Montessori Childrens House
of the west coast

Birth to Six: A Sensitive Period for Language

Posted on Friday, October 24, 2008

Children from birth to about age six are in their Sensitive Period for language. This means that the brain is sensitive to language input, and the language portion of the brain is rapidly forming neurological connections or engrams that will form the basis of the child’s concept of and skill with language.  Learning during this period is effortless and children absorb information like sponges hence, the Montessori name for this period – The Absorbent Mind.  In the Montessori classroom we make every effort to maximize exposure children to language in every form.  At home there are a few key activities parents can do to maximize this special time for learning language:

· Read to your child at every opportunity.  Try to read to them books that deal with real life characters and situations.  Children at this age are avidly interested in the real world around them and most important can not differentiate between what is real and what is fantasy.

· Model for your child reading by you reading, books, magazines and newspapers while they are in the environment.  Research has shown that children of parents who read grow to be avid early readers themselves.

· Tell stories – Sara Armstrong in Snapshots says, “By story I mean an offering through words (written or spoken) that conveys personal information about an experience.” Conversations around the dinner table about daily events (stories) are a good way to share language.  Family stories at gatherings and celebrations are also of interest to children.  I remember fondly as a child, listening to my grandparents tell stories at Thanksgiving or family reunions about my parents or other family members.  These “family stories” also give a child a keen sense of family history much like their birthday walk at school.

· Use appropriate simple language when speaking to your child.  Use accurate words to name things in the environment and to describe events.  Try to avoid baby talk or euphemisms.

· Encourage home activities that strengthen the hand in preparation for writing: puzzles, sewing, gardening, cooking, working with clay, cleaning, finger-painting etc.

· Introduce your child to sounds of the letters by playing “I Spy” (I spy with my little eye something that begins with the sound “cuh”… cup!).  Please use the sound that the letter makes rather than the name.  This avoids confusion when the child is decoding words in the beginning of the reading process.  Later after mastering the sounds of the letter and the decoding process do we give them the letter name. A sheet with the letter sounds we use is available in the office.

As always, the teachers and I are available to answer your questions and guide you through activities.  Enjoy!!!!!