Let’s talk movable alphabets. These are basically the Montessori version of those fridge magnets that look like letters that we ALL had growing up. They are fantastic for those early reading/writing years.

Montessori theory says that writing should be encouraged before reading! In fact in many Casas reading is not something that is taught but something that naturally occurs after the moveable alphabet has been used by the child for a few months. So, after the child has SOLID understanding of how words breakdown into sounds (this is really done through the sound game) and after they have know for the main letter sounds and associated with the appropriate each letter symbol, we can give them access to a moveable alphabet. This allows them to explore word formation without the struggle of writing out each letter all the time.

If your child is struggling with reading or just at a bit of a standstill in their development, consider this. Stop focusing on reading and focus on writing (or rather word building).

Writing instead of reading really puts the child in control and gives them a lot more opportunities to be correct and to really boost their confidence. When you read a word, it is binary, you can either read it, or you can’t. When you write a word, trust me, as an avid user of spell check, you can spell a word MANNNNNY ways. As long as the child is isolating those sounds and using an appropriate symbol for that sound, the writing is correct. Repeat after me, “I don’t worry about the spelling, as long as they are sounding it out.” Ducks, dux, ducs, duks: These are all “correct” for an early writer.

What to write? Lists baby, lists. In the first plane of development (so up to around 6ish) children don’t really care about the permanance of their lists, they can use the letters, write the list and then reuse the letters to build the next set of words. If they get insistent that want to “keep” their list, snap a picture with your phone.

Links to Moveable Alphabets