Pouring Using a Funnel by Jeanne Marie Paynel from voilamontessori.com
STEP BY STEP
Montessori’s Practical Life activities provide many benefits to your child: independence, skill development, and coordination are just a few. But arguably the most important benefit is the feeling of satisfaction and success he gets when he masters an activity. Those excited cries of “I did it!” boost his self-esteem and make all the planning and preparation worthwhile.
What can you do to help reduce frustrations and broken materials, and increase the chances of your child’s success?
The secret to giving your child a positive Practical Life experience is something called “preliminary exercises”. If your child wants to arrange flowers in a vase, for example, you need to think about all the basic skills he needs to develop so that he can achieve his goal without too many obstacles. To support him, you can create “preliminary exercises”, or brief activities that focus on individual skill development.
So, before your child can arrange flowers, you might give him individual presentations on how to pour water from a pitcher, use a funnel, and walk carrying a fragile object. Once he’s mastered foundational skills like the one in this week’s video, he’ll have the confidence to tackle the multi-step activity!
There are many preliminary exercises; depending on your child’s age and abilities, you might introduce them one at a time, group them, or skip them all together. Some examples include: carrying a fragile object on a tray, sweeping or mopping, squeezing a sponge or wringing a cloth, etc.
From which preliminary exercises might your child benefit? Try some out today and let me know how it went!
If you would like support to develop a Montessori home environment that allows your child to thrive, contact me to discover the benefits of my Montessori Parenting Program! Click the “Looking for more?” tab below!
A brief presentation on how to use a funnel provides the foundational skills for future work like arranging flowers or cooking.
For more tips on how to introduce Montessori activities, read The Nine Key Points to Sharing a New Activity with Your Child.
P.S. Would you like my support and guidance setting-up your Montessori home? If, yes then go ahead and schedule a ‘Discovery Session’ with me. It’s free and you’ll know if we are a good fit. 😉
