Tag Archive for: Practical Life

sorting pom poms with montessori
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Practical Life: Sorting Pom-Poms

Sorting activities are important in Montessori education because they help children create order in their world. Sorting refines the senses and trains the brain to organise information. Have a look at this simple tutorial by Wonderful…
montessori tutorial on opening and closing boxes
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Practical Life: Opening and Closing Boxes

The learning objectives for this simple lesson of opening and closing boxes are: fine motor development, problem solving, cause and effect, as well as receptive and expressive language. The lesson provides children with the opportunity…
Montessori tutorial on cutting with children
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Practical Life: Cutting

The purpose of the cutting activity is to teach the child how to cut paper in preparation for other activities using scissors. The lesson is simple but what is important is a neat, ordered environment, which is essential to the confidence of…
montessori pin poking
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Practical Life: Pin Poking

Pin poking is yet another really simple Montessori activity that children love. It teaches hand control, fine motor strength, pencil grip, attention to detail and concentration, and is something that can easily be done at home. Here’s…
practical life pegging
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Practical life: Pegging

Whilst pegging might sound like a basic skill it has many important developmental benefits. This simple activity requires patience, concentration, dexterity and good eye-hand coordination, plus it strengthens fingers and develops the all-important…
bubble making for practical life
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Practical Life: Bubble Making

In the Practical Life area of a Montessori classroom, you will find children pouring, spooning, scooping, sponging, slicing, spreading ladling, and using tongs and tweezers to transfer items. It’s where they explore, chat and concentrate,…
hama beads used for practical life in montessori
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Practical Life: Hama Beads

Hama beads—did you know that these are often used in Montessori classrooms? You probably have some buried in every crevice, nook and cranny in your home but they are absolutely worth digging out because of their educational value as well as…
fine motor skills in montessori
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Practical Life: Fine Motor Skills

Maria Montessori pointed out that the development of fine motor skills is directly connected to the development of the brain. In a Montessori pre-school classroom, children thus participate in many activities that help improve their fine motor…
montessori practical life nesting box
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Practical Life Lesson: Nesting Box Surprise

One box in another…in an another, and so on. This sounds almost ridiculously simple but when children are using nesting boxes or materials in a Montessori classroom that are doing so much more than exploring – they are problem-solving and…
montessori tutorial about water pouring
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Practical Life: Water Pouring (II)

The first version of this wet pouring lesson (found on our blog, Water Pouring (I)) is slightly simpler in that the child will pour water from one jug into another, and clean up any spills along the way. It’s an exercise in coordination, concentration…
Food Prep tutorial with St Andrew's Montessori
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Practical Life: Food Preparation

Working in the kitchen is a wonderful way to include children in everyday family activities; not only will children learn practical life skills but they will be engaged on a sensory level, too. If this is something you’d like to do…
Chores at St Andrew's Montessori
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Chores for small children

What we think of as “chores” Maria Montessori thought of as daily life or practical life skills. The benefits of children helping out around the house has been well researched and documented; it teaches responsibility, independence and importantly,…