Montessori ‘Practical Life’ activities focus on the care of the child’s own person (personal dressing and grooming), care of the environment (cleaning, caring for plants and pets, preparing food), development of fine and gross motor skills, and learning courteous behavior and conflict resolution.
The Benefits of Practical Life Activities
Independence, Confidence, and Self-Care
The activities of Practical Life bring the child closer to independence, fostering feelings of security, confidence, and self-worth. Children learn to make their own toast and pour their own juice. They know how to dress themselves and clean up if they make a mess. Children can make a perceptible impact on their immediate environment, which is a very empowering feeling. This area directly feeds the need of the children to imitate the activity of the adults in their lives and to become independent. It resonates with every child who cries out, ‘Let me do it by myself!’
Refining Motor Control
At this age, children are in a sensitive period for movement. According to Montessori and current research, movement is essential for the development of the intellect. It is the child’s means of influencing and understanding themselves and their surroundings. Movement is incorporated into every Practical Life exercise (indeed, almost every classroom activity)- from the fine dexterity needed to spoon tiny beans from one container to another to the gross motor work of carrying a heavy pitcher of water from the sink.
Respect and Care for Surroundings
Children have an intense desire for meaningful activity. They delight in taking care of their surroundings. They arrange flowers, sweep up spills, and jump in to help a friend in need of assistance.
Increasing Attention Span and Carrying Out Multi-Step Processes
A key focus of the Montessori ‘Practical Life’ activities is to enhance children’s ability to concentrate and to systematically carry out multi-step processes. This is achieved through engaging activities that require a sequence of actions, such as setting a table or preparing a simple snack. These tasks not only involve physical coordination but also mental planning and organization, encouraging children to focus their attention for extended periods. By completing these tasks, children experience a sense of accomplishment and gain confidence in their ability to see a task through from start to finish. This development is crucial, as it lays the foundation for academic learning and problem-solving skills.
Courteous Communication and Conflict Resolution
Learning how to work and play together with others in a peaceful and caring community is a basic life skill. Learning how to greet someone graciously is one of the first acts of courtesy learned in Montessori classrooms. Everyday kindness and courtesy are vital practical life skills. Lessons in Grace and Courtesy teach everyday social customs, such as how to ask for or offer help, how to join an activity, and how to politely decline an invitation. Differences of opinion and misunderstandings are a natural component of social relationships and can lead to conflict. Learning how to express one’s needs clearly and to communicate honestly is critical to prevent an outburst and come to a peaceful resolution.
Montessori Practical Life Activities
Montessori Push Pinning Activities
The Montessori pushpinning or pin punching activity is a practical life exercise designed to develop fine motor skills and concentration in young children. In this activity, a child uses a small pushpin or punch tool to create holes along the outline of a shape or pattern on a piece of paper. The child places the…
Montessori Sewing Activities for Preschool
Montessori sewing activities for preschoolers encourage problem solving and critical thinking while teaching children a valuable skill with both practical and creative applications.
Montessori Food Preparation
Montessori food preparation teaches children practical life skills through the use of child-sized tools and age-appropriate activities. By allowing children to prepare their own snacks and meals, food prep activities promote independence, concentration, development of fine motor skills, and healthy eating habits. Montessori education is a child-centered approach to learning that emphasizes independence, hands-on learning,…
Grace and Courtesy in Montessori
Grace and Courtesy is a fundamental aspect of the Montessori curriculum. It is an essential part of Montessori philosophy, which emphasizes the importance of respect, empathy, and kindness. Grace and Courtesy lessons teach young children how to interact with others in a polite, respectful, and considerate manner. The Montessori Method of education recognizes that learning…
Montessori in the Kitchen
Space, the first frontier… in your home Ok, so first things first. We need to help you set up space in your house. There are so many ways we will work on modifying rooms in your home, and the most accessible place to start is the kitchen. Because you are in…
Cooking in the Montessori Classroom
Food preparation and cooking are some of the most fun practical life activities in a Montessori environment! My personal preference is to create individualized food preparation activities that children can choose on their own, rather than group cooking activities that have to be done with a teacher. I want to show the children how to…
Honey Bees: Cooking in the Montessori Children’s House
I am honored to share with you this simple food preparation activity from the Cooking in the Children’s House series by Megan Ray Durkin. Megan has a goal — to help children feel they are stewards of the earth and true citizens of the world. The projects from Cooking in the Children’s House blend her appreciation for children’s…
Lauren’s Montessori Classroom: Practical Life
Thank you to Lauren Franchek for sharing her beautiful classroom with us! You can find links to explore the other areas of her classroom at the bottom of this page. This is the Practical Life area of her Montessori classroom. Lauren has a great eye for selecting attractive and unique materials. One corner of the…
Social Stories
