Practical Life: Starting Off Strong
Practical life is the most important area of the Montessori primary prepared environment. Based on the
universal needs and tendencies of man and the sensitive periods of the
absorbent mind, practical life exercises form a basis for all that follows in
the classroom and in life.
The exercises are not an end in themselves, that is, their
purpose is not “cleaning a table” but are designed as an aide to life and to
help the child in the process of creating a fully functioning person adapted to
his time, culture and environment.
Practical life will lead the child to independence, both physical and
intellectual. It will increase concentration, the ability to take a task from
start to completion, and will reinforce left to right orientation, if properly
presented.
Practical life does not end with bridging to elementary. . The Montessori elementary Practical Life curriculum is a continuation of the practical life skills presented and practiced in the primary classroom. Skills pertaining to care of self, care of environment and living things, along with grace and courtesy are still important; however, these activities now begin to take the children outside of the classroom and into the greater community. While the activities may change, these skills are just as important in the lower and upper elementary, middle school, and even high school years.
The exercises in Practical Life also serve an important social purpose. Children become more self aware which helps them develop empathy and sensitivity to others. It is because of this greater sensitivity to others that community service projects are a big part of the upper elementary Practical Life curriculum. Additionally, Practical Life activities help foster self-discipline, self-reliance as well as teaching children how to concentrate and cooperate.
Some of the following information applies more to the 3-6 year old student, however the basic concepts remain consistent throughout childhood and even into teen and adult years.
There are several essential points at the base of the
practical life work. Every child has a
need to adapt and orient himself to his culture and environment. Practical life exercises are everyday
activities, which the child may see at home.
Properly prepared and presented they become a bridge between home and
school. The work must be based on
reality, for it is only through reality that the child can be secure and become
oriented to his world. Practical life
activities must be pertinent to the child’s own culture in order for them to
function as an aide to adaptation. All
practical life lessons involve movement. The four areas of practical life are: care of the person, care of the environment,
grace and courtesy and control of movement.
The child needs opportunities to work in all four segments of practical
life.
Another basic need of the child is to develop and coordinate
his movements. In order to achieve this
goal he must be free to move and to repeat his work. Respect for the child’s own developmental
timetable and providing opportunities to repeat and prefect are essential.
The work must be in absolute order, color coordinated,
without flaws, and perfectly clean at the beginning of each day. This presentation of beautiful work calls the
child to use the materials with care and interest. Only then can the child benefit from the
work.
Care must be taken to use natural materials as much as
possible. Glass, wood, lovely fabrics,
pictures and items from nature speak to the soul of the child in a way that
artificial materials cannot. Honor the
life of the child by bringing beauty into his life.
Every child has an innate need to achieve independence. This acquisition begins at home and continues
in the Montessori classroom.
To foster this development the child must have certain
freedoms in his school. He must have the
right to choose his own work, based on knowledge, the right to work at his own
pace, to repeat as often and as long as he wishes, and to move and speak as
long as he does not interfere with others.
Objects and furniture must be child sized to allow in independence to
move them about. Pictures are at the
child’s eye level. Exercises are set up
to allow success (clean, complete, attractive, color coded).
Every child has a need for order, which is one of the
longest sensitive periods, from birth to age 6.
Order in the physical environment creates internal order in the
mind. Order is essential for logical,
sequential thought, so all practical life work is based on order with
sequence. Materials are set out in order
of use, from left to right. The work is
always in the same place in the environment.
Other basic needs of all children are movement and repetition
to achieve perfection. All practical
life exercises must allow for motor activity and repetition. For example, a teacher should not limit how
many times a child can feed the birds, or scrub a table.
There are four types of exercises concerning movement in the
practical life environment:
1. Preliminary
exercises: this work prepares the child
for life in the class by giving the necessary skills to move without disturbing others or the environment. All exercises must allow for repetition so
the child may perfect the skills. Each
lesson is an isolation of one difficulty, for example, carrying a
tray. Remember that these lessons are
removed from the environment when every child has mastered the skill.
2. Exercises
for control of movement: This work
involves the whole body. Many of these
gross motor exercises are done while walking on the line.
3. Exercises
for movement of hands. This work always
progresses from very simple to complex.
For example the dressing frames are presented easiest (large buttons) to
most complex (pinning).
4. Exercises
for inhibition of movement: this work is
a point of arrival for the child. When
he can do the silence game he becomes aware of this control over his own body
and that he can consciously inhibit (control) his movements.
The environment is critical in the fulfilling of these
needs. Chipped, dirty and incomplete
work distracts the child from the purpose of the work, and in fact, he will
usually not even attempt to use it. Water must be readily available and
supplies ready for cleaning up spills and preparing work for the next
person. The child should not need to ask
an adult for supplies.
Adults in the environment must present lessons in a quiet,
consistent manner, must monitor the classroom for flaws, and must be
continually observant of the child and focus on him as a whole being with mind
and body growing together. The teacher’s
delight in the practical life area of the Montessori classroom will result in
children who are adapted to the environment, are growing toward independence,
have a strong sense of order and are cooperative members of the school
community. Without this essential base,
the work of the child to create himself cannot go forward.
During parent conferences and meetings, encouraging families
to incorporate these activities into their daily life will help the child to
have a sense of belonging and worth.
True self esteem does not come from praise but from meaningful work done
with a sense of joy and purpose. This is
a good time to talk to parents about phrases such as "I have to go wash
the car." or "I wish I didn't
have to work." How often we express
dislike for our jobs and how seldom we talk about the pleasure of making our
homes beautiful and a haven for our families.
Our different the message is when we say: "Work is going to be hard
today, but I am excited about the challenge." or "The car will look so beautiful after
we wash it."
Our own attitude toward work is important as we model the
characteristics we hope to instill in our students!
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