All About Montessori
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Anyone have experience with First Bridge Montessori at Bishan?
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soomum:
I didn't know this....
Now... now... we'll troubleshoot this together okies? http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.phpbuds:
In phonics enrichment classes, focus is given
to learning letter sounds and not the alphabets/letter names. The idea
is to introduce and enhance the reading process using phonics, not letter
recognition.soomum:
I wouldn't use the term critical. Advantage... YES.there was no warning signs..as in her teacher didn't bring up to me that not knowing the letter names is critical, knowing that my gal only knows the letter sounds.. wat's your view?
Teachers wud usually (i guess) assume that children are exposed to
the ABCs / letter names prior to going to school. If your child IS in a
Montessori school, chances are language lessons are done via
Phonics only & not much or no emphasis may be given to letter
names in order to not confuse the children with the letter
sounds we teach... that we practice in our Montessori
Phonics.
I do get children who come in knowing ABCs and say...
Eg.
Directress : What sound does this letter make? Anyone knows?
Child : Yes, i know! It's \"c\". (cee)
Directress : Yes, it is the letter \"c\" and this letter makes the sound....?
Child : /c/! (c-uh)
Directress : (Reinforces) Yes, good. This letter makes the sound /c/.
We will NOT say that the child is wrong, cos the letter is \"c\".
So, we use positive reinforcement instead to gear them towards the
letter sounds from the letter names they have grown to know & love.
buds:
For younger children, do expose them to the alphabets and the shape of the letters... do tracing activities... craft activities... matching activities & singing alphabet songs and many other stuff together when they are home with you.
soomum:
Errr... from birth?by younger children, how old is this range you are referring to?
What i mean is... during the duration the child is not yet enrolled into a
school, doesn't matter Montessori or not... ideally (at least for me) that
children are introduced to the ABCs first.buds:
May i know how old is your child again, soomum?
soomum:
Roger that. Thanks for clarifying again..she is 3 yrs old.
soomum:
How can i help her to learn the letter names now??? I am now at a lost as to how to proceed or maybe should i even proceed on with her. i.e. has taught her letter sounds - introducing letter names *now made her confused
* buds:
I will need to know the age of your child before i make some suggestions. One way will be, YOU teach the letter names ie. the alphabets. Let the teacher teach the sounds..... for now. Until your child is more comfortable handling both simultaneously from you. In the meantime, what you can do is not to say she is wrong but instead, reiterate that for example... 'b' makes the sound /b/ : b-uh.
soomum:
Yes. If you're concerned that she IS indeed confused over letter namesSo you mean i (being the first to teach her the letter sounds) can now teach her the letter names? without confusing her further? I just stop doing the letter sounds with her right? But she is so used to doing the letter sounds with me, what if she requests to do the sounds?
and sounds. You were the 1st to introduce to her letter sounds... not
the teacher?
If she insists, just go back to the example scenario i quoted above.
Provide lots of positive affirmation. :hugs: Don't worry unduly. I figure
from your sharings that you are still in the early stages, so the issue is
not as worrying as it might seem..soomum:
- next step is building words is it?
buds:
Yes, it is. Wordbuilding is helping children to listen to sounds in words...
beginning with 3-letter phonetic words. During this stage, i usually
encourage parents to read rhymes with children llike these ones...
Diddle Diddle dumpling, my son John..
Went to bed with his trousers on..soomum:
For 3-letter word building... Yes. You are right.i should wait till she knows her letter names and sounds well before proceeding to wordbuilding right?
Unless of course she is confident enough... & have learnt enough sounds
to be able to form simple 3-letter phonetic words. No rush for a 3yr old.
You can however start to sound her out on the first sounds she can
hear in words. Like if you are on a bus... and she has learnt the sound
/b/ (b-uh).... you may casually ask like playing a game... \"Hey, we're in
a bus... the word b-us begins with the sound.... hmmm...? Do you know?
Do you know the first sound in the word bus?\"buds:
This can be done for both learning writers and confident writers. This issoomum:
... this to teach in conjunction with learning to write the letters or need to already be able to write?
where the initial alphabet activities comes in extremely handy and timely,
especially if they were to start Phonics lessons around 4yrs old... earliest
would be 3.5yrs old. Children who are confident writers from what i have
observed can even do independent spelling with simple 3-letter words the
centre has covered with them. They can easily associate writing down...
c-a-t when the directress says please spell for me c-uh... aaaahhh... t.
