Introduction to Practical Life

What is Practical Life

Practical:means,basic,useful,purposefulLife: means the way of living.

Practical life Exercises are just that, they are Exercises so the child can learn how to do living activities in a purposeful way.Meaning and Purpose of Practical Life

The purpose and aim of Practical Life is to help the child gain control in the coordination of his movement, and help the child to gain independence and adapt to his society. It is therefore important to “Teach teaching, not correcting” (Montessori) in order to allow the child to be a fully functionional member in hios own society. Practical Life Exercises also aid the growth and development of the child’s intellect and concentration and will in turn also help the child develop an orderly way of thinking.

Exercice Groups

Practical Life Exercises can be categorized into four different groups: Preliminary Applications, Applied Applications, Grace and Courtesy, and Control of Moment.

In the Preliminary Exercises, the child learns the basic movements of all societies such as pouring, folding, and carrying.

In the Applied Exercises, the child learns about the care and maintenance that helps every day life. These activities are, for example, the care of the person (i.e the washing of the hand) and the care of the environment (i.e dusting a table or outdoor sweeping).

In the Grace and Courtesy Exercises, the children work on the interactions of people to people.

In the Control of Movement Exercises, the child learns about his own movements and learns how to refine his coordination through such activities as walking on the line.

Reason for Practical Life Exercises

Children are naturally interested in activities they have witnessed. Therefore, Dr. Montessori began using what she called “Practical Life Exercises” to allow the child to do activities of daily life and therefore adapt and orientate himself in his society.

It is therefore the Directress’s task to demonstrate the correct way of doing these Exercises in a way that allows the child to fully observe the movements. Montessori says, “If talking don’t move, if moving don’t talk”.

The directress must also keep in mind that the goal is to show the actions so that the child can go off and repeat the activity in his own successful way. Montessori says, “Our task is to show how the action is done and at the same time destroy the possibility of imitation”. The child must develop his own way of doing these activities so that the movements become real and not synthetic.

During the child’s sensitive period between birth and 6, the child is constructing the inner building blocks of his person. It is therefore important for the child to participate in activities to prepare him for his environment, that allow him to grow independently and use his motor skills, as well as allow the child to analyze difficulties he may have in the exercise and problem solve successfully.

Montessori also saw the child’s need for order, repetition, and succession in movements. Practical Life Exercises also helps to aid the child to develop his coordination in movement, his balance and his gracefulness in his environment as well as his need to develop the power of being silent.

Characteristics of Practical Life

Because Practical Life Exercises are meant to resemble everyday activities, it is important that all materials be familiar, real, breakable, and functional. The materials must also be related to the child’s time and culture. In order to allow the child to fully finish the exercise and to therefore finish the full cycle of the activity, the material must be complete.

In the environment, the Directress may want to color code the materials as well as arrange the materials based on difficulties in order to facilitate the classification and arrangements of the work by the children.

The attractiveness is also of utmost importance as Montessori believed that the child must be offered what is most beautiful and pleasing to the eye so as to help the child enter into a “more refined and subtle world”.

I. INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICAL LIFE ACTIVITIES

 Practical life activities give the child an understanding of his environment and how it works. The child enjoys all types of work. He also enjoys keeping the environment beautiful for all to use. This work builds the child's self-esteem, making him feel of value. In addition, practical life activities also develop manual dexterity.

In the school and home, adults must never complain about their work in front of the child. At a young age he learns by imitating the adult. If adults dislike work, the child will learn that all types of work are to be avoided. He will apply this to school learning as well as manual skills. He must have a respect for all types of work well done.

  The child must not be conditioned to work only for himself. As a mature adult he will choose the type of work that he is good at and that he enjoys. In doing this work he will earn a living, but at the same time he will be contributing to the society in which he lives. By working well, he will retain his self-esteem and be happy. All types of necessary work, done well, contribute to the good of the whole society. Young people should adopt the kind of work that they enjoy doing. Academic, medical, manual, and most other types of work are creative.

  In the home and school, children should be encouraged to put things away in the right place and to clean up any mess they have inadvertently made in working. In this, the adult sets an example. In the home or school there must be shelves, etc., supplied at the child's height so that he can do this.

  The number of possessions or occupations must be limited to the few basic ones. No one can choose from among too many things. Very few people can keep a great number of possessions in order. Only well made, well designed, worthwhile occupations should be given to a child. To

give him masses of cheap, trashy toys is an insult to his developing intelligence and prevents him from learning.

