1. Welcome to Practical Life Night

2. What is Practical Life? Practical: means basic, useful, purposeful Life: means the way of living Practical Life exercises help the child learn how to do living activities in a purposeful way.

3. The purpose of Practical Life To improve: Concentration Coordination Control Independence Order

4. Practical Life encompasses four main areas.

5. Care and Respect of Self Changing shoes, putting on slippers Dressing Blowing nose Care of teeth and bodies Hand washing Feeding oneself

6. Helping clean up!

7. Care of Environment Dusting, sweeping, polishing, Tidying Use of clothes pins Washing up tables, floors, dishes Care of a garden Care of indoor plants Planting seeds Care of pets and animals

8. Helping a friend with his shoes

9. Social Graces and Courtesy Greeting people Interrupting with “Excuse me” Coping with an offence Conduct with a visitor Speaking to a group Apologizing Waiting turns Table manners Serving and sharing food

10. Snapping Green Beans

11. Control of movement Development of fine motor skills- pouring, transferring Opening and closing Threading Cutting Sewing Folding Walking on the line Playing the silence game

12. Carving with care!

13. Apple Presentations Videos: The Investigators The Early Explorer’s The Explorer’s

14. How do we help our children become capable and independent? We practice the skills that are necessary until we no longer need help and act and do accordingly in the classroom and at home. These skills cannot only be practiced at school. Consider the level of readiness for your child…is the activities safe first and foremost. Questions about home activities and presentations???

15. Practical Life at Home First, make sure the materials you use are child size Second, remember these activities are the routines and rituals that adults perform daily in order to maintain their environment.- Give away some of the daily routines. Laundry, in the kitchen, cleaning bedrooms, measuring… Child’s corner in every room. Can you think of more that can be done at your house?

16. The 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 better understanding of their learning environment.

17. “Adults work to finish a task, but the child works in order to grow and is working to create the adult, the person that is to be.” Maria Montessori