Renewing Interest in the Moveable Alphabet

The Moveable Alphabet is an important piece of Montessori material!  It supports the child in the act of 'writing' before their hand is ready to physically write letters.  It also supports the child in the skill of encoding, building words from their mind, which will bridge the way to decoding text in reading. 

This is a material that can not be rushed because of its developmental benefits!  Please, please keep the child working with that box until you see them spontaneously trying to read the words on the rug (never ask them to read what they wrote) or other text in the environment. So, what do you do if you have a child that still needs the Moveable Alphabet but is bored? Here are some fun ideas!

1. Key into Their Interests

• Are they a child that loves food preparation/baking? They can write ingredients of their favorite dish on the rug, they can list their favorite foods, cooking tools, types of vegetables/fruits, or different types of cuisine.
• Do they love sports? They can list their favorite players/teams, different sports, sports you play with a ball, or sports that involve running.
• Are they an animal lover? They can list their favorite animals, animals you would find in a forest/desert/jungle/ocean, animals that have fur/feather/scales, pets, or animals with two/four legs.
• Do they love construction? They can list construction vehicles, tools, or things we can build.
• Are they a child that loves video games? (Bear with me here, we are connecting the child through their interests even if those may involve some fantasy.) They can list their favorite games, favorite characters, or names of the levels.
• I think you get the idea!  Really, it is virtually endless and there is something for every child!

2. Connect with the Classroom

• List the names of the colors in the Color Tablets.
• Write the names of the shapes in the Geometry Cabinet/Leaf Cabinet or the solids in the Geometric Solds basket.
• List names of their favorite exercises.
• Write the items in their favorite Practical Life exercise.
• List continents or countries of a continent.
• Anything we can give Enrichment of Vocabulary for can become something fun to try with the Moveable Alphabet!

3. Do the Moveable Alphabet

• Sit down and do the Moveable Alphabet yourself!  Create your own list on the rug.  I guarantee the children will be fascinated to see you enjoying the work.  Often they get so excited to see the teacher doing it, that they take it out too!

4. Take a Break

• It is also okay to just take a break from the material. Sometimes that will do the trick!

Do you have a trick for renewing interest in the Moveable Alphabet?  Leave it in the comments, I would love to hear what you do!