Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Assignment: Module 2

Q: 1 Write a note on the importance of practical life exercises?

Ans: The beginning activities for the young children are practical life exercises. These exercises
have the ability to improve concentration, motor control and eye hand coordination. These
practical life exercises include environmental care dining, personal care, eating and much more.
Children love to perform practical life exercises and it encourages children to develop good
habits and complete the assigned tasks. To make the students good citizen and have successful
career it is important to teach them to be thoughtful of the rights of other children. EPL helps to
contribute to the development of the whole personality of a person with inner discipline, high
degree of concentration and self direction. In conclusion, purpose of EPL is to develop the habit
of doing living activities in purposeful way.

AIM OF EPL:

The aim of EPL is to facilitate learning through day to day work in the children’s home. By
helping them do different home works we ensure children that they do their work with great
devotion and interest. It helps children to be singularly dignified and calm. The main foundation
of much Montessori education is EPL. These exercises are very important because they connect
the mind with the body to fulfill meaningful goals as the relationship of cognition and movement
is to make strong.

From the very early age children are brought close to precision. They like to know the accurate
sequence of steps that are required to perform the exercises. According to Montessori, children
start contracting their inner self from birth till the age of 6. Children prepare themselves for the
big world by using their motor skills and problem solving techniques. The most important thing
is reputation and order of the same activity to refine certain skills. The children need to move,
gain balance and grace.

Based on an idea that freedom implies self sufficiency, exercises of practical life sought to train
the growing children to master such essential skills and knowledge as maintaining, dressing
themselves tidy and clean, table setting, serving meals, sweeping and dusting. The aim of
Montessori is to free activity not at the cost of harmony, good manners or social order. Children
who are under the age of 7 play under the supervision of Montessori directress who does not act
like a passive out looker but like an active observer. The purpose of exercises of practical life is
to make children independent, to supply his own wants and to perform daily life activities with
grace and confidence. Children should know how to keep their workplace in order and arrange
their material as soon as they finish using it, they should know dusting and arranging furniture.
Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

While working they should take care of the apparatus. They should do all the work related to
setting table, meal serving, cleaning away and washing the dishes. All children share alike in this
work regardless of their age. Children learn to handle plates and glasses and pass food at the age
of three or four.

IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISES OF PRACTICAL LIFE:

Practical life exercises are designed to inspire movements directed to constructive ends. Some of
the main purposes of including EPL in daily life are:

To educate children movements to be geared to a purpose.

To develop children’s ability to concentrate on task.

To help out children carry out series of steps in sequence.

To help children learn from the environment.

Dr. Montessori discovered the importance of practical life exercises as follows:

 To enliven the child constructively

 To endow the child with affirming experiences.
 To fascinate the child with learning
 To enrich the child emotionally.
 To encourage responsibility
 To encourage the child emotionally.

TWO MAIN PURPOSES OF PRACTICAL LIFE EXERCISES:

First purpose of EPL is to learn the dignity of work: Children should get the opportunity to do
work like fold clothes, pour water. In this way children develop their motor skills of grace and
fluid movement at an early age.

Second purpose of EPL is to enable children to organize themselves as functional human beings.
When the child is two years old, we must help him to become master of himself and he then be
able to master other things.
Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

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

Ans: Different groups of Exercises of Practical life in Montessori System:

Exercises of practical life help children to learn coordination, concentration order and
independence. It also helps children to know how to interact with others and gain an appreciation
and understanding of environment. The child starts learning to build himself and how to treat
himself and others with respect and dignity. These understandings about the environment help
the child to enter the society and provide lifeline of self-worthiness and self-respect. It forms the
foundation of success and respect in all areas of life. This prepared environment and child
development is directly correlated. The classroom is specifically designed area for the children. It
should have variety of activities and movement for children through proper discipline. Children
respond properly to the quality and order in the environment.

Exercises for practical life are divided into four main groups:

1. Basic elementary exercises

2. Elementary exercises
3. Higher elementary exercises
4. Exercises of personal care
 Grace and courtesy exercises
 Care of environment exercises

Elementary Exercises:

These exercises are helpful in creating routine and order in the environment and are pre
requisites of other activities.

