Primary children are eagerly acquiring language, both in size of vocabulary and complexity of expression. The Sandpaper Letters allow the child to learn the sounds and shapes of the letters of the alphabet, tracing the shapes using the same hand movements they will later use to write. Older children choose letters from the Moveable Alphabet to "write" their own stories, even before their hands are able to easily direct a pencil. Children are eager to express themselves, and often find through writing their own sentences that they are suddenly and spontaneously able to read their own compositions—and others'. Montessori-educated children routinely enter first grade as fully competent readers and writers.