Q1. Write a comprehensive note on the importance of practical life exercise.

Exercise of Practical life are those exercises are those daily routine tasks which are
normally performed by elders in a n adult environment. But in a House of Children
we facilitate the children to perform all those tasks. There are unlimited practical
life exercises in a Montessori house of children. By doing EPL children get use to and
are able to do series of simpler to complex tasks of daily life. This also helps them to
prepare for the practical life, other than this it helps the children in variety other
ways i.e.

1. INDEPENDENCE
It is established that between birth and six months the child is developing. His
mental patterns are getting fixed, and the personality is developing which is
almost determined by the age of six to seven years. Things are done for them
rather than helping them to do things themselves. In almost every family we
have males ordering mothers, sisters, wives and daughters to do things for
them or we see girls always reluctant to do the house hold tasks. The males
are usually ordering like
“Where are my shoes”
“Iron my clothes “ etc etc/
If we start the EPL in early childhood, we help children do things themselves
rather than doing things for them. Independence becomes a lifelong
personality trait. They don't just continue doing everyday things for
themselves and others but also do it happily.

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 2. Love for Work
The EPL exercises develop the love for the work as it’s a normal routine tasks
which the children do by themselves it not only enhances their self confidence
but also increases their self esteem and the feeling of significance.
3. Happiness, Self satisfaction and Self respect
The EPL exercises develop the habit in children to do their work by
themselves. Which makes them happy, self reliant and confident.
4. Learn How to seek help :
It is often very difficult for people to ask for help or assistance from anyone .
these EPL exercises the children learn how to give and receive help so they
replace the attitude and words from “ Go clean your room “ to “ Let us all
clean the room today.”
5. Make the world a better place
The most essential part of EPL is the winding up, in Montessori schools we
follow the principle of “there is a place for everything and everything has a
proper place. By practicing these exercises the children develop the habit of
putting all the things back to their normal places.
6. For perfection of movement
The nature wants the children to be on move all the time. The more
developed a child is the more obedient are his instruments of motion to his
will. Different EPL exercises like rolling on the carpet, polishing shoes , setting
the table carrying the furniture etc makes the children to learn how to walk
properly and gives them more confidence to handle themselves.
7. Passing on good work habits
When the child is young he learns enormously by imitating the adults. All the
negative attitude of the adults pass into the children so if our kids today grow
up into an excellent environment their habits will grow good.
8. Developing love for the universe
By doing the EPL exercises of personal care , care for environment, care for
the living things and all forms of life. It develops courtesy , love and care in the
child and it becomes the habit of the child.

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Q2. Explain the different groups of exercises of practical life. How do you think
the grouping is helpful?

The EPL exercises are divided into four groups. For the ease. These groups helps
the directress to focus on all the minor details which are helpful in the learning
and grooming process of a child.

The EPL is divided into the following four groups;

Elementary
Excercises

EPL
Excercises Excercises
for Personal for Grace &
Care Courtesy

Excercises of
Care &
Environment

Elementary Exercises:

These are the very basic exercises which are further divided into three categories

 Basic Elementary Exercises

 Elementary Exercises
 Higher Elementary Exercises

 Basic Elementary Exercises

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 These activities involve the very basic movement of the child e.g holding a
glass, jug tray etc.
Elementary Exercises
The movements involved in this category are a bit more complex and
advanced than basic elementary exercises, but altogether they are also
done within a short period of time.
a) Higher elementary Exercise
Same sort of work is involved in these exercises but they are more logical
and slightly more complex than the previous group of exercises.

2. Exercises of Personal Care

These exercises help the child to take care of himself, gain confidence and
groom himself.

3.Grace and Courtesy Exercise

Through these activities the child learns to be polite, use basic manners and
how to go around the society.

