Inside Escuela: Montessori Materials – The Development of Writing

“The hands help the development of the intellect. When a child is capable of using his hands, he can have a quantity of experiences in the environment through using them. In order to develop his consciousness, then his intellect, then his will, he must have exercises and experiences.”
– Dr. Maria Montessori, The 1946 London Lectures, p. 130

Through decades of observation, Dr. Montessori was able to ascertain the most natural and effective way to support writing development for young children. She recognized that the process of written expression was dual, which required the development of both the intellect and the hand. People are often surprised to learn that children in Early Childhood begin to write in cursive – and that it is a fun and rewarding experience! This joy is because writing emerges naturally as a result of careful preparation of the hand.

“The hand too, therefore, needs its own preparation. What is needed before one actually writes is to learn writing by means of interesting exercises which form a kind of gymnastics similar to those used to give agility to the muscles of the body.”
– Dr. Maria Montessori, The Formation of Man, p. 91

Writing development begins early. Children enjoy and use Practical Life activities such as cutting paper, stringing beads, sewing, or using tongs to extract seeds from a dried sunflower. All of these exercises develop fine motor coordination and hand strength. Scrubbing a table, from left to right, sets the stage for later reading and writing in the same manner. Exercises with Sensorial materials also help. When children grasp the Knobbed Cylinders or place the smallest cube on the Pink Tower, they develop a three-finger grasp necessary for holding a pencil. Dr. Montessori also discovered an ingenious way to teach writing strokes without the need for tedious handwriting exercises. By creating designs with the Metal Insets, children naturally practice the strokes they will need to write letters later. Simultaneously, they develop muscle memory by tracing the Sandpaper letters in various games as their young hands develop. These moments add up when children decide they are ready to write; their hands have been gearing up all along!

Want to learn more about the benefits of cursive handwriting? Check out this article in Psychology Today.