The Value of Practical Life Exercises

In every new Montessori class, there are a few parents who wonder, "Why am I paying thousands of dollars a year for my child to learn how to polish shoes?"

Why indeed? Well, polishing shoes are part of the assortment of Practical Life exercises that are a staple in the Montessori classroom for children under six because these early years are the time in which the relationship between the brain and body needs intensive nurturing.

The fine motor skills, refined hand movements, hand-eye coordination, and gross motor skills practiced in these simple exercises are key to preparing your child for the next phase of life.

A Book Discussion: Montessori Methodology in Her Own Words

In 1914, Dr. Montessori wrote a guidebook to teaching the Montessori Method. The book has remained useful and relevant even after all these years, especially for parents and teachers new to Montessori.

One of the most interesting features of the book is that Dr. Montessori's discussion of teaching and methodology leaves lots of wiggle room in the presentation, unlike many of the new explanations of Montessori education that focus on minutia and exact use of materials.

The introduction to the book details some of the formative discussion about Montessori and he methodology, which will be interesting to those of you looking into how Montessori education got to be the way it is and how her view of the development of the child is expressed in the classroom and teacher training.

Since this is basically Dr. Montessori's book for beginners, she avoids extraneous discussion and dives useful detail and instructions for teaching. This includes advice and step-by-step details for all areas of the curriculum including motor education, sensory education, language and knowledge of the world, freedom and independence (very interesting), writing, reading of music, arithmetic, and moral factors.

The black and white photos in this book are charming, showing children using original material. You will notice that the material and classroom setup really have not changed much!

If you are thinking about using Montessori in a classroom or homeschool setting, this book is a definite must read!