Why Isn't My Child Reading Yet?
Why Isn't My Child Reading Yet? -- A look into the Montessori classroom
Greg was irate! He’d come to observe at his daughter's Montessori school and was not at all pleased with the “work” she was engaged in. “Why is Sally washing that table, again, instead of learning to read!? Before that she was polishing silver and sewing. I didn’t enroll her in Montessori to do menial labor! She’s supposed to be learning to read!”
It’s amazing what children are capable of! It’s even more amazing how varied their abilities and interests. As parents we want our children to learn and succeed; to get ahead. Many parents choose Montessori because they want their child to excel academically. It is true that children in Montessori classrooms often tend to be more “advanced.” So how is it that Jane is beginning to read, but Sally, who is the same age, doesn’t even know the letter sounds yet?
One of the beauties of the Montessori curriculum is that it meets every child exactly where they are. Children do progress academically, but that isn’t the objective. When we meet the needs of the whole child, reading and other academic accomplishments naturally happen. The objective is to meet each child where they are and to give them the means in which to develop according to their own unique needs and interests, unlocking their individual, and vast, potential.
Maria Montessori, as well as many other developmental theorists, found that children learn best through their activity exploring and engaging their senses, within a rich environment. Each child has their own timetable for their emerging capabilities. When children are given the freedom to choose the activities that most call to them, their learning is eager and spontaneous. As adults it is our job to prepare an environment where children can explore and discover. Where their senses are fully engaged. Where their minds and bodies can be active. When children have a rich environment to explore and learn, their innate curiosity leads them. They become excited to learn and discover. In this type of environment, children have a desire to learn and to know. A love of learning is instilled and learning is easy and joyful.
In the Montessori environment, this is the case. It also creates a foundation that leads the child in their development. Children entering the Montessori environment begin in the area called Practical Life, where they participate in real life activities of caring for themselves and the environment. While parents understand the importance of learning these skills, they often do not see that the value of these activities far exceeds the mere ability to accomplish buttoning, slicing a banana, polishing a piece of silver or the skill involved in the many other practical life activities. Yet these activities are preparing the child for all the other “work” in the classroom, including reading. Children learn that every activity has a beginning, middle and an end. They learn how to follow a sequence of movements.Their motor skills and coordination are developing and being refined. Concentration is developed and lengthened. They gain increased ability, and with it, independence and self-confidence.
From here the child moves into the sensorial area of the classroom with a strong foundation for learning. The sensorial materials are brilliant! Here the child’s sensory learning continues, with particular qualities being isolated and then refined through the use of the materials. These are pre-academic didactic materials that directly prepare the child for future academic success through the full engagement of their senses and hands on interaction. The eye is prepared to later distinguish the differences in letters and numerals. The hand is prepared for future writing. The materials are set up in a left to right sequence, which prepares for reading. And the mind is prepared for greater concentration and confidence.
There is a great deal of activity happening in a Montessori classroom beyond the children’s direct work with materials leading to their future reading ability. Children are encouraged to express themselves verbally and artistically. They are listened to and respected. They learn the names of everything, building a strong vocabulary. They have opportunities to be read to and experience books. Through storytelling they gain the ability to form mental images. They learn to create their own stories. They play games focusing on the sounds in words helping distinguish these individual sounds for letter recognition and reading. They learn about the world around them. Children learn independence, but they also learn how to care for and respect each other and their environment.
All along the way the children are enveloped in a literacy rich environment with developmentally appropriate activities. More directly, they are introduced to the sandpaper letters where their senses are again engaged to feel the letter and listen to the sound. These letters and sounds are connected to the letters and words they see and hear around them.
Parents contribute too! By both reading to their children and modeling an enjoyment of reading. By playing games to point out letters and sounds in the environment. By providing quality toys and activities that stimulate curiosity and discovery. By spending time outside and in nature. By allowing their children to be a part of the activities of the household – helping to cook, set the table, folding socks – always in an enjoyable way along with their parents. And by fully trusting and following their child’s innate development.
Then one day, it happens! Sally has learned the sounds of several letters. She is finding the various sounds to form a word when she realizes that by putting these sounds together — she can read! There is no stopping her now! With great excitement she dives further into this new discovery. It didn’t come about through flash cards, computer programs, or drilling her on her letters. It happened by her own activity in an environment prepared for her whole development, with adults providing support and acceptance of her own unique process.