4.Care of Environment

Exercises of care of both outdoor and indoor environments are

components of this category. The child learns to take care of the
environment, how to keep it clean and how to restore and maintain proper
living conditions, indoor putting things in the right places,

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Q3. What are the essential points that we should keep in mind while presenting
EPL?

Ans: The EPL exercises gives confidence and build up the personality of the
students. Therefore it is necessary for the directress to first practice all the EPL by
herself and get master in it .

Following are the two ways of performing EPL

Individual Presentation:

As the sole purpose of EPL is to make every single child independent so that is
how the exercise of EPL should be presented to each and every child so they learn
from it.

There are a few points which we should consider in EPL individual presentation

i.e.

 The material of EPL should be displayed at the eye level of each child so the
child can select and can make his own choice.

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  Order for placing everything is also highly important as per Montessori the
rule of placing things should be followed
“A thing for a place and a place for a thing”
 The material must be ready before the presentation, the directress should
not get engaged while making the children wait.
 Before starting any EPL it is must to take the consent of the child so that he
can realize that his opinion is important and does matter so always ask him
“ Would you like me to show you how we work with it? “
 Brief the child about the material and all the related safety precautions.
 Make the children useful and take their help to move the material to the
workplace.
 Keep one rule in your mind “ you should not speak while demonstrating
and you should not demonstrate while speaking” , it means that use only
necessary words while demonstrating the EPL>
 The presentation should be short and energetic.
 Invite the chold and let them practice.
 Don`t interrupt the child child while he is performing his EPL, the aim
should be bring his mental state in a point where he build his interest in
things, even if he is not perfect let him practice.
 All the material should be placed at its proper place after the exercise.

Group Presentation:

Sometimes it is important to give a group presentation instead of an

individual presentation. Even if it’s a group presentation same points
should be kept in mind along with the following one;
 Start the presentation when all the children are ready and in a mood
to take instructions
 Even if a single child is not ready he might disturbed the class in that
case you can give the individual presentation.
 At the end of the presentation give each child a separate material so
he can make an individual practice.

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Q4. Try to explain “Formal setting of a Table” and “Making a Chicken Spread
Sandwich” in the same way EPL have been explained in this book for you.

Formal setting of a Table:

Material:

 1 Table mat
 1 Plate
 1 Glass
 1 Spoon
 1 Knife
 1 Fork
 1 Napkin
 1 large wooden tray (optional)
Arrangement

1. Prepare a child-sized table for the presentation and place a chair in front of the table.
Invite the child by asking him/her whether they would like to learn to set up a formal
table.
2. Bring the appropriate material from the place where it is stored to the workplace with
the help of the child. The material must be kept at the child’s eye level.
3. The child can be demonstrated how to set the table using the large wooden tray or
directly onto the table. In this presentation the demonstration is being done directly
onto the table.
4. Pick up the place mat by holding the top right corner with your right thumb and index
finger and the top left corner with our left thumb and index finger. Lift the table mat
on the table right in front of the chair.
5. Flatten out the mat so that it does not have any wrinkles in it.
6. Pick up the plate by holding it from its rims with both hands in such a way that the
thumbs of both hands are on the upper side and fingers should be underneath the plate
for support.
7. Lift the plate and place it in the middle of the table mat without making a sound.

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 8. Pick up the napkin in such a way that your thumb is on the lower side and fingers are
on the upper side of the napkin.
9. Lift the napkin and place it on the left side of the plate. (Please note: different
variations of the position of the napkin are used. In this presentation the simplest
napkin position is being used for the convenience of the child who is learning to set
the table for the first time.) Keep the napkin in line with the plate so that it looks
balanced.
10. 10. If the napkin needs to be folded, hold its corners with your thumb and index
fingers and bring the corners a bit higher. Put them on the opposite corners. If
required double fold from left to right. After folding smooth out the crease.
11. 11. Pick up the fork with your index finger and thumb such that the thumb is on the
upper side and index finger is on the lower side of the holding part (handle) of the
fork.
12. 12. Place the fork gently on the left side of the plate on top of the napkin. Make sure
the fork is in line with the plate.
13. 13. Pick up the knife in the same manner as the fork. Place it on the right hand side of
the plate in such a manner that the sharp edge of the knife faces the plate. The fork,
plate and knife should all be in line and in a balanced position.
14. 14. Pick up the spoon and place it on the right side of the knife. Keep it in a balanced
line with the knife.
15. 15. Pick up the glass in such a way that the thumb of right hand is on your side and
four fingers on the opposite side, while the palm of the left hand may be used to
support the glass. Place it on the right side of the table mat just above the knife and
spoon, without making a sound.
16. 16. Invite the child to use the material to practice the activity himself.

