Henry and I have started working on his writing before bedtime. It’s a delicate balance because I both want to provide him with individualized attention that helps him make academic progress, but I also don’t want to a) teach him something in a different way than he’s learning it at school, b) teach him something before he’s ready for it (in Montessori, concepts are intentionally very scaffolded and the children move from very concrete experiences to more abstract understanding), c) do too much and end up leaving him overly exhausted (I believe that children do a ton at school and should have ample time to decompress at night), d) squelch

A while back, I wrote about purchasing a five-year diary. I’ve been using it pretty consistently since March. At first it was difficult for me to remember to write in it each evening, but then I moved it to the top of my nightstand, and now it’s really easy to remember. The process literally only takes two minutes a night, but I love it. I already feel like the time with my boys is slipping by so fast, and I have a built-in way to reminisce each day. I loved bringing it on our recent vacation, so that I could capture our days.

I wish I would have started

The Montessori method is a little peculiar in that it starts with cursive as opposed to print. Henry has been working on cursive for the past two years in PK3 and PK4. He’s never been particularly interested in a lot of fine motor activities, so his writing is coming along slowly. My hope is that he has a strong command of cursive writing by the start of 1st grade (but not at the expense of loving writing). 

Here are the things we are doing to support the development of his writing: