Welcome To Our Fall/Winter 2000 Supplemental AMC Newsletter Page

Fall/Winter Issue

American Montessori Consulting
P.O. Box 5062
Rossmoor, CA 90720
Heidi Anne Spietz, Editor
Frances Henderson, Manager
ISSN 1084-743X
Copyright 2000
All rights reserved

Click here to visit our AMC Montessori Bookstore

To Visit Our New Primary Montessori Resource Section

Contents in Part 1 of this newsletter include:

Make Your Own Beginning Reading Books - Part I

Pages from Gabby and Her Goslings may be used by the parent as a prototype for creating additional story books for young children. You will want to review the chapters covering beginning and intermediate phonics presentations in Montessori at Home: A Complete Guide to Teaching Your Preschooler at Home Using the Montessori Method. Both books should be available from your local library. If you are unable to find these books at your local library, borrow a phonics books which includes the charts of phonograms presented in an organized fashion.

Here are some phonogram examples from From: Modern Montessori at Home© sm in smoke , smile, and smell; cl in clap, clip and clot and ew in blew, flew and new. These words all are categorized as monosyllable because they contain one syllable or one sound.

Gabby and Her Goslings contains many monosyllable words. Before using pages in this book in a lesson presentation, it is advisable that you review with your child both the short vowel and long vowel rules for monosyllable words. You'll want to make short vowel blends strips, as illustrated on page 70 of Montessori at Home. The Short Vowel Blends Exercise, missing letter exercise, phonogram exercises, movable letter exercises, and other activities mentioned throughout Montessori at Home will help prepare your child for beginning books like Gabby and Her Goslings.

Sight words such as is, are, the, and there are included in Gabby and Her Goslings. However, the majority of words follow the monosyllable short vowel sound and monosyllable long vowel sound patterns.

Repetition is important for the beginning reader. Thus, you will see many monosyllable words frequently used throughout the text of Gabby and Her Goslings. Here's a sampling: mom, her, lake, will,tells, and can. You will want to include many monosyllable words and repeat some of these words on more than one page in books you create. Notice that on page one the word Gabby is used three times. The word mom is used twice.

Click here to see Page 1

Before using pages from Gabby and Her Goslings, your child should also know the sounds for oo. You may want to use the color coding lessons mentioned on pages 73 and 74 of Montessori at Home to help your child identify the three sounds. You'll need three different colors; each color represents one of the three sounds of oo. Let's say you select the colors yellow, blue and green.

You can use colored construction paper to write rhyming words for each category. Use yellow to represent the oo phonogram for the words good and wood. The words flood and blood will represent another sound for the phonogram oo. Use blue to help your child categorize words with this second phonogram oo. The words food and zoo represent words in the third oo category. Use the color green for for words that have this phonogram pattern.

Cut the colored construction paper into the approximate size of an index card. On each of the yellow construction paper (index cards) you will write a word which corresponds with the first oo phonogram. For example, on one yellow card you will write the word look, on the second, took, on the third, hook, on the fourth good, on the fifth wood, and so on.

You will repeat this activity with the remaining oo phonograms. Using blue construction paper you will make blue index cards with words containing the oo phonograms which sound like blood or flood, and with the green construction paper you will make cards with words which sound like zoo or food.

The sentences should be short. Limit the amount of sentences to four per page for the first few pages of the story. As the story progresses, you can increase the amount of sentences to six per page. Beginning readers find a large font easy to read. The New York style, size 16 font was used for the print form of Gabby and Her Goslings. If you are printing your story by hand, be sure to print the letters to represent a size 16 font. You'll also want to allow for adequate spacing between sentences. If you are typesetting the story on your computer, be sure to include a double space between each of the sentences.

Most of the words on the initial pages of your story should be monosyllable. Look at the sentences on Page 1. Notice that the majority of the words contain one sound. Examples: goose, mom, she, good, will, go, lake, etc.

If you have a computer, you can print out your stories for your child. If you don't have access to a computer, you can print the stories on writing paper, large white index cards, or on construction paper.

