Category Archives: Montessori Materials

How We Teach Reading in a Montessori Classroom

by Mareme Konare, Early Childhood Head Teacher

Scope and Sequence

In a Montessori classroom, the Language area fosters reading, writing, and oral skills, with phonics as the foundation for literacy. Reading and writing are closely connected, creating a seamless learning experience. A rich vocabulary is integrated across all areas of the Montessori Prepared Environment: Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language, and Culture. This ensures language development is part of everyday learning.

Introduction to Sounds with Sandpaper Letters

The journey of teaching children to read begins with introducing letter sounds using materials like the Sandpaper Letters. These tactile materials are designed to teach both reading and writing. When children are first introduced to letters, the focus is on the sounds they make rather than their letter names. For example, we say “/a/” for the letter “a” and “/b/” for the letter “b”. This learning process is guided by a sequential method called the Three-Period Lesson.

The First Period of a Three-Period Lesson is when the teacher introduces the sound (“This is /a/”) while tracing the corresponding Sandpaper Letter. This tactile and auditory connection helps children develop a strong memory of both the letter’s shape and sound. In the Second Period, the teacher asks the child to identify the sound (“Show me /a/”). And finally, in the Third Period, the child is asked to recall the sound independently (“What is this sound?”) while referencing the Sandpaper Letter.

Once children grasp the concept of individual sounds, objects related to the sounds are then introduced. For example, the teacher may say, “/a/, /a/, apple,” emphasizing the first letter of the word. The child is then encouraged to match objects to their corresponding sounds, reinforcing their understanding. Children practice these sounds independently, and the teacher reviews their work after completion, giving follow-up lessons if necessary.

Progression Through Sound Material

To ensure systematic learning, sounds continue to be introduced a few at a time, focusing on the beginning, middle, and ending sounds of phonetic words, using both objects and picture cards. This progression allows teachers to track students’ progress effectively, prior to Word Building.

Introduction to the Moveable Alphabet

Once children are confident with individual sounds, they are introduced to the Moveable Alphabet. This material bridges the gap between recognizing sounds and forming words. After receiving a lesson on how to use the Moveable Alphabet, children are given Objects (e.g., cat, hat, etc.) or Picture Cards and encouraged to “encode” the word by arranging the corresponding letters (c-a-t). This process, known as “Early Writing”, helps children connect sounds to written forms and fosters creative expression through “inventive (or invented) spelling”.

At the next stage, children begin to “decode”. Decoding involves blending the sounds they’ve now learned in order to form complete words. For example, when presented with “c-a-t”, the child learns to say “cat” and can independently match the word to the corresponding Object or Picture Card. This process of moving from encoding to decoding culminates in the child experiencing the “aha moment” of reading.

Advancing Reading Skills

As children’s skills develop, they progress through three levels of reading:

Level 1: Simple Words
~ The focus is on three-letter phonetic words (consonant-vowel-consonant, or CVC), such as “cat” and “mat”.
~ Learning is supported by the Pink Series reading materials.

Level 2: Words with Blends
~ Blends such as “bl”, “st”, and “fl” at the beginning or end of words (“blob”, “nest”, and “flag”) are introduced.
~ Learning is supported by the Blue Series reading materials.

Level 3: Complex Words
~ Work includes lessons on phonograms, irregular spelling patterns, and silent letters (e.g., “ai” in “hair”, “sh” in “ship”, silent “e”, and the silent “k” in “knight”).
~ Learning is supported by the Green Series reading materials.

Picture and Word Matching to Comprehension

Some Montessori Language lessons require children to match words to objects or pictures, enhancing their vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. As they progress, children begin matching phrases or sentences to corresponding objects or pictures, further developing their ability to understand context and meaning. For instance, when encountering the word “crust”, children use prior knowledge and contextual clues, such as a picture of a pie or the Earth to determine whether it refers to a pie crust or the Earth’s crust. This ability to connect words to meaning fosters vocabulary growth, critical thinking, and comprehension skills.

The Montessori Approach

In summation, the Montessori approach to teaching reading is a carefully structured, hands-on process that nurtures each child’s natural curiosity and ability. By emphasizing phonics and providing tactile, auditory, and visual experiences, we create a strong foundation for literacy. Through systematic progress from encoding to decoding and from concrete to abstract, children learn to read and develop a lifelong love for language.

Independence in the Early Childhood Montessori Classroom

by Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development

“How does he achieve this independence? He does it by means of a continuous activity.
How does he become free? By means of constant effort…
Independence is not a static condition; it is a continuous conquest,
and in order to reach not only freedom, but also strength,
and the perfecting of one’s powers, it is necessary to follow this path of unremitting toil.”
~ Dr. Maria Montessori (The Absorbent Mind)

Maria Montessori recognized early on that there was a need for a form of education that looks at the whole child, at what drives them and what their true needs are. She observed the need for independence in children and began experimenting with different ways to guide children to become more involved in their own education, which was in opposition to the typical thought on Early Childhood Education in the 1900s. Montessori also recognized the importance of having children feel that they belong to a group, that they matter, and that other people care about them.

