and reflection.  I wanted to do something new and different to get the children a bit more interested in letter sounds, while still following Montessori's guidelines.  Although I still present the letter sounds to the children individually, I now implemented a "sound of the week" to highlight each sound specifically.  I present the sounds in the order that was presented to me during my training- the letters most commonly found in the alphabet first.

I started the week off by reading My "m" Book from the My First Steps to Reading series.  I infused the practical life activities with "m" objects, and added a large "m" to the tray of playdough.  The children rolled the playdough into a snake and formed the letter sound.  On Wednesday, the children brought in an object that started with the sound of the week.  It was so much fun to see the different ideas they came up with.  We saw a picture of a "mommy", a stuffed "monkey", a "marshmallow" experiment, and even a "merry go round music box"!

I wasn't sure if I would like this new format, but it really is a lot of fun.  The children are already more excited about letter sounds, and pointing out "m" objects everywhere they go!

Starfall

The language materials in a Montessori classroom speak for themselves.  The materials in the language curriculum cover the basics, starting with the letter sounds, and continue up to the function of words activities (an introduction to the parts of speech).  Parents can trust that their Montessori children are getting a well-rounded, comprehensive language education.  However, from time to time, children ask their parents (in one way or another) for additional exercises in language.  They almost seem to be on a quest to understand the process of reading. 

Aside from getting the Montessori training and ordering the materials, there are limited high quality language activities for parents to choose from at home.  One of my current parents told me about a website called Starfall that her son adores.  I checked it out and showed it to my daughter, G (my own personal guinea pig).  She enjoyed it, not quite as much as the hands on activities in the classroom, but fun for after-school playtime.  My favorite aspect of the free website is the art gallery under the "It's fun to read" tab, definitely check that out.

Before starting a language enrichment activity at home, it's best you consult your child's teacher.  There's a chance the child will get confused by the different teaching aspects of the online program, or you may introduce a concept that your child is just not ready for.  This type of enrichment should not be viewed as "homework" and should merely be used as a fun supplement to your child's phonics progression.

Felt Board Stories

For decades, preschool teachers have understood the importance of felt board stories, which is why they're still around today. Manipulation of felt board activities refines listening and speaking skills, as well as hand/eye coordination, imagination, and even problem-solving skills.  Last year, I created my own felt board by applying a felt background to a piece of cardboard.  Actually, one of my current moms created it for me at our annual Mom's Material-Making party.  However, after a year of wear and tear, I was ready to replace it.  I came up with a solution to the problem of flimsy felt boards.  The back of one of the math shelving units was exposed and irritating me last summer- I loved the way the classroom looked, but I would not start the year with a bare shelving unit back jutting out into the classroom like that (is it a Montessori thing?).  So, I brainstormed and applied nine adhesive-backed felt sheets from AC Moore to the back of the unit. 

I made a few felt story sets and gave it a try.  The pieces stick on to the felt perfectly and the children love it.  I have several homemade sets and one purchased set (The Three Little Pigs).  In college, they told us to scan and print the pages of a favorite children's book, cut out the characters, laminate, and add little velcro dots to the back.  Instead, I've always just found realistic-looking pictures online and printed them.  I've made the following sets:

• fruits/vegetables sorting
• frogs/toads sorting
• Pumpkin life cycle
• Butterfly life cycle
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Believe it or not, the homemade sets work much better than the store bought, so save your money if you plan to make some.  Below are some pictures of a child working with the store bought set.  He enjoyed the activity, but the pieces kept falling off the board.

Here are some links to help you get started:
Printable templates
Felt Board Stories to purchase

Simple Solution

There are always one or two children each year who are very intimidated by writing, possibly due to some fine motor delays, but are very interested in getting their thoughts down on paper.  Certainly, these children can use the movable alphabet to record information, but there are times when the children want to write a note or a letter, or record findings in his/her tablet.  I believe I've found the solution for some of these kids.  I recently ordered the lowercase tracing stamps,

as well as the wooden number stamps, both available from Montessori-N-Such. 

The children gather their materials, along with an ink pad, and stamp out their message.  They can then go back and trace the letters for extra practice.  This product certainly won't be useful for the children with severe fine motor delays, but it will provide encouragement for those children who need an extra boost of confidence in the writing department.  They should arrive in a few days, I'll let you know how the children react!

**Update**
Both of these activities were on the shelf for a matter of seconds today before they were swept away for another lesson.  The stamps seemed to give the children more confidence and more independence while completing their work.

Snowman Sequencing

Over the winter break, I had a fantastic time playing outside with my kids.  Of course, a teacher's mind is always thinking of new works for the classroom.  One day, the girls and I were building a snowman and I realized that was the first time G ever built a snowman.  She really didn't understand the steps needed in order to build it.  It hit me that this is like a sequencing activity.  So......I pulled out the camera and snapped a shot of each step we took to complete the snowman (actually she became a snowgirl).  I laminated the pictures and incorporated them into the classroom as a sequencing activity. 

Sequencing is an essential pre-reading skill for preschoolers.  Sequencing is the ability to put the events of a story in the order in which they occurred. Teaching sequencing to young children is important because logical order of thinking is fundamental to reading and everyday life.  There are many ways you can incorporate sequencing into your daily activities at home.  After reading a story, discuss what happened in the beginning, middle and end.  You can draw pictures of some of the events that happened in a story.  Mix them up and see if your child can put them back in order.  Take pictures of your child getting ready for school.  Print them, laminate, and use them as sequencing cards.  I always put numbers on the back of my sequencing cards as a self-checking device.  Typically, anywhere from 4-8 steps are sufficient for a preschooler. 

