The Montessori Moveable Alphabet
Although small letters that can be physically manipulated to practice spelling are pretty standard stuff nowadays, a hundred years ago, it was a novel concept. One that allowed Dr. Montessori to teach spelling/composing to children who were not yet writing, which was also novel.
For a parent who would like to use the Montessori Method for teaching phonics/reading to their child, the marketplace can be a bit confusing. An alphabet set is an alphabet set – or is it? When I began homeschooling my grandson after teaching in the classroom for ten years, I splurged. I already had a moveable alphabet, but I bought a second one (and not a cheap one…!). Let me share with you what I bought and why. (Full disclosure – I am not being paid in any way for this, nor should you consider this an endorsement. I simply want you to understand some of the considerations to think about when deciding on an alphabet set.)
I bought the small print red/blue alphabet in the configured box from Alison’s Montessori. It was $200 with shipping. Ouch! I also bought a lined alphabet mat from Amazon. I had not had either of these in my classroom, but experience with other materials had taught me a few things and I believe the gamble has paid off. Here are some things that I like about it:
1. I love the configured box. Most Montessori boxes come with square-ish compartments into which each letter fits, but there is enough space that each compartment gets jumbled and it is impossible to make out the shape of each letter. (I have seen this with non-Montessori alphabets, as well.) Not a big deal if you are an adult and know where each of the letters is, but if you are three years old it is a huge impediment. When I worked with 3-year-olds in my classroom, I used smaller letter tiles that were rectangular because they fit cleanly in their compartments and the young child was able to clearly see the letter shapes printed on the tiles. I did not move students to the Montessori alphabet until they were four and (fairly) comfortable with where to find letters ordinally. Not the case with the configured box! Now, in a homeschool setting you have a better chance of unjumbling compartments and having them stay organized enough that it may not be a problem, but something to remember when working with your child.
2. I like the print font. When I started teaching, I was using D’Nealian as a pre-cursive solution. My first moveable alphabet is D’Nealian. However, as I was warned, it turned out to be highly problematic because of the “l” and the “i.” They are simply too pronounced for the young child. There are also some beautiful cursive moveable alphabets, if that is the way you choose to go. I actually do really like the Sassoon font that Alison’s also has. The point is, think carefully about the font that is used.
3. I like that it includes a “silent e.” This material includes 5 addition “e” letters in a clear acrylic to be used as a silent “e.” I taught for ten years without it, but am excited to teach with it. Very concrete.
4. The letters are a good thickness. I wish I could give you measurements – I checked, and most alphabet sets do not include thickness in their product details. I know in the classroom we ran into sets occasionally that were way too thin, and they were constantly breaking. Probably a little bit of getting what you pay for, but unfortunate because they were not repairable. I know that I have used alphabets from different manufacturers that were a good thickness, so it is not just Alison’s or this set, but something to consider when you open the box…
Of course, there are some things I wish were different, as well. I guess you could call them cons, but things that I will have to find work-arounds for.
1. The box is heavy for a young child. Additionally, we typically place the lid underneath the box when it is open, which protects the lid from damage and helps contain space. Although the lid fits beautifully under the tray, only an adult can lift the tray up from the lid because there really isn’t a lip to grab onto. It takes away from the child’s independence during clean-up.
2. The set offers 10 letters for each of the vowels (+5 silent e), but only 5 letters for each of the consonants. In a compartmentalized box, I could grab a few extra letters from other sets and add them because there was room for more than five, but not possible for a configured box. This can be an issue when working with double consonants like l, s, f, z. Plus, I don’t know how often I would need 10 u’s at the same time?
Both of these issues would be considerable in a classroom, but less so in a homeschool setting where I have the luxury of fewer constant adjustments.
Of course, there are plastic alphabet sets. I have also seen non-Montessori alphabet sets that are made from foam and/or are magnetic. There are also so many varieties of tiled sets. Tiles are nice as your child progresses, because they often include letter combinations like vowel teams (“-ai-,” “-oo-”) or digraphs (“th,” “sh”) to help teach phoneme/grapheme correspondence with multiple letters.
So, what should you look for?
1. Are they upper-case or lower-case? ONLY BUY LOWER-CASE. Don’t buy all upper-case alphabet sets, it will be counter-productive. (How many upper-case letters are there in this article? How many lower-case?)
2. How many of each letter do you get? If it is only five, okay, but maybe you need to buy a second set?
3. Do you like the shapes of the letters? Try to avoid to bubbly – they should mimic as closely as possible what letters written with a pencil by the child will look like (not too thick).
4. What sort of font does your printed phonics material use? Is it close enough that it won’t confuse your child? (print vs. cursive letter “k”)
5. What sort of storage container do they come with? Will it be easy for a child to see the letter shape? (Maybe letters are jumbled, but there is a sticker on the front of the box with the letter?) Does it close?
6. Is there some sort of lined surface (mat, board, etc.) on which you can place the letters for activities? (May have to be purchased separately.)
7. Colors. Traditional Montessori sets typically have vowels a different color from consonants – which can come in handy. But it is not always necessary. Think about what you want/need. I would avoid randomly rainbow-colored letters, however, as it might be distracting.
8. How much does it cost? Nothing wrong with having a budget and sticking to it!
Hopefully I have been able to give you some things to think about that will give you some confidence in choosing your alphabet and not simply overwhelmed you! There are many cost-effective options out there, so shop around and read customer reviews. Remember, sometimes a name-brand is just a name and sometimes you get what you pay for, so remember to check return policies before you buy.