Young children on the road to independence want to be given the opportunity to do things on their own. On average, a child falls 17 times an hour while learning to walk, but the child doesn’t give up on this task until he has succeeded by repetition, thus learning by trial and error. Mistakes are a vital part of learning because they help children to adjust and motivate them to try again. When a child is learning a new task through direct experience, each small achievement creates a new connection in the brain, and before you know it, this new task has become automatic.

Maria Montessori allowed children to become actively involved in their own education. She discovered that when children were able to freely choose an activity and follow what she called “the child’s inner guide”, they were able to engage for a longer time and were more deeply connected to their activity. Their concentration also deepened, compared to the more traditional practice of the teacher assigning the activity or work.

This discovery was made in Italy back in 1907 at the first Montessori School, Casa dei Bambini, during an interesting observation. A teacher had accidently overslept, and as she rushed into the school, she stepped into the Prepared Environment and was astonished by what she found. All of the children had already chosen work on their own, without her being present. At first she was upset, but then Dr. Montessori urged her to observe the phenomenon before her. This is how one of the Core Principles of the Montessori Method, “Follow the Child”, was born. It was very clear that the children seemed more engaged, content, and happy, and were able to socialize, share, and help each other based on their own choices. Many core principles of the Montessori Method are based on Maria Montessori’s early observations. She observed that children make choices that are influenced by developmental needs and that the children will continue to repeat an activity over and over until their needs have been met.

“We must, therefore, quit our roles as jailers and instead
take care to prepare an environment in which we do as little as possible
to exhaust the child with our surveillance and instruction.”
~ Maria Montessori (The Child in the Family)

In a Montessori Prepared Environment, we always encourage and allow repetition as the children are born with a natural instinct to repeat. Young children are very capable of following through with an activity on their own. The role of the adult is to demonstrate how to do it and then take a step back and observe the child as she independently finishes the task. The Prepared Environment also allows children to make their own choices in a beautiful and inviting setting. Children of mixed ages work together as a community where everyone matters and everyone is able to follow their own inner guide, independently choosing meaningful and purposeful activities that foster a lifelong love of learning.

“Help me to do it by myself” ~ Maria Montessori

Making Sense of the Sensorial Area in the Prepared Environment

by Imelda McShane, Early Childhood Head Teacher
and Doreen Adamo, Early Childhood Head Teacher

“There is the obvious value of the training and the refinement of the senses which,
by widening the field of perception, furnish an ever more solid and richer basis to the development of the intelligence. It is through contact with and exploration of the environment that the intelligence builds up its store of operational ideas.”
~ Dr. Maria Montessori

The Montessori Methodology emphasizes that Sensorial education is a fundamental part of a child’s development. By engaging with Sensorial materials, children are provided with experiences that help them understand and internalize the world around them in a concrete way. The essence of Sensorial education lies in its ability to refine the senses, leading to heightened perceptual skills and cognitive development.

Children live in a world of senses where they need to classify and express the impressions they have already received. Sensorial education in the Montessori classroom aims to develop and refine the five senses – tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory. Montessori Sensorial materials help children make judgements and comparisons based on isolated individual characteristics, such as size, shape, weight, texture, color, sound, and temperature. By providing a Prepared Environment where children can explore and manipulate these materials, The Montessori Children’s Academy allows its students to clarify, classify, and develop a keen awareness of their surroundings to better comprehend their world. The materials help children relate new information to what they already know. They find a sense of order in these materials. With order comes knowledge. This is crucial as it lays the foundation for complex thought processes and problem-solving skills.

Along with enabling children to clarify and internalize such concepts as size, shape, weight, texture, color, sound, and temperature, the Sensorial materials also provide a basis for the development of other skills, such as Music, Culture (awareness of classification), and Language (sound discrimination, visual perception, and eye-hand coordination). When children trace the Sandpaper Globe, they are taking in knowledge that will later be used when tracing the Sandpaper Letters. Later, the muscles of their hands will remember the tracing motion as they write their letters. Also, when children are given the opportunity to manipulate and internalize the Sensorial materials, they are then able to reach a level of abstraction needed for the study of mathematics.

Dr. Maria Montessori emphasized that “the training of the senses makes people observers”. The tactile and hands-on nature of the Sensorial materials make them accessible to children with varying abilities. This inclusivity ensures that all children, regardless of their development, can benefit from Sensorial education. Montessori Sensorial materials are designed to be self-correcting, allowing children to independently discover and learn from their experiences, fostering a sense of autonomy and confidence.

