Montessori Cursive Alphabet Cards

June 27, 2017

A key component of Montessori primary education is that children learn to write in cursive first. I was initially surprised by this since traditional education teaches cursive writing later (if ever!). However once the philosophy behind it was explained, it made perfect sense. If you look at a young child’s scribbles, they usually consist of loops and wavy lines. Their writing flows from one shape to the next without lifting their pencil. Sound familiar?

Pre-writing naturally tends to mimic cursive. This is why the Montessori philosophy teaches cursive first – they believe it comes easier to young children.

Unfortunately I have found that cursive writing materials for preschool aged children are remarkably difficult to find. Most workbooks for this age group focus on printing letters. The few Montessori-endorsed materials I found were often very expensive and had to be ordered online.

When I brought this up with Goose’s teacher she helped me to devise a flashcard system that I could make on my own. After taking the time to create these fabulous flashcards, I just had to share them with you!

I designed my flashcards to fit on standard 3″ x 5″ note cards. Every flashcard features a front with an upper and lower case cursive letter, along with a small inset script letter. On the reverse is a large high resolution photograph of an animal or object that begins with that letter. I have even included an additional blank template in case you wish to replace an image with one of your own. It turned out to be much harder than I expected to come up with what I hoped would be a universally recognizable image for each letter. The last thing I wanted was for children to get confused because they saw ‘yak’ and thought ‘cow’ or saw a ‘yacht’ and thought ‘boat’. (So I went with Yogurt for Y which probably isn’t much better, but it is what it is.)

How to Assemble Your Flashcards

Assembly is very simple for these cards. Simply download and print the flashcards, cut out each card (It will go much faster with a paper cutter like this one from Swingline.) Then use a tape runner to adhere the front and back to a 3×5 notecard. If you wish to make your flashcards even more durable you could laminate them, which is what I did after taking pictures. Laminated items really don’t photograph well for me.

Using Your Flashcards

These flashcards have both the cursive letters as well as script letters on the front. The idea is to cover the script letter with your thumb and ask your child what sound the cursive letter shown makes. If your child is struggling, move your thumb to reveal the script letters. We see these so much in our society that many children pick them up naturally. Finally, show your child the object or animal on the back of the card so they link the ‘buh’ sound of the letter B with ‘bear’ etc. It may be helpful to note that in Montessori schools children do not initially learn the names of letters, they are called by the sound they make.

You can also use the flashcards in reverse by showing your child the picture first. Have him name the sound that the image starts with and then turn over the card to reveal the letters that make that sound.

OK, I’m sold. How do I get mine?

This is the best part – the flashcards are free! All you have to do is sign up below. You will then receive a link and password to my Free Digital Resource Library. You will never get spam from me but you WILL get access to an ever-growing library of printables, templates and more. What are you waiting for?

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5 Surprising Things I Learned From Observing a Montessori Classroom

May 6, 2017

After nearly a year of creating my own Montessori inspired activities and lessons for Goose, we made the difficult decision to enroll him in a formal Montessori School. In the end we decided that my lack of training would never equal the lessons that a true AMI certified teacher could provide. Now as his first full year comes to a close I realize just how right – and how wrong – I was.

I have learned so much more about the Montessori method throughout this year, and the most helpful learning tool has been the opportunity to observe my son’s classroom multiple times throughout the year.

1. The Sense of Order is Impeccable

My biggest concern about Montessori was whether 2 teachers could really keep 20+ children ages 3-6 under control for an extended period of time. There are days when I struggle to keep up with my 2 boys, I can’t even imagine trying to keep ten times that many focused on their work.

The reality is that the Montessori method not only encourages order but almost guarantees it. As I observed I saw children seamlessly selecting a work, carrying it to their chosen table or mat, performing the task and then carefully putting it away. Snacks were available throughout the morning and as children became hungry they had the freedom to fix themselves a plate, dine with a classmate and then carefully load their dishes in a dishwasher. It was amazing!

Of course even the most impressive child is only human, and I occasionally witnessed a child who was disruptive. This behavior is not handled with discipline. Rather, the teacher encourages the child to sit beside her while performing a calming work such as coloring or tracing. The children don’t even know they are being reprimanded. They are simply given the much needed opportunity to collect themselves.

2. Every Material Has a Multitude of Uses

When I first began to research the Montessori method I was introduced to several materials that feature prominently in every primary classroom. Materials such as the Pink Tower (shown below) baffled me. Clearly it was important to Montessori theory but why? How is this tower any different from the stacking toys found in most homes? It has many uses and teaches many concepts.

To continue our Pink Tower example; this material is used to develop motor skills by stacking with centers or edges aligned. The smallest unit is exactly 1/10th the dimension of the largest unit. This introduces math concepts like scale and weight and language concepts like size and comparison.

3. Observation Isn’t Just for Parents

Observation is a powerful tool for students in a Montessori classroom. It allows the younger students the freedom to see what their older classmates are learning. This can motivate younger students to work harder so they too can perform advanced works. Observation also helps students to see how their work fits into the bigger picture. For example: simple tracing leads to tracing letters which leads to writing.

This is incredibly motivating for students.

4. The Teachers Might Be Superhuman

I know I said earlier that the teachers maintain order with ease, but their management skills deserve another mention. The teachers track each student’s progress individually by using an iPad app. I frequently witness a teacher giving a lesson to one student, answering another student’s question, and playing a game with a third student simultaneously. Their powers of observation are uncanny as they design individual lesson plans for 20 students.

5. Children are FAR More Capable Than We Give Them Credit For

The most important lesson I learned is that we don’t give our children nearly enough credit. I never thought to let my 3 year old help load the dishwasher. It seemed like a recipe for broken dishes. However, in the classroom I saw him doing it with ease. I would never suggest that we force our children to grow up too quickly, but I think we do them a disservice by limiting them. There are so many learning opportunities around them every day if only we take time to teach. There is no telling what our children can do when they aren’t limited by our own assumptions!

Is there anything you’ve always wondered about the workings of a Montessori classroom? Feel free to ask away in the comments! Or maybe you have observations of your own, tell me all about it!

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Teaching

Montessori Cursive Alphabet Cards

How to Assemble Your Flashcards

Using Your Flashcards

OK, I’m sold. How do I get mine?

Like this:

5 Surprising Things I Learned From Observing a Montessori Classroom

1. The Sense of Order is Impeccable

2. Every Material Has a Multitude of Uses

3. Observation Isn’t Just for Parents

4. The Teachers Might Be Superhuman

5. Children are FAR More Capable Than We Give Them Credit For

Like this:

Teaching

Montessori Cursive Alphabet Cards

How to Assemble Your Flashcards

Using Your Flashcards

OK, I’m sold. How do I get mine?

Share this:

Like this:

5 Surprising Things I Learned From Observing a Montessori Classroom

1. The Sense of Order is Impeccable

2. Every Material Has a Multitude of Uses

3. Observation Isn’t Just for Parents

4. The Teachers Might Be Superhuman

5. Children are FAR More Capable Than We Give Them Credit For

Share this:

Like this: