Participation in Practical Matters

In our daily lives, we do so much to maintain our surroundings, as well as care for ourselves and others. As adults, we take these activities for granted. Young children, however, yearn to participate in practical matters.

Everything we do to care for the environment, ourselves, and others make up what can be called "practical life" activities. In a Montessori home or school environment, practical life activities help children learn about cultural norms, while also helping them develop internal motivation, intellect, and body coordination.

Purposes of Practical Life 

With this in mind, we can really think about how practical life activities have two purposes: one is external and one is internal. The first purpose is to help children engage in something meaningful and real. For example, washing a table leads to a clean table. The second aim is to help children develop their internal worth and sense of competency. 

Practical life activities help children become psychologically and physically independent. By the time 24-year-olds begin life on their own, they should be able to provide for themselves, be responsible for their actions, plan for their future, and perhaps even help support others. The little things we do early in children’s lives set them up for later success.  

As children engage in purposeful work, they develop a sense of being an important part of the family or community. By beginning to help take care of their personal needs, they also develop a sense of accomplishment. 

In a Montessori environment, children have a place where practical life activities are carefully prepared and presented to support emerging independence. The sink is at children’s height. The faucet is easy to turn on and off. The soap container holds just enough soap to wash hands. Children can perform activities that were perhaps previously done for them. 

Practicing Self-Care

The practice of self-care can begin early in children’s lives by approaching tasks with an attitude of collaboration. Even if a baby can’t do an action, they can have a sense of participating. We can invite this participation by saying things like, “I’m going to put on your shirt. Let’s put your arm through the sleeve.” As we allow for more and more collaboration, children’s active participation gradually increases. Opportunities for collaboration can be as simple as offering something in front of a child rather than actually putting it into their hands.

Caring for Surroundings

In addition to self-care, a Montessori environment provides numerous ways for children to care for their surroundings. In order for children to be successful in this process of caring for their surroundings, we thoughtfully prepare the environment. Child-sized materials give children an opportunity to participate successfully. Their work must be real work, rather than activities to just keep them busy. Plus, the impact on the environment needs to be clear. If the plants need water, then children can water the plants. If the floor is wet, children can mop the floor. If a table is dirty, children can wash the table. Through real and meaningful activities, children develop a strong sense of belonging within a community. 

Supporting Practical Life at Home

Parents often ask how to support their children’s practical life work at home. One easy and meaningful strategy is to create routines that help children care for their surroundings. They can clean up toys at the end of the day, set the table for dinner, or put dirty clothes in the laundry basket. The preparation for these kinds of activities isn’t elaborate and merely requires carefully selected items or furniture: a basket in the laundry room for dirty clothes, a special shelf for toys, or a low drawer in the kitchen prepared with items for setting the table. 

When thinking about how to create practical life activities, consider the following:

1.     Will the activity help develop independence and coordination of movement? 

2.     Can it be done independently?

3.     What skills are needed?

4.     Will this activity allow repetition?

5.     Is it culturally appropriate and necessary?

6.     Is it beautiful?

7.     Is the material child-sized?

8.     Is it logical? 

9.     Is it safe?

With these guiding questions in mind, we can create simple yet purposeful ways for our children to learn how to care for themselves, those around them, and their surroundings. In the process, children observe what is essential and then make the activities their own. Plus, as they internalize the procedure, children start to realize how capable they are! They put their whole focus into their work and experience great satisfaction in completing the activity. Meaningful engagement in practical life activities allows children to develop a strong sense of belonging and ultimately flourish into their fullest selves.

During these summer days, take a look at where your children might be able to contribute to the daily rhythms of the household, or even take more ownership of their own routines for self-care. Children will begin to imitate adult actions, which leads to them performing tasks in their own unique ways.

Keep in mind that this process is not completely linear, as some days children need more support than on other days. At this point, we can offer loving assistance while still upholding a sense of their involvement: “I see your clothes are still on the floor. Let’s pick them up together.” We all can use a little help sometimes!

From infants to adolescents, our young people are quite capable and benefit greatly from participating in practical life activities. If you would like some inspiration for how children are involved in caring for themselves, their surroundings, and others, please contact us!

What is Practical Life?

When you visit a Montessori school, you’ll likely hear the phrase “practical life.” We thought it might be helpful to provide a little more context so we can share why practical life is so important to what we do.

First, let’s break apart the phrase. “Practical” can mean the actual doing or use of something. The term “life" can be described as living things and their activity. So, when we combine the two terms, we can think of “practical life” as activity that is focused on doing something useful. 

In Montessori, we offer young children useful activities that serve a real purpose. Children have beautiful child-sized materials that allow them to wash tables, dust shelves, polish silver, prepare food, and so much more. Although most traditional early childhood programs have a play area that includes cleaning items or kitchen toys, these items are for pretend, imitation, and play rather than for actually cleaning or cooking.

But why does a toddler need to polish their shoes or do laundry with a scrub board? Are the tasks drudgery? Isn’t childhood an age for play? To answer these questions, we need to look at what is happening during childhood, which is what Dr. Maria Montessori did over 100 years ago. 

Origins of Practical Life Exercises

The exercises of practical life began in order to serve a very practical need. Dr. Montessori had responsibility for children who were being destructive in a building in the slums of Rome. The proprietors needed to take care of the building, yet the children were rather wild and unkempt. As a physician, Dr. Montessori knew the importance of hygiene in preventing illness. Thus, one of the first things she did was to offer basins of water and cakes of soap. Then Dr. Montessori showed the children how to wash their hands and faces.

What happened was unexpected. Once the children washed their hands and faces, they didn’t stop. They kept washing. They did it again and again. Dr. Montessori said the children repeated the activity as if driven by some kind of imperceptible force. Instead of stopping them, like adults are apt to do, Dr. Montessori watched. She wanted to see what would happen. With curiosity, patience, and powers of scientific observation, she observed a need that went way beyond washing hands. From these practical beginnings, came a very significant discovery for Dr. Montessori. 

Montessori’s Discovery about Children and Work

Dr. Montessori discovered the fundamental difference between work as adults experience it and work as children experience it. Often, as adults, we think of work as bringing on fatigue. However, Dr. Montessori observed how work for children is energizing.

Young children have an intense urge to do things! Think about the crawling infant who is completely compelled to try to get up the stairs, so matter how many times we bring them back down or try to block the steps. 

Typically we, as adults, stop children from doing certain activities because we think the action is too tiring, too difficult, too dangerous, too messy, or because it will be more efficient and faster for us to do it ourselves.

Yet young children have a compulsion to engage in activities with a huge amount of effort. In fact, young children will become quite distressed when their activity is interrupted.

Understanding Children’s Motivation 

Young children’s goals for doing activities are not practical ones. They aren’t motivated by having clean hands or a polished candlestick. Dr. Montessori discovered that young children’s motivation to work and gain independence is part of their process of constructing themselves. They are motivated to interact with their surroundings in order to create who they are as humans. Children are working to coordinate and refine movements, gain independence, master sequences of activity, and essentially create their future personalities. It’s easy to tell when children are in this stage because they will do an activity repeatedly, even in one day or in one sitting. This is what Dr. Montessori observed when she offered basins of water and cakes of soap to the children in San Lorenzo.

Gradually, around the ages of four and five, children become fueled by a love and appreciation of their surroundings and their community. They want to put their skills to use! While the youngest children will wash a clean table ten times, slightly older children will wash a table once because it is dirty. Often older children will notice a something that needs attending to, like a lot of dirty cloths in the laundry basket and want to wash the items to make sure everything is clean for the next day. 

Making Activities Accessible

In Montessori settings, we make sure that the processes of everyday living are accessible to children. Items are sized for the children because it’s hard to sweep when the broom is larger than one’s body! Children also get to see and participate in steps that are often not visible to them, like what happens in the dishwasher. Thus, when we offer children the steps of washing dishes, we are gifting them with the awareness of each step involved: how we go from dirty dishes to clean dishes includes wetting the dishes, scrubbing them with soap, rinsing the dishes, and finally drying them. 

We also slow down the movements involved so that children can see, absorb, and practice each necessary skill. When children can practice each step slowly and intentionally, they learn how to do things like unbuttoning or buttoning their sweater or tying their shoes. Having time and space to practice the activities allows children to be active participants in taking care of themselves and their community.

Some Outcomes of Practical Life Activities

How can getting oneself dressed or scrubbing a table help with children’s development? Practical life activities help children develop critical skills like intelligence and memory, concentration and focus, awareness and self-confidence, self-control and self-discipline, and the ability to problem-solve and think rationally.

When even the youngest children are following a complex series of steps in order to accomplish something like washing a cloth, they are developing their memory and intelligence. They see how to set up the basins of water, wet the cloth, get the soap, scrub, rinse, hang the cloth the dry, repeat, and then clean everything up when finished. Then they hold that sequence in their minds in order to do the activity themselves. In the process, they are also developing their capacity for logical ordered thinking. 

In addition, when working on practical life activities, children strengthen their ability to reason. They have to consider things like whether they need to apply more polish or if the table is completely dry. As such, children begin to develop an awareness of their impact which also creates self-confidence. When they see that the table is dirty after pitting cherries and get the table scrubbing activity out, they have taken a step along the path of becoming logical problem-solvers. 

Through the exercises of practical life, children also increase their self-control and self-discipline. Some of this self-control comes from the ability to put the needs of the community ahead of their own needs. A toddler who scoops avocado to make guacamole to share at snack may want to eat the avocado right away. However, they delay gratification in order to serve friends during snack time. Children also learn to put things away when they are finished using them, which helps establish a life-long habit of self-discipline.

We also offer challenges that help children develop skills that will lead to more concentration and focus. We might pose these suggestions as questions: Do you think you could wash this table without spilling a drop of water anywhere? How many times can you spoon the beans back and forth without spilling any? Offering these little points of consciousness provides children with a challenge that helps them strengthen their ability to concentrate and persevere, while also helping them refine their fine and gross motor skills.

From their very humble beginnings, the exercises of practical life provide children with so many benefits! In addition to developing the foundation for executive functioning skills (like task initiation, self-control, organization, planning and prioritizing, and holding information in working memory) practical life activities help children develop a deep love and appreciation for their surroundings and for those who live in their community.

Practical life activities are the cornerstone of Montessori classrooms. We invite you to come to see this remarkable work in action! 

Plant Care: Practical Life Meets Science

Montessori students begin studying biology at a young age, usually around age three during their first year in the primary environment. This work continues throughout the course of their time with us. They explore information with more depth than you might imagine, so they end up with a strong base of understanding about living organisms.

Along with zoology, botany is one of the earliest subjects explored. We give our students lessons about plant life and there are supplemental materials on the shelves for them to explore. The learning doesn’t stop there. When it comes to biology, we believe having living examples present whenever possible is one of the best ways to spark genuine interest and increase understanding. Plants are one of the easiest ways to do this, and within our classrooms and throughout the building you will find many beautiful examples of this type of life.

It’s important to note that the plants we keep are not just for display and observation. Our students - even our very youngest students - take an active role in caring for the plants.

The Practical Life Angle

When we think of practical life, all that we teach generally falls under the umbrella of three categories: care of oneself, care of others, and care of the environment. The more we participate in this type of work, the more we realize how connected the categories are.

Plants are one of the best teachers of practical life skills. We keep living specimens in our classrooms intentionally - and for many good reasons. Studies have shown the presence of plants to have a positive effect on peoples’ moods, they are helpful in filtering the air, and they contribute to the natural beauty of our classroom environments.

But - rather than just letting a bunch of pretty plants sit there and be cared for by the teachers, we engage our students in the important work of plant care. The children in our classrooms learn how to properly water living plants. They learn to dust their leaves. They learn to recognize that some plants need more sunlight than others, and that it is up to us to ensure we place them in proximity to windows accordingly.

Beyond the potted plant, our students learn to appreciate the art of arranging flowers to beautify the classroom. They plant gardens, tend to their seedlings, and harvest their own vegetables. They take on a sense of responsibility for living things that are reliant on them. The original Montessori Erdkinder model for adolescents is based in part on students running their own active farm. This still happens in some schools, but others (where an actual farm is not practical or possible) find ways to engage similar types of experiences.

We believe teaching students how to care for plants has numerous benefits. Well-cared-for plants beautify the learning environment, bringing a sort of energized calm into the atmosphere. Plants are also a wonderful introduction into learning to care for something beyond yourself; they have the ability to teach both empathy and responsibility.