Elementary exercises are further divided into three sub categories

Basic Elementary Exercises:

These exercises help children to learn fundamental activities that involve muscles and mind
coordination. It includes exercises like taking objects, holding and putting them back, open and
close the door.
Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Elementary Exercises:

These exercises help the children to learn bit more complex and advance activities using their
muscles and mind coordination. Exercises include rolling and unrolling of mats, holding a chair,
pouring rice from one jug to another.

Higher Elementary Exercises:

These exercises help the children to learn bit more complex and advance activities. It includes
exercises like walking on line, silence practice.

Exercises with personal care:

These exercises help the children to learn how to take care of their own self. It includes different
exercises about how to wash their hands, brush teeth, use washroom, wear different clothes etc.

Grace and Courtesy Exercises:

These exercises are important for children to learn basic manners and how to deal with other
people. It also helps the children to understand different situations and how to react in these
situations. Children learn to use the words like excuse me when they need to ask for something
or interrupt. Through these exercises children learn how to say thank you and express the
gratitude, How to greet someone and introduce themselves to others.

Care of environment exercises:

These exercises help the children to learn how to take care of the environment. Care of the
environment includes exercises like organizing the clutter, sorting and putting things in the
proper place, dusting shelves, mopping, sweeping the floor etc.
Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Importance of EPL grouping:

EPL grouping plays a very important role in helping the child to develop his coordination in
movement, is gracefulness and balance in the environment as well as develop the power of
silence. Children are mostly interested in performing the activities that they have witnessed.
Children start building the blocks of his personality in his sensitive periods from his birth to six
years of age. Child tries to collect each and every activity by grouping these activities. Child
learns a lot, from basic to complex, from self control to care of environment, from grace to
courtesy, he learns everything step by step. When child learns basic motor skills, advance and
logical skills, he become more confident and satisfied than others.

The beauty of these exercises lie in the fact that they can vary from easy to complex, short to
long. These exercises have the successive pattern like washing then ironing etc. We can easily
breakdown the lengthy exercises into smaller parts. The children use all the skills they have
learnt in the practical life.

Q3: What are the essential points which we should keep in mind while presenting EPL?

Ans: Essential points for exercises of practical life in Montessori system:

Children are naturally interested in the activities that they witness. As the Montessori directress It
is her responsibility to direct children to the correct way of doing these exercises. It will allow
the children to observe the movement fully.

The material used in EPL can be characterized as follow:

Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

1. Physical proportions: Material should be in right size for the child to handle.

2. Psychically proportionate: Their function must be clear to the child.

3. Attractive and good quality: Materials must be beautiful and attract the child

4. Clean and well maintained: The materials must be kept intact. Avoid too many materials
from which child can choose.

5. Real not a toy: They must be real material, not toys.

6. One for each exercise: There should be multiple sets of materials so that children learn
individually.

7. Adaptable: Must be able to change from culture to culture and be comprised of the same
objects the children would find in their home.

8. Separation: Materials must be kept separate from other objects found in the environment.
Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Two ways to give EPL;

EPL presentations can b either individual or collective depending on the needs of children or the
nature of that activity. It can be direct presentation or indirect presentation.

Direct Presentation:

Direct presentation means that we introduce n activity to the child. It is necessary to analyze the
movement when giving the presentation. It will help the child to understand the movements
necessary and the sequence of the movements.

Indirect Presentation:

In indirect presentation children watches the teacher making the presentation and pay attention
towards the lesson without being the teacher aware about it. Indirect presentation can be more
important than direct presentation as the teacher is the biggest piece of Montessori material.

While presenting EPL few points should be kept in mind.

Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Choosing Activities:

All the materials used should be clean and non toxic. Teacher should practice properly before
presenting it in front f the children. Exercise should be done in a way that children can relate it
being done at their homes.

Setting up:

The practical life area must have a place for everything within reach of the children. For example,
hooks to hang the brooms and aprons, dust pan, mop, duster should be within easy reach of
children. The best place to arrange practical life real is near the sink, as water is essential for
some of the activities. In setting up a classroom, provision must be made to practice all types of
housework the child sees done at home. Furniture of all types must be chosen with various
surfaces. In this way, children can learn to clean some plain unvarnished wood, some polished,
and some painted surfaces.

