Creating Independence in the Classroom

Montessori classrooms are unique because they contain an area of the classroom called Practical Life, also known as Everyday Living. This is the basis of the Montessori program. This area assists children in developing order, coordination, concentration, and independence, and it establishes community within the class. This community is the group that will determine the behaviors and attitudes practiced in the classroom.

The physical and social environment must be prepared by providing the tools that enable the children to create themselves. There are three areas of activity in the practical life area. There is care of the environment, care of the person, and grace and courtesy.

These are a sample of the activities included in each area. Care of the environment includes cleaning, sweeping, mopping, polishing, washing cloths, ironing, gardening, and plant care. Care of the person includes dressing, changing clothes, hand washing, nose blowing, cooking, and food preparation. Grace and courtesy includes taking a chair out and putting it back under the table, walking carefully, rolling a mat, saying “please” and “thank you,” closing doors, and knocking.

These activities facilitate the classroom becoming a children’s house that the children maintain and use for the purpose of the family, the social group. Research has shown that the child’s peer group socializes him or her. This is the most important reason to choose a school carefully since it is the peer group along with a strong leader, the teacher , that will socialize the child.
In practical life, the work habits that the children develop will later lead to success in the later academic work. They practice eye-hand coordination, control of large and small muscles, the ability to carry objects, and the use good manners. Children complete the cycle of activity – to finish what was started - and to contribute to the important work of the classroom.
Children have consistently shown that they want to learn the way to become functioning and contributing members of society. Maria Montessori observed that children usually choose real work over imaginary work. They watch the adults around them and try to imitate the adults. Children would rather pour real tea than have a pretend tea party. When adults allow children to become part of the daily work that goes on around them, it shows great respect for the child, and it helps to build confidence. The child feels important to him or herself and to the group.
The children work to master an activity and to practice and perfect their abilities. The children’s purpose is not to complete the task but to construct the self. Children are born with an innately determined foundation, they have powerful learning abilities, and children use other people, usually their parents at first, as tools to discover the particularities of their society and culture. The practical life activities aid children in making choices and becoming physically and mentally independent. Children become responsible for their actions, learn to control their muscles, direct their attention, and sharpen their focus.

If we really want children to become independent and responsible adults, we need to allow them the respect of doing for themselves as soon as they are able. When children show an interest in doing an activity or are developmentally ready for an activity, such as wiping up a spill, we need to show them the steps involved, provide them the tools necessary (a bucket and sponge), and the time to practice and master the activity. Every unneeded help is a hindrance and impedes children’s progress.
When children have a peer group, they imitate the children. Research shows that babies and children categorize people first by age (adult or child) and then by gender. This is the reason children are first drawn to their age group and later to their gender group, and the reason children learn best from other children. In a Montessori classroom, there is a three-year age span. Initial presentations to the youngest children are given by the teacher, but subsequent or follow up presentations may be given by observation of another child’s presentation or by another child helping the child with a work. The older children in the class will socialize the younger children.

When children enter as three-year olds, they have the opportunity to be the youngest, the middle, and the oldest child. Multiple age grouping gives the children a more homelike atmosphere, and it facilitates what Vygotsky described as scaffolding. Children see other children just a bit older than they are doing work that is slightly more difficult than they can do, but it demonstrates that it is possible for a child to do it. The younger child will then practice a challenging work until, they have mastered it, and the older child will be nearby to offer assistance. If the older child offers too much help, the younger one can is often heard saying, “I can do it myself!”