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Montessori education for kids in the 2-6 year age range places heavy emphasis on the development of practical life skills. Practical life activities are designed to help children gain control and coordination of their movements so that children can become independent in doing the tasks required in their society.
A few years ago I purchased the Montessori at Home {updated: broken link removed} e-book written by John Bowman. This book helped me to understand how I could use everyday activities around our house as opportunities to develop my children’s practical life skills. Practical life skills encompass those such as pouring, scrubbing, gardening, sewing, repairing, and cleaning.
In a previous post, I shared ideas of practical life activities involving food. In this post I am sharing more practical life activities your kids can do at home. And with a bit of creativity, I’m sure you’ll come up with many other ideas as well!
Note: For more activities that use Montessori principles in the home, see my Montessori Activities page.
Folding and putting away clothing
From an early age, I taught my children how to fold their own clothes and put them back on their shelves and in their closet.
My kids put their clothes on shelves and in drawers that are low to the ground so they can easily reach them. They have been putting their own clothes away with almost no help from me since they were just 4 years old. I simply leave the laundry basket full of clean clothes in their room, and they sort and put the clothes away all on their own!
Feeding pets
We have two cats. For a while now, our kids have been 100% responsible for feeding the cats each morning and evening. They gather the bowls, add the proper amount of food, and place the bowls down for the cats to enjoy their meal.
Washing the car
We are having a terrible drought in California, so we no longer wash our cars at home in order to save water. But in previous years, car washing used to be a family affair, and it provided so many opportunities for the kids to develop practical life skills.
They unrolled the hose from the reel.
They used the sprayer to wet the car.
They scrubbed the car clean (at least the parts they could reach).
And they dried the car with a rag.
Preparing floss
We floss the kids’ teeth every evening after brushing teeth. Learning to tear off the appropriate amount of floss was a great practical life skill requiring quite a bit of fine motor control. XGirl worked on this for quite some time until she mastered it.
Making guacamole
My kids love guacamole! We often make our own using ripe avocados and lime. I cut the fruits, but then my kids use a spoon to scoop the flesh from the avocado skin.
And they use a lemon squeezer to juice the lime.Then they use a fork to mash it all together. Yum! (See other ways we’ve developed practical life skills in the kitchen.)
Storing paper goods
Every few weeks we make a trip to Costco to pick up items we need in bulk. We often buy paper towels and toilet paper in bulk from Costco.
When we buy these items, my kids are responsible for opening the package and then storing them in the appropriate place. For example, XGirl places the toilet paper rolls in the bathroom cabinets. While they put away the toilet paper, I am usually busy putting away food items we have purchased. XGirl loves it when every member of our family is working together to put things away, because she enjoys feeling like she’s an important part of the team.
Changing toy batteries
My kids are very responsible and never put items in their mouths anymore. So when a toy needs a battery change, QBoy will often grab the screwdriver and some fresh batteries to change them himself. He feels great pride at being able to do these tasks independently. (See how I taught my kids about batteries.)
Making phone calls
Many kids show an early interest in using the phone. They want to talk on the phone just like mommy and daddy do! Sometimes when we need to make a phone call, we will allow the kids to dial the phone for us as a way to get some phone practice in.
More Montessori resources
More Montessori posts from Gift of Curiosity:
- Apple Montessori activities
- Farm Montessori activities
- Winter Montessori activities
- Valentine Montessori activities
- Easter Montessori activities
- Halloween Montessori activities
- Christmas Montessori activities
- Montessori caves unit
- Practical life activities using food
- Montessori mapping activities
- Montessori living / nonliving / once living activities
- Montessori printables
Foe more Montessori ideas, see my Montessori activities page and my Montessori Pinterest board.