The Science Angle

Starting in Montessori primary classrooms and continuing on throughout their school career, our students study botany each year. The skills start simply and are often accompanied by gorgeous wooden puzzles, but our study of plants is always rooted (don’t mind the pun) in living examples.

The content covered is wide-ranging and often intertwines with other subject areas. Here is a general idea of the scope and sequence of our botany curriculum:

• Parts of… (a plant, a tree, a flower, a seed, etc.)

• Identification of various leaf shapes

• Evolution of plants on Earth

• Types of plants

• Plant reproduction

• Plant respiration

• Categories with the plant kingdom

• Botany experiments

• In-depth studies of types of plants and parts of plants

• Native and invasive species

• Plants’ roles with ecosystems

• Interactions between people and plants

• Plants’ roles in economies

There are opportunities throughout your child’s time at our school to engage in “research projects” about plants. Sometimes young children may choose to write or draw about what they’ve learned, while older children might take an interest in a particular species, looking up information and writing reports to be shared with classmates.

Exposure to botany beginning at such a young age, coupled with an understanding of how plant life has evolved over the course of Earth’s history, leads Montessori children to appreciate and understand more about this kingdom than many of their peers. They are encouraged to explore their own interests more as they get older, and it’s often amazing how many of them choose independent exploration of this particular subject.

Bringing It Home

Parents often ask us how they can support the Montessori curriculum in their own homes. While we do not advise families to purchase Montessori materials, as they can only be used correctly after receiving specific training, caring for plants in your home is a wonderful way to bring your child’s school experience into your home.

Start simply! This might even be just picking up a bouquet of flowers at the store, or gathering wildflowers near your home, then asking your child to show you how they learned to arrange them at school. Provide your child with a pair of scissors, a vase or two (or even just empty glass jars!), and access to a sink. If they are still learning, you might guide them in making sure they trim stems at an angle, and explain how this allows the cut flowers to absorb more water. Allow your child to display the flower arrangements inside your home.

If you’re ready for more, engage your child in the care of your existing houseplants, or perhaps purchase one or two for them to take charge of. Teach them to recognize that different types of plants have different light and watering needs. Remind them to mist or dust leaves occasionally, not only to make the plants look nice, but to help them be more efficient in their photosynthesis.

If you’re feeling really ambitious... spring will be here before you know it! January is a time when gardeners delight in huddling inside their warm homes, thumbing through seed catalogs and planning out what they will do during the upcoming seasons.

We hope this article has provided you with both helpful information and maybe a little bit of inspiration. As always, we would love to hear from you! If you have questions or want to see what this looks like in our schools, please reach out and let us know.

Practical Life for the Holidays

The holiday season is nearly upon us, and no matter how you celebrate, this time of year is often steeped in family traditions. The foods, smells, decorations, songs, and gifts echo in our memories for a lifetime. As a parent, it can be magical to experience the holidays through your child’s eyes; everything is so exciting and full of wonder.

Many families involve their children in preparing for special days and celebrations. By doing so, you may already be engaging in what Montessori refers to as practical life, or the teaching and practicing of skills that a person will use to get by in their everyday lives as an adult. Practical life covers a wide range of skills, but this time of year is ripe with opportunities — and not just for the preschool crowd. Check out our ideas below!

Caring for the Self

As with everything, it’s important to consider where your child is developmentally, what their interests are, and set your expectations accordingly.

Choosing what to wear

Special occasions call for special outfits. It can be fun for parents to pick out adorable clothing for their small children, but it’s also nice to involve kids in the process so that they are able to share in the fun and develop a sense that their opinion is important. Younger children (toddlers, preschool-aged) might benefit from being able to select from two or three choices that you have found ahead of time.

Older children enjoy (and deserve) to be more involved in selecting their own clothing. It can help to talk about what you’re looking for ahead of time and what your expectations are. If a family occasion calls for something more dressy than jeans, let your child know. Remember that choice is important, but so are limits. Be open-minded (this can be even more challenging when your teenagers are developing their sense of self through style), but it’s okay to let your child know that you have the right to veto an outfit. Ultimately, it all comes down to finding something you can both appreciate and that is appropriate for the occasion.

Practicing hygiene

There are two main opportunities in this category this time of year: practicing hygiene in social situations and taking advantage of extra time at home together to teach new skills.

