Montessori Writing Paper

Remember that the child needs to have strengthened his or her pincer muscles adequately to be able to hold a pencil correctly and for any length of time.

Check out the 50 Fine Motor Muscles Post for ideas to increase pincer muscle strength.

So that’s where we start, the letter sounds (phonics) and lower case.

The Montessori approach is to teach in a multi-sensory way.

Usually a basic cursive font is used, the child learns to write the letters free standing first but as they progress it is then easy for them to to ‘joined up’ writing.

I am sure if you google this, you will get a zillion hits, quite possibly telling you different things. Use the most common letters first, so the vowels, letters such as m, s and t and I would also add in the letters in the child’s name.Some hardcore Montessorians will be poo-pooing me saying that but after teaching hundreds of kids, I can confidently say, it doesn’t really matter.I recommend keeping a notebook handy though so you can make a note of which letters your child has mastered, which need more work and which have yet to be introduced.As you know, each letter has a sound otherwise known as phonics.We teach the child the phonics BEFORE the name of the letter so that the child can quickly grasp the concept of reading.Just want to learn more about Montessori to see if it is right for you?By the time most children graduate from kindergarten at the Montessori School of Syracuse they are able to write sentences using inventive (phonetic) spelling and read simple children’s books.The child, therefore, in the Montessori classroom learns to write not by writing, but by performing a number of purposefully structured activities which prepare her both indirectly and directly for facility in handwriting.The child is introduced to the alphabetical symbols by using the Sandpaper Letters.To learn the sound and shape of the letters of the alphabet.To gain muscle memory of the letter shape in preparation for writing If you don’t have sandpaper letters yet, check THIS POST for a DIY tutorial on how to make them.