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Sunday, June 9, 2013

Montessori Musings: Summer Practical Life Activity

Here is another Practical Life activity that is perfect for summer when everything outside is green and blooming. This is a simple transfer activity where wooden leaves are hidden in a bowl of sand. The child finds the leaves and transfers them to the bowl on the left. 


I have a preschool child who is crazy over sand, so she found this activity to be a lot of fun. 

A closer look at the wooden leaves in the sand.

I didn't come to Godly Play with a background in Montessori.  But after practicing Godly Play for about a year, a strong desire to learn more about the pedagogy that inspired GP began to grow in me. I enrolled in an on-line course from Karen Tyler that taught me the basic principles behind the Montessori Method. Through the course's many wonderful albums (presentation ideas for each subject), I learned to create simple activities like the one above. Though the course is aimed at people working with preschoolers, I have been able to use the principles with all ages. 

Practical Life activities support and complement the other work going on in a Godly Play classroom. The activities teach practical skills as the name suggests, but also train the children to concentrate deeply. My friend, Leslie at Thoughts from the Sheepfold, writes: 

"Concentration, peace and contentment are key attributes of prayer and meditation, and practical life builds up these attributes in the children better than anything else."

I'm so glad that I can be a part of helping children in this process!


3 comments:

  1. Thanks for the shout out Sheila! I love your leaf activity! So attractive!

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  2. Montessori Education is a precious gift which should be available to all children, everywhere. We know that given a great start, children find ways to learn which are right for them.

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    1. Absolutely right, Laurena! Thanks for reading along!

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