When it comes to actions like using a napkin to wipe ones’ face at the dinner table, toddlers will find this new concept fun and exciting, but even your elementary-aged child may need some reminders and practice. Although your children are likely experts on the following by now, it doesn’t hurt to remind them what to do when they need to cough, sneeze, or blow their nose around others.

Enjoying some vacation time and days around the house together? What better time to teach your three-year-old how to brush her hair, your five-year-old to floss, or give your twelve-year-old a crash course on skin care?

Food preparation

This item on our list may just be the most fun.

Many families have traditional recipes they share for special holidays. What are yours? Could you teach your child how to make Grandma’s jelly-filled cookies? Your famous vegetable side dish? That roast everyone looks forward to enjoying once a year?

Regardless of what you’re making in the kitchen, there’s a way for pretty much everyone to get involved. Whether it’s simple slicing or complicated multi-step directions that need to be followed, it’s great to teach children how to make their own food. It’s extra special when you’re sharing memories and creating new ones.

Budgeting

This is a special section just for the teens in your life. They may be at an age when they would like to start participating more in gift-giving. Enter: budgeting lessons. Whether you give them a certain amount to spend or they have their own money (saved or earned from a part-time job), many of us wish we had gotten financial lessons when we were younger.

What does your teen already understand about money? What do they still need to learn?

Caring for the Environment

Caring for ourselves is important, but so is taking care of the space we live and exist in. The skills in this section focus on the home and beyond.

Cleaning

It seems like cleaning tasks tend to increase this time of year. There is cleaning to be done ahead of time, maintenance cleaning should you be expecting visitors, and cleaning once the season is over and everything needs to be put away.

It’s never-ending!

Hand your toddler a dustpan, teach your third grader to load the dishwasher, and remind your adolescent how to properly sort the laundry.

Outdoor work

Some people need to start shoveling snow this time of year, while others are still gardening. Depending on where you live, the jobs are different, but there are almost always tasks to be taken care of outside of your home.

If your children are still young, kid-sized tools can help. Smaller rakes, shovels, and the like aren’t too hard to find, and they can make all the difference. Our children want to participate in family tasks; finding ways to let them help increases their confidence, teaches them valuable skills, and lets them know that all family members are important and can/should contribute.

Grace and Courtesy

The way we interact with others on a social level is an important set of skills that we carry with us throughout our lives. Kids pick up a lot on their own and just by playing with one another, but some bits need to be taught. This is a great time of year to talk about, model, and practice grace and courtesy.

Interacting with relatives

Does your son need to hug his aunt? Not if he doesn’t want to. Does he need to say hello and learn how to have a polite conversation (even if it’s short and sweet)? Definitely.

When our students enter our building, their teachers greet them at the door in the morning with a smile and a hello. They look one another in the eye, and our staff teaches children what they expect in return. Manners matter; showing other people basic respect is the foundation for positive human interaction. Too often children are excused from pleasantries, but we believe the opposite should be true. Let’s teach them while they’re young!

Before celebrating holidays with family members, talk to your child about what you expect. Role-play together so they have a chance to practice ahead of time. If, in the moment, they don’t quite get it right, don’t fret. There’s always next time.

Giving gifts

Gift giving is not synonymous with spending money. It’s about showing the people we love that we care about them. It can be making something special by hand or spending quality time together.

If your family exchanges gifts this time of year, talk to your child about how they might like to contribute. It’s also nice to consider giving charitable gifts - what are some ways your family might work together to support folks or organizations in your community this time of year?

Showing gratitude

Expressing our thanks is a win-win. We let others know that we notice and appreciate them, but it also feels good to be grateful. Consider some ways you would like your child to show gratitude and lead by examples. This may be as simple as saying the words aloud and with conviction, or you might teach them how to write a nice thank you letter to drop in the mail.  

Movement with Purpose

The way we move through the world is one last set of practical life skills that are taught in Montessori schools. Traditionally this work would be left to the primary classroom, but our suggestions extend to the years beyond.

Decorating the home

While this doesn’t apply to everyone, many families have old or fragile holiday decorations, with some having been passed down for generations.

Let your child know how precious special items are, and how they need to be handled and cared for. Then, as you are comfortable, let your child participate in decorating with these items. There is always a risk that something may break, so start small!

