We specialize in reading!
A daily dose of penmanship is important in a Montessori classroom.
Jaxon, 8 years old, is writing a letter to his grandmother.
Children don’t just learn to read
They learn to love reading.
The goal of reading instruction is not just to teach a child to decode a word or a series of words. Instead, the goal of reading instruction should be to teach children to read and understand what they are reading. It would seem then, that phonetic instruction is only part of the picture in teaching children to read. There are a variety of skills and strategies that must be taught to help children become proficient readers. In addition to teaching the sounds, letters and groups of sounds we make, we must teach the strategies that make us good readers and that good readers use.
*Children learn to read by reading
*Children need a variety of books and materials that they can read.
*Reading should be a positive experience for children at all times.
*It is not the words that are important, but the thought process required to figure out the new words.
*Reading is very personal. Children will naturally search for things that are meaningful to them.
*Writing and reading are complimentary processes. What is learned in one area makes it easier to learn in the other.
Montessori students begin learning the reading & writing process at a very young age.
Montessori Sensorial and Practical Life material support the reading process and prepare your child for writing and reading.
Sensorial exercises introduce the concepts of comparing and contrasting shapes, sizes, textures, colors and ideas. Also, the gradation of concepts and colors are practiced. For example: The pink tower teaches comparisons of size and shape, and gradation of size.
Early Practical Life Activities for toddlers are a great stepping stone for further learning. These activities develop early writing skills by practicing the writing motion in different skills, such as scooping, pouring, washing, etc. A child learns to master his or her environment by learning skills for independence, and mastery of these skills paves the way to intellectual learning. Completion of practical life skills seems to put a longing for intellectual learning for young children.
The life of the spirit prepares the dynamic power for daily life, and, on its side, daily life encourages thought by means of ordinary work. - Maria Montessori