Maitri Learning

In order to expose the children to zoology, we teach a series of lessons. Ideally, the first lesson is an introduction to the animal through actual observation. As with all Montessori activities, we start with the concrete then move to the abstract. Our children have daily interactions with our classroom fish and sometimes with our school dog, but the reptile, amphibian, and insect are a bit more difficult. If anyone at home owns a reptile or an amphibian, we'd love to borrow it at some point throughout the school year! Next, the child is introduced to the zoology puzzles. These puzzles surely are a classroom favorite.

Next, we teach the children the language of the parts of the body. Typically, I use the puzzles to introduce the vocabulary, but we were able to purchase the Maitri three-part nomenclature cards this summer. I was very excited about these cards, but I wasn't sure how the children would respond to them- you never really can gauge their reaction to new materials. It turns out, they LOVED them. I introduced the parts of the horse cards to a small group of two children and by the end of the lesson, I had five "observers". The cards and beautiful and very well made.

Each "part" of the horse is highlighted on the card. The children thought it was amazing that only a small part of the horse was colored in and they thought the pictures were gorgeous. Check out the website for information and references for parents.

Progressive Phonics

Maria Montessori was ahead of her time when she developed her language curriculum. Teacher catalogs are now showcasing "new" tactile sandpaper letters. Some educators don't realize that Montessori created the sandpaper letters over 100 years ago! The public schools in this area are finally switching to phonetic language instruction as well. Montessori focused heavily on phonics instruction in order to teach reading. This explains why a Montessori child might point to a letter "d" and say "that is 'duh'". The language program is extensive and will be explained in detail at a later date.

In my class, as soon as children start to blend three sounds together, they become very eager to get their hands on a book. This is why we need to be sure to give the children phonetic readers that are at their developmental level. Giving a young reader a book with unphonetic words could cause a great deal of frustration. I like to use Bob books, then the Montessori Phonics Readers.

Recently, I found a great website with FREE phonics readers that you can print or read with your child on the computer. Honestly, I'm shocked that this program is still free and doubt that it will remain that way. If you like the materials, I would print them out while they're still available.

Here's the link: Progressive Phonics

A few tips for working with your young child at home...

1. Watch for signs of boredom or exhaustion and quit while you're ahead.
2. Be sure you work in conjunction with your child's teacher, communicate often to avoid confusion.
3. Educational activities should be meaningful and your child should be actively engaged. Avoid "busy work".
4. Always keep activities light and enjoyable...learning needs to be fun at this age!!

Three Period Lesson

Many parents wonder exactly how we go about presenting lessons to children. Montessori teachers use what's called the three period lesson to present or re-present information pertaining to any topic.

Let's say I want to teach a 2 1/2 year old the primary colors. I might use the first color box on a mat.

First Period: I would place the red tablet in the center of the mat and say "This is red." I would move that tablet aside and place the blue tablet in the center of the mat. I would then say "This is blue". I would continue this way with the yellow tablet. The first period is all about naming.

Second Period: Next, I would place all three color tablets on the mat in full sight. I would ask the child, "Can you point to red?" or "Can you show me yellow?". For children who need to move around, I might say, "Can you place blue on the snack table?" or "Can you put red in your cubby?". The second period is all about practice, hearing me say the new words.

Third Period: Finally, to assess the child's comprehension, I will point to a tablet and say, "What is this?". I'll continue asking these questions taking note of the child's level of mastery. The third period is all about naming.


Montessori teachers use the three period lesson to teach anything from kitchen utensils to the parts of a horse. Much of our language curriculum is based on the three period lesson. You can give these lessons at home, just look around the house. Maybe your child is interested in dad's tools, so choose three (the magic number for this lesson) and give it a try! Just remember, always practice first without your child!

A Lesson Learned...

(...or "learnt" for those of you speaking British English)

I had just finished putting g down for her morning nap, when G asked if we could do some activities downstairs. I immediately agreed, quickly formulating a mental list of lessons that I've been waiting to present to her. Once we got to the classroom, I asked her if there was anything in particular that she wanted to work with. She got out a magnetic fish puzzle that I put out for the younger children at the beginning of the year. After working with it for a while, she asked me how to write the word "crab". I got out the moveable alphabet and showed her how to make the blend "cr" and then asked her what letters would complete the word. She completed the word, and then asked for help spelling some more. We worked like this together for a while, but deep in my Montessori brain I was thinking, "I should've asked her to clean up the fish puzzle first, it looks like a mess over there, it might be distracting to her, blah blah blah."

Well, don't you know it, she looked over at the fish puzzle and started fishing again. This time, however, she fished for the crab and placed it on the mat next to the word "crab" that we had previously spelled. She started spelling "fish" and then asked me for help with the "sh" sound. She picked up the fishing pole again and started picking up all of the fish from the puzzle and placing them under the word "fish". This continued through the words "seahorse", "octopus" and "jellyfish".

What a beautiful lesson she created out of her own interests. Her lesson included language, sorting, and zoology! Imagine if I had interrupted her thought process (as many well-intentioned parents and teachers do) to ask her to pick up the puzzle. Of course, instilling a sense of order is one of the foundations of the Montessori philosophy. However, this has been ingrained in her head since birth- she knew to pick up all of the work after her attention wained. Why didn't I trust my parenting skills? Why didn't I trust my child?

My lesson learned: FOLLOW THE CHILD.