17. After the child has finished the activity he should be shown where the material must
be placed.

18.The child may be allowed to use the material anytime for practicing.

17. Points of Interest:

 Remembering where and how to place the various items
 Keeping the items in balance with each other
 Maintaining balance while holding and carrying different utensils
18. Concentration
19. Control of Error:
 Dropping glass, plate or other utensils
 Making sound while placing different utensils on the table.
20. Direct Aim:

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  Learn to set up a table while coping independently with the various items and
remembering their right places.
21. Indirect Aim:
 Hand eye coordination
 Balance
 Perfection of movement
 Concentration
 Age Group: 3 years and onwards

22. Making a Chicken Spread Sandwich:

1. Get your leftover chicken meat and chop it up. I like my chicken spread to be
quite chunky, so I don’t chop it all that finely, but you can make it however you like.
2. Put the chicken pieces into a bowl and add several dollops of mayonnaise. My
husband likes it really creamy, so I have to put extra mayo in for him!
3. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir the mixture together.
4. Add hot sauce, garlic paste, or sweetcorn – or all three, if you’re feeling
adventurous!
5. Get two pieces of bread, and butter them if you want. I’m on a diet at the moment,
so I’ve been skipping the butter – you don’t need it, as the mayonnaise will make the
sandwich nice and moist.
6. Put a layer of salad onto one piece of bread, if you’re into that.
7. Spoon the chicken mixture onto the piece of bread with the salad on – this makes
8. Lay the other piece of bread on top, and press down gently.
9. Cut the sandwich into however many pieces you’d like.

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Q5. Write just the names of as many EPL as possible ( that you think a child can
do) and which are not mentioned in the book.

1. walking on a line
2. Pouring rice
3. Pouring water
4. Watering plants
5. Sponging
6. Sitting on a chair
7. Opening and closing of door
8. Hand washing
9. Folding activity
10. Table washing
11. Wood polishing
12. Metal polishing
13. Sweeping
14.Flower arranging
15. Apple serving
16. Dish washing
17. Carrot peeling activity
18. Cutting paper
19. Holding a jug
20. Carrying a glass of water
21.Holding a spoon
22.Hanging an apron
23.Opening and closing of bottle caps
24.Rolling and unrolling mats
25. Threading beads
26.Pegging
27.Pouring rice
28.Spooning beans
29. Turning pages
30.Using a droper

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 31. Use of funnel
32.Wringing a wet cloth
33.Cutting along the line
34. Washing hands
35.Washing face
36.Blowing nose
37.Brushing teeth
38.Combing, brushing , braiding
39.Care for finger nails
40.Opening and closing of buttons
41.Opening and closing of zip
42.Snapping frame
43.Hook and eye frame
44.Buckle frame
45.Bow tying frame
46.Shoe lacing frame
47.Safety pin frame
48.Learning to shake bottle
49.Using a grater
50.Preparing vegetable
51.Peeling vegetables
52.Use of blunt knife
53.Walking around a mat
54.Offering a knife
55.Sit on a chair
56.Knocking at the door
57.Silence game
58.Holding a chair
59. Use of broom or dust pan
60. Dusting
61.Care for indoor plants
62. Care fir animals

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