Practical Life
“I can do it”, “Let me!”
Dr. Montessori said the cry of the child is “Help me to help myself”. The lessons of Practical Life are designed to do just that.
The Practical Life materials in the casa help the children become successful as they learn to care for themselves and the world around them.
Care for self begins with lessons that will lead the children to a new level of independence. Learning to button, lace, and tie, learning to brush hair and teeth, learning to pour without spilling, learning to wash hands and face are some of the care of self practical life activities that the children are eager to master.
As the children become more self reliant and a bit more independent a level of interdependence begins to immerge. The children become interested in helping the community with whom they share their day. Care for community begins with lessons that will lead to a new level of self respect, self esteem and compassion. Preparing food for snack, dusting a self, polishing a box, helping a friend don an apron are some of the ways the child contributes to the wellbeing of the community.
“The child can only develop by means of experience in his environment.
We call such experiences work.”
Dr
Maria Montessori
The lessons of practical life help the children learn to make intelligent choices, to become physically and then mentally independent and responsible. The children learn to concentrate, to control muscles, to move and act with care, to focus. The child analyzes logical steps and completes a cycle of activity. This lays the ground work for mental and physical work in all other areas of work, not just early childhood but throughout life.