More words are phonetic than just CVC words - consonant-vowel-consonant (like cat, bat, hit, bit, sit, rot, and the like). We don't need to limit the children to such words.
"Pumpkin" is phonetic - technically, so is the word "phonetic".
In Montessori, with the approach that Montessori herself discovered with the children, that Muriel Dwyer summarized in her booklet on the exploration of reading and writing with children, and that AMI and others still teach in their training programs, the children are given 40-44 "keys" to their English language (the number varies in other languages), through playing sound games thoroughly,
then they learn the written representation of those sounds through the sandpaper letters (individual letters on pink/blue backgrounds according to vowel or consonant; double/triple letters on green background - taught all together, not all individuals then all double/triple - and in cursive so the children know the entire *sound*)...
Now the children have all that they need to WRITE (an easier task than reading) - they write with the movable alphabet, while their hands are continuing to strengthen and develop writing skills with the sensorial materials, the metal insets and more. And then can write their OWN ideas. They don't need pictures or objects or adult lists of words to create. They can write what they want.
Because they have been given the keys they need. And only the keys they need, include time to explore their own interests and have LOTS of real life experiences that they want to write about. To explore, to learn --- and to one day, on their own, to discover for themselves:
they can READ!
This was Montessori's experience - and this is the experience of all those who follow in her footsteps - provide the keys, follow the child's genuine needs/interests with lots of real life experiences - and observe.
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