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Practical Life: Buttoning

It’s so easy, as parents, to fall into the trap of doing things for our children rather than giving them the opportunity to do things themselves. In our busy, modern lives; often we feel like we don’t have the time (and let’s be honest, the patience) to allow our children time to figure out how to tie their shoe laces, fold their clothes, pour their milk into the cereal bowl, zip up their jackets or button up their clothes but Montessori methodology encourages independence, which is where an apparatus like the Button Frame comes into practice.

In order to nurture independence as well as finger strength and fine motor skills (as peripheral incentives), the Button Frame allows children to practice and master the practical life skill of buttoning.

This simple apparatus isolates the activity in question and is a good way to build a child’s confidence in something that can be quite challenging for little fingers. Here’s how it works: place the frame so the buttonhole is on the right and start with the top button and work your way own, unbuttoning the item of clothing. Then repeat the exercise (starting from the top) but this time doing up the buttons. Directresses will demonstrate the activity and then encourage the child to have a go. Take a look at the following video by My Montessori Works (https://www.youtube.com/user/myworksmontessori) for a practical guideline as to how the lesson might work in a Montessori classroom:

Your child will feel such a sense of pride and achievement when this skill has been achieved. How you, as a parent, can support your child in the mastering of this skill is b giving them the opportunity to practice buttoning at home – before you know it, they won’t need your help at all!

If you’d like further information about this tutorial, feel free to contact us at info@saintandrewsmontessori.com. We’re happy to answer any questions.

 

Photo By Our Montessori Home