Module 2 ASSIGNMENT

Question 1: Write a comprehensive note on the importance

of practical life exercises.
Practical life exercises are a fundamental part of the Montessori curriculum and are important
for a number of reasons:

● Real-world experience:

Practical life activities help children learn through real-world experiences, and support
their drive to learn.

● Develop life skills:

Children learn how to accomplish life skills in a purposeful way, such as setting the
table, cleaning dishes, or watering plants.

● Develop independence:

Children gain independence and develop a sense of order.

● Improve motor skills:

Children develop their fine and gross motor skills.

● Improve social skills:

Children improve their social skills.

● Develop concentration:

Children develop the ability to concentrate.

● Develop a sense of order:

 Children develop a sense of order.

● Provide an opportunity to investigate:

Children are given the opportunity to investigate and ask questions.

Practical life activities fall into four main categories:

● Care of self
● Grace and courtesy
● Control of movement
● Care of the environment

Practical life activities help give the child a sense of being and belonging, established through
participation in daily life with us. Through practical life the child learns about his culture and all
about what it is to be human.

If you have a vision of the cosmic purpose, that every life in the world is based on this
movement with a purpose, you will be able to understand and better direct the children's work.
In the beginning, children are urged by nature to be active. They are happy when they are
active. They begin to develop the behaviour of humanity with its limits and its possibilities.
Movement is closely connected to psychic life; we must move with intelligence, will, character,
etc.”

“When we speak about the behaviour of men and animals, we refer to their purposeful
movements. This behaviour is the centre of their practical life. It is not just the practical life in a
house, cleaning rooms, watering plants, etc., that is important, but the fact that everyone in the
world must move with a purpose and must work, not only for himself but also for others. It is
strange that man's work must also be work in service of others; if this were not so, his work
would have no more meaning than gymnastic exercises. All work is done not only for ourselves
but also for others. Even something as frivolous as dancing would be pointless without an
audience. The dancers, who perfect their movements with so much trouble and fatigue, dance
for others. Tailors who spend their lives sewing could not wear all the clothes they make
themselves. Yet tailoring, like gymnastics, requires lots of movements.

Remembering the capacities of the absorbent mind, it should be noted that the way adults
perform their everyday activities impacts the child and his eventual performance of these tasks.
Initially these activities are done to the child and around the child. By doing these activities to
the child and around the child, the child feels important and gains self esteem, because
someone cares about him enough to do these activities to him and around him. He learns to
trust that he and his environment will be cared for and his needs satisfied.
In the beginning these activities are done to the child but very soon the child will start to
collaborate with the adult. For example, holding his leg out for the opening in his underpants but
still requiring the adult to assist him in pulling up the underpants. This is seen very early on in
the child's development and it is a gradual process, reliant on the adult’s observation skills to
only give the amount of assistance needed. The amount of assistance needed varies from child
to child, some children only need us to be nearby. Even so, the child will eventually do these
activities independently.

When the child is walking and the hands are free we see a child that wants to actively
participate in his environment. Before this time he has observed and absorbed the concepts of
practical life, learning the specific activities such as washing dishes and also who performs
these activities. Therefore the child comes to the Infant Community with past experiences in
these activities. Some will have had a lot of experience and for some children it may be the first
time they are allowed to actively participate in the practical life activities. In the Infant
Community we offer real experiences to allow purposeful work. Through this participation the
child comes to be a member of the community by taking care of himself and providing service to
the community and others.

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Question 2: Explain the different groups of exercises of
practical life. How do you think this group is helpful?

In the Montessori House of Children we call exercises of practical life those simple, daily
performed activities which an adult carries out in his environment in order to maintain and
restore proper conditions. The basic purpose is to have a structure in life and it is purely based
on utilitarian needs. They serve this preservative and restorative function not only with regard to
things (conditions), but also with regard to persons (relations). As they form a part of the adult’s
daily activities, the child practically from the moment it is born and enters into a man-made and
man-maintained environment has observed them and has become exceedingly familiar with
them.
To carry out these activities, one need not be properly trained. It is observed that an adult and
child both show a great sense or urge to perform these duties and show strong interest in
carrying them out. A child is observed to “offer help” for these activities around the household.
We should ask ourselves why the young child is strongly attracted to them and that all the more
as we ourselves perform them more because of their outer necessity than out of genuine inner
interest.
In the young child’s case these very activities have a much more important and more personal
function. They are not merely preservative and restorative, they are truly constructive, not with
regard to the environment of course, but with regard to the child himself. Those simple daily
activities are for the child's development, even creative activities. In that function we call them
“exercises of practical life.”
When the child carries them out, he is wholly and totally engaged.
Why does he “choose” them, what is it that attracts him so irresistibly and what enables them to
play such a constructive and developmental role in the young child’s life?