They usually have no issues co-relating alphabets and letter sounds.soomum:
If she seems to enjoy such activities, yes.. by all means, go ahead.how do one assess a child is ready for learning to write? my gal likes to trace dotted lines/letters with markers. is it the right time now to teach her to hold a pencil and trace the dotted letters? when do we 'wean' off the dotted lines?
You can also reinforce the pincer grip (essential for writing) by asking
her to do transferring activities like transferring marbles with a soup
spoon... or it can be beans or nuts as well... transferring using
chopsticks... and also tongs... cutting & pasting activities... painting &
printing activities... or even helping you peg the laundry too.
Wean off dotted lines when she can scribble lines more clearly as in you
can define what she is drawing or writing... like stick people... simple fish
shapes.. (etc) Stencils do help too. Feel free to catch up on my All About
Handwriting sharings to get some ideas, if you are keen to find out more.soomum:
It is not easy cos every child is different. They have different personalities.sorry for my many questions. this is my first time teaching a pre-schooler and realises that it is not as easy as others portray it to be.
Different learning styles and preferences. For parents who are doing it for
the 1st time, they may need some trial and errors before they find a style
that fits. So for you, since you're keen on this style... you can also read up
more on the methodology to gain more insight.
And never apologize for asking.. :hugs: I will try my best to help you when
i can... and when i am not distracted chatting with other friends here. :oops:
You're my biggest fan! How can i ever forget ya? :love:
Fondest Regards, buds.
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chatelaine:
chatelaine,Hi Joeyz18
I have only viewed the one at Jelapang, will visit CCK CC this Sat.
Where you stay?
i staying at bt panjang. i prefer jelepang is nearer to me but was told no slots available for nursery so i visited cck branch today. But i don't really like the area.. how's your visit? your kid is in nursery next yr too? -
Hi
What’s the environment like at cck? Me gog down on tuesday to take a look. Heard no aircon. -
drumstick,
i actually still prefer landed property based CC for my son, more spacious for them to move ard. my visit was to survey the area today. -
My son is 5.5 years old. He is quiet and shy in a class setting. To encourage him to speak up more, is it better to try mix-aged montessori class or the conventional class (all same age group but 10 ~ 15 students) setting? He’ll be in K2 next year.
Thanks! -
Dear Buds!
Thank you for the replies. :thankyou: Now i have a better idea on how to guide my gal along.
The thread post seems too long hence i'm replying in a fresh post in case you wonder why...
Yup! I am the one who taught my gal the letter sounds.:oops:
My gal is in a montessori school and yes the teacher only teaches phonics to them. She assures me that they reinforces letter names to the child by saying: 'c-uh' is the sound of c as in 'cee'. Guess i'm too ks and kan cheong right :oops:
Yup! i'm reading up on the book Basic Montessori which gave me lotsa heads up on activities which i can do but did not. so these are going to keep us busy for quite some time.
Update on my gal, she is now starting to accept the letter names after i tried a few methods and found that singing the simplest abc song catches her interest most. so now she know letter c, b, g.
One thing i observed lately is that she would occasionally sound the letters she sees around her like the vehicles on the road, books in her hands, on paper carriers etc. This led me into thinking if i should introduce more sounds like 'ee', 'oo', 'ue' etc to her? Can you offer some viewpoints? kam siah -
Hi Joeyz18
I’m also staying in BP. I visited CCK branch last Sat. The place is clean, spacious, non aircon and kids have water play outside near lift area. Hubby complained a bit far and morning always jam on the way there.
Heard from the teacher, the current CC has changed 3 management. Can’t really remember the name. Teacher speaks good English.
