How Montessori Developed the Practical Life Curriculum
One curriculum area unique to the Montessori method is “practical life.” This part of the curriculum focuses on everyday activities such as cooking and cleaning.
Why did Montessori include this curriculum area in her method and why is it important? Learn all about the practical life curriculum, what it includes, and the benefits it offers.
Maria Montessori: The Scientist
When Maria Montessori created her method of education, she experimented a lot. Unlike many educators at the time, she was curious to see how children would respond to different approaches and ideas. Instead of assuming that she would fill the children with knowledge, she let them explore a variety of materials and activities she set out. Then, she would notice which materials children liked best and which helped them learn.
If you’re familiar with the Montessori method, you may be surprised to hear that Montessori offered children play dishes. She also put out real dishes and cooking materials. Montessori noticed that the children preferred to use the real objects instead of the toys. Through many experiences like this, Montessori developed a curriculum that meets children’s needs and is also enjoyable.
What is Practical Life?
Practical life is a curriculum area that includes lessons that help young children achieve independence, among other benefits. These lessons are especially important in the 3 to 6 year old classroom.
Overall, practical life helps children become more independent. As Montessori said, “The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self.” Practical life lessons cover several important areas:
- Cooking and Eating: Every day, families prepare and eat food. Young children are often left out of these activities because adults think it’s too dangerous for kids to help. In Montessori schools, children work on skills like pouring, spooning, cutting, preparing, and snacks. One common activity is pouring water from one small pitcher into another. Learning these skills helps younger children learn to make food and eat independently.
- Caring for the Environment: Children learn important skills like cleaning, wiping up a spill, or how to move a chair. This area also includes fun jobs like cleaning the windows, watering plants or caring for pets such as fish.
When Montessori was developing her method, she discovered that children like the chance to take care of their space. All of us may accidentally spill something or make a mess. For children, being able to clean it up can be empowering.
- Care of Self: Parents and caregivers usually perform self-care tasks for children like getting them dressed or brushing their hair. However, this area of practical life helps children learn to do these tasks. Children also learn to wash their hands, blow their noses, and tie their shoes.
- Grace and Courtesy Lessons: Social skills are an important part of life from childhood. Grace and Courtesy lessons help teach children how to get along with others, how to be polite, and basic etiquette.

Benefits of Practical Life Activities
Why are practical life activities so important? These activities provide many benefits for children. Aside from boosting independence, there are many additional advantages.
Concentration
One helpful skill practical life activities teach is concentration. Montessori noticed that young children need to build their ability to concentrate. It’s similar to strengthening a muscle. Children build their ability to concentrate with practical life skills and then use their concentration for more academic tasks.
Montessori once said, “The child who concentrates is immensely happy.” This is especially true when they’re working on an enjoyable activity. Children often love practical life activities, which are presented with beautiful, interesting materials. This inspires concentration.
Fine Motor Skills
When performing practical life activities, children also build fine motor skills. Practical life skills require lots of hand-eye coordination and small movements of the hands. Practicing these lessons over and over again builds hand strength and precision.
Confidence and a Sense of Responsibility
The ability to perform tasks independently boosts children’s self-confidence. For example, if the child needs to put on a jacket before going outside, they don’t need to ask an adult for help. Instead, they can do it by themself. Or, if they want to blow their nose, they are confident and know how to take care of this need without help.
Similarly, children contribute to the classroom by keeping the space neat and clean. This helps children feel like valuable participants instead of incapable.
Helping care for the environment also creates a sense of responsibility. Children may even have assigned jobs in the classroom for the day such as “Greeter” or “Plant waterer.” This can also help a child learn to take ownership of a job and be responsible for getting it done.
A Base for Other Subject Areas
Many practical life activities also provide a base for concepts in academic curriculum areas such as math, science, and language. For example, one day, children might pour dried beans between two pitches. The next day, they might pour water. This offers the chance to notice the characteristics of liquids and solids. Or, children might learn new vocabulary during a grace and courtesy lesson.
3 Practical Life Lessons for Young Children
Here are three popular lessons that give you an idea of what a practical life activities involve:
Transferring Activities: Spooning Dry Beans
Transferring activities are a very popular practical life activity related to learning to prepare food and eat independently. The materials for this activity include two small bowls, a spoon, and dried beans on a tray. The child uses the spoon to move dried beans from the full bowl on the left into the empty bowl on the right.
Many variations of transferring activities exist. Children can move larger objects like pom poms or acorns with a tongs. Or, children can pour water between two pitchers. Another activity is to use a medicine dropper to transfer water from one small dish to another.
Using a Dustpan and Brush
This activity shows children how to use a dustpan and brush. Children first learn this as a lesson, but can then access child-sized cleaning tools whenever they need them. For this lesson, children need a dustpan, brush, and a bowl or basket of pieces of paper. To practice, children dump out the bowl of small pieces of paper. Then, they use the brush to move them into a pile. Finally, they brush them into the dustpan and return them to the bowl.
Folding Socks
This activity involves pairing and folding socks. For younger children, you might include only two or three different pairs of socks in a basket. Older children can sort more socks. In the basket, the socks should be unfolded and pixed up. The child lays out all of the socks neatly on a table or on a mat. Then, they pair the socks, finding the match for each one. Finally, the child folds the socks.
Online Montessori Teacher Training Help Educators and Parents Learn More About Practical Life Lessons
Would you like to learn more about practical life lessons, their benefits, and how to use them in the classroom or at home? Consider taking a Montessori teacher training course or workshop to learn more.
At Montessori Professional Training Canada, we offer several online Montessori training courses, including hybrid courses at our Calgary location. Get in touch to learn more about our courses and discover which is the best fit for you.