The Joy of Writing

First of all, apologies for my absence from the blogosphere. I had to take some time to develop the following joke, which I think is adorable! What is the Easter Bunny's favorite musical genre? (Answer: Hip hop!) That is well worth the wait, don't you think?

Regarding writing, our classroom is abuzz with authorship lately. It is contagious! Today, there are three large work rugs out that are covered from top to bottom with Moveable Alphabet letters. And that's just at the end of the day. There was a lot more writing done earlier that has since been packed away.

Allow me to tell you a bit about the writing process in a Montessori classroom. We begin when the children are very young with indirect preparation of the mind and hand for writing. To prepare the mind, we tell true stories, read and recite poetry and read stories that are reality-based. We take care to be accurate and precise with our language and to impart a lot of vocabulary to the children. We also encourage families to take their children on interesting outings. We display artwork on the walls. All of this serves to get the children talking and telling their own stories.

We play games that help to develop the children's phonemic awareness. They come to know that words are made of sounds. Some sounds are at the beginning of words, some in the middle and some at the end. When we speak of letters, we do not use the letter names that you hear in "The Alphabet Song." When we speak of the letter "a," for example, we don't say "ay," but rather the soft "a" one hears in the word "lamb" or at the beginning of "apple." "B" is not "bee," but just "buh." We trace beautiful letters cut out of sandpaper and glued onto thin boards. Each time we trace them we say the accompanying sound. When a child is later ready to write, it is easier to sound out a phonetic word like "dog" if one knows the sounds that those three letters usually make rather than their alphabetic names.

When a child knows a lot of letter sounds and is able to hear the individual sounds in a word, he/she is ready to write. Not with a pencil, perhaps, but with a Moveable Alphabet. This is a wonderful piece of equipment. It is a box with 26 or more dividers, each holding a stack of letters. If a child wants to write "mom", he/she can extract those three letters from the box and lay them on the work rug. Later, a child's hand will become developed enough that he/she can copy what they have written with the Moveable Alphabet onto a chalkboard and later, paper.

The hand is simultaneously being prepared for writing. We begin at a young age, using materials that have knobs to hold. Our puzzles and other apparatus are often knobbed. This helps the child get into the habit of bringing those three critical fingers together, similarly to holding a pencil. We use these same fingers when we sew (we love to sew!) or spread glue or paint with a little brush. We develop the habit of working from left to write and top to bottom in many of our washing activities. We wash tables, underlays, the floor and chalkboards with strokes extending from left to right. We start at the top of the area to be washed and work our way to the bottom.

At around age 41/2, we give the children pencils. They work on Metal Insets, geometric shapes that are traced and filled in with long strokes. At this time we instruct the children on the proper way to hold a pencil. We separate the challenge of pencil use from that of writing so as not to overwhelm the child with too many difficulties at once. We are in no hurry to see children using pencils. It is so easy for a child to develop a poor pencil grip and it is very hard to correct. We prefer to wait and allow the child to develop strength and dexterity through the indirect means described above before offering a pencil.

Once a child begins writing single words with the Moveable Alphabet and then recording what they have written onto a chalkboard or paper, the level of skill develops quite organically. They see each other writing lists of words, sentences, labeling vocabulary cards and writing stories and poems. The younger kids ask the older ones for help when they can't find a letter they seek. The older students inspire the younger ones and directly instruct them. Just today one child asked if she could show another how to do "research." They each read separate books, one about the life cycle of the frog and one about the life cycle of the butterfly. They then write reports about what they have learned. The older child was no longer required to use the Moveable Alphabet. She had been writing directly on paper for some time. When she learned, however, that her young protegee still needed the Moveable Alphabet, she said, "Oh! Then I will use one, too, so he doesn't feel left behind." The process is joyful and social. It is not about the resulting product, but about the complete absorption the children feel when they are doing something they enjoy that is meaningful to them. Like all the work in the classroom, the skills and knowledge gained is a secondary benefit. The primary benefit is the ability to self-regulate, be self-disciplined and to become centered by the power of concentration.

Additionally, Montessori children write before they read. Writing prepares them for reading. Often the first word they read is one they wrote themselves. The reading then develops organically, often effortlessly, just as their writing has.

Pauline and I will make an effort to blog more faithfully. We were distracted by fundraising, spring break and parent-teacher conferences. We know, though, that if we want people to follow us, we need to produce! We'll work on it.

Best regards,
Doni