WEEKEND WORK IDEAS - PRACTICAL LIFE ACTIVITIES!

While you have your students home after school and on the weekends they may love to show you how they can care for a doll by giving it a bath, transfer water to and from containers, care for a plant, and scoop and sort different materials in your home.

The purpose of the Practical Life Activities in the Montessori curriculum is two-fold: The activities are to assist the child in developing social skills and personal independence. Children will learn to respect and to take care of themselves and their environment, and to respect others.

The second purpose is to develop the child’s gross and fine motor movement that will provide the foundation for every other facet of the learning environment.

All Practical Life Activities are uniquely purposeful and calming, and may appear simple and repetitive. However, if you were to observe a child as they perform such activities, you would notice a high level of concentration; a developing sense of order (putting materials back where they belong); pride in their work; taking responsibility for any necessary cleaning; and increasing sense of independence.

Practical Life Activities are designed to encourage competencies in the following categories: Preliminary Activities; Care and Respect for Self; Care and Respect for the Environment; Social Grace and Courtesy; Fine Motor Skills; and Life Skills.

To learn more about the 5 Areas of The Montessori Classroom we invite you to visit us at 5 Areas of the Prepared Classroom.