The Montessori Practical Life Materials

The Genesis of Concentration

A visitor to our classroom would no doubt be impressed by the many shelves of specially designed didactic (teaching) materials in our Prepared Environment. Beautiful manipulatives of a clear geometric, mathematical, literacy, cultural or geographic nature adorn our shelves. But what to make of those shelves containing jugs and sponges, brooms and basins, tongs and tweezers, and bowls of rice and beans? This area, filled with activities of an ordinary and practical nature, harbors the secret to the developmental transformation that awaits the child. These everyday exercises, by virtue of causing the child to use her body as an instrument of her mind to accomplish a meaningful goal, create a coming together of mind and body. This momentous integration is the cornerstone of intellect creation. As the young child pours and scoops, washes and scrubs, sweeps and polishes, she is engrossed in, and captivated by the activity. Developmentally, however, wondrous things are happening. She is establishing concentration, from which all future learning will grow. She is creating an inner order, upon which to build future academic understanding. She is also refining movement to enable the hand to become a more efficient tool of her exploration and discovery.

The value of the Montessori Practical Life exercises is evidenced by their ability to infuse the child with an inner calm and peace as she works – the manifestation of which is universally remarked upon by observers in Montessori classrooms all around the world. This peace, is evidence indeed, that the child is engaged in a task that is so developmentally right for her, and to which she is drawn by a powerful attraction. So, please come to our classroom, to observe these little children busy at their seemingly mundane activities of pouring, cleaning and polishing, and take a moment to wonder at the creation of the intellect, right before your eyes!