Dancing

This final point is just for the fun of it. Moving our bodies feels good and moving our bodies joyfully to music feels great.

So crank up some tunes and have a fun dance-fest around the living room with your kids! You’ll all be glad you did.

Practical Life: From Hand Washing to Entrepreneurship

Practical life is one of Montessori education's core components, and it’s one of the vital elements that make it stand out from other models. The work comes in a variety of forms, too. Guides give direct lessons, children are afforded time and space to practice, and much of the learning is built authentically into the daily routine.

What practical life looks like throughout the different stages of childhood is where things get interesting. Read on to learn a bit about the skills we teach at various ages and how you might implement the practice at home with your own child. 

Toddler Environments

• Food tasting - In lieu of a traditional snack time, many toddler classrooms include tasting opportunities. This includes a formal sit down with all the children at a table and incorporates teaching children how to pass serving dishes or serve one another. The fun and routine of regular food tasting allows toddlers to try a variety of foods and flavors that they may not have otherwise.

• Table setting - To prepare for food tasting, children take turns helping to set the table. This is a skill that toddlers are fully capable of (with a bit of guidance) and allows them to contribute to the group while building a sense of confidence.

• Window washing - The funny thing about young children is they love to clean. For adults, a task like washing windows is just one more tedious item to check off the list; for kids it’s an exciting new adventure that makes them feel grown-up. Toddler guides provide children with the necessary tools, they give a brief lesson, and allow the children to practice.

• Sweeping - As you might imagine, there are plenty of spills in any classroom! One of the first ways many Montessori guides teach children to sweep is to tape off a small square on the floor. Children are meant to sweep debris into the square to make it easier to then collect with a dustpan and brush. This is something you can try at home, too.

• Folding napkins - Folding laundry may seem like an endless task, but when your toddlers want to help, let them! Small, square items, like napkins, washcloths, and dish towels, are perfect for small hands to practice with. Demonstrate wordlessly with one or two, then give them a pile to work on. You will be amazed at their intense focus and ability.

• Handwashing - There are specific Montessori lessons to teach a child to wash their hands. This is an especially important skill for them to master now, and parents can easily demonstrate and guide children through the steps at home as well.

• Pouring activities - The opportunities for pouring are endless. Montessori environments may provide children with small trays complete with prepared pouring activities. This may include a small pitcher and a bowl that water can be transferred between.

• Plant care - With guidance, toddlers may begin to learn about basic plant care, including watering.

• Basic organization - We believe it’s important to teach children organization right from the start, and children in the first plane of development have finely tuned sense of order, which makes this great timing. When a child arrives in the morning, they are responsible for hanging their coat on their designated hook. If a child takes a work off a shelf, we teach them how to return it to its proper spot.

• Putting on and taking off one’s coat and shoes - Basic self care is important, and another great opportunity to nurture independence. It may take some time and practice, but toddler guides teach and encourage children to put on and take off their own shoes and coats. Want to try this at home? Check out this great video of the “Montessori coat flip.”

Primary Environments

• Controlled walking - Refinement of gross motor skills is one important area primary children work on throughout the course of their three-year cycle. Montessori guides may tape a circle onto the floor for children to walk on. As a challenging extension, students may hold a bell while walking, with the goal of not allowing it to ring.

• Carrying items - It’s important to teach children how to carry items properly, whether that be a tray of work, a glass of water, or even a chair safely across the room.

• Transfer work - Small trays of transfer work can be found on the shelves of any primary classroom. Children work on their fine motor skills by moving small objects (pom poms, beads, stones) from one bowl or container to another using various tools (tongs, spoons, etc.).

• Using tools - From kitchen tools like whisks and apple slicers, to handy tools like screwdrivers and hammers, primary-aged children have the opportunity to try out and master a wide variety.

• Pouring activities - Much like in the toddler environment, primary children work with pouring activities. Rice is often used, as well as water, and cleaning up spills is a part of the work.

• Rolling mats - Montessori children use work mats to define their space (both for themselves and their classmates). Learning how to properly roll and store these mats makes them neat and available to the next child.

• Plant care - A continuation of the toddler work, children in the primary classroom learn how to water plants, as well as dust their leaves and ensure proper sunlight. They may even have opportunities to garden with their class.

