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ASSIGNMENT MODULE 2

EXERCISES OF PRACTICAL LIFE (EPL)

Prepared by:

Name: Rama Ali

Roll No: DK-2059
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Question 1:

Write a comprehensive note on the importance of exercises of practical life (EPL).

Answer 1:

E
xercises of Practical Life (EPL) are those task and
activities which everybody do in his daily routine
life. These exercises may vary from simple
activities like holding a tray or a jug to a more complex
activities like cooking and plantation etc. depending on the
age of a children. It is very important for all the children to
get knowledge and experience of EPL as a part of their
Montessori education as this will develop confidence in
children and they will get to know about how to deal with
their day to day problems. As per Nelson Mandela,
“Children are our greatest treasure. They are our future.”
So, it is very necessary that they are perfect in all aspects
and of high moral values so that they can pass these
values to next generations. This can be possible through
EPL. Some of the major advantages of EPL are discussed
in detail below;

Independence:

The most important advantage of EPL is that it helps the child to become independent
and to perform all his task independently without the help of others. As per studies,
children personality has been fully developed by the age of 6 so it is very necessary for
children that they get to know about all exercises of practical life before age of 6 so that
independence will become their personality trait and they will transfer this trait to their
next generation.

Love of Work:

When children doing all of their work independently without help of others, they feel
themselves important and valuable. It will also give them a sense of satisfaction that
they can perform all the tasks which are performed by their parents and teachers. It will
also prepare them for the modern world which require everyone to be self-reliant. As
there is a natural urge in children to perform their activities independently therefore, they
take keen interest in learning EPL and this will create love for work in their nature.
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Sense of responsibility and Discipline:

EPL also create a sense of responsibility and sense of discipline in children. There is a
principle in Montessori education system that “A place for everything and everything has
a place”. Children learn from their teachers that all the things and tools of EPL should
be placed back on their shelves after use. This habit will make the children disciplined
and well-mannered and hence make the world a tidier place to live. On the contrary, If
children not taught about this habit in early age, their personality will be distorted and
they will create problem for themselves and also for others in future.

Helping Nature and Self Esteem:

In Montessori classroom, children are taught about EPL by their teacher in a very
helpful environment. Children are not forced to learn anything and directresses also
help them in a polite manner and with their consent for performing EPL. This will help
them to develop habit of asking about help in a gentle manner and also about helping
others when they need. Moreover, when they perform different works which their adults
and teacher perform, they also feel themselves important and this will develop self-
esteem and respect for themselves which is very necessary in today’s environment.

Improving Motor Skills

While performing different EPL, children learns to excel in their motor skills. Rolling and
unrolling carpet, washing hands and face, holding a jug or a tray etc. all are exercises
which help a child to learn about how to move his hands, to improve the coordination
between hands and eyes and also to improve his muscles. These exercises can helps
children in excelling their movement skills amazingly more than gymnastic exercises as
children are more interested in daily routine exercises due to their inner needs. In
addition to this this will also help children to present themselves more gracefully in a
society and to avoid superfluous movement.

Normalization of Child:

Children has strong desire to learn things from experience at early age and they also
have natural abilities to learn with ease in his early ages. If they don’t get the
opportunity to perform the desired task with independence, they personality will get
deviated from normality. EPL helps the children to fulfill their inner needs and urge to
perform daily routine activities on their own which lead to normality.

Developing Love of Universe:

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EPL include exercises related to daily routine activities, personal care, grace and
courtesy and care of environment. These exercises develop the importance of the world
around child and love for everything he has been blessed by Almighty Allah. Love of the
universe helps him to become a responsible citizen of a society and also to transfer this
love to his next generations.

To sum up we can say that EPL helps the child to be independent, responsible and a
person with high moral values. EPL is very necessary for the children to be productive
for a society and to make the world a better place to live.
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Question 2:

Name and briefly explain the different groups of exercises of practical life. How do you
think this grouping is helpful?

