Montessori: Practical Life

In this stage, the children are taught how to take care of themselves and put things away in an orderly manner. They will learn the basic skills to function in society. We will work on manners by role-playing. Your child will learn to respect each other and their space. They will learn the classroom rules and build their self-esteem. Maria Montessori referred to this time as Normalization.

Listed are some of the activities in the practical life areas:

Dressing Frames

They will learn how to button, zip, buckle, and tie to create independence and build their self-esteem as they master the frames. The dressing frames will also develop their fine motor skills needed for printing later.

Washing tables

Children will learn how to wash tables using the left to right progression that they will need for reading, scrubbing the tables will be taught in a counterclockwise motion for printing. The children will also appreciate having a clean table before having a snack or lunch.

Pouring

Children will learn how to pour liquids and dry ingredients. These activities will teach the child how to pour and also help develop their fine motor skills, and the hand-eye coordination.

Folding clothes and hanging on the drying rack

Folding clothes will help the child develop fine motor skills. It develops hand-eye coordination and by folding the clothes in halves, thirds, and quarters will help to prepare the children for later work in geometry and fractions. When they use the clothespins, they develop hand-eye coordination, and develop their fine motor skills; especially the pincer grasp needed for writing.