I was introduced to the concept of Social Stories about 10 years ago by Pat Getz, the support services coordinator at the Montessori School of Syracuse. The Social Stories technique, in my experience, works very well with Montessori Grace & Courtesy lessons. What are Montessori Grace & Courtesy Lessons? “Grace and Courtesy” is the term…
A Year of Montessori Fine Motor Shelves
“Practical Life” is a huge area of the Montessori Curriculum. It’s about giving children opportunities to engage in real everyday activities such as taking care of themselves and their surroundings, preparing food, cleaning up etc. Real. Life. Stuff. Many Montessori teachers call their fine motor activities Practical Life activities. I think of them more as…
Holiday Gifts Your Child Can Sew
Please welcome Aimee Fagan! Aimee’s work on the Montessori Works Blog has been an inspiration to me for a long time. Aimee is a trained Montessori teacher and she has some wonderful resources for the practical life area of the classroom. She also writes about her experiences raising her children in a Montessori home. Today she…
Preliminary Practical Life Exercises
The Practical Life activities in a Montessori classroom are designed to be purposeful work that lead the child to an understanding of his environment and how it works. These activities are appealing to the young child as they resemble everyday activities the child has seen adults complete. The Practical Life Area of the classroom encompasses:…
Activities for a Beach Theme
We’re ready for summer and we’re starting to feel beachy! Shell Scrubbing Sorting seashells by size Spooning marbles onto a starfish suction mat Tweezing ocean themed mini beads onto a fish suction mat Scooping white pompoms with an ice cream scoop Spooning beach sand
On the Fine Motor Shelf in May
Sorting Birch Discs Sorting Paper Flowers Tonging Mini Eggs in Nests Tonging Feathers Spooning Seeds in Sunflower Dishes Spooning and Sorting Gems Pouring from a Mini Watering Can Using a Spoon and Funnel More Shelf Activities for Spring Preschool Literacy Activities for Spring Fine Motor Activities for Spring 18 Shelf Activities for Spring Learning About Flowers…
Fine Motor Activities for Spring
Pouring into two containers Using an eye dropper Miniature pouring Eggs and Chicks Open and Close Transferring Plastic Eggs Bugs in the Grass Tweezing Activity. You can find plastic grass like this at the craft store or try Amazon (affiliate link). The tiny bugs were from a local teacher supply store. Scooping Corn Kernels. Wooden trays like…
December Fine Motor Shelf
Here are some pictures of our fine motor shelves all decked out in red and green to celebrate the season 🙂 December Fine Motor Fun! Pouring from a festive votive candle holder Tonging little ornaments into a candle holder we found at a thrift store. This little peg board is from the dollar store. I…
November Fine Motor Shelf
Here are some of the fine motor activities we have lined up for November! Gotta bring out the turkey baster in November! Tweezing corn kernels. We picked up some ears of corn when we went on our field trip to the farm a couple of weeks ago. This one requires a little more dexterity. Picking…
On the Shelves in October
Fine Motor shelves with an October theme Pouring acorns Tweezing mini pumpkins into a pumpkin icecube tray Spooning and pouring corn kernels Spooning lima bean ghosts. Thanks to Pinterest for the inspiration! Gluing-on-a-dot using Halloween themed confetti Making a jack-o-lantern with basic shapes We have these Halloween themed paper punches available on the art…
8 Tips for Organizing Practical Life Supplies
Woohoo! Only a Montessori teacher can understand the rush of owning tiny bowls and pitchers and tongs. In the early days, you think you can’t possibly ever have enough. And then the day comes when you realize, by golly, you have to stop accumulating them because there’s no room left in the ~ahem~ fourth dimension.…
Flower Activities
We were given such a spectacular display of flowers for Teacher Appreciation week that we thought it was time to bring out our floral works! Sensorial Exploration Different Kinds of Flowers We have a ridiculous number of picture matching cards and they’re all out on the shelves! I may donate some of these to…
Africa Themed Fine Motor Trays
We made a few minor changes to our fine motor shelf this week. The pouring shelf is practically the same as it has been all month. We just changed the color to green to coordinate with the color of Africa on the Montessori continent globe. Most of the other trays include some sort of…
Bugs! Fine Motor and Art Activities on the Shelf
We’ve been learning about bugs: butterflies, ladybugs, grasshoppers, spiders, and cicadas! Affiliate links are used in this post for your convenience. Read my full affiliate disclosure here. The children have begun to bring bugs in that they’ve discovered on their walks. Here we have a black and yellow millipede in this critter case. Examining cicada shells in…
St. Patrick’s Day Fine Motor Activities
We have rainbows in the class, but St. Patrick’s Day won’t be complete without a little green! Here’s our fine motor shelf for March Pouring On the very top are our pouring activities, in various shades of green. The mini leprechaun hats are from the Dollar Store and the trays are from Montessori Services (affiliate link).…
Valentine Theme Activities
It’s February – here are some of our favorite classroom activities for this time of year! Pre-Literacy This is a fun matching work that Ms. Rashidah created for us last year. I like how you have to look carefully to make sure you get the correct pair of valentine stamp stickers matched up. Math The…
Fine Motor Activities For January
Pouring sparkly pom poms Pouring blue rice Pouring blue water using a funnel Spooning gel beads in a snowman dish Spooning sparkly balls into dimpled foam packaging Straight pins into a shaker. I put the shaker in a little winter-y bowl Tweezing and sorting fuze beads Using an eye dropper to add one drop…
Seemi holds a Master's degree in education, and an AMS Early Childhood credential. She has twenty years of experience in Montessori as a teacher, school administrator, and school owner. Seemi is the founder of TrilliumMontessori.org.