  If a child does not want to put his things away for himself, or before he understands how to do so, the adult must give generous help. "Shall I help you?", "If you don't want to, I will do it today.", "Who would help Johnny put his things away?", etc. In this way, the children learn to help each other and the child who is helped will be the first to help others later and to do the job himself.

  At home, it should not be "Clean your own room," but "Let us all clean the kitchen today, and tomorrow the living room, and perhaps the next day your room." The mother soon has plenty of willing help and older children think of household tasks with pleasure. They will also have learned how to do the work properly. Later as older children, when their developmental need to do this work is over, they will help willingly and cheerfully, knowing that everyone helps to run the home which belongs to all the family.

  These activities must be taken seriously and taught seriously. The child must be given the dignity of a worker, for he works very hard.

  We do not praise him, that is to treat him as an inferior, but we take pleasure in his achievements. he feels our interest and delight. We can say such things as "Oh! It is nice to have such a clean table!", "What a beautiful, shiny bell." "It is so nice having someone to help me."

  In giving the exercises of practical life, we treat the child as a serious student. In his early years, he goes through a period when he wants passionately to learn to do all the work he sees the adult doing. At first, he likes to learn the work of the home. This age will pass, but if it is used, the child will know how to do everything well in the home environment. He will grow intellectually. It requires real intelligence to run a modern home. We should admire the housewife who runs a home well, making a comfortable and beautiful environment for a happy family. This work requires a high degree of intelligence and skill.

  The children in our care are preparing for maturity. When fully mature, they will probably take on the responsibilities of a home and family. From the beginning then, one of the first aims must be to raise children with the skill to do this well. Nature urges the child to acquire these skills. The child who, as a small toddler, is allowed to help his mother in the house, and learns these skills from her, grows in intelligence, is deeply satisfied, and develops confidence and a good self-image. He knows he is doing useful work, and that his work is of value. He feels that he contributes to helping in the home. He knows he is independent and able to manage for himself. Great harm is done to his development when he is told, "I am busy. Go and play." It is like saying, "You are of no use for anything. Here is a toy. It is not worth giving real things to you. The real things are mine."

  The child who really lacks confidence has lost the confidence and courage every child starts with in the first years. One of the reasons is that his help was not acceptable to the mother or adult in charge. Children lose the urge to learn these skills by the second period of development. They

like then to learn to cook, to use electric machines, but not to do things they should have learned earlier.

  Nature allows a certain time to learn each thing. Dr. Montessori called these "sensitive periods." If this time of special sensitivity is not used, it is lost. It does not come again. We must understand the force of the urges and also that they are transient. There is no time to go back. We must go on to the next stage of learning. If we have not made use of the first stage, how is the second stage to be successful? The foundation is not there; it is more difficult for the child and those who teach him.

  If, in a Montessori school, we accept children of 3 years for part of the day, we must understand that the practical life activities are of prime importance. We must teach each step correctly and intelligently. We ourselves must know the right way to do the activities.

  We must teach all the household exercises needed to run a good home. We must analyze each exercise to be taught and give the necessary steps in order that the child can practice each step repeatedly until he has gained the skill and knowledge to go on to the next step. We ourselves must enjoy these activities. The child must feel we enjoy them. He will not want to learn work the adult dislikes.

  In the western world, a number of people suffer mental breakdowns today. They are cured when they begin to enjoy work. No amount of play helps. We must bring the children up to enjoy all forms of work. They will imitate us closely. We must enjoy what we are doing in front of them.

  Children must feel that the school belongs to everyone in it, just as a good home belongs to the whole family and to all who stay. In Spain, when you visit a house, even as a stranger, you are greeted and told, "This house is yours." This is the feeling we must give the children."This belongs to everyone in the school. Not, "This belongs to the school," but,the school belongs to us all."

  Dr. Montessori called her schools "Casa dei Bambini." The English translation is "The Children's Home." This is the atmosphere we must create for the children under six years in our schools. They must practice and learn those things they would learn in a good home. In English we have this very special word, home. We do not say, "This is my house," but, "This is my home." There is a world of difference.

  The practical life activities will be those the children see done in their own homes. They will be carried out in as realistic a manner as possible. Most modern classrooms are built with a sink and faucets. The practical life materials can be stored in the sink area in much the same way as a woman stores these things in her own home. The various cleaners can be stored under the sink. Brooms and aprons can be hung within easy reach. Tableware can be kept in a partitioned drawer. One or two of the preliminary exercises can be kept ready on trays on a low shelf, but most of the materials will be stored as they would be in a home.

  When the teacher wishes to show a child a particular activity, she will collect the materials needed for the exercise with him, showing him where they are kept and which to select. After the

lesson, when the child has finished using the materials, the teacher will help him return them to their place in good order.

