Maria Montessori viewed language as a fundamental aspect of human development, emphasizing the child’s natural acquisition during what she described as the sensitive period for language from birth to 6 years. Montessori also stressed the importance of providing a language rich environment.

 

When giving school tours, parents often ask when we start teaching children to read and write. The answer is always the same, “As soon as they arrive at Ocean View.” We take a ‘whole language’ approach: developing all the skills for speaking, listening, writing and reading in a fun and confidence-boosting way. We work in close partnership with families to maximise this development, both at home and school.

Toddlers
Toddlers arrive at Ocean View with emergent spoken language; they are developing articulation, building a vocabulary and stringing words together to make their needs and wishes known. Some parents worry that their little one will find school difficult if they cannot yet speak clearly. They are subsequently surprised to find that by joining the toddler group their children are motivated to communicate more explicitly. Surrounded by caring adults, toddlers are encouraged to communicate what is needed and to chat amongst their peers throughout the day, particularly during free play, circle time and snack time. Through this, their independence develops rapidly.

 

It is essential that all the adults in the environment provide a good ‘language model’ in terms of vocabulary, pronunciation and syntax. With toddlers, the first step is to make eye contact and speak clearly, to practise turn taking in conversation and to listen with interest. Daily activities and games require the listening to and, following of, simple instructions and promote auditory discrimination and memory. Social interaction and negotiation with peers is excellent for language and social development.

Songs and action rhymes are an essential part of the day. These provide exercise for the mouth muscles, give practice in articulation and promote Phonological awareness – the ability to identify the sounds and patterns that make up our spoken language. Daily story reading becomes a joy, a quiet time at the end of the day when a story can be shared and discussed, developing comprehension and building vocabulary. Following this, little ones often turn to books independently, developing an interest that becomes a great motivation when learning to read.

Gross motor development is key in the early preparation for writing. It may be counterintuitive to think that the foundational skills needed to sit at a desk and form neat letters during primary school, are actually developed through gross motor play in the toddler garden. The development of core strength through climbing and swinging and the stabilisation of the shoulder from
large movements with the arms are vital steps towards fine motor development. This is further enhanced through the use of chunky crayons, chalks and paint brushes as well as practical activities that strengthen the grip in hands and fingers.

The Pre-primary phase
After turning three, toddlers move into the pre-school phase of their Montessori education, known as the Children’s House. Now much more fluent in communication, and adept at listening, their development blossoms in all areas. Concentration and independence are supported as a preparation for increasing focus on language activities, streamlining into the phonic approach of teaching reading.

 

Work with the sensorial materials helps to build visual, auditory and tactile perception, in readiness for work with the sandpaper letters. The activities of everyday living further refine fine motor skills, with children being introduced to work with tongs and tweezers, preparing the fingers for holding a pencil. Careful attention is given to the development of hand dominance. Children work with all activities from left to right, and in this way they are crossing the midline of their body in preparation for writing . This is further enhanced with the use of the metal insets, which children trace around and use for creating their own patterns, developing their pencil grip.

 

Daily songs, rhymes and poems continue to develop articulation and phonological awareness. Clapping the syllables in words, playing rhyming games and swapping sounds in words to create nonsense rhymes all stimulate the language centre of the child’s brain. Learning is easy when you are having fun with your friends! The phonic sounds of the alphabet are introduced through the ever popular I spy game, the first of our rich array of phonic activities. Montessori ‘I spy’ is played using a basket of mini, everyday objects, which act as prompts for children to identify the initial sounds of words: ‘a’ is for apple, antelope, ant, etc. Once children can identify and recall sounds, they are introduced to the corresponding letter shapes using the sandpaper letters. They learn to identify each letter by sound and shape and gain a muscular memory of the correct formation by tracing the letter with their fingers.

 

Later activities with the I spy game focus on the identification of the final and middle sounds of words. Armed with a rich phonological awareness, children move on to the Large Moveable Alphabet. This is a favourite amongst all Montessori teachers and a ‘rite of passage’ for pre-primary pupils. It is a joy to see children building words using the letters in the tray, prompted by
little objects representing 3 letter phonic words such as cat, dog, man, hat, bug. Using the alphabet allows them to ‘build’ words before they can write or read, and accelerates the learning of both.

Children quickly start to write and then read-back the words that they have built and the wonderful world of writing and reading opens up to them. With the introduction of the early sight words children are quickly working their way through phonic readers. The next step is the introduction of longer words with blended sounds. Children work at their own pace, consolidating steps before moving on.

A key area of interest for children of this age is grammar. When you listen carefully to pre-school children’s chatter you will become aware that they are experimenting with grammatical rules and the use of tenses. To support this natural fascination, we learn about the parts of speech through movement games and treasure hunts. Following which, children learn to create their own sentences and stories with grammar cards based on the theme of the farm. It is a great thrill for a child to make and illustrate their
own book of simple sentences.

The Junior Primary Phase
Children enter the primary class with phonic proficiency ready to read, write and listen to engaging lessons and stories. Daily class singing continues It enhances language skills, memory, emotional regulation and fosters social skills, confidence, and creativity. Verbal communication flows with chatter, jokes, rhymes and discussion amongst friends and teachers. It follows that they are keen to begin giving oral presentations of project work. Project research and presentations begin in grade 1, and as they move towards the end of this phase, they become increasingly skilled. Research, comprehension, summarizing, and confidence in delivery are essential skills for their future learning.

It can be observed that children move quickly from the process of learning to read to using their reading skills for wider learning across the curriculum. This allows children to satisfy their own curious minds with non-fiction books and the extensive array of carefully prepared geography, history, nature study and cultural resources. Not to mention the joy of escaping into the world of fiction with a good story book.

The graded phonic approach continues with children moving onto materials that teach spelling rules and build vocabulary. The Montessori grammar activities are used to foster expression in the children’s own creative writing.

The Montessori approach to teaching Literacy is immersive and suitable for all learning styles. The activities incorporate movement and the senses as part of the learning process promoting full engagement from the learner. Presentations are given individually or to small groups of children and independent practice is fully encouraged. With this thorough and supportive approach we can make appropriate referrals when children show difficulty at any stage and in any area of their language development. We embrace working hand in hand with professionals in our community to ensure that children’s learning journey’s continue with confidence and joy.

Lucy Cronje, 2025
Principal Ocean View Montessori School