• Cleaning the classroom environment - Children aged 3-6 are still primed with a sense of order, and they delight in assisting in cleaning the classroom environment. Using real mops, brooms, and sponges, they are given lessons and ample time to practice.

• Handwashing - Again, a continuation of the work in the toddler classroom, primary students are taught how to carefully and effectively wash their hands.

• Dressing frames - These lovely Montessori materials consist of a wooden frame with fabric and various types of fasteners. One frame teaches children to button, while another allows for practice zippering, using hooks and eyes, buckling, lacing, tying, and more.

• Food preparation - There are so many skills to be taught in the kitchen (and classroom!). Children typically start with cutting and slicing, then move on to spreading, stirring and mixing, peeling, juicing, and preparing basic multi-step snacks.

• Grace and courtesy - We believe that caring for one another is a big part of our basic practical life skillset. We teach our students how to greet one another, how to have appropriate conversations, and how to welcome a guest into the classroom.

Elementary Environments

• Food preparation - Food prep is often seen as a staple of the primary environment, but it should (and does) continue well beyond. Different schools and teachers approach this work differently, however, and it can take on so many forms. Some classes make a treat for each child’s birthday, while others prepare meals for special occasions, or even weekly.

• Meal preparation - Beyond the act of chopping and cooking, many Montessori elementary students are able to experience the work that comes beforehand, including recipe selection and shopping for ingredients within a budget.

• Cleaning the classroom environment - The glorious sense of order that graces the first plane quickly dissolves when children enter their elementary years. This means there are plenty of messes to clean up, and lots of opportunities to teach children how to do so. Working clean-up time into the regular routine is one way we foster a sense of responsibility in our students.

• Plant and animal care - Elementary children continue to assist with plant care as they did in the primary years, yet this is often extended to assisting the guides with caring for any class pets. This is often done on a rotating basis, as most children are enamored with animals and jobs that involve their care are quite coveted!

• Handwork - It is during the elementary years that children discover the calming nature of handwork. What often begins with simple finger knitting can take on a wide variety of forms. Children in a Montessori class can often be seen engaging in these types of activities during read alouds, when they complete their work, or when they need a moment to calm and/or center themselves.

• Community service - During the second plane of development children are able to see the world beyond themselves. They begin to contemplate society and their role within it, while also harboring a deep sense of justice and fairness. This makes it the perfect time to introduce service learning. Service projects are best formulated by allowing the students to drive the mission with adults serving as guides who help out with logistics.

• Grace and courtesy - As children age, grace and courtesy becomes more about how to interact with others on a deeper level. School-aged children have a strong desire to socialize, but they still have a lot to learn about how to do so with grace. We can help - by teaching skills like conflict resolution, and by reading stories about children who encounter typical social situations, priming them for discussions that create solutions.

• Going out - Elementary children are ready to engage with the larger community. By allowing them to plan trips that are related to their studies or areas of interests, a whole host of skills can be taught, including phone etiquette, taking public transportation, and how to behave in different settings and speak with different people. Beyond the scope of the traditional ‘field trip’, going out involves the development of critical life skills.

Adolescent Environments

• Business management - The Montessori adolescent environment is centered on the students working together to run a business. Their multiple years in the community mean they have opportunities to try out a wide variety of roles, too. While the traditional business is a working farm, many Montessori schools have adapted the concept to meet their own local needs.

• Financial responsibility - Running a business includes making purchasing decisions, setting cost prices, and creating enough revenue to stay afloat. Montessori adolescents are able to have valuable practice making financial decisions before they ever leave for college.

• Independent interactions with community members - Teens are social creatures, and Montessori programs allow them to develop connections with their larger community. Their work includes reaching out to and planning with other adults and businesses in the local community, giving them experience that will help them succeed in the future and be contributing members of their communities.

• Meal planning, preparation, and food service - Whether this work is a part of their business or simply regular preparation of meals for one another, middle- and high-school Montessori students are able to have hands-on experience creating and serving meals to others. This will prepare them to learn healthy eating habits and nurture an appreciation for culinary arts.

• Agricultural skills - Whether a Montessori adolescent program runs a full farm or a CSA for micro-greens, their work incorporates botany and an understanding of local agriculture. At the very least, this gives them an understanding and new connection to their larger food system.

