Practical Life: Bike Washing 🚲
I saw this activity on one of the Vlogs I follow on YouTube and knew right away that it would be a hit with S. She had a blast washing her bike! As I observed S detailing every inch of her bike, making sure it had been diligently scrubbed, something occurred to me. Even the most menial tasks that I complete each day are teaching her something. By picking up piece of paper that falls on the ground, or cleaning the kitchen counter, down to painting my nails is setting an example. In that moment I realized how crucial modeling care of the environment and myself was, even to a 2 year old. If I am being honest, S has probably never seen me wash my car {which will be changing soon}. I realized how I may be failing her in that aspect of life. It may not seem important now, but one day she will own a car of her own and I want her to take pride in her items, whatever they are, and to respect them. It's funny how Montessori pressed the importance of observing the child as a means to learn about them, but that same observation can cause you to turn the mirror in and look at yourself, as well. With all that said, S had a sparkling clean bike at the end of this activity. She even washed her infant jungle gym structure that we are saving for O! Just when I thought we were ready to go in, something amazing happened! This little nugget taught herself to ride her bike-independently. Look at the joy on her face when she realized what she accomplished on her own. ❤️
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💧If you happen to take a walk into a primary Montessori classroom, one of the works you will observe is children practicing transferring objects from one container to another. This may vary in many ways from the type of material being transferred, the tool being used to transfer, and size of the materials and/or containers themselves.
💧Water (wet) transfer is not something new for S, but she generally pours larger amounts into larger containers. For example, S uses a standard measuring cup to pour 1/2 a cup of milk into a breakfast bowl when making her {almost daily} oatmeal. This is a task she has mastered and does with ease. 💧So now we are working on fine tuning the skill by using small containers with controlled amounts of water. The decanter from the online shop, For Small Hands, is perfect for her little hands. She is able to properly grip the glass giving her control. She loved being able to pour back and forth between between the two containers. 💧When setting up transfer work, you want to prepare the activity in way that anticipates any messes so that the child can clean up on their own and not be distracted from their work. In this case, I provided S with a small sponge so that any mess could be cleaned up and the water returned to the container. From my observations, I could see that she appreciated this small addition to her tray because it gave her control and she felt success being able to handle her own work- without my input or feeling shame for “making a mess.” 💧On a side note: she cracks me up with her little tongue. I’ve come to notice just how much she does it when she’s concentrating now that I’m capturing moments like these for the blog or social media. She’s just like her mama 🤪 Part of Montessori Curriculum is the element of Practical Life . Children are taught everyday life skills from a very young age in order to foster a sense of independence, develop motor skills, and involve them as important, valuable members of the home or classroom. Part of practical life is transfer work, moving items (liquids or solids) from one container to another using a variety of different instruments. Students typically begin with isolated activities that progressively become more difficult. These skills are then applied to real life works. Today, S practiced transferring banana muffin batter from the bowl to muffin tins using a ladle. She loves cooking so I always find a way to get her involved. Something to remember is that children's work will never look like ours. You cannot expect perfection {or even complete cleanliness} when children are completing their work. They are building the skills to develop that fine motor ability by doing activities like these. Just remember to practice patience and understanding. One of the ways of doing this is being sure the environment (yourself included) are prepared. That means anticipating accidents or messes and having the resources readily available to clean those up. (I.E.- wipes, towels, wet towel, etc) P.S.- You can also expect them to eat the batter any chance they get! If you are new to Montessori, please do not feel that you need to buy all of the small pitchers, bowls, wooden spoons, or whatever materials you may have seen in order to practice Montessori philosophy. You have everything you need to encourage Practical Life in your home. So go on, take the leap, get your babes involved, They will be better for it! Click here to get the Cinnamon-Banana Recipe we made!
Laundry
This girl loves doing laundry, doesn’t matter who’s it is! Since about 1.5 she’s been collecting laundry, putting it in the wash, adding detergent, starting the machine, transferring to the dryer and placing it in the basket to be folded. I want to reiterate that none of this is forced. She showed interest in helping one day and I honored that request. Now, on laundry day she runs to the laundry room to help. Children are capable of so much if we provide them the right environment and tools to the do the job with their small hands. We are currently working on folding. She’s mastered her undergarments and shorts. Next up, shirts! |
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September 2020
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