You will want to use clip art, photos, or actual drawings to add interest to the story. The pictures should complement the story in some way and provide an impetus for discussion between you and your child. For example, after reading Gabby and Her Goslings, your child may have many questions about geese and their interaction with the environment.

With careful planning, you can use your books during your lesson presentations. If the contents of your book is centered around life on a farm, you could consider using the book during a lesson presentation about farming or nature. Thus, these story books can serve as adjunct to interdisciplinary learning. You will find a complete discussion about creative lesson planning and interdisciplinary learning in Montessori at Home, Modern Montessori at Home and Modern Montessori at Home II. All books should be available from your local library.

Gabby will help her babies look for food.

Gabby will look in the lake for food.

The babies will look in the lake for food.
Page 2

The babies look and look at the geese.

The geese look for food.

Gabby looks for food.
Page 4

Gabby is sad.

Her baby, Tabby, does not want to look for food.

Tabby wants to play.

Gabby tells Tabby it is time to look for food.

She tells Tabby to come back.

Tabby comes back to his mom.
Page 5

Now the babies will try to find food.

The babies will look for food.

The babies can get good food to eat.
Page 7

Click here to see some additional pages of the text with accompanying pictures.

Don't stop now! Read Part Two of the AMC Montessori Fall/Winter 2000 Part II Supplemental Newsletter See below, for other resources for your school and home classrooms.

ABC Feelings

ABC Feelings offers a wide array of socially responsible products for children, teens and adults. The distinguished Dr. Alexandra Delis-Abrams has authored two award winning books, "ABC Feelings" and "The Feelings Storybook". Alexandra's positive attitude and inspirational messages are incorporated throughout the ABC Feelings product line.

Some of the items for the younger set include: Activity/Flash Card, Lotto Game, Floor Puzzle and Feelings Postcard. The Feelings Dictionary, plus Attitudes, Beliefs and Choices and Magical Meditations audio tapes are just two of the products designed for adolescents and adults.

Some of the benefits from using the ABC Feelings products include enhancing healthy self-esteem, improving relationships, stimulating creativity and imagination through art, building and restoring values and virtues. The possibilities for using these products in a home or school setting are endless. Read more about ABC Feelings by visiting the AMC Resource Directory/ABC Feelings.

Ampersand Press

Ampersand Press offers garden stamps, wildlife stamps and a variety of science and environmental games for both the school and home learning environments. School and home educators can use the stamps to make their own classified reading cards.

The Gardening Game is an educational adventure in which children learn how to nurture a garden. Players feed the soil, plant seed, nurture the plants, have harvest festivals, and help each other through natural disasters. Playing this beautiful game is the equivalent of reading a volume on organic gardening! Move your playing piece along the garden path, on the gorgeous color game board, and take an almanac card. Almanac cards reward you for things you have done well in the garden.

KRILL - A Whale of A Game (centered around the oceanic food chain), and The Bug Game (a matching and memory game introducing players to the wilderness in their own backyard) are just two of many other games offered by this company. For additional information click here to visit AMC Resource Directory/Ampersand Press

Coyote Creek Productions

Instructional and educational videotapes produced by Coyote Creek Productions were designed to benefit children and young adults. They are widely used in public and private schools, and they can be found in hundreds of public libraries. ANIMAL SAFARI is a series of programs hosted by wildlife instructor Karla Majewski, who introduces "creature teachers" from her private zoo to inform and entertain.

In six ART LESSONS FOR CHILDREN videotapes, art teacher Donna Hugh shows students how to create beautiful works of art in various mediums, using readily available materials.

THE ENGLISH TUTOR videotapes use actors and stories to convey instruction in English grammar, teaching students of varying ages and abilities.

In STORYTELLING: LEARNING AND SHARING, teacher/storyteller Sandy Jenkins shows adults how to tell stories that enrich children's lives and enhance their learning abilities.

Read more about Coyote Creek Productions by visiting the AMC Resource Directory/Coyote Creek Productions

Don't forget to bookmark this page for your lesson planning and holiday gift giving! We hope you have a wonderful holiday.