Prepping for Montessori Reading at Home 6-9

You guys. This year I promised myself I would take a longer break after the end of our school year and while I did that… I didn’t get everything prepped ahead of time like I wanted. I am back to schooling and prepping. Still planning as well… although I have mostly wrapped that up for my 3 and 6 year olds. I think. Getting close!

There is quite a bit of overlap between the 3-6 classroom and the 6-9 classroom. Especially in the areas of Language and Mathematics. You also can’t really separate reading fully from penmanship, writing, and spelling so there will be some overlap between the two here.

In our home, we are following the AMI language sequence for Language. To implement this at a high level we are using Dwyer’s pamphlet to refine the sequence as listed here on Info Montessori. This is our main album for 3-6 and like I mentioned, very much overlaps with the 6-9. Most children do not finish this sequence before 2nd or 3rd grade at the earliest. Our main album for 6-9 is the Timeline by Mainly Montessori. I go through our full approach for both reading and writing in these two articles if you want to look through them: Our Language Sequence for Early Reading (mostly) & Our Language Sequence for Early Writing

I am also LOVING the Science of Reading movement and find that Montessori was doing Science of Reading before Science of Reading was trendy. They go hand in hand. My resources that I am using for review or as extra practice options on the shelf are not all “Montessori” but are presented in a Montessori way and absolutely are in alignment with Montessori reading work.

Going into this school year my six year old is an early reader. She knows all of her letter sounds, some of their names, all of the upper case and lower case letters in cursive but doesn’t always recognize them all in print- especially capital letters. (We did not explicitly teach them in our home. We start with cursive). We’ve taken two months off of school and I have not required her to continue any schooling during this break. Everything she did was completely because she did it on her own. She did not choose to read much at all before this week. Because of this, I wanted to review the letters, learn their names (where needed), and learn to recognize both capital and lower case in print. We are also going to add in alphabetical order.

After this period of review and practice, we will begin Dwyer’s phonogram folders and the second set of puzzle words. I will likely overlap this with Waseca’s reading program as an option to select on her own initially. I like that the phonogram folders focus on the different ways to spell the digraphs represented in the double sandpaper letters. I *may* review these a bit before diving into the folders. I am back and forth on whether to dive in there or start with Waseca and then move into the folders. There is much that is covered in Waseca’s reading program that would be encountered in reading for her before the variations (I think). Some of it she is already doing and would be practicing/mastering. Red (CVC words), Orange (common beginning and ending consonant blends), and yellow (common digraphs) are all words she has worked with. Green, Aqua, Blue (phonograms), purple, pink, and gold are next level and somewhat overlap with the folder work. As I am typing this I am already leaning towards using the beginning of the Waseca program first and then moving into the folders? And overlapping at that point? Hmm. We shall see how we decide to roll!

In tandem with the above, we will be working through the primary grammar sequence in the summer during our review time. Once we have done the Fourth Great Lesson we will begin the key grammar experiences. I expect to do word study work as well. Here’s a little overview of the resources we are using (or may be using… we could always add to or pivot!):

Reading & Writing (early):

1. Review (Using this resource from the University of Florida plus these sweet videos from the Good and the Beautiful)
2. Phonogram Reading Cards (may review – we’ve already done these)
3. Puzzle Words Set 1
4. Waseca Reading Program (Red, Orange, Yellow)
5. Readers (already out – continue to curate our collection – ideas here)
6. Primary Grammar (may grab from Allison’s Montessori if I can)

Total Reading and Writing:

1. Readers – I am still curating our readers for this stage. I’ll make another post about those.
2. Waseca Reading Program (Green, Aqua, Blue, Purple, Pink, Gold)
3. Phonogram Folders
4. Puzzle Words Set 2 (Custom – I’ll share when completed!)
5. Phonogram Dictionary (also called spelling dictionary)
6. Secondary Grammar (Key Lessons Starting)
7. Sentence Analysis
8. Word Study

*Note: I am looking at adding extras to our shelves (My girl LOVES a variety) from:

1. Carrots are Orange freebies – I am specifically adding green phonogram word list, Consonant blends and digraphs, Green Silent E, Short Story with “fr” blend, and pink level sight word bingo to our summer shelves.
2. Sparked Literacy– decodable passages, roll and read, and the blending board (like a digital moveable alphabet – this one is one that can be chosen when everything on the work plan is complete)
3. Alison’s Montessori – looking at their sentence analysis work, word mechanics (under word study), and word study materials. I may also grab their function of words BUT I am not sure I can get it here for when I need it… I’ve been doing it by hand so far (literally writing the labels – which is great at first…) but I also may print out a set and roll for this summer. We shall see… soon. Because I need it nowish. Decisions… I am also looking at their Secondary Grammar BUT I would prefer Branch to Bloom I believe. We shall see how we roll.
4. Missy Montessori’s Intermediate Reading Bundle (maybe – would be sooner rather than later I keep talking myself out of needing it with everything else I have…)
5. Bossy E (Or Magic E) Resource from Montessori Print Shop (free download) probably for this summer or early fall

Here is the scope and sequence on Info Montessori. Here is a great overview of the Dwyer Materials from Maitri Learning. You could do all of your reading with just Dwyer and readers BUT I feel like there are a few little gaps that need practiced more intentionally for us. I will write about this eventually BUT I absolutely love Dwyer’s pamphlet. It is just not intended to be a reading program by itself. It is a summary of parts of the AMI sequence. Fabulous resource though. I personally am loving it paired with Waseca. I also am making a spreadsheet to ensure that we hit all the lessons we need to. Will share when it is ready!

Whew. I feel more organized after I took the time to type all of this out. What is your game plan for 6-9 reading?