The Direct Aims of the Practical Life Curriculum
Laying the Foundation of the Montessori Curriculum
Jun 18, 2009
When Maria Montessori designed her Practical Life, or Everyday Living curriculum, she found that children learned more than how to perform simple daily tasks. They were learning the important skills of concentration, coordination, control, independence, and order, which laid the foundation for all later learning in the Montessori environment.
Learning Concentration
Watch a child who is pouring beans from one pitcher to another. As he pours, he becomes transfixed by the look of the beans emptying, as well as the sound of them hitting the glass pitcher. It is a satisfying, almost calming sound that he strives to repeat over and over again. He focuses intently on the task at hand, developing those concentration skills that are necessary to observe the world around him, and to focus on later learning.
Teaching Coordination
A degree of coordination is required to successfully pour those beans without spilling them. Balancing beads on a spoon, sewing a button, picking up rice with a pair of tweezers, all require great dexterity and strong fine motor skills. All activities in the Montessori Practical Life curriculum exercise those finger muscles and develop fine motor skills. Coordination is necessary when learning writing and art skills, balancing while walking, and performing everyday tasks like tying shoes.
Practicing Control
An element of control is necessary in coordination skills. Control also encompasses the ability to manage the amount of force used when driving a nail into a piece of wood, tightening a screw, or shutting a door. One needs control over his muscles as he walks across a room, as he carries items to and fro, and as he drives a car.
Fostering Independence
Young children's main goal in life is to develop independence. How often does one hear the cry of a young child, "I can do it myself!" The Practical Life curriculum teaches the child how to perform everyday living skills that enhance his independence. He learns how to pour and use utensils for scooping, thus preparing for serving food to himself and to others. Care of self skills, such as the dressing frames, allow him to get himself dressed. Care of the environment skills, such as the various cleaning tasks, allow him to some day run a household.
Order in Environment
Children crave order in their environment and lives. The Practical Life area is set up with a definite order. Activities are placed on the shelf from left to right, top to bottom, easiest to hardest. This is because one reads left to right and top to bottom. Activities themselves have a definitive order in which steps are performed. A favorite Montessori saying is "Process, not product". It is more important that the proper steps are followed when washing dishes than the dishes actually getting cleaned, as the process will ensure the desired product.
These five skills learned in the Montessori Practical Life curriculum lay the foundation for the rest of the classroom. The skills of concentration, coordination, control, independence, and order provide the child with life skills as well as a better understanding of his learning environment.
 |