  When a child wishes to practice an activity, he will need to remember which materials and cleaners were used. He will need to select them for himself from among the other cleaners and materials.

  The child will need to act intelligently; he must remember the cleaner and the type of brush or cloths needed. When he works in this way, he works as an adult does in the home, the way he sees his mother and father act. The exercise has meaning for him. Nature is urging the child to imitate and so learn the adult's work, to orient himself in his environment, to become independent.

  The work satisfies these needs when it is real life experience. When these exercises are not related to life, they are meaningless, dead.

  Little children like order and neatness, so there is a place for everything. However, with lively, active, intelligent children, it is not a meticulous neatness. Everything is clean, but it is not the hygiene of a hospital. It is hard to describe the difference between normal neatness and order and an over-concern with the exact care for the storage and preservation of the materials. We all know the difference between a well-run home, which everyone can use and enjoy and a house which has such a fastidious housewife who keeps everything so perfect that one feels uncomfortable.

  In a class of little children, there is a hum of activity. There is activity, concentration, work, socialization, laughter, and movement. At the end of the day everything is miraculously back in its place, nothing is lost or broken, but the room does look as if it had been used. The materials look a little worn through much handling.

  Children of this age like order. They make a great effort to remember where everything is kept and to return things to their right places after using them. Making this effort is an exercise for the mind. The children need to be observant. They must memorize the environment. They must be aware when something is out of place. If the environment contains too many things, they cannot do this; there is too much to remember. If the environment is cluttered with materials, it is too confusing. There is too much choice and the children do not work well. In a good classroom, there is everything necessary for the development of the children using the room, but very little else. Materials not in use are kept in a stock cupboard outside the classroom.

The children will memorize the environment and remember where everything belongs. The teacher must not make it unnecessary for them to remember by color coding materials or outlining the place for each piece of equipment with masking tape. The child will not learn true order. These practices prevent the child from seeing the order of the whole and, instead of the child's building a good self-image because he knows where everything is, and he knows how to return things to their proper place, and he understands it is a good way to act, and he chooses to do so, the child is forced to do what is not natural and normal, because the adult dictates what he should do and exactly how he should act.

Every exercise of practical life must have a useful purpose. The purpose must be understood by the child or the exercises become boring and burdensome. For example, before a child can help bake cookies, he must know how to sift the flour, crack and whisk eggs, measure wet and dry ingredients, etc. These skills are learned and practiced separately, but the child must know the purpose of the exercise he practices. The child who loves to sift flour must know that flour must be sifted for making cookies; otherwise, his actions would be aimless and foolish. He would not feel he was a worker. The flour he sifts must be placed in an airtight container and stored for baking purposes.

  Before this exercise is introduced, the teacher should make a simple recipe with the children watching and helping. Bread making would be a good choice, as every child could have a piece of dough to knead and form into a loaf. The teacher should read the recipe to the children, and demonstrate exactly how the ingredients are measured and how the flour is sifted. After this, the exercises for sifting flour and measuring dry and wet ingredients should be shown to individual children and they can practice, knowing the reason for doing so.

I. Choosing Activities

A. In choosing cleaners appropriate for the different exercises, care must be taken to select those that are non-toxic if taken internally. Cleaners that are sprayed must not be used, as it is harmful to breathe air containing droplets of these cleaners. Household spray paints also must not be used with children around, for the same reason. The best cleaners for the job should be used with this provision in mind. B. All tools, cloths, sponges, and utensils must be attractive and of good quality. C. Brushes, brooms, knives, etc., must be of the right size for the child's use. But they should not be toys. All tools must function well. D. Everything must be kept clean. For example, brooms need washing occasionally. E. There must not be more than the basic minimum. No one can choose from too many projects, or be orderly when there are too many things. F. The exercises taught must be done in the way the children see them done in their own homes. In each country there are variations in the tools and the methods used. For example, in England, a long handled hair broom is used. In Africa, a hand brush of straw or twigs is used and the women stoop double when sweeping. Although each method is equally good, it would be unrealistic to teach the children the method of a country they do not live in.

II. Setting Up

A. The practical life area must have a place for everything within reach of the children. For example, hooks to hang the brooms, dust pan, mop, duster, and aprons should be within easy reach of the children. B. The practical life area is best arranged near the sink, as water is needed for some of the activities. There should be a double sink as there is in a modern home in the United States. It is important that the child have just the things he sees used in his own house. C. In setting up a classroom, provision must be made to practice all types of housework the child sees done at home. Furniture of all types must be chosen with various surfaces. In this way,

children can learn to clean some plain unvarnished wood, some polished, and some painted surfaces. In the same way, things used in the class must include some made of brass and silver so that children can learn how to polish brass and silver. These objects must serve a useful purpose in the school so children feel they are doing important, real and necessary work. These materials should not be provided in the room only as exercises, but to serve other useful purposes as well. In addition to cleaning various types of furniture and fixtures, children need to learn to wash various types of fabrics. Aprons, dusters, dish towels, etc., should be chosen so different fabrics are represented like linen, denim, cotton, etc.

