Posts

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Practical Life: Transferring objects
There are many fun activities that children can do to develop their fine motor skills but one of the favourites in the Montessori classroom is transferring objects. This is something that keeps little ones occupied for ages and can certainly…

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,…

Practical Life: Water Pouring
In a Montessori classroom, the water pouring activity is the first follow-on from the Dry Pouring lesson where children learn the skill transferring dry goods from one jug to another. To practice water pouring at home, you will need: two jugs,…

Practical Life: Tying Frame
Learning to tie a shoelace is one of the most exciting milestones for a child (and a parent, too!) but it takes time to learn, requiring much practice before perfection. In Montessori classrooms, we use a bow-tying frame, which involves the…

Practical Life: Collage
A collage is defined as an artistic composition made up from a collection of various materials glued on a surface. So, taking different things and sticking them together. At St. Andrew’s Montessori we love using collage not only a means of…