My DD will be in Pre-Nursery and DS in PG next year. Currently, waiting for Jelapang branch to get back to me on the vacancy. -
chatelaine,
my boy is bron in 2008, same as your DD right? they might be classmates next year
i would prefer jelapang since is nearer to me. do you know where the jelapang children have their water play? i do not know cos i have not visit the jelapang branch yet and was told no more vancany til next yr and I am on their waiting list right now. you also in their waiting list? you prefer which one after visitng? -
soomum:
I just want to assure you that there shouldn't be any drastic problemDear Buds! Thank you for the replies. :thankyou:
Now i have a better idea on how to guide my gal along.
with your girl's situation as of now. I'm sure your daughter is in good
hands... yours and the teachers in her school.soomum:
It's ok. I prefer it like this. It's neater.The thread post seems too long hence i'm replying in a fresh post in case you wonder why...
soomum:
Yes, some do. It's good that you shared your doubts with the teachersYup! I am the one who taught my gal the letter sounds.:oops: My gal is in a montessori school and yes the teacher only teaches phonics to them. She assures me that they reinforces letter names to the child by saying: 'c-uh' is the sound of c as in 'cee'.
as they have now helped to clear any doubts you may have had.soomum:
Most 1st time parents are like you... :hugs:Guess i'm too ks and kan cheong right :oops:
:lol: It's a normal phase, sweetie.. :lol:
Patient teachers are always at hand to guide parents along, especially
those who are ever so willing to learn how to guide their children at home.soomum:
Well, sometimes the best place to look is to begin from the easiest.Yup! i'm reading up on the book Basic Montessori which gave me lotsa heads up on activities which i can do but did not. so these are going to keep us busy for quite some time. Update on my gal, she is now starting to accept the letter names after i tried a few methods and found that singing the simplest abc song catches her interest most. so now she know letter c, b, g.
soomum:
This is fantastic! :celebrate:One thing i observed lately is that she would occasionally sound the letters she sees around her like the vehicles on the road, books in her hands, on paper carriers etc.
This just goes to show she has the ear for phonetic sounds.soomum:
Try not to introduce extra sounds (especially not combination soundsThis led me into thinking if i should introduce more sounds like 'ee', 'oo', 'ue' etc to her? Can you offer some viewpoints? kam siah
like those you have posted above) apart from what the teacher is
currently teaching.. The phonograms are in green scheme.
If you read up more on the Montessori Phonics method, there are 3 colour
schemes in Montessori Phonics. Pink being the 1st level where introduction
to single letter sounds and coverage of 3 letter phonetic words are being
covered. Next is blue scheme, where the blends (double/triple
consonant blends) are being introduced and finally the green scheme
where the phonograms will be introduced..
So in short, if you were planning to teach the above sounds you posted
above, then you are going way too far... Even our enrichment students
take almost a year to get there. :shock: So... you do have to be careful
of the pace you're taking to teach her... so as to avoid confusing her all
over again. For example, if she now knows the letter e : as \"eeee\" and
that it also makes the sound \"eh\"... if you were to introduce and show
her /ee/... which makes the same \"eeee\" sound....ermmm...
.... i
would not recommend you go there yet, if you know what i mean.. :scared:
In your excitement to teach your girl, try not to delve to far beyond what
you have now just finally begun to grasp from the methodology.
Sometimes, slow & steady DOES win the race.
Parents must also understand there is still such a thing as age-appropriate
learning pace. Go easy, yeah? She is doing very well as it seems... just
for now, your support is required as a double up to what the school is
doing.
You can do extension activities with her at home to complement and
strengthen the concepts that the school is teaching her at the moment.
Apart from the reinforment of activities, also do try to borrow more lively
picture books that promotes rhyme and song as these are extremely
great for pink scheme enforcement.
You may also want her to listen to audio CDs that have nice catchy
rhyming in them as well. Young children can absorb a lotta input from
listening to music and cheerful catchy music keeps their tongues wagging
(those rhyming words).
If you haven't already gotten the Ants On The Apple Songbook + CD, you
may consider getting one for her. Do ask if your daughter's school sells
them so you have less hassle of ordering it. Of course you can always get
them easily online here too.. > http://r2learntoys.com/31-Ants-on-the-Apple-Song-book-and-CD.html
I do not recall it being that pricey though.. ... for i got mine for less than
the amount sold on this webbie. Nevertheless, it is a good buy.
Another suggestion is that you can also encourage her to read sight word
books with you.. I have posted a few over at this thread. >http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3082&highlight=thematic+readers.
I have a few more other collections to share as well.
Alternatively, there are also a gazillion phonics readers out there in the market as well. :celebrate:
You may again find out which ones the school is using and see if they are able to lend it to parents.
I know of some schs that practice loan of books from their school library.
In the meantime, have fun with your daughter, yah? :love:
Regards, buds.
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