III. Presenting Activities - Guidelines

A. For all practical life activities, teacher and child should wear aprons and roll up their sleeves. A child wears a plastic apron and rolls up his sleeves when he does any exercise using water or polishes. The plastic apron will do for all of the exercises except for the cooking activities. For these he should wear a clean white apron. B. The child is always shown how to work without making a mess. The child should stand a little away from a table or sink so as not to lean his stomach on a wet surface and get the apron wet and soapy. The child is also shown how to clean up after an exercise and is encouraged, but not forced, to do so. A child is shown how to put material away, rinsing and drying where necessary, and how to hang up the apron. If he has spilled water, or made any mess, he wipes it up. It takes some children a little while to get used to cleaning up if they have not done so in their own homes. The teacher can give any help the child needs. They are helped and encouraged to be orderly but never forced. A good example is needed so the teacher must cheerfully join in and do her share. C. When giving a lesson, the teacher will point out the directions on the cleaning agent container to the child. If there are directions written in red, she will tell the child that these are most important and should be read first. For example, perhaps it says, "Do not use near an open flame." The teacher explains that the liquid must be volatile and what might happen should the direction be ignored. Naturally she does not frighten the child and assures the child that it is perfectly safe to use it in the school as there are no open flames there. If it says, "Shake the bottle well.", this is done (the child having previously been taught how to shake a bottle). When certain measurements are involved, these must be adhered to. In this way, the child learns to work correctly and to make the best use of the cleaning agents. D. Preparation for presentation - Practice each activity enough so that you feel very secure with the material. This security will enable you to be flexible in your presentation with each child. Flexibility is the key. There is no right or wrong way to present. Some ways are simply better and more efficient. E. Purpose - The purpose for demonstrating materials is for the teacher to reveal to the child the possibilities for learning inherent in a particular activity. The teacher acts as a catalyst to get the child involved in an activity, and is the integrating link between the child and the material. The key is to provide this link through the medium that the child is most likely to absorb - quiet demonstration. Demonstration combined with complex language may leave the child confused; whereas nonverbal demonstration allows the child to perceive more readily the possibilities for learning and skill development inherent in the material and to focus on the interest other than the teacher.

F. Procedure 1. Give lessons in a relaxed, happy, gentle manner. 2. Model courtesy, quiet and graceful movements, enthusiasm, zest for learning, a helping spirit, and a positive and pleasant attitude about work. 3. Show the children how to perform each exercise, using as few words as possible and demonstrating as you limit movements to only those that are essential. Keep the lessons short and simple. 4. Follow a flexible sequence when introducing exercises. a. Invite the child. Tell him what you are going to demonstrate. b. Take the child to the place where the material is stored. c. Carry the material to the work area. d. Demonstrate the activity. e. Show the child where to return the material when the activity is completed. Tell the child s(he) can now use the material whenever s(he) likes.   5. Make sure children are aware of potential danger and safety requirements. a. Show the appropriate use of tools which minimize chances of harm. For example, in cutting, the child should be shown the dull and sharp side of the knife and proper use. 6. When directions are involved, such as silver polishing, read these with the children.

IV. Evaluation

Observe children at work to determine when activities need to be simplified, when the environment needs to be modified, and what is currently catching the interest of your children. Remove activities that are no longer being used.   1. Watch to see if a child uses the material appropriately. Make a mental note when a lesson needs to be reintroduced or demonstrated. Repeat lessons as needed. Expect that the children may need periodic demonstrations. The teacher would not disturb the activity of the child at the point of the observation. S(he) would reintroduce the activity at a "neutral" time. This is a sensitive way of protecting the child's ego and zest for learning. We never want the child to feel defeated.   2. Appreciate the concentration, the mastery, and the work that goes into performing the simplest of tasks. Do not interrupt when a child is concentrating. The child who is involved in learning a skill will practice it over and over because s(he) is acting to develop an ability - not to get the job done.   3. Periodically ask yourself: Are the materials being used in constructive and useful ways? Do they facilitate the development of a skill? Are they realistic? Are they purposeful, and do they lead to independence, personal and social responsibility, and development of self esteem through increased competence?

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