Answer 2:

Exercises of Practical Life (EPL) can be divided into following main categories;
 Elementary Exercises
 Exercises of Personal Care
 Grace and Courtesy Exercises
 Care of Environment Exercises

Elementary Exercises:

Elementary exercises and very basic exercises which pertain to normal day to day
activities and these are very necessary in order to learn other exercises. These
exercises can be sub-divided in to following categories;

 Basic Elementary Exercises:

These include very basic short movement exercises. It involves holding and placing
objects like holding a tray or a jug, open and closing a door etc.

 Elementary Exercises:

These include a little more complex exercises than basic elementary exercises but
these can also be performed in short period of time. These involve activities like pouring
water from one jug to another, folding and unfolding of mats etc.

 Higher Elementary Exercises:

These includes relatively more complex exercises which require more attention of
children and more coordination between muscle and mind. They are also slightly more
time consuming exercises as compared to basic elementary and elementary exercises.
These include activities like use of scissor for cutting a paper along a line, beading
thread, use of droppers etc.

Exercises of Personal Care:

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These exercises helps children to learn to take care of themselves under the
supervision of teachers. These exercises grooms the personality of students and they
become well-mannered and courteous. These exercises include washing hands and
face, combing hair, cleaning nose and ears etc.

Grace and Courtesy Exercises:

These exercises help children to learn basic manners and etiquettes of a society. These
exercises also help learn how to deal with other persons and how to behave and react
in different circumstances. With the help of these exercises, children become able to
present themselves to the society. These exercises includes learning how and where to
use courtesy words like “excuse me”. “Thank you” and “Sorry”. They also include
exercises like greeting with someone, table manners, Etiquettes of entering and leaving
the room or a gathering, manners of where to talk and where to be silent etc.

Care of Environment Exercises:

Care of environment is very important as environment has a great impact on the

personality of a person and it also impacted the society as a whole therefore, it is very
necessary that children should learn in their early years about how to take good care of
their society and environment. These exercises help children to learn how to make their
environment clean and beautiful and also create love for the universe. These exercises
include both indoor and outdoor activities. Indoor activities include cleaning floor,
dusting, washing dishes making bed etc. Outdoor activities include plantation,
gardening, taking care of animals, feeding birds etc.

Importance of Grouping:

These grouping are of great importance for a children as it include exercises not only for
the children themselves but also for the environment around them and the society in
which they live. These exercises help the child to become a well-mannered, disciplined
and a person with high moral values of a society who not only care for himself but also
love the world and who strive to make his surrounding clean and beautiful. This
grouping help children to be able to become productive to a society and to add any
value to it. These grouping also help teachers to identify the hidden talents of children
and to identify the area of interest or weakness of their students. As children can learn
more and with ease in their sensitive period which ranges from 0-6 years, these
grouping help children to learn almost everything of their need in their early years. In
contrast, if this period is missed by children and they will not taught about these
exercises in tier early years, it will be very difficult for them and sometimes becomes
impossible to teach them these basic norms of society. Hence we can conclude that this
grouping is very essential for children and should be taught as a compulsory part of
Montessori education.
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Question 3:

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

Answer 3:

C
hildren are naturally interested in
learning the activities performed by
their adults and teachers. They try to
initiate their teachers and parents while learning
day to day activities. It is very important for
directresses to present EPL to children in
correct way so that they can learn them properly
through observation and can perform them
later correctly without help of anybody. Here
the most important thing to keep in mind is that if
a child learn any activity wrongly due to any
mistake of teacher or due to his own lack of
concentration or practice, it will then be very
difficult for him to unlearn the wrong method
and relearn the correct one so it is very necessary
that teacher demonstrate the activity very
carefully and also noted the interest and
concentration level of students.

EPL can be presented in 2 ways;

 Direct Presentation
 Indirect Presentation

Direct Presentation:

In direct presentation, teacher formally inform the students that they are going to learn
new exercise. In direct presentation, teacher should explain the movement and also
observe the movement of the children during performance of exercise so that children
learn about necessary movement, precautions and sequence.

