Practical Life curriculum

Practical life is my favorite area of the Montessori classroom. It’s the area of the classroom where the children get to practice and develop skills that really truly come in handy on a daily basis. The fact that students can use the skills they gain in practical life area of the classroom is a great jumping off point to show them the all the things they learn at school are useful and can help them and their families everyday.

In the practical life area children learn and practice dry and wet pouring, dry transfer, pincer grip, wrist rotation etc. as well as more handy skills like making a simple snack. At LGM, you’ll find apple slicing, banana cutting and orange juice making on the shelves as activities to do on a daily basis. These are real life skills that the child can bring home.

Practical life also emphasizes care of the environment. One of the jobs the children undertake on a daily basis is watering the plants in the classroom. We have many plants in our classroom so this tends to be a two person job each morning and with a wide variety of plants all of which require different watering schedules, the child ren must use their deductive reasoning to figure out which plants need watering and which can wait. This is yet another area of the classroom where an older child (mentor) and take a younger child and show them how to determine the difference. This multifaceted approach to early childhood education is what makes Montessori kids so adept at problem solving. These foundational skills are used throughout the child’s life.

PL curriculum helps develop a sense of confidence that carries over to all other areas of the classroom. This confidence translates to an eagerness to learn new things and resilience to know that with a little hard work, they can do anything.