7 Days of Montessori Practical Life Activities
Looking for ways to incorporate Montessori at home? Practical life skills are a wonderful way to teach children how to take care of themselves and their environment. They also encourage independence, fine motor, and real life self-help skills. From learning to brush their teeth, to dressing themselves, practical life skills are incredibly important for young children. Below are seven activities to incorporate practical life activities into your weekly routine. These practical life activities are perfectly suited to toddlers and preschoolers.
Monday – Chop a banana
Not only are bananas high in potassium and magnesium, they’re also an excellent snack for practicing independent chopping and composting. Learning to cut a banana is an important practical life skill from the Montessori Practical Life Curriculum Area that assists with the development of fine motor skills.
1. Begin by preparing the materials for the activity, including: tray, butter knife, cutting board, banana and two bowls.
2. Present the activity on a tray with the materials displayed from left to right and top to bottom in the order your child will use them.
3. Invite your child to learn about how to chop a banana to make their own snack.
4. Present the activity to your child in the exact order that your child will do it from start to finish. Make sure that you are deliberate in your actions and complete the activity slowly and methodically.
5. Invite your child to complete the activity.
a. Peel the banana (you can chop off the top to make this easier).
b. Place the banana peel into the first bowl. This will go in the compost bin at the end of the activity.
c. Chop the banana one piece at a time until the banana is completely cut.
d. Place the banana pieces into the second bowl.
6. Take the food bowl away and invite your child to clean up and pack away with you.
7. Following clean up, invite your child to eat the fruits of their labour.
Tuesday – Squeeze an orange
Need help making breakfast? Teach your child how to squeeze their own fresh orange juice! Learning to juice an orange is an important practical life skill from the Montessori Practical Life Curriculum Area that assists with the development of independence and fine motor skills.
1. Begin by preparing the materials for the activity, including: tray, children’s knife, citrus juicer with spout, chopping board, cup, bowl.
2. Present the activity on a tray with the materials displayed from left to right and top to bottom in the order your child will use them.
3. Invite your child to learn about how to make their own juice.
4. Present the activity to your child in the exact order that your child will do it from start to finish. Make sure that you are deliberate in your actions and complete the activity slowly and methodically.
5. Invite your child to complete the activity.
a. Cut the orange in the middle.
b. Squeeze the orange one half at a time using the juicer.
c. Pour the juice from the first half of the orange into the cup.
d. Place the squeezed orange into the bowl. This will go in the compost bin at the end of the activity.
e. Squeeze the second half of the orange.
f. Pour the juice from the second half or the orange into the cup.
g. To extend on this activity use a measuring cup to measure out the juice from each orange half.
6. Invite your child to help clean up, putting the used orange into the composting bin, and assisting with washing up.
7. After clean up, allow your child to drink the cup of juice that they created.
Wednesday – Practice spooning cereal
Spooning cereal can be tricky. Encourage your toddler or preschooler to practice spooning to reduce cereal spills. Learning spooning is an important practical life skill from the Montessori Practical Life Curriculum Area that assist with the development of fine motor skills.
1. Begin by preparing the materials for the activity, including: tray, spoon, cereal, and two bowls.
2. Present the activity on a tray with the materials displayed from left to right and top to bottom in the order your child will use them. Pour cereal into the bowl to the left.
3. Invite your child to learn about how to practice spooning their own cereal.
4. Present the activity to your child in the exact order that your child will do it from start to finish.
5. Invite your child to complete the activity.
a. Pinch the middle of the spoon between your index finger and thumb.
b. Wrap your three right fingers around the handle of the spoon to grasp it firmly.
c. Lower the spoon into the left bowl.
d. Rotate the spoon towards the back of the bowl to scoop up the cereal.
e. Rotate the spoon towards your body and hold it flat over the bowl.
f. Lift the full spoon out and above the bowl carefully.
g. Move the spoon in a slow but smooth way over to the right bowl.
h. Rotate the spoon towards your body so that the cereal falls into the mouth of the bowl.
i. Once all the cereal has fallen into the bowl, return the spoon to a flat position.
j. Repeat the same movement to practice spooning.
