Importance of Practical Life Exercises

Practical Life activities have a unique purpose which, when carried out
properly, are very calming. To the adult eye, these activities may seem simple
and repetitive, but a child who is learning to wash a table or fold napkins is
accomplishing more than meets the eye.

Why we do practical life activities?

Practical life lessons are exercises which help a child to learn meaningful
activities in a purposeful way. It helps him in his daily life because it is these
actions which are normally performed by everybody in their every day lives.
We all dress, feed and care for ourselves as well as doing the mundane daily
activities that are necessary for survival.

Five areas of Practical life

Preliminary exercises – pouring, spooning carrying objects etc

Care of one’s self - Hand washing, food preparation etc
Care of one’s environment - Polishing, sweeping cleaning etc
Grace and courtesy activities – Manners, discipline, etc
Silence and movement – Fine and gross motor skills

Dr Montessori said :"The child can only develop by means of experience in his
environment. We call such experience work."

There is a great importance places on practical life exercises in the classroom

and it is seen as the foundation of the child’s learning.

Here are some of the benefits –

Independence:
P/L activity helps a child to be independent and self-sufficient by allowing him
to make choices, discover consequences and to see himself as a contributing
member of the community. Independence becomes his personality trait and
this will help him in his future endeavours.
It develops a love for learning:
PL activities help the child develop a love for work because by nature he enjoys
doing activities that involves daily routine. It gives the child feeling of being
important and of being a valuable part of the family. He loves to comb his hair,
brush his teeth, carry trays, roll and unroll the mat, pick up leaves, clean the
home and its surroundings etc. All these activities, though tedious in the life of
an adult are of a great importance to the child. It is through these hands on
activities that the child constructs his physical, mental and emotional self.

It provides self-satisfaction and develops self-respect:

Every child wants to do practical life exercises as he sees his family and
community doing these activities on daily basis. If the child is allowed to do
these activities he will feel responsible and worthwhile, thus he will gain self-
satisfaction and self-respect. Allow the child time to repeat these activities and
remember it’s the process not the result that will bring the most enjoyment to
the child.

It makes our environment a better organized and tidier place:

In a Montessori classroom, “there is a place for everything, and everything has
a place” we follow this principle because it supports the sensitive period for
order one of the innate qualities (human tendencies) of mankind. External
order supports the child’s need for internal order and develops the
mathematical mind.

It teaches the child to both give and receive gracefully:

Being respectful of others, oneself and the environment is vital for a functional
and peaceful classroom. Grace and Courtesy lessons are an integral part of our
daily practice and provides the key to developing good manners, discipline and
respect.

Develops a love of learning and supports good habits in daily living

Physical labour helps the body grow, develops a strong neurological system
and increases brain density. This in turn increases in intelligence and makes us
smarter.

Develops physical strength and refines movement

There are lots of activities in practical life which helps the child build strength
and refines his movements for example, rolling up a mats, polishing shoes,
washing the table and floor, setting the table, putting chairs in order, carrying
furniture etc, these exercises are encouraged to help the child refine his body
and muscle movements and develop accurate hand eye coordination.
Normalization of the child:

0 -6 years are seen as the age of sensitiveness.

- Language development

- Sense of order – from eighteen months to four years

- Coordination of movement

- Sensory development

- Interest in small objects

- Basic concepts in mathematics and music

Every child has a strong urge to work to develop and refine these sensitivities.
If the child doesn’t get opportunity to fulfil this urge to work, the result in what
Dr Montessori described as deviation (the inability to focus and concentrate on
productive activities). Practical life exercises help children to fulfil their strong
inner urges and the fulfilment of theses urges lead to normalization (a well-
rounded and intelligent child).

It helps develop love for our environment both local and global:

Practical life exercises include personal care, care of the environment, care of
living things and grace and courtesy, all these are necessary for global
consciousness. When a child starts caring for all forms of life and becomes a
peaceful and responsible individual then our world will be on safe hands.

So if you are ever wondering why your child is learning how to wash dishes
when they could be learning how to do something more academic, like math?
Math, reading, and writing all require the child to have the ability to focus, to
be able to complete a task with logical and sequential steps, to concentrate, to
make intelligent choices, and to see a task from start to finish. This is precisely
the intent of the Practical Life activities. Through the Practical Life work,
children learn to calmly go about their work and to take pleasure and
satisfaction from their efforts.