Learning To Write Using The Montessori Method

Montessori pedagogy is a child-centered method of upbringing developed by Italian educator Maria Montessori. Its basic principle is to teach the child to do it himself. The Montessori method is increasingly being used in early childhood education and in the first grades of primary school, when children are taught to write. This learning method helps the child control hand movements as he or she writes letters.

Learning to write using the Montessori method

The main feature of the Montessori method is that the structure of the letter is divided into three parts, which are divided into four lines.

• Two transverse lines forming a body of lower case letters.
• Two lines (one upper and one lower) to mark the end point of the lines for some consonants. “B, l, t, d, etc.” (upper line) and “g, j, p, q, etc.” (lower line).

These guidelines will help your child better complete their writing. There are two levels of difficulty involved: a line spacing of five millimeters and a spacing of 3.5 millimeters. Using this method, a child needs more precision in forming letters.

At what age is it possible for a child to learn to write using the Montessori method?

According to this method, it is possible that the process of learning to read and write can begin when the child is a little over one year old (one year and one to two months). By no means does this mean that the child will learn to write at this age, but that he or she will already receive various stimuli to make this process easier for the child.

It is worth promoting a child’s interest in reading by reading stories to him. In this way, we can make it a little easier for a child to learn how to write. In order to start using this method, the child must go through the preparation steps.

One thing that is important to keep in mind is that you should take advantage of the time when your child is at their most receptive of all. Through play, we are able to adapt to the child’s rhythm to promote the child’s progressive learning. So it’s good to know that we can take advantage of any daily chores to motivate a child to learn to read and write.

How can a child learn to write using the Montessori method?

The child needs to have some kind of pre-assumed knowledge in order to be able to cope with the stages of learning to write. Next, we present some of the steps a child should follow to make learning to write using the Montessori method possible.

The start is in lower case

Often at school, children are taught first capital letters, and then only lowercase letters. However, according to the Montessori method, the child should learn the letters in the reverse order.

Why should a child learn to write lowercase letters first and then capital letters? Therefore, because it is easier for a child to draw curved lines than straight lines.

The child should learn different sounds and phonetics

This means that instead of learning the letter “s”, the child should learn the sound “sss”. In this way, the child learns to associate the letters with their sounds, making it easier for the child to learn the letters.

Sensory activities to stimulate the senses

Even though it is about learning a child’s writing skills, we can still supplement it with activities that stimulate the child’s senses. Such activities may include, for example, moving goods from one place to another and typing letters on sandpaper with your finger while pronouncing them.

Writing in the sandbox

This activity requires a box of sand and cards with letters. Write the letters in the sand and the child will repeat the letter they saw in the sandbox. The child is able to visualize the shape of the letter and at the same time begin to learn graphomotor skills.

Movable alphabet

After the sandbox technique, the child can move on to the movable alphabet method, where consonants are marked in red and vowels in blue. The child will understand that when letters are combined with each other, they form words.

Writing on a blackboard

Before your child learns to write letters on paper, it is a good idea for him or her to try writing on a blackboard. In addition, the chalk used in this exercise stimulates the child’s senses due to its unique composition.

Writing on paper using the Montessor four-line technique

Finally, the child can begin to imitate words by typing using the Montessori method.

The Montessori method offers tremendous benefits to a child’s learning to write. A child’s writing becomes more harmonious with better orientation. In addition to this, the upper and lower limits help the child learn how the letters ascending and descending are formed.