“Follow the child”. – This is Maria Montessori’s philosophy.
It might be odd that a six-year-old would have a dream that she could put all the neighborhood children in one room just to play with them all day -- But that was my childhood dream.
My family moved to America, and because of the move, my early education was put on a halt. As time went on, I lost interest in reading but discovered my love for dance and decided to pursue a dance career; my family considered it a waste of time. Initially, I felt lost and hopeless, but then I began to ask the BIG question! What is this life about anyway? I knew I still needed to discover my "THING," so I embarked on my quest and furthered my education.
Fast forward to 1999, my teaching journey began. It was then I rediscovered my love for reading. I finally had zeal back in my life and devoured as many books as I could get my hands on. I could not wait to get back into the classroom to apply all I learned. I am most curious about children ≤ 5 years old. Through the Montessori program and personal research, I have learned that given the right environment and methods, they pick up skills quickly. It never ceases to amaze me when young children can put words together like "cat," "rat," "mat," etc. Teaching in public and private preschools and elementary "gifted" programs, I've discovered that not all schools are treated equally. Children from low-income families typically do not have the same opportunity or the right environment to acquire the skills afforded children of better socioeconomic status. I began to think, what could I do about this? More clarity emerged from further research -- "Follow the child," and with that, The Journey -To- Reading was born!
I have adopted the philosophy that children learn best when provided an environment and appropriate tools that accentuate their natural desire for learning. They need practical visuals and other tools their hands can touch, which activates their brain. Watching becomes reading; touching becomes writing.