3-Lined Pink Series Paper
For you to print
I just had to share my new three-lined writing paper with all of you! You’ll find the PDF to download at the bottom of this post.
Remember not to introduce writing before your child can use the metal insets well. It is no use having them struggle to write badly when they can properly refine their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills with the metal insets.
Our paper features Sassoon font, so it is easy to transition to cursive. If anyone would like Sassoon font cursive now, please let me know.
Regarding cursive, the main mistake Montessori schools in the US make is to use modern American cursive. Dr. Montessori used European cursive, which is much closer to print. She used this deliberately so that the transition would be smooth, there would be no confusion over the letters that the child wrote or read. She made a point of saying this and it is in one of her own publications. I’ll dig up the quote sometime.
Dr. Montessori worked closely with Nienhuis when the Nienhuis family owned the company. Sometime in the last decade or two, the family sold the company to a large conglomerate. Production moved to China, the product mix has expanded rapidly, and now it includes a pile of new products. New is not good in this situation because the products always take away from some aspect of learning. For example, the colored bead tray forms. The child is supposed to make the triangle of colored beads themselves because seeing the incremental sizing of the beads is a key part of the learning process. I’ll do another post on that.
As I searched for companies to recommend, I found Absorbent Minds UK
I like them because they carry Sasson font movable alphabet letters and sandpaper letters. At a time that I was searching for bells to recommend, I saw that they have a warning on their bells to let us know that the bells are not in tune. Of course, this means no Montessorian will buy them, so it is really good of them to have posted that warning. I gave up on inexpensive bells, by the way. My focus is now on other instruments. But it’s nice if you can afford the real Montessori bells or the tone bars. But they are expensive for home use.
I now see what you mean about the three line paper. It is definitely less confusing that having your letters overlap at the top and bottom.