Indirect Presentation:
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Indirect presentation is the one where children observe the teacher making the
presentation and paying attention to the lesson while the teacher is unaware of it. This
type of presentation is very important as this can be helpful in continuous learning of
students.

Essential Point in Presenting EPL:

Key points which needs to be considered while presenting EPL includes but not limited
to following;

 First and very important thing in presenting all types of EPL, which is generally
ignored in practice, is to obtain consent of child before presenting the exercise. This
may seems insignificant but it is of great importance as children can only learn to
perform task easily if they have interest in it and if they are willing to perform that
task.
(Note: In case of group presentation, they teacher should consider whether all the
student are willing and interested in exercise. If any single student is not interested,
then the teacher should change the task and perform that task on some other time
or the teacher should give the presentation individually to interested students.)
 Teacher should use appropriate and sufficient materials for the exercise. The
materials should be of child size and should be easy to handle by children.
 It is also important to note that the material should be real and should be cleaned
every time before use. Material should be non-toxic and in good shape and color so
that children attracts towards them.
 In case of using any dangerous tools during exercise for example scissor, knife etc,
teacher should explain the students about precautionary measures to be taken
before starting exercise.
 Before presenting the exercise, directress should practice a lot herself with the
material in order to present the activity properly to the students.
 While performing exercise which involve use of water it is preferable to arrange the
material near sink so that it will not create mess. However, student should be taught
to stand at a distance from sink so that their clothes will not get wet during
presentation.
 Teacher should wear apron and roll off her sleeves during the presentation and also
encourage the students to do it while performing the activity.
 Teacher should wash her hands before presentation and after presentation clean all
the mess, put all the material on its place and again wash her hands.
 While presentation, teacher should not speak and only demonstrate the exercise as
speaking during presentation may distract the attention of student.
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 Teacher should present the exercise politely and in a friendly environment without
being forcing the student and should make her presentation simple and effective so
that children should not get tired or uninterested.
 After demonstrating the exercise, teacher should allow the students to perform the
task by themselves and should keenly observe them while they perform the task and
offer them help when they needed.
 If the student is not performing the task correctly and is making mistakes, teacher
should not interrupt the student in the mid of exercise as this may lower down the
confidence level of student. Instead, let the student finish the exercise and only then
explain him correct method of the exercise.
 Teacher should also monitor the environment in which the activity is performed and
should consider whether the environment needs to be modified for the students.
 Last but not the least it is equally very important to appreciate and encourage the
child during activity. This will increase the motivation level of students.
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Question 4:

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.

Answer 4:

Formal Setting of a Table:

Materials:

 Plates
 Spoons
 Fork
 Knifes
 Glass
 Napkin with napkin holder.
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 Table mat
 Tray/ trolley (to place all the materials in before setting them out on the table)

Presentation:

1. Place the child size table in the classroom for presentation and obtain consent of
child for presenting him formal setting of table.
2. Bring the materials to the table which were already placed in a tray by teacher and
place them on child’s eye level.
3. Place the chair in front of the table. Ensure that the chair should also be of child size.
4. Hold the table mat with both hands and place it in the lower center of the table in
front of the chair.
5. Remove any wrinkle from mat with your hand.
6. Pick up the dinner plate with thumbs on upper side of the plate and fingers on lower
side of the plate and place it on the center of the table mat.
7. Ensure that table should not make any sound while putting it on the table.
8. Explain the child to fold a napkin by holding the corners from your side with both
hands. Bring them a little higher and then place them on opposite corner of the
napkin. After folding, smoothen the crease of folded napkin.
9. Place the folded napkin on the left side of the dinner plate.
10. Hold the fork using thumb and index finger in such a way that thumb is on the upper
side of the fork and index finger is on lower side.
11. Place the fork on the napkin in line with the plate. While pacing the fork make sure
that it does not make sound.
12. Pick up the knife in same way and place it on the right side of the dinner table with
sharp edge faces the plate.
13. Pick up the spoon and place it on the right side of the knife in line with it.
14. Make sure that the bottom edge of the utensils should be lined up with the bottom
rim of the dinner plate.
15. Pick up the glass in such a way that thumb of you right hand is on your side and
fingers of right hand are on opposite while putting left hand on the base of glass to
support it and place it carefully above the knife and spoon.
16. After presenting the exercise, place the materials back on the trolley carefully and
put it back on its place.
17. Invite the child to perform the activity by himself.
18. While child is performing the activity, praise and appreciate the child to motivate and
encourage him.
19. If child is making any mistake in performing the exercise, don’t interrupt him in the
middle of the exercise. Instead repeat the presentation on some other time.
20. Allow the child to use the material whenever he want to practice the activity.
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Point of Interest:

