Practical Life:
The Practical Life area of the classroom is an extension of the child’s own home environment. The Practical Life exercises lay an important foundation to the whole Montessori Method of education.
They are the simple daily activities which adults perform in their daily routines which children enjoy doing then redoing again, for them the end result does not mean as much as the actual process. Children watch their parents and other adults doing their daily tasks, they want to do these tasks also. They must be allowed to develop these exercises, for example; A child wants to button his coat but is not given the time to do so because the parent or adult is in a hurry. At D2 Montessori we allow the child time to work with all our practical life materials for as long as they child needs to.
Development occurs when a child repeats the exercise again and again because for them the process of the exercise is more important than the end result.
The Practical Life exercises are a reflection of the child’s own culture and traditions.
The materials are real and not pretend (Reality Principal). They are also easy for the child to handle. The materials used are tools and utensils found in the home.
They are the simple daily activities which adults perform in their daily routines which children enjoy doing then redoing again, for them the end result does not mean as much as the actual process. Children watch their parents and other adults doing their daily tasks, they want to do these tasks also. They must be allowed to develop these exercises, for example; A child wants to button his coat but is not given the time to do so because the parent or adult is in a hurry. At D2 Montessori we allow the child time to work with all our practical life materials for as long as they child needs to.
Development occurs when a child repeats the exercise again and again because for them the process of the exercise is more important than the end result.
The Practical Life exercises are a reflection of the child’s own culture and traditions.
The materials are real and not pretend (Reality Principal). They are also easy for the child to handle. The materials used are tools and utensils found in the home.