6. Invite your child to help pack away the activity.
Thursday – Colour matching with socks
Who doesn’t have some socks that need matching? Teach your child how to match up their own socks.
1. Begin by preparing the materials for the activity, including: mat, basket, and two or more pairs of separated (but matching) socks.
2. Present the activity with the materials displayed from left to right and top to bottom in the order your child will use them.
3. Invite your child to learn about matching socks.
4. Present the activity to your child in the exact order that your child will do it from start to finish.
5. Invite your child to complete the activity.
a. Remove the socks from the basket one at a time.
b. Lay out the socks from left to right next to each other
c. Encourage your child to look at the differences of the socks. Which ones are the same and which ones are different?
d. Match the socks and repeat.
6. Invite your child to help pack away the activity. Viola, socks sorted!
Friday – Planting seeds in a pot
Caring for a new seedling is a wonderful way to teach children how to care for living things. Learning how to care for a living plant is an important practical life skill from the Montessori Practical Life Curriculum Area that assists with developing an understanding of how to care for the environment.
1. Begin by preparing the materials for the activity, including: soil, seeds, gloves, children’s shovel, watering can, flower pot.
2. Present the materials from left to right and top to bottom in the order your child will use them.
3.Invite your child to complete a gardening activity with you.
4. Present the activity to your child from start to finish. Make sure that you are deliberate in your actions and complete the activity slowly and methodically.
5. Invite your child to complete the activity.
a. Shovel the soil into the pot carefully.
b. Make a small hole for the seed using your gloved hand or the shovel.
c. Place the seed into the hole.
d. Cover the seed with soil.
e. Water the seed using the watering can.
f. Repeat until you have planted all the seeds.
6. Invite your child to help pack away the activity.
Saturday – Take a nature walk
Taking a nature walk is such a fantastic activity to do with your child. The learning opportunities are endless!
Begin by preparing for your walk by packing a backpack of the things you may need. You may choose to include hats, sunscreen, water, a notepad, magnifying glass and camera.
Choose a familiar route. This way your child can become familiar with their local environment, and observe the same animals and plants in different seasons and types of weather.
Begin your walk by discussing and listing to the environment with your child. Can they hear the wind or running water?
Encourage your child to use all of their senses. Can they smell the earth and the trees? Breathe deeply and note any different smells.
Become familiar with the local flora and fauna. What plants and animals can they see?
Pick up different types of rocks and leaves. Encourage your child to learn about different textures. Are the rocks they picked up rough or smooth?
Use your magnifying glass or binoculars to examine aspects of the natural environment in detail. Can you see the veins in the leaves?
Take a note pad and pencils on your nature walk. Your child can make a rubbing of a leaf, draw something they see, or list down the types of animals and plants you see.
Encourage your child to extend on their learning from the nature walk when you get home. Research different types of animals and plants to enrich their knowledge and interests.
Sunday – Sea Shell Treasure Hunt
Nothing says summer like a sea shell treasure hunt!
Prepare for your beach walk by packing a bucket, hat, sunscreen, and sun safe clothing.
Invite your child to go on a sea shell treasure hunt with you.
Encourage your child to listen to the ocean and the waves while you walk, and to smell the salt in the air.
Show them how to scrunch up their toes in the sand to make different types of foot prints.
Search for different types of sea shells along the sand and sea shore.
Encourage them to take notice that some shells that come from the dry sand are dry, while others that may be closer to the water, may be wet.
Place the shells into a bucket to begin your shell collection.
Encourage your child to take notice of the different types of shells.
How do they look and feel different? Do they have patterns, are they big or small? Differentiating and sorting shells is wonderful for developing vocabularies.
Invite your child to listen to the larger shells. Can they hear the ocean? Does the ocean sound different in different types of shells?
Practice drawing different types of shells in the sand or writing out the letters that spell out “shell.” You can also practice writing different letters or words using your finger or a stick.
Take your shells home for a range of different learning extensions, including: washing shells, matching shells, sorting shells into univalve and bivalve, researching different types of shells, and sea shell craft.
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