 Using various utensils

 Changing shape of napkin

Point of Error:

 Breaking the plate or glass while using

 Not following the sequence
 Making sounds while placing the materials on table

Direct Aim:

 Learning to setup a formal table independently and handling crockery and utensils.

Indirect Aim:

 Table etiquettes
 Hand and eye coordination
 Concentration
 Improvement in motor skills

Age Group:

3 years and onwards

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Making a Chicken Spread Sandwich:

Materials:

2 slices of bread

Pouch of Chicken spread

Butter knife

Plate

Presentation:

1. Place the material on child size table at child’s eyes level.

2. Obtain the consent of the child for presenting making of a chicken sandwich.
3. Pick up the plate and place it on the center of the table.
4. Pick up one slice of bread with your right hand in such a way that your thumb is on
upper side of the slice and fingers are on lower side.
5. Place the slice on the plate.
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6. Pick up the pouch of chicken spread with your right hand and open its cap using
your left hand.
7. Now hold the pouch with your both hands and pour appropriate amount of chicken
spread on the slice by squeezing the pouch with both hands.
8. Put the pouch back on table and now hold the slice from your left hand putting your
thumb is on upper side of the slice and fingers are on lower side.
9. Pick up the butter knife in you right hand.
10. Spread the chicken spread on the slice gently using the butter knife in your right
hand.
11. Put the knife and slice back on the plate.
12. Put the chicken spread on the other slice using the same method mentioned above.
13. Put the other slice on top of the first slice facing the chicken spread sides on each
other.
14. Cut the sandwich diagonally in two piece or using cutters of different shapes to make
it interesting for children if needed.
15. Put the materials back on place after completing the presentation.
16. Invite the child to perform the activity by himself.
17. While child is performing the activity, praise and appreciate the child to motivate and
encourage him.
18. If child is making any mistake in performing the exercise, don’t interrupt him in the
middle of the exercise. Instead repeat the presentation on some other time.
19. Allow the child to use the material whenever he want to practice the activity.

Point of Interest:

 Using and spreading chicken spread on bread

 Use of knife

Point of Error:

 Dropping the chicken spread from the slice

 Slice are not placed on each other properly

Direct Aim:

 Learning how to prepare a chicken spread sandwich without any help

Indirect Aim:

 Coordination of movement
 Concentration
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 Use of knife
 Developing interest in preparing food

Age Group:

2.5 Years and onwards

Question 5:

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.

Answer 5:

Elementary Exercises:

1. Folding clothes
2. Holding & sharping pencil
3. Drying wet cloths
4. Plucking mint leaves
5. Open and closing door
6. Blowing balloons and tie off the end

Personal Care Exercises:

1. Wearing socks
2. Making milkshakes
3. Wearing belt
4. Cleaning ears
5. Using escalators & passenger lifts

Grace and Courtesy Exercises:

1. Eating with spoon and fork

2. Eating ice cream
3. Washing fruits and vegetables
4. Dusting and Mopping
5. Buttering the bread

Care of Environment Exercises:

1. Cleaning windows
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2. Cleaning washroom
3. Cleaning spider web from walls
4. Throwing garbage in dustbin
5. Taking care of pets