Children imitate us. If you watch TV and hardly ever read, don’t expect your child to be excited about reading. If you don’t read much, start today. Let your child see you reading often. Talk with your spouse and others about what you read. Get excited about books.
Read a novel, the newspaper, and magazines. Read on your tablet and computer. Go to the library together.
Reading should be practiced, valued, and encouraged in your family.
Read with your child every day from a variety of books your child finds interesting. Look for award winning books (p. 430), do internet searches, and encourage your child to pick out books at the library, the bookstore, and the app store. As you two read together every day, you can point out interesting words, phrases, and sentences. If you have not laid this foundation, start reading daily with your child today. Point out words and what they mean. When your child shows spontaneous interest in words, start the Reading Sequence
on page411. Family reading time creates an early interest in reading. There are things you can do to make reading time the best possible experience for your child:
The single most important thing you can do to help your child learn to read is to read with your child every day.
Make reading time special
Make reading time a regular part of your daily routine. Let your child pick out books to read. Read with your child close or on your lap. Make reading time a warm, loving time of fun and discovery. Your child will associate reading with these positive feelings.
Animate the story, be dramatic
Let out your inner child as you read. Make the story come alive by changing voices with the characters and acting out the emotions of the story. Be amazed when it takes an unexpected turn. Be animated and excited, and show this in how you read.
Encourage your child’s participation
Ask your child what he thinks is going to happen next. Have him predict what the characters will do. Encourage your child to express ideas, questions, and observations. Read books your child finds interesting
Your child will develop an interest in reading faster if she reads books she finds really interesting. Let your child pick out books at the bookstore. Check out the classic books listed starting on page 430. Let your child pick out what to read each day.
Read favorite books often & draw your child's attention to the print
Repetition encourages an interest in the print. This helps a child become comfortable with reading, build a sight word vocabulary, and imprint the text in her mind. Children gradually learn to start focusing attention on the print as well as the illustrations and the story line.
Encourage your child to read
If your child wants to, let him take over reading a familiar book. If he veers off into his own version, let him go. His creative energies are being stimulated. If it is a familiar book, your child may soon be able to recognize some of the words.
Read from a variety of sources
Books, magazines, the iPad, signs, labels, tags – every bit of information registers in the early years. Let your child read the words he can and tell him what the rest say. Reading should evolve as a natural process, not on a deadline or with any stress. Use every opportunity every day to help your child learn to read.
The most important factor in reading success is having been read to regularly as a child.
Is my child ready?
Your child is ready to learn to read whenever she is interested in it. A sensitive period for reading happens for most children around 4; but there are no firm rules about when a child learns to read. If the motivation is there, a child can do it. When you see a three or four year old expressing an interest in words and what they say and mean, start with the first step, Phonics (p. 412). If the interest is there, continue as far as your child wants to go at the pace he wants to travel. Always let your child's interest and enthusiasm be your guide. Go at your child's pace. Pressure and stress have no place in early learning.
One big key is to provide paper books and tablet books that are highly interesting to your child. It sounds simplistic, but it is true: children learn to read faster if they are reading about something they are very interested in. Whatever your child is into today, tomorrow, next month; find experiences, hands-on materials, books, You Tube videos, and iPad apps about it. Videos: Ready to read - the six reading readiness skills
Writing (p. 401) requires a good deal of fine motor control. If your child uses a grasp other than a proper writing grasp, provide more Practical Life materials and let him practice with the ones he really likes. Provide opportunities for tracing objects (p. 403). When she is ready, your child will learn to write letters.
How long will it take?
Reading is an important rite of passage. Many parents are anxious for their children to start reading. If you feel this way, don't let your child know! For most children, learning to read happens over a few months to more than a year. There are big individual differences and a lot of factors. Speed is not important. Developing reading skill takes time, and building a vocabulary can go on for a lifetime. Using Montessori principles, wego at the child's pace. Nature has a developmental plan working in your child. Trust it, help it along, and all will be well.
