Language
In the Montessori classroom Language not only runs parallel with other activities in the classroom but as a separate entity within the Programme. The environment is designed so that all activities feed naturally towards
the development of the skills required for learning language, reading
and writing.
Practical Life activities help your child develop control of movement and hand-eye co-ordination which later aids writing skills. Practical Life activities also provide an understanding of process and order, helping the child to develop their concentration span and self-discipline. These skills continue into the Sensorial activities to develop perceptual abilities, auditory and visual discrimination and the ability to compare and classify.
Further muscular refinement, lightness of touch and working from left to right are all preparation for reading and writing.
Reading is taught phonetically in the Montessori classroom. The ‘Eye Spy’ game introduces your child to sounds that make up a word.
Quickly moving on to sandpaper letters, children learn letter shapes by tactile experience and the sounds of the letter. Having mastered the phonetic alphabet and phonograms, your child progresses to reading simple three lettered phonetic words, then more complex words and on to our reading programme.
Grammar, sentence structure and developing the art of writing their own stories is then a natural discovery.
Following the Montessori Method, children do not start any written work until they have mastered the art of holding a pencil and forming letters correctly. To begin, they trace sandpaper letters before moving on to tracing letters in sand and writing them on a blackboard. Your child will spend time drawing ‘Metal Inset’ pictures to help develop co-ordination, gaining pencil control by moving the pencil in all directions, as well as strength in their pencil grip.
The areas of Culture, History, Geography, Science, Zoology, Botany and the Arts constantly change and develop as they follow the interests and discoveries of the children who attend Marshwood Montessori Preschool. Materials are freely available in the class for the children to use. They range from simply matching pictures to learning complex names of animal parts, landforms and about countries and customs from the nationalities within the classroom.
