Language

Many years ago I taught at Midwest Montessori School, the school that was run by the Midwest Montessori Teacher Training Center. Because it was a training center school, our classroom was visited by many Montessori teachers and interns.

One thing I noticed was that any people who visited were very interested in the set up and layout of the materials on the shelves. It seems that no matter how long you’ve been doing Montessori, there’s always a new way to arrange the work.

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Children love to use objects when studying Pink, Blue, and Green Series words. Objects can be used for matching, rhyming, spelling, and story writing. They’re so cute, kids can’t keep their hands off of them!

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My daughter, age 5 ½, is currently using phonetic readers. Because I like to try different things to see which works best, I’ve ended up purchasing quite a few different sets for her in addition to the ones I already had.

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In Montessori, we are blessed with wonderful materials like the sandpaper letters, movable alphabet, and the Pink, Blue, and Green Series. But, it’s sometimes nice to to include some games and activities to encourage a pre-reader or emergent reader.

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My own history with foreign languages is a spotty one: a few years (well, about eight) squeaking through German, and one disastrous year spent trying French. In both cases, I approached the language as a teenager, well past the recommended age for learning new languages.

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Today, we’re going to look at some fun grammar extensions that can be done inexpensively, using the grammar materials you already have or common items from around your classroom. I like the sound of that! I’ve also included some recommendations for helpful story books about grammar.

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Welcome to the next post in my series about grammar! If you’ve missed the earlier installments, you can find them here: Part 1 and Part 2.
In Montessori, we have many different kinds of activities to teach the parts of speech. Some may be a bit of a surprise – who would think that a [...]

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As I talked about in the last grammar post, learning about grammar can be fun the Montessori way. The shapes and colors of the grammar symbols help the child to remember the different parts of speech and their meanings.
In order for the child to begin the study of grammar, there is a fun, beginning [...]

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Okay, okay, I know I shouldn’t end a sentence with a preposition (although I’ve heard that rule is more relaxed now than it used to be). Some of us remember grammar studies from grade school with all the joy of a dentist visit. The thought of teaching it is daunting and unpleasant.
Fortunately, just as [...]

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Nothing blocks the creative spirit of the writer like an unwanted task. Nearly all of the world’s finest authors have suffered writer’s block at one time or another, and if they have to force themselves through a project in order to meet a deadline, the joy of the process disappears. It’s much better if they [...]

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