Montessori at Home: Spoken Language
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The Montessori environment offers a language rich environment for young children. This language rich environment reaches beyond materials on the shelf. One of the most important aspects of the prepared environment is the adult themselves. Montessori stated over and over again that the adult is a part of the child’s prepared environment and must take the appropriate measures to prepare themselves.
The adult offers one of the most important components to the language rich environment: spoken language. From the moment a child walks into a classroom, from the eye contact they are met with to hearing their name spoken correctly to lessons with the geometry cabinet and reading shelf, the adult is providing a rich spoken language experience. In the classroom, children are given implicit and explicit lessons on speaking and listening. These lessons range from grace and courtesy lessons on how to listen when someone tells a story to command games that require a keen listening ear to play the game. Spoken language is one of the foundational elements of literacy. Research supports this. Children who have a strong vocabulary show greater ease in learning to read. Speaking and listening skills are vital to a strong foundation in literacy. Here are a few ways to engage your child with rich spoken language at home:
Make songs and poems a regular part of your day.. Share simple nursery rhymes and songs from your own childhood. Children can learn new poems and songs with ease. When you introduce new songs and poems to your child, you will likely be met with delight.
Listen intently to your child’s stories without giving correction. Ask clarifying questions when they are finished.
Make mealtimes rich with conversation. Eat together at the table. Practice taking turns speaking and listening. Share stories from your day.
Take some time to learn about their interests. Do they love giraffes? Do some research and introduce them to new vocabulary. Keep it causal and conversational.
Tell true stories with a beginning, middle and ending every day. Even a simple story about your commute to work or a quick description about a bird you saw on your drive home will do. These details may seem boring, but your child will be riveted by the most mundane stories from your day.
Read. This may be obvious, but there are tremendous benefits to reading to your child. Did you know that children who are already fluent readers still reap the benefits of being read aloud to?
