A girl matching miniature objects to the sandpaper letter that starts with its phonetical sound. Montessori language miniatures are an easy DIY pink language work that can be made at home.

Montessori Language for Beginners

Posted on by Charity

Reading

Montessori language curriculum is not like the reading and writing education that you had in school growing up. It is very unique and is set up in a way that is scientifically based and pairs well with childhood development. For example, Montessori children learn sounds of letters before learning the names of the letters. Memorizing names of letters in a specific order (A, B, C…) is probably one of the first things you remember learning as a child. However, learning the sounds the letter makes first by matching it with a small object that makes the sound has more meaning for the child. It also prepares them for reading sooner because they already understand the phonetics that each letter represents and can sound words out.

Writing

Another difference you will notice is that many Montessori schools start with cursive writing first. If you think about it, cursive is actually easier for a child to learn because you always start from the bottom left when starting each letter. Once they know cursive, learning print is fairly straight forward. Montessori is also unique in that the letters are usually presented to a child in groups that have similar shapes (cursive e and cursive l both make loops, or if learning print, e and z start by making horizonal lines) instead of their order in the alphabet. You can learn more from these great online resources listed below.

Pink, Blue, and Green

In the Montessori language education, children progress through levels starting with pre-reading skills. After a child masters pre-reading skills then they move on to the pink, then blue, and finally the green level. Grammar is the final level. Carrots are Orange explains Montessori Language very well.

Your Ultimate Guide to Montessori Language

Learn more from these sites!

The Montessori Pink Series – By OurMontessoriHome.com

Teaching Consonant Blends with the Montessori Blue Series – By MOMtessoriLife.com

Building Blends, Phonograms, and Diagraphs – By MOMtessoriLife.com

Farm Box – By Wikisori.org

The Farm Lesson – By Montessori Institute of Broward

Not-Boring Grammar: Nouns are Names – By BranchtoBloom.com

Montessori Grammar without the worksheets! – By Rebecca Higham Inquisitive Instructor

Examples of Montessori Language Works

Pre-Writing

Home made colorful wooden dice game. One dice has 6 colors and the other has 6 different patterns/shapes. Children roll both dice and draw what the dice tell them to. Activity is attributed to Les p'tits loup.
Fine motor activity from Les p’tits loup
Colorful paper with outlined Matisse style irregular shapes. Montessori activity includes push pin and cork board used to punch holes along outline of the shape.
Matisse Pin Punching Activity by Little Spark Company
Child tracing pink Montessori cursive sandpaper letter Y with 2 fingers. Box of blue and pink sandpaper letters included.
By Daria Kolpakova from Getty Images
  • Metal insets (trace inside the stencil then trace around the shape)
  • Pin poking/punching
  • Sandpaper letters
  • Copying letters on a chalkboard or sand tray
  • Transfer works (Example: using small dropper to transfer liquid)
  • Knobbed puzzles/cylinders
  • Dressing frames (Example: buttoning a shirt)
  • Copying letters on a chalkboard or sand tray
  • Drawing or painting
  • Weaving

Pre-Reading

Wooden tray with several miniature objects that start with "N" such as nurse uniform, Neptune, nut, nickel, nest, and nine. Includes natural textural objects such as a real walnut shell, cloth nurse scrub top, and metal nickel coin.
By Charity Candage
Child making patterns on Montessori mat using natural materials such as stones, sticks, shells, moss, and wood.
By Charity Candage
Basket with a Goldilocks book with miniature toys that go along with the story such as 3 different sized bears, beds, chairs, and porridge bowls. Includes a golden haired doll to represent Goldilocks. The basket activity allows the child to tell the story with the objects in their own words.
By The Imagination Tree
  • Pink tower (or other sequencing sensorial activities)
  • Storytelling baskets
  • Rhyming activities
  • I spy sound games
  • Classification and sorting activities
  • Identifying shapes
  • Pattern activities (including including blue and red number rods and other math and sensorial activities)

Pink Series

Montessori phonetic reading blocks. Learn to read. Phonic educational toy for beginning readers.
By Quality Montessori Store
A girl matching miniature objects to the sandpaper letter that starts with its phonetical sound. Montessori language miniatures are an easy DIY pink language work that can be made at home.
By Charity Candage
Girl using Montessori movable alphabet with red consonants and blue vowels. Girl is sounding out word that she built and matched to a picture. Activity includes 3 part cards.
By Charity Candage
  • Language miniatures (also called language littles, objects, trinkets) with 3 period lessons
  • Matching pictures with their beginning phonetic sound
  • Miniatures and CVC word matching
  • Three part cards with CVC words
  • Wooden phonetic CVC spin-and-read blocks
  • Movable alphabet and mixed vowel miniatures/pictures
  • Copying words on chalkboard or wide lined paper
  • Command strips
  • Beginning reader books

Blue Series

Bob Books Beginning Reader set. 9 Small books with simple words and sentences.
BOB Books Beginning Readers Set 1
Download from Little Spark Company that includes lined paper that is for the Montessori Blue Series. Nature photograph is at the top with area below for writing.
By Little Spark Company
Green Montessori sandpaper consonant blend letters with wooden box.
By Kid Advance Store
  • 3 period lessons with consonant blends
  • Three part cards with consonant blended words (with short vowel)
  • Moveable alphabet and consonant blended words
  • Copying words on chalkboard and more narrow lined paper
  • Beginning reader books (progress as child is able)

Green Series

  • 3 period lessons with blends, phonograms, and digraphs
  • Three part cards
  • Moveable alphabet
  • Copying words on even more narrow lined paper
  • Beginning reader books (progress as child is able)
Three notebooks that say "My Pink Cursive Notebook" on the cover which are each pink, blue or green. Each notebook has lined paper for cursive writing.
By Little Spark Company
Child using noun and article cards to arrange the phrase.
By Branch To Bloom
Box containing Montessori Grammar Farm materials including small color coded boxes for nouns, verbs, articles, and adjectives. Also included are small figurines such as farm animals and objects.
By Evenspor Design on Etsy

Grammar

  • Grammar farm
  • 3D noun pyramid and verb sphere
  • Montessori grammar symbol set
  • Grammar filling, sorting and command boxes
  • Story book called, The Land of the Parts of Speech