Jackie Howard, Bilingual Educator and Former Montessori Child
Jackie Howard is a bilingual educator and former Montessori child living in Austin, Texas. Jackie grew up speaking Spanish and English at home, and went to a Montessori school from…
What is “Total Reading”?
In order to help children become fluent readers with a love for the written word, we can guide them through the Montessori progression of Total Reading. In the Montessori classroom,…
Is it too late to raise my child bilingual?
A question I hear all the time is: Is it too late to raise my child bilingual? NO! It’s never too late for a child to learn to speak another…
How Should I Talk to My Young Child* about the News?
*under the age of 6 Children under the age of six live in the moment. They cannot abstract ideas yet, and are unable to distinguish between events happening in their immediate personal spheres, and those in…
How Can We Help Young Children Prepare Their Hands for Writing?
How can we help young children prepare their hands for writing? Providing children with opportunities for purposeful movement allows them to develop the hand strength and hand-eye coordination needed write.…
Do Montessori children learn spelling?
A common stereotype about Montessori children is that they’re bad spellers! While we eventually do encourage proper spelling, it’s true that when we first teach children to write in non-phonetic…
Why do we refer to letters by the sounds they make?
In Montessori classrooms, you’ll hear letters being called by the sounds they make instead of by their names. For example, the letter “b” is called “buh,” not “bee.” This might…
How can we support reading and writing at home?
Value spoken language. Engaging your child in rich conversations will help develop their confidence, ideas, vocabulary, and grasp of language structure. Model writing by hand. Let your child see you…
Why do we teach writing before reading in Montessori?
Writing begins within oneself, with one’s own thoughts. The writer thinks of what they want to say, drawing on words they already know. They listen for the sounds in each…