What literacy resources do you have for Infants/Toddlers?

language tips for infants and toddlers

Question

Do you have any resources you would recommend for Early Literacy for I/T?

Answer

Yes! The time from birth to age three is the most important time for children to become literate and learn their native tongue (and a few others while they're at it). Here are a few simple things we can do to support language development at this stage:

      September 11, 2023 by Maitri Admin

      How do I print your teacher manuals? How many pages are in each?

      printing maitri digital filesQuestion

      Would you be able to tell us how many pages it would take to print the manuals (so I can estimate our print costs)? Also, we don’t have a home printer and would have to use a friend’s printer or a library printer. Is this possible?

      Answer

      These are great questions. Thank you for asking!

      September 09, 2023 by Maitri Admin

      Control Charts for Word Study?

      word studyQuestion:

      Why don't all of the Word Study materials include control charts?

      Answer:

      People ask all the time if we are going to add control charts for all of our word study materials. The answer is, we don't need to! Why? Because the control of error is built in on the activities that don't already have a control chart. Let me explain what I mean.

      July 31, 2023 by Julia Volkman

      Which pouches for which cards?

      Question:

      My school purchased a bunch of cloth pouches from you and I'm not sure which cards are supposed to go in which pouch. Can you help?

      Answer:

      We have a custom-cloth pouch for almost every card we make. Here's a quick overview of which pouches are used for which cards. We'll go from smallest to largest.

      June 20, 2023 by Julia Volkman

      Toilet learning

      toileting question

      Question

      When should I stop using diapers?

      Answer

      In our culture, we tend to wait a long time before we start helping children learn to use the toilet. But the truth is that physiologically, the child is ready to start toileting independently somewhere around 18 to 24 months of age. You'll know the time is right because all of a sudden they will start holding it and then letting it out all at once later on. 

      April 29, 2023 by Julia Volkman

      Moving and need to find a new school

      finding a school

      Question

      We are moving. How do I find a great Montessori school in our new location?

      Answer

      There are three main routes I can recommend to help you find a school. First, just do an internet search for Montessori School near your new local. Get familiar with the names of the schools that exist. If there are none, maybe you should start one!

      Next, ask around. A school's reputation means a lot and asking people who already live there (the librarian, your realtor, etc.) can give you a lot of information.

      Third, go to the website for the Montessori association in that area.

      March 20, 2023 by Maitri Admin

      What do we offer our four-year-old who is starting to read?

      Question

      My son is four and understands the sound form of alphabets. He can also read simple three letter words. But we want to increase his reading abilities. What is a good way to start?

      Answer

      Excellent question. You can expand the phonetic words he's able to read with our phonetic reading cards (level 1 and level 2) and phonetic activity cards

      If he doesn't know his phonograms/key sounds yet, you can introduce the phonogram alphabet. Once he knows those, encourage him to phonetically spell any word he wants by using the phonogram alphabet alongside the traditional movable alphabet. It is this practice building words and expressing their own ideas that really helps children love language. From there you can,... 

      March 05, 2023 by Julia Volkman

      Wedding Photos in Geography Cards

      Question:

      I'm wondering if you are aware that all of your 'wedding' photos in geography folder set 2 are heteronormative. If you have plans to adjust that I would love to hear about it. I felt the need to remove that theme from my folders. Otherwise I think the set is great! Thank you so much.

      Answer:

      Thank you for reaching out about this. We put a tremendous effort into choosing equitable photos for all of our geography cards. As you can guess, this was no easy undertaking! It took three years and many reviews with teacher trainers to iron-out the themes and photos that present an accurate portrait of cultures and people around the world. For each continent, we tried to represent proportionally the peoples on that continent. We were definitely not able to cover all of the gorgeous variety that makes up all of humanity. We did our best and hope that these cards are a starting point for greater conversations about the issue you raise.
      February 27, 2023 by Julia Volkman

      Which phonograms should be in the phonogram folders?

      Question:

      phonograms

      I just bought two sets of phonogram booklets at our AMI/USA refresher. We love them! I'm wondering if you've ever made "sh" and "ch" and if it would be possible to have those two added to the set? Thoughts?

      Answer:

      Hooray! I'm glad they're working well for you! We intentionally don't include the sh or ch because the phonogram folders are meant to teach spelling variations, not phonograms. And yes, sh is also spelled with the ti(on) and ci(on) variations. However, those are not in Muriel Dwyer's book and it's not necessary to teach every spelling variation, just enough so we give the child confidence that they can crack the code on the rest.

      February 22, 2023 by Julia Volkman

      Which phonograms are the right phonograms?

      Questionphonograms in montessori

      I purchased the Nienhuis montessori cursive sandpaper letters. The set includes 17 letters. It does not include the "ng" sound but does include : "er" "wh" and "au". Which one's do I need?

      Also, do you ever offer multiple sounds, like the way "g" can be both "guh and juh" or do you just stick to one sound? I've wondered this, particularly with many of the vowels. I should also teach "y" as making the sound "ee" because we also have "oy" that makes the alternate sound, right?

      November 29, 2022 by Julia Volkman