When I took my Montessori training over a decade ago, we learned about five direct aims in practical life. They were concentration, coordination, control, independence, and order. Apparently now interns learn about only four. Whatever you learn, these three are some of the most important reasons that this part of the curriculum exists.

Concentration is fundamental to the child's later learning. As he pours the beans from one pitcher to another, the rhythm of his actions almost lulls him into a trance of sorts. This trance pulls him into his work and he develops an intrinsic focus stronger than anything he has ever felt before. This focus translates into the concentration skills he will require as he enters the academic world. The more he scrubs tables, the calmer his body becomes, making him better able to sit through those longer lessons. A calm body and a calm mind is more willing to open and to receive new knowledge.

Coordination is built as the child manipulates those small tools. It takes a great deal of skill to manipulate those small spoons and tongs. Often, children are expected to make do with adult-sized materials in an adult's environment. The Montessori practical life curriculum scales back those utensils and skills, to make them child-friendly. Using utensils that fit the child's hand allows him to be successful and to achieve mastery. As he masters using materials that fit his own hand, he can work his way up to using the "normal" materials in his regular environment.

Along with the coordination is control. Control refers to the child's ability to control the materials and utensils he manipulates. It refers to his ability to control his body, as well. He must control his body as he moves through the classroom environment, to be respectful to his peers. Control over his body also teaches him to respect himself.

These are three of the biggest reasons why we focus so much on practical life with those three year-olds. Let them develop this foundation and then all of that academic learning will burst forth. Children who come to us later are also encouraged to spend much time in practical life in the beginning. They can still build that solid foundation and become successful in their endeavors.

I came across yet another article about children growing their own vegetables in a Montessori program. Granted, this article about Riddle Street Montessori is about a year old, but nonetheless it demonstrates how Montessori schools are bringing gardening back to their practical life programs.

These children, according to the press release, decided to answer First Lady Michelle Obama's call to reduce obesity by growing their own vegetables, and learning how to lead healthier lifestyles. They received assistance from a local greenhouse.

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1213502

I'm not going to lie. I became extremely jealous when I came across this article about Montessori students working on their garden at school. It was published in February, and the students are in Florida. I live in Upstate NY, where every time the snow melts and you see signs of spring, a snowfall arrives the next day to dash all of those hopes.

These students at Countryside Montessori are learning about where food comes from, as it doesn't really come from the supermarket. They are already reaping a cool harvest of lettuce, green, beans, and more. They even have a hydroponic garden. The kids are starting to eat more veggies, simply because they have been involved in the growing process. And anything that isn't eaten is sold to the families to raise money for more planting projects.

I love to do gardening, and used to have a small gardening blog at Andi's Gardening Experiments. I am already so excited to get my fingers into the dirt. I could smell the earth yesterday, before the snow returned today. And I love to teach my children about planting. In fact, on Friday, one of my four year-olds was asking me when we are going to start our seed planting projects. Every year, we do the experiment with lima beans in the window. I also allow the children to choose flower and vegetable seeds, which they get to plant in six-packs that I keep from each year's annual planting. They get to cultivate and care for these seedlings, then take them all home to plant in their own garden. Parents thank me every year.

In another classroom, the children have been contributing to a compost pile. That teacher has one at home, so the children give her their scraps. In turn, she brings the compost back to use with their annual plantings.

We are hoping to be able to do more planting when we get to our new location in the fall. Unfortunately, the planting season doesn't usually start around here until mid- to late May, and our school ends the first week in June. That makes it extremely difficult to start and maintain a garden. I believe one of our goals is to also have summer school in the new building, so perhaps it will be more feasible then?

Get inspired by the kids at Countryside Montessori as you think of how you are going to implement plants into your spring curriculum.

Use some of these Simple Ways to Include Your Young Child in Gardening Activities.

And of course, you can always use my activities for Teaching the Plant Life Cycle with Lima Beans.

Ok, I have added a tonging activity slideshow as Montessori Practical Life:Tonging Activities for January.

I have a couple of quick comments regarding the works presented here. One is to ALWAYS be sure to practice the activities prior to putting them on the shelf. Sometimes, an activity looks like it is going to work well. Then, when you try it, you find it doesn't work well at all. And, remember that you are probably more dextrous than the small, developing children. If it is difficult for you, it will be more so for them. You want to challenge your students, not frustrate them.

And yes, I know that the tongs should ideally be upright, so that either hand can grab it. I will say that some old school people were always taught to put it to the right. I have found that I can make the tongs face either direction, though, and children make adjustments as necessary. Sometimes, it is more important to me that the work is balanced on the tray, to avoid spilling and breakage.

I have been working on uploading some photos from my practical life shelves in January.

This photo is one example of my spooning activities for the month of January. I chose a focus of the colors of white, blue, and purple, in celebration of winter. Plus, they are my favorite colors.  :-)

You can see full slideshows of these spooning activities at the following links:

Montessori Practical Life: Spooning Activities for January

Montessori Practical Life: More Spooning Activities for January

I am also considering a set of photos pages on the website, and may continue to upload some more slideshows for Associated Content from Yahoo! as I watch the football games today.

For some reason, lately my kids have forgotten how to fold the towels. They are just lazy about it, and it is making me crazy! So, after I did a class presentation on the life cycle of the frog (which received many ooh's and aah's and applause), I decided to show them just one more work.

I went to the practical life area and got out a towel. I then demonstrated (again) how to fold it: top to bottom, left to right, top to bottom. Then, I got all of the baskets of towels, and gave everyone their own towel! Then, on the count of three, we all folded our towels together.

I made a second run around the circle, and gave everyone another towel. We repeated the exercise. Then, I asked them all to put their towels in front of them. I showed them (again) how to place the towels neatly in the basket, one at a time. Then, I invited each child to come forward, one at a time, to put away his or her towels, then (s)he could go choose work.

Folding towels, and putting them away, is a fundamental lesson, yet is one of the first ones to go by the wayside when the children are feeling lazy, or impish.  I won't deny that it makes me crazy! I am hoping that this was a simple reminder to them about how to do it appropriately. And I'm not above mentioning that for those older children, in particular, who feel the need to simply chuck a towel carelessly in the basket, the consequence is to then fold the entire basket of towels.

For some reason, they also seem to want to use a towel one time, then pitch it into the dirty towels bin. So, another lesson is turning into the difference between dry, damp, and wet. Soon, I will also put out towel washing, so that they can start to wash their own towels. Perhaps that will also drive home the importance of doing it properly?

Practical life, with natural consequences!

How are your towels holding up?