Three factors have to be recognized: their simple, clear and concrete purpose, their easily
understood course from start to finish (across a comparatively short span of time), the
prominence of physical, therefore visible, movements which lie well within the child’s capacity
already at this early age, make these activities intelligible to the young child, therefore desirable,
that is an attractive invitation to his will, and he can carry out the movements required to perform
them in view of their understood and willed purpose. If done for this understood and willed
purpose they therefore give direction to his movements and impose a self-accepted discipline
on them which leads to greater perfection, great skill not only of those movements, but of and in
the child himself, of and in his “person” as a whole. Therein lies their developmental function.
They strengthen and develop, or rather serve the child in his effort to strengthen and develop
the characteristically human foundation of his personality, of unity between thought, will and
action.
 Four Groups

This formative function of the exercises of practical life is realized in the vast, common and
universal field covering basic relations between the child and his environment from birth
onwards. They offer opportunities to actively and personally

Establish — 1. Elementary Movements

Maintain Relations with regard to __ 2. The Environment (inanimate)
Restore — 3. Oneself (animate)
4. Others (animate)

1. Elementary Movements

(holding, carrying, putting down, picking up, etc., of all that forms part of his daily environment,
walking, sitting down, getting up, etc.)

2. Looking After the Inanimate Environment

(dusting, cleaning, washing, polishing, etc.)

3. Looking After Oneself

(dressing, undressing, bathing, combing, etc.)

4. Social Relations
(greeting, offering, accepting, apologizing, etc.)

These four distinct groups of exercises of practical life with regard to which the child has a right
to receive assistance from us so that he can realize himself in obedience to the inner urge of
self-development and its creative laws. It is they which direct his selective interest towards these
activities. It is they which enable him to recognize in these activities an answer to his needs and
therefore they also which make him move towards them irresistibly, even in spite of
misunderstanding and obstruction on the part of the environment (adults and elders).

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Question 3: What are the essential points that we can keep in
mind while presenting EPL?

When presenting Exercises of Practical Life (EPL) activities, you can keep these points in mind:

● Prepare the materials: Lay out the materials in order of use, from simple to more
complex. Make sure the materials are child-sized and proportional to each other. For
example, a sponge or brush should fit the child's hand.
● Set up the area: Make sure everything is within reach of the children.
● Choose non-toxic materials: Make sure all materials are clean and non-toxic.

EPL activities can help children develop a variety of skills, including:

● Gross and fine motor skills

● Independence
● Concentration
● Sense of order
● Social skills
● Discipline
● Responsibility

The presentation of EPL is very important and difficult task which require extra care. A
directress should be very careful while presenting it. Children are very good observers and they
love to follow their teacher. Therefore, a directress should be perfect in presenting the activity.
There are two ways of presenting EPL;

1. Direct Presentation
2. Indirect Presentation.

Direct Presentation

Direct presentation is when a teacher introduces to children about the activity they are going to
perform. The teacher should keenly observe the movement of a child. So, she should present
the activity in an easy manner so the child can see and understand and replicate her teacher’s
actions.
Indirect Presentation

Indirect presentation is when a child observes the teacher making a presentation and pays
attention to the lesson with the teacher being aware of it. It has more importance than direct
presentation.

EPL Guidelines for Indirect Presentation

Following are the guidelines for EPL in an indirect presentation setup.

● The directress must wear an apron while presenting the EPL exercises and ask the
students to wear it as well.
● When a child is admitted to a Montessori school, EPL exercises must be performed in a
friendly and easy way so the child can understand it well and be able to perform them as
well. Therefore, the directress must do it the right way.
● The directress should present the activity without making a mistake so that the child
learns the right manner of performing the activity in the first attempt.
● She should perform the activity of washing hands after every activity so the children will
learn to wash their hands after every activity.
● Before presenting any activity the directress needs to practice a lot with the material
herself.
● The directress must stay silent during the activity so the children can concentrate on the
activity and not get distracted with the teacher’s words.
● To make students comfortable and be interested in the activity, the directress must have
a calm, relaxed and cheerful way of performing the activity.
● The directress must demonstrate the lesson in a way that it seems easy and quick so
that the students don’t get bored or find it too much to do.
● Ask the students to gather all material with the directress and explain it to them what it is
and what they will be doing with it.
● After an activity is completed, ask students to put away all the things back in its place.
● If there is any dangerous tool, the directress must make sure that the students are told
about the danger of it, ex: knife, scissors, matchbox etc and tell them how to handle
these tools in the right way.
● The directress must observe a child’s progress keenly.
● Those materials which are not being used by the children at the moment should be put
away.
● The directress must take note of activities that need to be repeated if the children could
not finish them in time or were not understood by the children properly.
● A directress must remember to repeat these activities from time to time for the children
to rehearse and practice them for proper learning.
● The directress must not interrupt the child for an activity done incorrectly but
demonstrate the activity again to them and make them perform it later in a correct
manner.
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Question 4: Try to explain formal setting of table and making a