The child’s first exercise with color is Color Box 1, which contains six tablets – two red, two blue and two yellow. The child pairs the tablets and learns the corresponding color names. Gradually, in Color Box 2, more pairs of colors are added. Ultimately, the child will be able to name and match eleven different pairs.

During the next step, Color Box 3, the child will grade the colors by using seven different shades of nine different colors. The shades of each color are graded from very light to very dark. To carry out this work, the child must differentiate the intensity of the shades and place the tablets in order from the lightest to the darkest shade of each color. [See photo above.] Teaching children to be aware of the fine differences in color aids them in future work involving visual discrimination, such as reading, art, scientific research, and so on.

The Binomial Cube helps develop the child’s perception of differences in proportion in three dimensions. This cube represent, in a concrete way, the binomial equation (a + b)³. The child removes the blocks in layers and once all of the blocks are removed, the cube can then be rebuilt, one layer at a time.

The Geometric Cabinet is a wooden cabinet of six drawers, each containing cutout geometric shapes. The child works with one drawer at a time, removing the shapes from the drawer. Once the pieces are removed, the child is shown how to trace the shape of the empty space and find the correct match by tracing the outside of the removed pieces. In the next step, the child will use the drawers to match cards with corresponding shapes.

Sound Cylinders, as well as bells, are used for refining a child’s auditory sense. Sound Matching, such as identifying bells by sound, enables the child’s auditory sense to become heightened and more able to discern differences in sound when learning letter sounds, number names, vocabulary, etc.

The Geometric Solids are made of wood and painted blue. The solids are explored through both sight and touch. Work with this material helps develop the child’s awareness of the shapes and where these shapes occur in the environment.

The Knobbed Cylinders consist of four wooden blocks containing ten cylinders each. The dimensions of the cylinders can vary in both diameter and height. After receiving a lesson with each block separately, the child may then work with blocks in combination, using two, three, or four blocks together. The child removes the cylinders from the block or blocks, placing them in random order, and then returns the cylinders to their correct places and the correct block(s).

The Stereognostic materials allow the child to recognize shapes through the movement of the muscles of the hand. By using two hands, the child is shown how to feel the objects, then separate and match them according to shape.

In summary, Sensorial education invokes the essence of being alive. The aim, purpose, and value of Montessori Sensorial education are intertwined with the goal of supporting the holistic development of young children. By refining their senses, children develop essential cognitive skills that serve as the foundation for lifelong learning.

“It is exactly in the repetition of the exercises that the education of the senses exists;
not that the child shall know colors, forms or qualities,
but that he refines his senses through an exercise of attention, comparison and judgement.
~ Maria Montessori

World Connections Through Montessori

by Camilla Nichols, Senior Director of Montessori Development

At The Montessori Children’s Academy, we are always looking for opportunities to connect our students with other children and cultures through events inside and outside of the Prepared Environment. Maria Montessori believed that widening the children’s horizons was an important aspect of learning that we are part of something bigger and that we are all connected and needed.

We prepare MCA students to become global citizens through a variety of activities, lessons, and projects that will strengthen and develop their sense of belonging in this world. It also teaches our children at a very young age that they can have an impact and make a difference. This is something that has always been integrated into MCA, where we have inspired families to continue looking for opportunities where they can make a difference in their own communities outside of school.

In the Geography area of MCA’s classrooms, there are color-coded Cultural Folders representing each continent. In those folders our students find pictures of people, houses, food, and a variety of other items from each Culture. There are folders for North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Antarctica, Asia, and Australia. Often, the children will also find corresponding Cultural Boxes that house souvenirs from each continent. A student chooses a folder and the corresponding flag, along with the colored globe, and can discuss the pictures with a friend or simply review alone while also examining the objects.

As part of our Cultural studies, MCA students learn to sing moving, meaningful songs such as “The Universe”, “Beautiful Earth”, and “The Continents” by Shelley Murley (Montessori Minute Melodies: https://music.apple.com/us/album/montessori-minute-melodies/279575407) and are exposed to many wonderful books and fables with stories and messages from various cultures. We invite parents into our classrooms to introduce students to their own culture and traditions. In the past, parents have shared traditional celebratory clothing, food, or various small items, as well as assisted us in celebrating Diwali, Lucia, Yom Kippur, Chinese New Year, and many other cultural events. MCA is proud of our diverse community and celebrates the uniqueness that each child, family, and staff member brings to our little corner of the Montessori world.

