The Montessori curriculum area of Practical Life is the foundational thread that follows the child through all levels in a Montessori program. The activities are designed around the particular characteristics of and the specific sensitive periods for each age group’s development. You can easily identify the practical life activities adults perform daily, such as dressing, preparing meals and caring for children. Many aspects of adult work and hobbies incorporate practical life functions. These activities reflect the place and time in which a person lives. For children they provide the means to internalize their culture, demonstrate their positive social skills and show an attitude of respect that is specific to a group of people. The young child assimilates culture by observing adults carrying out the ordinary work of daily living. The emphasis is on the word life since these activities prepare the child for the rest of his or her life.

Montessori believed that the practical life materials were an aid to the developing life because they provided purposeful work that is real for the child. Children observe adults preparing food, caring for the home and taking care of themselves. Children readily use real, but child size, materials in their class community. They build up a sense of personal satisfaction and confidence through the repetition of skills. Each child proceeds at her or his own pace through the accomplishment of such routines as hanging coats, pouring liquids, preparing snack and caring for the environment. But, the purpose is not the same as for the adult. The adult wants to accomplish a task and have it finished. The process of the work is more important for the child than the finished product. The child is driven by an inner desire to perfect himself or herself. The ability to focus attention is a key element in the child’s quest for self-mastery. Each child is guided through small sequential steps to gradually achieve finer degrees of mastery.

The practical life materials provide for the child’s natural need to explore sensorially. Discoveries are made that lead to the ability to make judgments. When a child discovers that pouring too much water results in an overflowing cup, the child gradually builds up the ability and control to stop the pouring when just the right amount is reached. The self-control that the child gains through physical manipulations leads to the ability to make internal decisions about behavior. There is a direct relationship between the ability to control one’s physical actions and the ability to think independently and make appropriate social decisions.

Young bodies change rapidly and children need many opportunities to keep pace with the change. Activities that involve concentration and awareness of movement lead to motor coordination and self control. The carrying and managing of different size and weight materials helps the child integrate the mental and physical functions. However, it is not just moving that is important. The ability to inhibit movement is an essential mental function that builds the extended concentration necessary for the complex academic works.
Independence is essential in order for a person to be free of control by others. The person who can care for him or herself and can make independently appropriate decisions will develop personal dignity and self-respect. With self-confidence, competence and the ability to think and act in an orderly manner, the child can attempt new challenges successfully.

The practical life materials prepare the child for the other curriculum areas. The sensorial curriculum relies on the ability to reason, make judgments, attend to details, and match identities and sort differences. The ability to read and write is supported through the sequential process of working left to right and top to bottom. Through practical life work, the fingers and hands are strengthened and eye-hand coordination is refined. The pincer movement needed to hold pencils as well as overall dexterity are developed through the practical life works. The basis for mathematical thinking is established during these early years by working with sequenced and precise materials. Orderly physical work is an aid to orderly and logical thinking. Observational skills, attention to details and cause-effect reasoning that is needed for science is first found in the practical life area. The preparation for art includes such basics as scissor use as well as visual discrimination and development of an aesthetic sense.

All the practical life materials have common characteristics giving the child a variety of activities from which to select something of personal interest. The activity is purposeful. It involves awareness of movements, creating a link between thought and action.
The materials are attractive and functional. They use real instruments and although child-size, they are not props for pretend functions.
All the implements needed for one activity are organized locally and kept together. The materials are kept in perfect condition. This shows respect for the child and encourages respect from the child for others and the environment. Each activity is designed so that the child can successfully carry out the functions independently, creating a sense of self-confidence. The activity allows for manipulation. It is by doing that a child learns and by moving that the mental functions are developed.

Children of all ages use these materials daily. The three- and four-year old child concentrates deeply to keep the water from spilling. She or he focuses on the soap bubbles while the eye and hand coordinate in table scrubbing. The five-year-old child works with independence and self-confidence achieving near perfection with the same tasks. This kind of work usually leaves the child relaxed and refreshed and ready to select other challenging tasks. The child’s growth shows the solid foundation that is constructed with the universal materials.

Children will readily help in their own care at home and joyfully help with tasks needed in the home—pairing and folding socks from the laundry, setting the table, washing the vegetables, raking leaves. All they need is a place to work, the right tools and extra time. Watch their smiles when they finish the tasks that adult often do out of necessity.

Mary MacIntosh