Learning to Read

Several of our children have recently discovered that they can read. It is such fun! The Montessori approach to reading is relaxed and follows the nature of the child. For one thing, our kids learn to write often long before they can read. First they learn that words are made of sounds. We play a game called "I-Spy" in which we hold up objects and say "I spy something that starts with mmm. That's right, monkey!" "I spy something that has an 'uh' in the middle. That's right. It's jug!"

Then we learn the letters. We refer to the letters by their phonetic sounds. We don't say "es" to name the letter S. We say "sss". For the letter B, we say "buh". When a child knows most of the sounds that the letters say and has a good phonemic awareness of the sounds that are in words, we introduce him/her to the Moveable Alphabet. It is a box with 26 divisions, each holding a stack of little cards with one letter printed on each. If one wants to write "dog", one sounds it out and places a little d, an o and a g on the work rug, spelling "dog". Now a child who is not ready to write with a pencil can still write words.

After writing for a while, a child often discovers that he/she can read, too! It is a wonderful feeling because the child has found this out independently. We usually do not have to teach children how to read. Their writing abilities have lead them to it indirectly. We teachers then help to refine their skills in various ways so that they can read words that are not strictly phonetic.

A new reader's eyes light up with wonder as they realize they can know another person's thoughts without that person speaking. Having taught themselves to read, their self-image is boosted. After all, if they can figure that out on their own, they must be pretty capable!