Presenting Activities- Guidelines:

In practical life activities apron is must for both the teachers and students and they should roll up
their sleeves. It is important to teach students how to do the work without making any mess. The
child should not lean his stomach on wet surface and stand away from the sink or table.

Child should be taught to clean up after the activity and they should not be forced but
encouraged to perform the activity.

Child should be taught how to rinse, dry and put material away, how to hang up the apron.

When giving the new lesson, teacher will point out direction on the cleaning agent containers to
the child. If something is written with red, child should know it is important and read it first.

Teacher should help child to practice the activity so much that he should know what the right
way of performing activity is.
Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Procedure:

1. Deliver the lesson in happy and gentle way.

2. Show courtesy, graceful and quiet movements, zest for learning and enthusiastic attitude
for work.
3. Keep the lesson simple and short. Introduce activity with flexible sequence.
4. Invite the child and tell them what you are going to demonstrate.
5. Take child to the place where material is placed.
6. Carry the material to work area.
7. Demonstrate the activity.
8. Show the child where to return the material when activity is completed.

Evaluation:

Observation is must to demonstrate the child when the activity is needed to be simplified, when
the environment is needed to be modified and what is currently fascinating the child.

Remove the activities that are no longer being used.

Watch the child used activities appropriately and makes a mental note.
Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Don’t disturb the child while he is doing any activity, either doing it wrong. Repeat lessons as
needed at the neutral time.

Appreciate the concentration, the mastery of any work.

Q4: Try to explain formal setting of table and cooking a chicken spread sandwich in the
same way we have explained in the book?

Formal setting of a Table:

Material:

 A fork, spoon and knife

 Butter spreader
 A drinking class
 Napkin
 Butter plate
 Salad plate
Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Presentation:

 To present formal table setting, gather the students around the table
 Place things on the right places
 Dinner plate should be place in the middle
 Put the knife on the right side of the dinner plate and fork and spoon on the left side
 Salad plate should be placed next to the fork
 Place the glass for water at the top right side of the dinner plate
 Put the napkin on the dinner plate
 Repeat all the procedure one more time.
 Now ask the students one by one to do as you did.

Age group:

3 ½ and onwards.

Chicken spread sandwich:

Exercise:

 1 ½ to 2 cups minced cooked chicken

 ¼ to 1/3 cup mayonnaise
 Salt and pepper to taste.
 Cayenne, garlic, onion powder, your choice to taste.

Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

Preparation:
  Introduce all the ingredients to the children first.
 Then add all the ingredients one by one in front of them
 Mix them well
 Now ask the students to make it one by one.

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

Ans: EPL are the day to day basic traditional activities that happen in a house and family. They
can be sort down into four different categories.

1. Preliminary activities
2. Care of the environment
3. Care of self
4. Grace and courtesy

Preliminary activities:

 Using scissors.
 Stirring.
 Poring and transferring liquid and dry ingredients.
 Screwing and unscrewing the jar.
 Opening and closing the lids.

Care of the environment:

 Washing a table or counter top

 Wringing a wet cloth
 Sweeping the floor
 Mopping the floor
 Vacuuming
 Polishing silver
 Polishing furniture
 Polishing shoes
 Sorting laundry by colors

Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

 Matching socks
 Folding wash cloths and towels.
 Folding napkins
 Ironing pillowcases
 Sewing buttons
 Washing dishes
 Caring for pets
 Cleaning up spills
  Putting toys away.
 Sorting recycling materials.

Care of Self

 Washing face
 Washing Hands
 Washing Hair
 Blowing nose and dispose tissue properly
 Sneezing
 Brushing teeth
 Combing hair
 Trimming Finger Nails
 Hanging towel
 Dressing oneself.
 Peeling fruits and vegetables
 Using kitchen tools
 Spreading butter, mixture etc.
 Measuring liquid and dry ingredients.

Grace and Courtesy:

 How to greet someone

 How to answer telephone

Name: Sabiqa Naeem Roll No: 15152

 How to carry a chair properly

 How to open and shut door quietly
 How to interrupt when necessary
 Table manners
 Carrying objects without spilling and dropping.