Around September 21^st of each year, our students and staff celebrate the International Day of Peace. For many years, it has been an annual MCA tradition to participate in a worldwide celebration where approximately 150,000 Montessori students from 65 countries come together to sing “Light a Candle for Peace”. Dr. Montessori was a huge advocate for peace and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times! Her legacy of Peace Education lives on to this day. During the celebration, our students come together to hold hands and pass the colored Globe of Continents or a Peace Flag while singing at the dedicated New Jersey time, usually around 9:30AM. The chosen song always starts with children in New Zealand and then travels to all the continents throughout the day. For video footage of children singing around the world and to listen to the song “Light a Candle for Peace”, we invite you to visit www.singpeacearoundtheworld.com.

In past years, students, families, and staff from The Montessori Children’s Academy have built relationships with and donated money or supplies to Montessori schools in need in countries like Uganda and Puerto Rico. We have also assisted with rebuilding schools throughout Asia by collecting pennies and hosting numerous bake and craft sales.

Most recently, MCA enjoyed an exchange program with Bladins Montessori School in Malmö Sweden. Our students created art projects and booklets representing the USA and introduced Flat Stanley to Sweden. Those items made their way to Sweden where Bladins’ students reciprocated with art projects, pictures of Swedish foods and traditions, and even a life-size Pippi Longstocking. Once here in America, Pippi visited all MCA classrooms and our students fell in love with the character while learning about her adventures and the author Astrid Lindgren. Swedish students viewed photos of some of MCA’s classrooms and compared our Prepared Environments with theirs. Bladins’ main hallway entrance now displays of all the items that our MCA students sent to Sweden.

At MCA, we love sharing and connecting our students and our school to all corners of the world.

“Culture and education have no bounds or limits; now man is in a phase in which he must decide for himself how far he can proceed in the culture that belongs to the whole of humanity.”
~ Dr. Maria Montessori

School is Out, Summer is Here… but Learning (and Fun) Don’t Need to End!

by Camilla Nichols and Zachery Inkley,
with additional content by Tori Inkley

Along with welcoming Summer, we would like to provide some fun activities and ideas to help keep your children stimulated in a meaningful way. It’s important for them to remain in a state of learning and exploration even when they’re not attending school. One suggestion would be to arrange a small shelf in your home with activities that you can rotate throughout the summer. Set it up so that your children can independently choose the work they desire. The activities can represent the same areas found in our Prepared Environments at MCA: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Science, Math, Cultural, and Art. For more information on how to set up a Prepared Environment at home, visit https://themontessorichildrensacademy.com/blog/2016/06/13/maintaining-a-montessori-mindset-through-the-summer/ and visit https://www.forsmallhands.com/ and https://livingmontessorinow.com for Montessori items and ideas.

No matter where the summer takes you, we encourage families to spend as much time as possible outside and in nature, as screen time is best saved as a treat for rainy days. New Jersey has so many beautiful parks and beaches for you and your little ones to enjoy. Take a hike through South Mountain Reservation or go see the Great Falls of Paterson! While exploring the outdoors, take time to set up Scavenger Hunts, or help your children craft their own Nature Journals. They can collect and learn about all the different beautiful flowers of our region or do leaf shadings to help fill up the pages of their journals. At home, you and your children could grow an herb, vegetable, or flower garden, or together you could research all the critters roaming in your own backyard! To learn more about animals from all over the globe, your family could take a trip to the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, or if your children are more curious about our aquatic friends, you could visit Jenkinson’s Aquarium while enjoying a day on the Point Pleasant boardwalk!

Most of our local libraries have Story Times for children. Taking your young ones to such events will help to inspire their imaginations and reinvigorate their passion for reading. We also encourage you to read with your children at home as often as possible, or maybe listen to audiobooks together while picnicking outside! We’ve included some links to books we recommend at the end of this post.

Finally, if possible, explore local museums and art festivals to stimulate your children’s imaginations and encourage their creative sides. Both Montclair and Morristown, as well as New York City, have excellent museums, and Montclair also has art festivals and live music concerts all summer long! If you really want to watch little eyes go wide, take your children to Liberty Science Center, where they can get a taste of almost everything this world has to offer. Right now, they have an incredible exhibit on the Blue Whale, a Touch Tunnel where children can learn how much we rely on our sense of touch, and a Globe IMAX Theater where you can take incredibly life-like trips through the farthest stretches of the universe and the greatest depths of the sea. We encourage you to embrace every opportunity to expand the young minds of your children and broaden their natural sense of wonder!

We hope all of our families have a lovely summer full of exploration and joy!

NJ Parks and Reservations:

NJ Zoos and Aquariums:

Museums and Creative Centers:

Classic Children’s Books:

Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Anatole by Eve Titus
Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
Max and the Tag-Along Moon by Floyd Cooper
Abuela by Arthur Dorros
Corduroy by Don Freeman
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

Arts and Crafts for Inside Days:

And for those rainy days, or possibly travel days, when you feel a little tech time is appropriate for your children, you may want to check out the app “Mobile Montessori” at https://www.mobilemontessori.org .