chicken spread sandwich in the same way EPL has been explained in
this book for you.

Table Setting
Material:
● Table
● Chair
● Plate
● Bread and butter plate
● Salad plate
● Napkin
● Dinner fork and knife
● Salad fork
● Dessert spoon and fork
● Salad fork
● Soup spoon/ tea spoon
● Water glass
● Drinks glass

PRESENTATION
To set your table for dinner, place all the dishes and cutlery in a proper manner.

● To present a formal table setting, gather students around the table.

● Place everything in their right place.
● Put the plate in the middle
● Put the salad plate on top off the plate
● On the left hand side place the dinner fork.
● On the left hand side after the dinner fork , place the salad fork.
● Put the napkin on the left hand corner.
● On the top of the plate put your desert spoon and fork.
● On the right hand side on top, place the water glass
● On the right hand side on top, place the drinks glass next to the water glass
● On the right side of the plate, place the dinner knife.
● On the right side of the plate, place the soup spoon/teaspoon after the knife.
Chicken Sandwich
 Ingredients:
● Chicken
● Bread
● Salt and black pepper
● Green chillies
● Mayonnaise
● Cucumbers
● Salad leaves

Main Activity
● Gather all students
● Introduce the ingredients to them
● Mix all ingredients in a bowl
● Tell children to take a butter knife or spoon and put the batter on top of the bread slices
● Each child can make one or two sandwiches for themselves

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Question 5: Write just the names of as many EPL as possible
(that you think a child can do) and which are not mentioned
in the book.

EPL (Early Practical Life) activities are an important part of the Montessori curriculum and are
designed to help young children develop practical life skills. These activities are focused on
everyday tasks that children can perform on their own, such as pouring, washing dishes, and
polishing.

Following are some of the EPL exercises that a child can do:

[Link] a glass
2. Holding a cup
[Link] a bottle
4. Holding a tray
5. Holding a Jug
[Link] a mat
7. Hanging an apron
8. Carrying a glass of water
9. Holding a spoon
10. Opening and closing a bottle cap
11. Pegging
[Link] water from one jug to another
13. Folding and unfolding a mat
14. Folding clothes
15. Turning pages of a book
16. Threading beads
17. Putting small beads in multiple containers
18. Pouring rice from one jug to another
[Link] toys in baskets
20. Washing hands
[Link] nose
[Link] face
[Link] teeth
[Link], brushing and braiding
25. Care of fingernails
Blowing nose
Soaping body
Shampooing hair
Cleaning ears
26. Putting things and placing in proper places
27. Using a funnel
28. Choosing what to wear
[Link] along a line
[Link] beans
31. Sponging water
[Link] of dropper
33. Taking off shoes and putting them on
[Link] frame
[Link] frame
36. Buckle frame
[Link] frame
38. Velcro frame
39. Push button frame
[Link] lacing frame
41. Zipper frame
42. Safety pin frame
43. Polishing Shoes
44, How to use kitchen knife
45. Managing Containers
46. Using a grater
Shaking a bottle
Preparing vegetables- Peas
Peeling vegetables
How to use a blunt knife
Walking around a mat
Offering a knife/ pointed objects
How to sit on a chair
Knocking at the door
Silence game
Walking on the line
Holding up, carrying & putting down a chair
Washing a formica service
Washing an unpainted surface
Washing painted service
Washing floor
Use of broom and dustpan
Vacuum carpeted area
Sweeping
Dusting
Polishing surface
Folding napkins
Washing clothes
Washing glass
Washing plastic utensils
Care of indoor plants
Care of pets
Care of plants
Watering plants
Cleaning a spill

Ø She should appreciate students as appreciation make all perfect.