Montessori Monday: Magnets and Letters!

 A new collection of Magnetic and Non-Magnetic for our house, gathered by the girls.  It's got a little Valentine's theme with the box and the cookie cutter!

Why do I teach them cursive in this world of print, computers, and type?  Dr. Montessori found that cursive had gentle curved lines are a natural extension of the hand.  I tend to be a little 'old school' about Dr. Montessori's writings at my home, and lead my children by her old lectures.  Plus, there are far less letter and sound reversals (b,d,p,q,g) when the child learns the sounds with cursive first, or alongside print letters.  I have found the transition to print very easy for my girls, since they were so very interested in letter formation by the time they had a good amount of time with cursive.  Give it a shot!

"Must one begin with strokes? The logical answer is “No.” These require too much effort on the part of the child to make them. If he is to begin with the stroke, it should be the easiest thing to execute. But, if we note carefully, a straight stroke is the most difficult to make. Only an accomplished writer can fill out a page with regular strokes, whereas a person who is only moderately proficient can cover a page with presentable writing."
(Dr. Maria Montessori, 'The Discovery of the Child', Clio Press Ltd, 193)

Care of Environment:  Polishing and watering our Peace Lily and our budding Amaryllis.  They simply CANNOT wait for this plant to flower, because they know to expect the Part of Flower puzzle, cards, and booklets to come out.  Our Flower Puzzle is this exact flower!  During a New England January, flowers are few and far between.

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