Our Montessori Homeschool: Preparation For Writing

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Preparation For Writing - Metal Insets

This is the first of the writing activities. Dr. Montessori analyzed the movements which are connected with writing and developed the Metal Insets to strengthen the three finger grip and coordinate the necessary wrist movements. One of the classic works in a Montessori classroom is the “metal insets”. The metal insets introduce a child to plane geometry: the child works with the rectangle, triangle, curvilinear triangle, circle, ellipse, qua trefoil, pentagon, square, trapezium and oval, to carefully outline the shape and then color it in, discovering that the triangle has three sides, a circle is round, a square has four even sides, and a pentagon has five. Work with the metal insets develops a child’s eye-hand coordination, strengthens and refines the child’s pencil grip, increase a child’s ability to concentrate, and stirs the child’s interest in design and beauty. The children can make works of art with these shapes, varying the shades, the selection of colors, the shape of the lines, even overlaying one shape upon another. It is both the process and the final product that interest the child.