Please note that the skills we have listed for each age group are far from exhaustive. These are just a few of the highlights! We hope you have found this article informative, and maybe even inspiring.  

Bringing Food Prep Into Your Kitchen

One of the many joyful aspects of a Montessori environment is food preparation. Learning how to prepare one’s own food is a critical life skill, and it has always been a part of Montessori learning. While toddlers learn to sit together and gracefully serve and share food, at age three our primary students begin to prepare it for themselves. Even in classrooms for older students, guides find ways to work in this important practice for children. There are plenty of ways you can support your child’s developing skills at home.

Start Small: Give Mini-Lessons

We treat food prep the same as we would any other subject. We teach small skills in isolation and with intention. Parents can work the same approach into their kitchens at home. Simply demonstrate what to do, then give your child a chance to try it for themselves. The following are some ideas to get you started:

1. Cutting and Slicing: We don’t recommend giving your four-year-old your sharpest knife, but there are lots of good options to teach this skill safely. Whether you choose to use a butter knife or try a kid-friendly wavy chopper, learning to cut and slice are good first skills to teach. Think cucumbers, celery, boiled eggs, bananas...whatever they like to eat is a great place to start!

2. Spreading: This one is pretty self-explanatory. Utilize a variety of spreads and surfaces, like cream cheese on bagels, nut butter on celery, butter on toast, or hummus on a cracker.

3. Mixing: Stirring and blending are natural next steps. Children can learn to whisk eggs, make instant pudding, or help combine ingredients for a meal you're putting together.

4. Using Various Tools: Once they’ve mastered the above mentioned skills, your child is ready to learn how to use other tools, including a melon baller, vegetable peeler, cheese grater, rubber spatula, potato masher, juicer, tongs, or an ice cream scoop. Introducing a wide variety of tools will keep them engaged and interested.

5. Using Heat: Once you feel your child is ready you can begin to introduce recipes that require heat. Start simple: teach them how to make their own toast. You can then move on to whatever works for your family. They may enjoy making pancakes, rice, tea, or popcorn. 

6. Measuring: While measuring is critical to following recipes and learning to cook, it’s also an excellent way to bring math into the kitchen. They sky’s the limit on this one. You could teach your child to follow family recipes or discover new ones together!

Provide Opportunities For Practice

Food preparation shouldn’t be a one-time experience. The long term goal is to encourage children to gain skills independently while building up their interest and confidence. To do this, we must give kids ongoing opportunities to get into the kitchen and make food for themselves and for others.

Find ways to make this work for you. Once your child has a few skills mastered, perhaps they can be in charge of preparing their own daily snacks. As they get a bit older, they can take on the responsibility of making their own lunch, or even someday preparing dinner for their family!

Encourage Independence and Exploration

It can be tempting to come up with a plan and force our children to stick to it. It is helpful to remember, however, that “follow the child” is our motto, and for good reason. Perhaps you planned to have your child learn to chop carrots while helping you prepare dinner, but they are suddenly really into apples. Take cues from their interests and the experience will be far more rewarding for them (and for you, too!).

Whenever possible, step back and let them take over. The key is teaching them a skill so that they may master it themselves. As children get older, let them explore cookbooks and even begin to create recipes of their own.

Teach About Nutrition

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with teaching your child how to whip up a batch of cookies, food prep at home is a great way to teach your child about healthy eating. As you work with various ingredients it can be nice to talk about their benefits. We all enjoy the pleasure derived from eating delicious food, but knowing on a scientific level how different foods are beneficial to our bodies adds an extra layer of interest.

This is a great article if you’re looking for more tips on how to teach your child about nutrition.

Give Trust...and Make Room For Errors

Within reasonable safety parameters, try to step back and let your child make mistakes. Mistakes are a critical part of learning, and we need to let them happen (even if that means a little more work). There will be spills. There will be smudgy faces. There will be burnt baked goods. There may even be a splatter or two on the wall. Let it happen.

This is a nice time for us to recognize that food prep is part of the Montessori practical life curriculum. Another important part of practical life is cleaning. They may need help at first, but you can teach them to wipe up those messes!

We hope this post will inspire you to get your child into the kitchen more, and we know they will love it! Enjoy the successes, embrace the messes, and have fun eating together.