When you have a 2-year-old who wants to be just like his big sister in 2nd grade, sometimes you have to start some things early. My son is super interested in numbers and I’m following up that interest in a manner heavily influenced by the Montessori method. It’s the same method I used with my oldest daughter and I think it gave her an amazing foundation for arithmetic. So in this blog post I’m sharing how I’m slowly starting Montessori preschool with my son.
As much as I adore Montessori’s educational philosophy, I don’t follow a true Montessori homeschooling approach. We do, however, have a very Montessori-inspired home environment and incorporate many Montessori principles, especially for the first plane of development (birth to age 6).
Numeracy
When it first became obvious that my 2-year-old was interested in all things numbers (he is obsessed with counting anything and everything), I pulled out our sandpaper number cards for 0 through 10 and we slowly started filling in the gaps (he could already identify most of the numbers). Depending on what he wanted to do that day, he’d either practice tracing the number on the card only or we would also count out number blocks together for each card. I don’t have a Montessori spindle box, but I would use a bowl for him to place the number blocks in for each new card. He eventually got to the point where he could arrange the number cards in order by himself and count out the appropriate number of blocks for each card.
He actually asked me to go on to bigger numbers, so we are working on cards 11 – 20 at the moment, even though this is kind of out of order. I will soon be pulling out the traditional red and blue number rods to teach the relationship between the numbers 1 – 10 and will follow the same Montessori preschool guide I used for my daughter when she was 3. I found it on Teachers Pay Teachers and I absolutely love it. I only wish I could afford the cases of beads required to work through the entire guide. Using the Montessori approach to teach numeracy with the beads to help visualise place value has been incredible for my daughter and we used the beads we did have long after switching to a traditional textbook.
Introducing the Alphabet
Probably like any child growing up in a book-loving family, my son loves to be read to and has already started showing an interest in reading himself. Since he was doing well with the number flashcards, I took a chance and tried introducing him to the first set of letters and he’s catching on very quickly and enjoying it. I used the Montessori method of teaching the alphabet to my daughter and was really impressed with how well it helped her grasp phonics. Here are the core Montessori principles we follow when it comes to learning to read:
Principle 1: Teach the sounds of the letters first, not the names of the letters. Even though my daughter didn’t learn the ABC song until she was a bit older, I have no regrets about teaching the alphabet this way. It made the journey into phonics so much easier and learning the names of the letters required no extra effort – it just came with time.
Principle 2: Introduce the alphabet in an order that facilitates phonics, not in alphabetical order. I use the Montessori grouping of letters, so that means we can start using blends like “ca” and eventually easy words like “cat” right away before even masting the entire alphabet. This helps hold a child’s interest and they can more readily understand why they are learning the letters.
group 1: c, m, a, t
group 2: i, r, s, p
group 3: b, f, g, o
group 4: h, j, l, u
group 5: e, d, n, w
group 5: k, q, v, x, y, z
Principle 3: Cursive first. Learning to read and eventually write cursive first is easier for a child’s hand (less picking up of the pencil) and it also helps reduce confusion of letters like “b” and “d” which are very similar in print.
Principle 4: Disconnect reading from writing. Reading can come early. But writing is dependent on physical ability that cannot be rushed. This is why we use a “movable alphabet” in Montessori to help kids spell words without having to form the letters themselves. That way they can still progress with reading as quickly as they want and form sentences without feeling the stress of having to use a pencil too early before their hand is physically ready. It doesn’t mean they cannot write right away, it just means that the two are not tied together and both can progress at a natural pace.
Three-Period Lesson
Right now, with my 2-year-old we are only just starting on the second group of letters. We use the Three-Period Lesson format, a staple of Montessori preschool, to conquer new letters (this is also how I teach both English and French vocabulary to my 6-year-old).
Period 1: Introduce the new letters. Point to the letters and say their sounds. I never put my son on the spot and try to ask him to make the sound right away. I just tell him what the sound is for each letter. If he tries on his own, awesome. I then end the “lesson” by saying the sounds of each letter in turn so we end the lesson hearing the correct sound with the correct letter.
Period 2: Test recognition. In the next period, I will say the sound of a letter and see if my son can remember to correctly point to which letter makes that sound. The difficult part – reproducing the sound – is on me. He simply has to remember to associate the sound with the correct letter.
Period 3: Test recall. Finally, I will point to a letter and ask my son to try to give me the sound it makes. At this point, he should be able to get it. If for some reason, he still has difficulty here, we go back through the periods again.
The Three-Period Lesson is such a great way to introduce new and “difficult” things to children without overwhelming them and putting them in a situation to “fail” at trying something new. It helps preserve that willingness to try new things.
This is just the start of our preschool journey and I’m so excited to being doing this again with my second child. This has got to be one of the most fun ages to teach.
Do you use any of these Montessori principles at home? Do you follow your child’s interest when it comes to starting preschool?
Keep Reading About…
Maria Montessori’s educational philosophy: Montessori Book Recommendations for Parents
Balancing a rigorous homeschool with younger children: Homeschooling with a Baby and Toddler
My go-to Montessori blog: The Kavanaugh Report
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