Montessori’s approach to language centers on introducing and exposing children to sounds rather than the letters of the alphabet.
I wrote about Montessori’s language philosophy in previous posts but feel no reason not to reiterate the following: As phonetic awareness enters the arena of development, a child begins to understand that different letters and letter combinations have different sounds.
The child may use the alphabet to organize the sounds. This developmental point comes years after entering the world and absorbing the sounds within his environment.
Parents can do many things to prepare a child for reading and writing. Check out How to Encourage Writing in Preschoolers and How Do I Help my 3-Year-Old Learn to Read? for some Montessori-inspired ideas!
Put simply, create the environment for the child to discover reading & writing, and you will have a reader and a writer for life.
The best part about being involved in a child’s journey to reading & writing is that there are simple ways to seamlessly incorporate the learning into your daily life as a family.
If you want a few ideas to get you started, check out my post Reading & Writing Family Time for some fun ways to make reading a part of your home environment.
Sound Matching Language Activity
In the meantime, I have a fun sound-matching activity for you.
Sound Match Activity Materials
- moveable alphabet (or letters of some sort)
- stickers (I LOVE this sticker book)
- a bag
- a piece of card stock
Language Activity Approach
- Using a piece of card stock, create your “sound card” using the stickers of every day objects from this amazing sticker book
- Gather the letters you will need to match the sounds on the card. Choose only the letters that match the beginning sound (or ending, or middle depending on what your child needs at that point in time). It is important to limit the letters to the exact amount of sounds your child will find on his card. This part is the control of error.
- Place all materials in a bag
- Wait for the child to discover, or present to the child by demonstrating the first few letter/sound matches. Name each image on the card first, then match the letter to the beginning sound.
My sons loved this activity. There are loads of variations with different sound combinations and blends.
If you would like more Montessori Language materials, check out my Montessori Language Bundle!
Best,
Marnie