Welcome to our collection of Montessori Practical Life posts.

Here you will find Practical Life lessons, ideas for how to involve children in everyday practical life experiences (in a developmentally appropriate way), and some background as to why and how Practical Life is used and emphasized in the Montessori Method.

Montessori (3)

Practical life is more than just giving children skills that they will use in their everyday tasks — it’s about building a sense of order and the habit of completing processes and steps in our work, which helps with later learning.

Practical Life tasks help develop fine motor and gross motor muscles and capabilities, while also giving children a sense of pride in a job well done. And, they draw children into the world of Montessori learning.

A quick introduction to the basics (and ease) of Practical Life Lessons can be found here.

We also often work practical life invitations into our unit studies.

We write a practical life post every week (usually on Thursdays) so if you’d like to stay in the loop, please subscribe to our free weekly or daily newsletter — delivered straight to your e-mail inbox.

The majority of our Practical Life Posts are written by the amazing Beth Holley from A Montessori Lexicon.

I also like to pin great Practical Life ideas that I see around the web, so if you’re on Pinterest you might want to follow my board:

Follow Jennifer Tammy’s board Teaching Practical Life on Pinterest.

Practical Life Lessons:

Click on any of the images below to be taken to the corresponding Montessori Practical Life lesson:

Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Moving a Chair  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: the Work Mat  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: The Spooning Exercise  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: How to Carry a Tray  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Opening and Closing Containers  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Grating Soap  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Using a Mortar & Pestle  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Pouring Rice  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Pouring Water  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Sweeping  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Folding Cloths  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Polishing Wood  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Flower Arranging  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Making Orange Juice  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Washing a Table  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Apple cutting lesson - secret tips from a Montessori teacher on how to teach children how to cut their own apples, easily and happilyMontessori Practical Life Lesson: Hammering Activity  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: the Buttoning Frame  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Zipper Dressing Frame  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Snap Dressing Frame  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Hook and Eye Dressing Frame  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Bow Tying Dressing Frame  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Cutting Carrots  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Buckles and Straps Dressing Frame Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Lacing Dressing Frame  Montessori Practical Life Lesson: Polishing Shoes
If you want to stay informed on our practical life lesson series, as well as other learning inspiration, parenting ideas, and easy, healthy recipes, please subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter: