Now that spring has sprung, our adolescent students are resuming their visits to the farm property on Wednesdays.  On our first visit this past April 2nd, we had many important tasks to follow up on, as well as new ones to begin! Firstly, we checked on our year-old beehives. Ms. Candice from Mole Hill explained to us what to expect from the bees this spring: they will be leaving the hive more often to explore the surrounding areas, and they will continue building their home.

Next up was moving the worm compost, as it is growing by the day! Mr. Lyle explained why the new compost bin is set at an angle:  the nutrient rich water run off is collected for later use as a fertilizer and pesticide!  We also had the pleasure of propagating raspberry bushes by cutting stems from the healthy plants and planting them in an adjacent row. Our students were able to put their muscles to use when they cut into the dirt with a hoe, creating a small trench for the cuttings.  Lastly, we picked arugula, carrots, chard, kale and used them to make a delicious salad back at the school! Finally, the students looked at the effect of the fall pruning on the trees. They saw and smelled the first plum flowers foretelling of sweet fruit to come. This is what the farm school program is all about – learning to use the gifts of the land in a way that can benefit the whole community.

Our second visit to the farm required more digging, lifting, and planting!  Ms. Sara kindly led the students in uprooting the grass directly surrounding the base of the fruit trees in order to make way for the compost that would support the permaculture.  What is permaculture?  It is a community of multipurpose plants, which complement and benefit one another, and which make less work for people!

After the compost had been laid at the base of the fruit trees, four carefully chosen seedling species were planted.  Students listened and learned about the benefits of planting calendula, chives, clovers, and nasturtium around the apple trees.  This rich understory of plants in the orchard will attract beneficial insects, suppress grasses that compete for water and nutrients with the fruit trees, protect from pests, fix nitrogen, provide good ground cover that allows for the conservation of water, and attract bees, among other things.

One thing is for sure:  by the time our morning tasks were complete, our students were ready for lunch!  And what a delicious treat they were offered by the monks at Thrangu Monastery. We are very grateful to them for extending their kindness and generosity in offering us a wonderful vegetarian meal.

The students looked on the changes that resulted from their work last year with pride, and moved immediately into taking on the spring tasks. Their joy, discipline and cheerful work together was a clear display of the truth that cultivating the earth, cultivates character. We look forward to our future visits to the farm and bringing back a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables to share with our community!

© Lions Gate Montessori

In our previous posts, Introduction to Practical Life and Practical Life Materials, we stressed the importance of such exercises in our classroom environments. Children are keen observers who notice all of the mundane actions that we must do every day. Such activities as preparing food, to dressing, fixing things, and cleaning up are fascinating to young children because they have a strong drive to be independent and belong to their time and place. Young children want to be participants and not spectators! Having that in mind, your home is the perfect place for implementing Practical Life activities. We tend to give the children items such as a play-kitchen filled plastic vegetables and knives, for example, when the child is perfectly capable of helping you prepare a salad for dinner!

However, before assuming that the child will be able to perform a task, take the time to demonstrate and teach your child how to do things things by her/himself. A careful “presentation” lets your child clearly see how to do something and the technique of use of a specific tool. Have in mind that your movements give your child a stencil to pattern his/her movements after so take the time to handle the objects with care and with respect. For example, show them the way to proper hold a broom (best if you purchase a child-sized broom!) and how to sweep crumbs on the floor or how to wipe up a spill using a sponge or a cloth. Demonstrate how to carefully remove the stem from spinach leaves and place the unwanted parts in the compost bin or how to set a table for dinner. Show them how to sort whites from colours when doing laundry and later how to fold each piece of clothing. Demonstrate how to put one’s own shoes when leaving and hang coats when arriving home. By taking the time to give a practical exhibition of a task and allow your child to perform it at his/her own time, you can help your child become a confident and capable person who contributes to the life in the home. At the same time, your child will be refining his/her fine and motor coordination and feeling a sense of pride.

Don’t forget that these activities should give your child a feeling of success. Therefore, they should present themselves as attainable challenges. They should not be too easy, as this will disengage the child, but also not to hard as this will be a motive of frustration. Be aware of your child’s own capabilities and eagerness to help. Also, make sure that you show the activity from beginning to end (including how to put things away in their proper place or replenish whatever is needed). Here are a few ideas of Practical Life activities around the home:

Using Manipulative Materials and Tools
– Opening and closing various types of containers, doors and cupboards
– Using tongs, tweezers, turkey baster, eyedroppers, syringes
– Using scissors, stickers, stamps, glue, paintbrushes, markers, play dough, crayons and other art equipment appropriately
– Handling a book
– Using a funnel

Care of Self
– Brushing teeth
– Brushing hair
– Washing face
– Blowing nose
– Dressing oneself: shirt, pants, socks, shoes, coat (buttoning, zippering, snapping)
– Putting clothes in the hamper
– Sorting laundry
– Folding clothes and socks
– Hanging clothes on a hook; hanging clothes on a hanger

Care of the Home
– Setting a table
– Serving snacks of meals
– Folding napkins, cloths and towels
– Cooking skills (measuring, mixing, stirring, whisking, pouring, etc)
– Washing and drying dishes and utensils
– Stacking dishes and sorting utensils
– Food preparation (washing vegetables and fruits, peeling and cutting a banana or a carrot; peeling and segmenting a mandarin, shelling peas, coring an apple; buttering bread; squeezing juice, peel and slice an egg, chopping strawberries, grating cheese, spoon an avocado, prepare cereal in the morning, cracking nuts, etc)
– Cleaning (wipe spills, sweeping, mopping, dusting)
– Using a dust pan
– Washing windows and mirrors
– Making a bed
– Drawing and opening curtains and blinds
– Watering plants
– Arranging flowers in a vase
– Gardening (planting seeds, raking, pulling weeds)
– Caring for animals

Engaging in these activities on a daily basis helps to develop and refine children’s executive abilities by directing their minds and bodies towards the accomplishment of purposeful tasks. More importantly, it instills in them, the confidence that they too, are capable individuals who can contribute to their home and world in a meaningful way.

© Lions Gate Montessori

A child who becomes a master of his acts through long and repeated exercises (of practical life), and who has been encouraged by the pleasant and interesting activities in which he has been engaged, is a child filled with health and joy and remarkable for his calmness and discipline – Maria Montessori

In our Introduction to Practical Life, we discussed the direct and indirect purposes of our Practical Life exercises in our classrooms. When visiting our classrooms, take the time to notice our specific Practical Life activities and you will see why we call our classrooms “Prepared Environments.” Teachers carefully select every single material found on our shelves.

Keep your eyes open for some of the following characteristics:

Familiar: They resemble mundane activities that children see regularly in their family life and the objects are therefore familiar. This element of familiarity assists the children for orientation to their new classroom. Objects also reflect the local cultural and social environment helping children  increase their independence, adaptation and ability to contribute to their newfound social community.

Child-sized: Materials are meant to fit small hands. We take into consideration, the child’s proportions in order to encourage precision and the child’s confidence in his/her coordination. Well-proportioned tools that are heavy enough to provide a tactile feedback facilitate the child to fine tune with his/her motor skills.

Real, functional and complete: Objects are recognizable and have a realistic appearance that is connected to their purpose. Materials and activities must be efficient to build self-confidence. By providing children with real and functional tools, we show them that their work is valued. They must also be complete so as to allow children to fully finish the exercise and to therefore finish the full cycle of the activity.

Breakable: A child who is given unbreakable objects is robbed from the opportunity to develop fine motor skills, care of their environment, and respect and responsibility towards the objects of his/her classroom. In that sense, the value of glass/porcelain/ceramic in the environment extends beyond its aesthetic qualities, it gives the child the opportunity to control the fine and gross movements and gives the child feedback of his/her actions removing the necessity to say “carry it carefully”. Teachers embrace breakage as a learning experience, resulting in that activity being taken off the shelf. There is no reprimand, just the consequence of it: items must be taken away until it is repaired or a replacement is found.

Attractive: Maria Montessori believed that the child must be offered what is most beautiful and pleasing to the eye. The objects tend to come from natural materials such as wood, metal, porcelain, glass, etc. At the same time, the objects must be simple so as to not distract the child from their utility.

Limited: There is only one set of each activity so as to strengthen will, choice, independence, social and decision making capacities. If a classmate has already chosen a specific activity, the child will have to choose an alternative piece of work. That way, the child is learning that the community shares its resources and that one’s first choice is not always available. If two children want to use the same material, they must negotiate its use, thereby enhancing socialization and cooperative skills.

Above all else, the materials must be beautiful so as to attract the child’s interest and contribute to the general aesthetics of the whole class environment.

© Lions Gate Montessori

All families treasure books but sometimes it is difficult to decide which books to buy and which to borrow. In our Primary classrooms, we carefully select books for our library corner. You may be asking yourself, “what’s the Montessori criteria when choosing books for the young child?”

Here are a few characteristics that we look for before making each and every book available to our preschoolers:

• Reality: we provide books based on reality. Dr. Montessori wasn’t against fiction or fairy-tales but she believed that these books are best suited to the older children with a more mature mind and ability to abstract. The young child is trying to adapt and orientate to his/her environment and to make sense of the world he/she lives in. Therefore, these children crave and are more interested in books that deal with the world around then, animals, the environment and everyday activities.
• Diversity: we offer books that demonstrate diversity, show different cultures and different lands so as to expose the children to the vastness and beauty of our planet.
• Quality: we take quality over quantity anytime. We look for books that have large, clear, beautiful, high quality images that balances just right with the amount of text. Images must be captivating and inspiring. Also, we always make sure that the books are intelligent and don’t speak down to children. 

Furthermore, when introducing the library and books to the children we follow the same procedure as with all the other materials in the classroom. We demonstrate proper handling and technique of use. We guide them towards the appropriate space to perform that activity and, finally, we allow them to work independently.

To be more specific, we also:

• Demonstrate how to turn a book’s pages carefully from the top right corner as well as how to carry a book properly by holding it with both hands.
• Ensure the child knows and understands where books are kept and is able to put them back after use.
• Provide a comfortable reading space (at home, you may think about having a corner with a few cushions in the living area as well as the bedroom or outdoor environment). We store books at the child’s height in a front-facing bookshelf (you may use other types of displays or even baskets). The young child is not able to associate a book by it’s spine so it’s best to store them where the child can easily see the cover.
• Do not interrupt a child reading (unless they are mistreating the book or are in danger). Children develop and exercise their ability to concentrate just by reading/looking at books. In addition to this, we accept the children’s choice by allowing them to choose a book to read without enforcing our preferences.

Please do not hesitate to ask your child’s teacher for specific suggestions of books and authors.

Happy reading everyone!

© Lions Gate Montessori