Practical Life activities are the foundation of the Montessori Method developed by Dr. Maria Montessori over 100 years ago. They were then and they are now of greatest importance in assisting a child to reach his/her full potential in an Early Childhood Educational Montessori Program. For this reason we place a strong emphasis on the Practical Life areas of our individual indoor and outdoor classrooms at Children's House.
Children want to copy or do what they see the adults in their lives doing. This is why your child probably asks you over and over again if he/she can help you wash the car, do the dishes, try on your shoes or clothes, help you cook, dress themselves, etc. Maria Montessori said, “Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.”
I have always loved the ideas and creativity behind the Practical Life area of the Montessori Classroom because it allows the child to actually "do" an activity they want to "imitate" rather than just "pretend". For this reason, we do not have play kitchens, or make believe areas in our classrooms. Instead, we have areas and materials that are designed for small bodies and hands so that the children can practice skills that they are excited to do, like washing dishes in a child-sized sink, or preparing their own snack, polishing silver, rocks or shoes, pouring liquids or dry items, completing cooking projects following sequenced cards, cleaning up spills or accidents using child sized brooms or mops, planting seeds in the garden,etc.
Although the components of the Montessori Practical Life curriculum are numerous, it can be broken down fairly easily this way:
First, Practical Life teaches children care for themselves and care for their environment thus giving them a sense of independence, self confidence and order. What child doesn't say, "Help me do it by myself" :)
Second, it helps to develop much needed social skills and community. “Through practical life exercises of this sort the children develop a true ‘social feeling,’ for they are working in the environment of the community in which they live” - Maria Montessori
Finally, Practical Life exercises assists the young child in the development of their fine and gross motor skills, allowing for better eye/hand coordination and overall balance. It is also an indirect preparation for more difficult skills that will be needed later on for activities and exercises that are more complex and require deeper levels of concentration.
Because Practical Life activities are so instrumental in helping to develop a strong foundation for each individual child, if these activities are rushed or skipped a child will not be able to reach his/her full potential in a Montessori environment. In fact, "it's not until a child struggles in the other areas of the Montessori environment that the origins of the struggle can often be traced back to the lack of experience or time spent in Practical Life."
I encourage you to take a look around our school and notice all of the things our teachers have "prepared in their classroom environment" that would be considered a Practical Life activity. I am positive you will be amazed at the thoughtful preparation and the diversity of such activities. I also encourage you to notice ways that you can incorporate these daily activities and exercises into your home life with your developing and budding preschool child! Not only do Practical Life activities provide a link between home and school for our Montessori students, but they also provide a foundation for life-long love of learning.
Here are some great photos of Practical Life shelf work and some children completing Practical Life activities.
dry transferring shelf
Hand-washing Table
Polishing work
Rock Polishing
Silver Polishing
Table Washing
Liquid Transferring Shelf
Preparing a Snack
Pouring Liquids
Spooning & Tonging transfer work
Flower Arranging
Using droppers
Threading
Snack Table
I hope this information has been helpful!
Barbara