Printed materials to build pre-reading skills
Montessori Print Shop has a wide variety of beautiful, inexpensive, printable materials that will help your child develop the skills needed to read. Check out their excellent
Pre-Reading Materials and pick those you like. Here are a few I recommend:
Left: The Small, Medium, Large Cards are free. Your child lays them out left to right.
Right: The Superimposed Geometric Figures offer more challenge.
Sequencing Printables at The Activity Mom
Left: Patterning Cards. Left-to-right visual trainers that improve visual discrimination.
Right: Three Part Cards (p. 96) are classic Montessori pre-reading materials
Left: What Does Not Belong? Requires attention to graphic images & decision- making. Right: Sorting games like this Air, Land, and Water Sorting printable set are great pre-reading materials.
Left: Phonics Sound and Picture Sortingis a perfect lead-in to Phonics, the first step of the Reading Sequence. Emphasize the starting sounds. Right: Alphabet Cards are another perfect introduction to the alphabet and phonetic sounds
Printed materials can be used before, or at the same time, as digital tablet apps. Both mediums have value. Printed materials are individual objects that can be manipulated and arranged in ways that images on a tablet cannot. They provide a different experience and a valuable counterpoint to screen images.
Apps for building reading skills
There are many apps that help preschoolers develop the visual and thinking skills required for reading. Some do this with really fun games. Here are a few:
Left to right: Pick-up Sticks (iPad, Android) develops visual acuity and discrimination. The excellent Touch and Learn - Emotions (iPad) encourages a child to focus attention on visual cues and develops visual discrimination while sparking conversations about emotions.
Labyrinth (iPad, Android) requires visual concentration, eye tracking, planning, and fine motor skills. Touch and Learn - ABC Alphabet and 123 Numbers (iPad) reinforces letter and number recognition and listening skills. Bitsboard (iPad) is an incredible app that, IMO, should be on every preschooler's iPad. It has all kinds of customizable picture, number, object, letter, and verbal recognition activities. One of the best apps for kids.
Left to right: Kids Connect the Dots (Android) uses either numbers or letters to connect the dots (use lower case when using letters), and directs a child's visual attention to line drawings. A Preschool Pattern Recognition Game (iPad) helps establish left to right tracking while focusing attention on graphic forms. There is a kindergarten version, too.
Little Patterns Shapes (iPad) is another patterning app that uses more abstract shapes.
The great Wood Puzzle Slider (iPad) is a fun, engaging game with beautiful graphics. It requires visual focus, planning, and symbol recognition skills. 123 Domino (iPad) is another beautiful game that requires increasing levels of color and pattern recognition.
Have your child use a stylus with these games to help her develop a writing grasp.
Let's do writing first. Practical Life and Sensorial materials help a child develop the fine motor skills she will need when she becomes interested in learning to write.
Transfers, Sorting, Dressing, Polishing, Nuts & Bolts, and other materials develop fine motor control, resulting in a
proper writing grasp. Drawing and Tracing further refine a child's ability to use a writing instrument.
It can be frustrating for a child to move too quickly into writing if he has not developed the required skills. If you start Montessori at home when your child is 4 or 5, it is really important to start with Practical Life and Sensorial activities first. Spending more time with these materials will make writing easier and more enjoyable.
Reading is different. Your child can start the Reading Sequence whenever he shows an interest in letters and words and what they say. When you do the first Phonics activities, you will quickly see if your child is ready because the enthusiasm will be there. When you see it, proceed at your child's pace with plenty of practice at each step, just like Math.
Think of writing as developing in a sequence:
Developing a writing grasp Drawing & Tracing Writing letters & numerals
Learning to Write
Left: a proper writing grasp. See page 124 for how materials like the Transfers develop this grasp naturally and gradually.
Below: Grip aids like this from Draw Your World help a child develop a writing grasp, but natural development is best. These are only temporary aids for 5-6 year olds if they need them.
