We’ve had quite the flurry of literacy activity here lately. Silas writes and writes. He likes to write on junk mail and magazines. Sometimes it’s just scribbles, or he adds legs and marching feet to all the letters, but other times, he writes real letters. He says words really slowly, as if he’s writing them and sounding each letter, like I do when I’m showing him how letters fit together–but then I look, and it’s just a scribble, or just the first letter over and over (see above).
The other day, I scolded him (mildly) for writing on a card without asking me. Then I asked him what he had written. He said, “I copied the letters on the card.” He did–if you look closely, you can see it. “You” and “us” are particularly clear.
I’ve always heard how Montessori children learn to write before they can read and I wondered how that worked. I haven’t exactly been pursuing one method or another with him, but I think he’s on that track. It might be time to get him a movable alphabet. He expresses constant frustration at the letters magnets and foam shapes we have, which usually just have one of each letter, and thus, cannot spell “Silas” (or, for that matter, “Elisabeth.”).
Petra, meanwhile, has begun pretending to read. She also brings us books and asks us to read them to her. She doesn’t quite understand reading yet…as you can see in this video, she demanded that the cat read to her. The cat was…not interested.
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