Have you ever noticed your child leaving a toy and going after a broom or a cooking spoon or trying to remove their socks by themselves? Wonder why? This is the quest for full physical independence that the 0-6 child is naturally looking for in the first six years of their life.
Practical Life? a bridge between home and preschool
Practical life is a gateway of any Montessori environment, it is the common link between home and the Montessori school/nursery and it helps build all the necessary human skills the child needs to develop in the foundational part of their life, 0-6 years. From birth children see their parents performing activities such as preparing lunch, keeping the home clean and tidy, washing clothes, taking care of plants or doing maintenance work. Naturally, as a human, the child, shows the need to adapt to their environment and feels the urge to participate in these daily activities. Once the child starts to walk, they will have a huge urge to discover everything around them, especially the tools adults are using in their home like the broom or the cooking spoon. Practical life in Montessori is the acknowledgment of the humanity of the child – in contrast to the traditional system where children are asked to sit and be silent to receive the course.
#1 - The journey for full physical independence
0-6 years child's slogan: "Help me to do it by myself."
At birth, babies are completely helpless and need the support of an adult for everything from feeding to dressing and keeping clean. Little by little, the growing baby starts to gain some independence, for instance being able to grab something they intentionally want to take. If the environment allows it and the adults support it, the child can completely reach full physical independence at the age of 6 and get ready for the second plane of development, 6-12 years, where the child is looking for full intellectual independence.
#2 - Feeling of belonging
When there are opportunities to participate in the activities other adult humans are doing, the child feels they are not only gradually gaining independence and able to support themselves but also that they are contributing members in supporting the family or the community.
This gives them a sense of belonging, an important human need.
#3 -Direct their energy to satisfy their needs
By allowing children to do meaningful practical life activities to support themselves, others, and their environment they direct their energy in a positive and constructive way. This is why Montessori children are happy and content: their environment is allowing them to satisfy all their needs. What else do we need for our little ones?
#4 - Self-achievement, self-esteem, and confidence
Confidence is one of the most important characters we carry with us throughout life and one of the key tools for success and happiness. Confidence doesn’t appear overnight: fostering strong self-confidence is a long process that starts from early childhood. A child needs space to develop their self-confidence and pride.
Obviously, when a toddler is able to prepare a snack by themselves, they gain a sense of pride and a sense of self-achievement. This for sure nurtures their feeling of being able to do things by themselves and gives them a sense of confidence, a sense of “Yes, I can do it”, which is key for future success.
#5 - Motor-skills development
From birth to 6-year-old child is building their fine and gross motor skills. The first-year child’s milestone is to stand up and walk. Then the child looks to refine the fine motor skills: the hand. The human hand is a tool of intelligence and a developed hand sends a lot of information to the brain. Indeed, the human hand is the tool that built the whole of human civilization and made a profound difference for all living creatures in this world.
Naturally, the child is motivated to practical life activities, as mentioned earlier, to integrate with the social environment in which they find themselves, and also to build themselves as humans and develop their motor skills. When a 1-year-old child is peeling a clementine, it helps in strengthening their fingers and hands. When peeling a boiled egg or grabbing fine pieces, it reinforces the pinch. All the practical life activities the child does also prepare the hand for the next step: writing.
Practical life activities prepare the hand for the next step: writing.
#6 - Enriching vocabulary
When the child is engaging in everyday activities, they learn the name of each tool and ingredient used as well as the action that is being carried out. This naturally helps build a rich language environment for our children at an age where they are building their language proficiency.
#7 - Concentration for advanced academic achievements
A child who is motivated to work on practical life activities gets really focused on the activity and this builds their concentration skills. At Nile River Montessori and in Montessori schools around the world we observe a higher capability among our children to focus on their work.
Practical life also lets the child acquire the logical sequencing that is also necessary for advanced academia. This is why we soon observe a 4- or 5-year-old child is doing complex work such as advanced math that is usually seen in elementary classrooms. In our school, at 5 years old the child can do addition with four digits, i.e. thousands.
Nile River Montessori is a montessori nursery, preschool, and school that is dedicated to bringing a change to the educational scene in Egypt and the region. Nile River Montessori answers the needs of parents and their children together based on the Montessori scientific approach with over 100 years of proven success around the world. Montessori understands the needs and nature of children at every stage of their development and supports children to reach their full potential at their own pace.