Language learning is FUN !!!!

I was so fascinated by the Montessori curriculum of the Language area, in fact, ALL the areas. As I mentioned before that we have 6 areas in the classroom - Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language, Geography and Art. We can add History, Science and a Peace Corner depending on the size of the classroom and the teacher.

Anyways, so there would not be one day that I had not wished, to be a Montessori child. It is the best thing that the child can have. Everything starts from L-R and we write from left to right. Everything is about motion, action, logical reasoning and having fun while learning. Who wouldn't love to play with sand ?! AND, learn to write at the same time ! The activity below is something that I love to do with children ( starts around 3 yrs - depending on the child ), when it's time to introduce sounds and letters.

Sand box.

It's a box that contains some sand. The sand here is non-toxic and safe for children to work with. You can buy it from - http://safesand.stores.yahoo.net/index.html. Or, from a nearby art store, just check if it is safe for children (most of the time sand available in the stores is safe).

 

So, what I do here is, look at the child and draw his attention. The important thing here is you need to sit at the child's dominant hand side. For example- if a child writes with his left hand then sit on his left hand side and vice-verse. The reasoning behind this is that the 2 of you should look at the activity with the same perspective. Remember, the child is always watching you. So, you draw his attention, gently with your 2 fingers, trace the letter 'a' and say,"This is 'ah'(twice)." Shake the sand and perform the same step again. Offer the child to do the same. They are waiting to do this !

Let him work on this for a while and then say "Show me 'ah'(twice)." Child will trace 'a' on the sand :) Yayy !! I am usually very happy at this point. But it is still too soon, maybe ?! At this step, I kind off play with him little bit more. I would ask him to show me the letter 'a' turning the sides of the box, or I will make up a story where he would have to show me to write 'a'. The reason why I do this is that I want to make sure the child associates with the sound I am saying, recognizes it and then can trace it on the sand correctly. Most of the children take a while to recognize and associate with sounds and trace it correctly. It may take days, while with other children it may be faster. See, every child is unique and learns with his capability. And that is why you help him to repeat this activity until he is confident. It's a process and a way to bond with the child. It is fun :)

Once he surely knows and can associate with the sound 'a', and has repeated the first 2 steps again and again, then, you trace the letter on the sand, and say "What is this?" he says, "ah." Now I am happy for sure and say to him, "Look ! you have learned your first letter :)" The child is also delighted and happy with his hard work and achievement. He may want to learn more sounds. And, there you go. Follow the steps-

1. Name the letter.

2. Associate and recognition.

3. Recall.

We also, call these 3 steps - the three period lesson :)