A Tour of Our Classroom: Part I - Practical Life

School is out for the next two weeks, and I thought this would be the perfect time for me to give an introduction to each part of our classroom. The following is a bit theory intense, but I have provided it for anyone who is interested in learning more about the day-to-day activities in our classroom. Enjoy!

Part I - Practical Life

We wait upon children; and to serve them in this way is not less fatal than to do something that would tend to suffocate their own useful, spontaneous actions. We believe that children are like puppets. We wash them and feed them as if they were dolls. We never stop to think that a child who does not act does not know how to act, but he should act, and nature has given him all the means for learning how to act. As early as eighteen months, the child is quite capable. However, according to us, he cannot walk so we provide him with transport; he cannot work so we work for him. At the very moment of his entry into life, we give him an inferiority complex. – Maria Montessori

Practical life activities offer an opportunity for youngsters to gain independence and build new relationships. These activities are a collection of simple, ordinary tasks that aid in preparing, establishing, and maintaining order and hygiene as well as social relations with their community; they are the physical, psychological, and social foundations for everything that will happen in our classroom. The child is directed toward the goal of building concentration and coordinating the movement of the whole hand and body – especially the pincer grip. These exercises become a basis for activity and intellect. They must be real activities, for is psychologically necessary to offer opportunities for movement that has an intelligent purpose and is not pretend or fantasy based. Practical life allows the child to participate in the group and fulfill the child’s biological need to be engaged in life.

Movement should be guided by intelligence and directed by reason. Activities such as zipping, watering plants, and washing windows help children use voluntary muscles to express their personality. By interacting in his or her world, all the child’s muscles are able to develop as he or she moves, opens, shuts, and lifts. The child is not just engaged in physical education -- he or she is perfecting different movements. Thought and action come together in coordinated movements: hand/eye coordination, gross motor, equilibrium, posture, pincer grip, and crossing the middle line. The child should never be shown something easy, for effort is where we find engagement. The child's will develops through hard effort and choice - which includes learning to see an activity through.

Practical Life consists of four parts: care of self, care of environment, grace and courtesy, and movement. Transitional and preliminary activities are subsets of this area.

Transitional activities are activities such as puzzles the child has at home. These materials allow the child to work before they have been given any lessons.

Preliminary activities are activities that prepare the child for work in the classroom. Activities such as spooning, pouring, and folding help develop control, improve small movements, and help build toward real activities.

Care of Person helps builds image and self respect (dressing frames, hand washing, putting on coats and shoes). Care of Environment increases self worth by allowing the child to feel value in having something to offer. Grace and Courtesy allows the child to learn how to act in specific situations: how to make an introduction, apologize, open the door, give a present, etc. -- this part of practical life teaches actions that help the child live in harmony with others. Movement Activities, as in walking on the line and controlling one's self during the silent game, allows the mind and body to act in harmony.

 In our classroom, practical life activities are scattered about the room -- dressing frames are across from our coat hooks, sweeping and mopping are together near our trashcan, plant watering is nestled behind some flowers, and window washing is hanging on the wall beside our window. Apple slicing and sandwich cutting are inside our easel, which is where we keep all the paper products one would need for snack or lunch: paper cups and plates, napkins, plastic ware, tissue, baby wipes, etc.