Drawing and Painting
While your child is developing fine motor control with Practical Life materials, he can draw whenever he likes. Let him use whatever grip he has developed to hold crayons, markers, and colored pencils. Drawing gradually refines and develops the writing grasp.
Keep supplies available:
• Colored pencils, crayons, washable markers, chalk, pastel charcoals
• Writing paper, notebooks (lined & unlined), card stock, construction paper
• Safety scissors
• Chalkboard (buy or make with blackboard paint)
• Desk or table with a firm, flat surface and good lighting
If your child develops an interest in learning to draw, check out the How to Draw Guide at 123 Peppy, and the great site, Draw your World. Make books of your child's drawings. Display them on your refrigerator and in your room and your child's room.
Frame the really special ones.
How about tablet apps for drawing and coloring?
Using a finger does not develop fine motor skills. This requires holding and manipulating objects and drawing instruments. Apps also do not provide the sensory and kinesthetic experience of drawing and painting on paper. If your child draws and colors on a tablet, have him use a stylus so he is working with a drawing instrument.
Let your child draw and color whatever she likes. If you are reading an interesting book or she takes a trip and sees something interesting, let her draw about that. If your child needs inspiration, the free drawing templates at Activity Village can help. Encourage her to trace each template's lines
before coloring it in. Here are more free templates.
Drawing: Chasing Cheerios
Painting is fun, allows self-expression, teaches about color, and develops fine motor skills. A painting easel is nice if you have the funds and space. Put a plastic tablecloth underneath and have your child wear old clothes or an apron. Your child can also paint at the table or you can tape a sheet of paper to a wall or a board outside.
Tracing
Once your child has a good start on a writing grasp,
tracing will refine her motor skills to prepare for writing letters and numerals.
Top: He can start by tracing his hand, then everyone's hands in the family, and objects around the house.
Wooden plaques and frames from the crafts store provide tracing practice. Glue wooden knobs on the plaques with wood glue. Overlaying shapes creates many designs.
While at the crafts store, pick up some wooden shapes.
You could also trace these onto illustration board and cut them out with an Xacto knife to make frames that your child can trace around the inside. This is a little easier at first than tracing around the outside of an object.
Plastic cookie cutters are great frames for tracing around the inside and outside. Multiple tracings create interesting designs.
The Primary Shapes Template Set from Learning Resources is a wonderful tracing material for only $8.
Printable tracing resources:
Tracing worksheets Beginning tracing printables
Pre-printing skills practice at Kidzone Free tracing printables at Lilbunnyhops
Learning to write letters and numerals
Is it time to use the tablet yet?
Yes. If you have a stylus, your child can use tablet apps for learning to write, as well as paper and pencil. I recommend that children do both, by the way, as nothing really replicates writing on paper. Both methods are helpful. We'll get back to apps, but first:
Wow, your child will be doing reading, writing, math, science, and more, all at the same time. This will be great preparation for both of you for the next 18 or so years through college. Okay, where were we? Oh yes, learning to write letters. First, you will need a set of lower caseTactile Letters.
After working on developing a writing grasp with Practical Life materials, and then free drawing and tracing, your child will be ready to learn to reproduce specific line drawings consistently and accurately. In other words, writing. This is done with worksheets, a cornmeal tray, a tablet and stylus if you have them, and lots of practice.
By the time most children start learning to write letters, they are also starting the Reading Sequence.
If you have not started already, now is typically the time to start the Reading Sequence on page 411. Your child can now do letter and
number writing and the Reading Sequence at the same time.
When most children reach this point they are also starting the Math Sequence - exciting times!
Tactile letters are required for properly teaching a child to read and write. Left: The best, Montessori sandpaper sounds. Get the block print, lower case. Right: Didax Tactile Letters, cheaper at $15 and still work well.
Again, buy lower case only.
Note to crafty Moms: Try making sandpaper sounds if you must; but you will spend as much or more, ruin good scissors, and endanger your mental health. Your set will not be as nice; and you could better spend that time working on sounds and other activities with your child. My advice: buy a set, sell it later, save your sanity.
The Importance of Tactile Letters & Numerals
Getting started successfully in reading and writing is critical to mastery and enjoyment of the process. Tactile letters and numerals are the best way to start. When a child
traces, looks at, and says the letter sound or numeral name, he gets visual, auditory,
and tactile feedback simultaneously. This imprints the information in your child's brain. These tools have been used with wonderful results in Montessori schools for over a hundred years and I recommend that you use them, also.
In addition to paper, pencils, and lower case tactile letters, your child will also need:
Top: Another option, the Ideal School Supply Lower Case Tactile Letters. These are around $9 on Amazon. They are the smallest letters, but work for folks on a tight budget.
Bottom: Lakeshore Learning Tactile Letters - around $15. Get just the lower case letters. These are nice wide letters for tracing with first two fingers, which is the preferred method, despite the photo showing one finger.
L to R: Write on-wipe off lower case letter practice book. Next: a shallow pan with a layer of cornmeal for practicing tracing letters. The third photo shows blank, ruled letter writing
practice paper. Last photo: Letter writing master sheets with dot letter guides.
First: Introducing the letters & their phonetic sounds
See p. 412-420 in the Reading Sequence for this. Your child is probably doing the Reading Sequence now, so you cover both bases - writing and reading - by teaching your child the
Phonetic Alphabet using tactile lower case letters. The phonetic alphabet has one sound for each letter. The vowels use their short vowel sounds, as in apple, elephant, it, off, and up.
When you introduce the tactile letters as shown on pages 412-413, your child looks at, says the sound, and traces the letter with the first two fingers all at the same time.
Making learning to read a fun game at Living Montessori Now A Three Step Lesson teaching two phonetic sounds
Your child can also be learning the numerals 0-10 using the Sandpaper Numerals, as shown on page 358. Once your child has learned quite a few of the letters and numerals, move to the next step below.
Next: Practice with writing letters & numerals
From this point on, learning to write letters and numerals is a matter of practice. Worksheets, free writing, cornmeal tray, tablet apps - all are used to provide a variety of activities with the goal of helping your child learn to write letters and numerals.
Here are some good sources of free printable worksheets:
Donna Young
This wonderful site has almost every imaginable writing practice worksheet parents and teachers could want. The Beginning Manuscript Handwriting Lessons with Arrows page has many great worksheets and is the place to start.
Why lower case letters?
There is a tradition of teaching preschoolers using capital letters. This is unfortunate, since over 95% of everything we read is in lower case letters. Montessori started
children out with lower case letters. We should, too.
Donna Young's Cursive Handwriting Worksheets is another great page. Cursive letters are actually easier for children to write at first because of all the curves, which more naturally mimic the movement of the hand. Donna also has a really wonderful page of
word writing practice sheets when your child is ready for these. Another great resource are the Handwriting Animations for ZB Style. These animations show how to make each letter if your child needs a review.
Handwriting Worksheets
This fabulous site offers Print style, D'Nealian, and Cursive Writing worksheets, take your pick. The D'Nealian style is great starting out because it uses more curves than block print.
Kids Learning Station
This excellent site has free worksheets for the alphabet, colors, shapes, numbers, phonics, and more. You will find many fun sheets for your child here.
Put cornmeal in a shallow pan for your child to practice tracing letters. As you teach your child the phonetic alphabet, set tactile letters next to the pan and let your child practice making them in the cornmeal. Shake the pan to erase.
Notebooks like the Mead Lower Case Letters Dry Erase Book
and an erasable marker allow a child to write letters, wipe them off, and practice again, which saves on paper. The one shown was $3 at WalMart.
100 Sight Word Mini-Books from Scholastic provides writing practice while teaching many common sight words. This is a great book.
Dr. Seuss copywork printable