Practical Life – WonderHouse of Littles

Practical Life Tray Ideas

admin — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 16:00:27 +0000

Practical Life Tray Ideas

These preliminary practical life tray ideas are inspired by Montessori classics. They engage the child in purposeful activity and isolate a single skill – in this case transferring and pouring using a variety of tools, each one with a unique purpose.

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Practical life activities such as these help develop fine motor skills, strengthen hand-eye coordination and build concentration. They require the child to learn a sequence and contribute to the child’s sense of independence and responsibility.

These are just ideas. You can get as creative as you’d like with kitchen utensils.

A few things to keep in mind:

⋒ These activities can be just as easily done in everyday situations by involving your child in your everyday life. You don’t necessarily need a tray, though it helps define the work area and contain all the materials.

⋒ Make sure you set your child up for success with appropriate tools and the right degree of difficulty to build their confidence- neither too easy nor too difficult. Child-sized tools work best and cause less frustration. If you are looking for child-sized wooden sensory play tools, this set is a great option and comes with all the tools your child needs. For the transfer with eyedropper activity, I also recommend this set.

⋒ I like to provide a big plastic tray for activities involving water so that if any spilling occurs it is contained within. I use wooden trays for dry activities. Be OK with messes. It is about giving the child an opportunity to practice, going through the entire process, from choosing an activity to cleaning it up afterwards.

⋒ We use glass and porcelain items for most activities, instead of plastic. We introduced this gradually when A was around 12 months, always supervised. This teaches children to be gentle and take care of their materials/ respect items. A knows that items can break so she handles them with care. For dry and liquid pouring we use porcelain creamers. These are also great for serving milk for breakfast or water for dinner and let the child practice pouring for themselves. You can get your child started with a small clear glass one like this one so the child can keep track of the liquid pouring.

⋒ Provide a towel/ or sponge to clean up any spills and child-sized broom or small brush for sweeping if needed. Make sure to model the cleaning up part as well when you present the activity.

These are just ideas. You can get as creative as you’d like with kitchen utensils.

Sock Matching

admin — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 04:15:58 +0000

Sock Matching

This practical life activity takes about 15 seconds to set up and is perfect for laundry days (which, if your house is anything like ours, it’s every day!) If you have a younger toddler, you can start with matching only three pairs of socks. My daughter did this activity for the first time when she was around 18 months.

At 27 months just matching is a bit too easy for her so a few months ago we added another step – folding the socks – and she also puts them away in her drawer once she is done. We keep it really simple when it comes to folding.

Alternatively, the child can simply insert one sock inside the other.

This activity helps develop:

– Fine motor skills

– Visual discrimination

– Matching

– Care of environment and self

– Learning a sequence

– Organization skills, sense of order

– Self-confidence

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Dry Pouring

admin — Wed, 31 May 2023 08:32:49 +0000

Dry Pouring

This simple Montessori Practical Life activity prepares the child to pour without spilling, but has many other benefits. In addition to improving fine motor skills and helping to build concentration, coordination and independence, this pre-writing activity also teaches the child about conservation. In child development terms, this refers to the understanding that the amount of something stays the same despite a change in appearance. This activity is also a precursor to liquid pouring.

It is super simple to set up. You will need two pitchers of similar dimensions (one containing a grain of your choice) and a tray to catch any fallout. I used red lentils. Be sure to set your child up for success with child-size pitchers. You can find two of our favorite pitchers here.

Present the activity from left to right (pitcher on the left contains the lentils) and model holding the handle, slowly aligning the pouring spout, pouring and gently placing the pitcher back on the tray. You can also intentionally spill some to model picking up the grains. This small table top brush is perfect for little hands.

Once the pouring process is done, rotate the tray to ensure the full pitcher is always on the left side.

Did you know that many Practical Life activities are building pre-literacy skills? That is why pouring, transferring, scooping, etc. are done from left to right, because it is the direction that we read and write in most languages across the world.

Cleaning up is part of the learning process, so make sure to encourage your child to tidy up after they finish. Model how to do it until your child feels confident enough to initiate the tidying up process independently.

Bringing play to life:

One of the best places to practice dry pouring? In the kitchen, of course! There is so much to pour, especially if decanting is something you love doing. What a wonderful opportunity to get your little one to help you get organized!

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Scoop and Transfer – Pom Poms

admin — Tue, 23 May 2023 18:51:11 +0000

Scoop and Transfer – Pom Poms

This simple Montessori activity is a great way for children to practice scooping and transferring – valuable practical life skills.

For this scoop and transfer activity I used pom poms, though you can use a variety of other common household items such as pasta, beans or rice. All you need is a tray, two bowls of similar dimensions, a scoop and your item of choice.

In addition to developing essential practical life skills, this activity also:

⋒ Develops and strengthens fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination

⋒ Practices left to right movement in preparation for reading and writing

⋒ Helps develop a sense of order in the child

⋒ Establishes a solid foundation for more complex transfer activities later on

Cleaning up is part of the learning process, so make sure to encourage your child to tidy up after they finish playing. Model how to do it until your child feels confident enough to initiate the tidying up process independently.

*** This post may contain affiliate links. That means we may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your continued support. ♡

Bringing play to life:

Encouraging your child to scoop their own food onto their plates at meal times is another great way to practice this valuable life skill?

DIY Wrapping Paper

admin — Tue, 16 May 2023 17:27:41 +0000

DIY Wrapping Paper

When A was 22 months old we made DIY wrapping paper for Christmas. This was the first Christmas where we got to involve A more meaningfully and I loved all the crafts and baking we did. I will cherish these moments forever and would love for her to look back on this time and remember it as fondly as I will.

To make the wrapping paper we used plain brown paper and three different patterns: a tree shape using a play dough cutter, a sponge brush to make small dots, and a paint splatter effect.

We had lots of fun and I love seeing how proud A gets when she sees the final product of what we do.

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Looping Hair Ties

admin — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 16:55:14 +0000

Looping Hair Ties

This is another super easy low prep activity – very popular on social media – using things you most likely already have around the house.

You just need a paper towel holder and a few hair ties.

When A was around 20 months I realized the hair ties in the photos offered the perfect amount of resistance for this activity so I presented it to her and it was a favorite for months when she was a toddler.

This activity is perfect to work on:

🤌fine motor skills

👌Hand and finger strength

👌👀hand-eye coordination

👍 Spatial awareness

Extended learning:

For an older child you can increase the difficulty by making patterns using different color hair ties? You can create ABAB patterns (A being red and B being blue, for example) or more complex patterns such as ABC (C being a third different color), AABB, etc.

*** This post may contain affiliate links. That means we may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your continued support. ♡

Nut and Bolt

admin — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 12:43:08 +0000

Nut and Bolt

Have you ever tried to get your tool box out to fix something around the house and your toddler immediately jumps all over it and tries to do whatever it is you’re trying to do herself/himself? If so, they might enjoy this activity.

This simple Montessori activity can be so engaging for little ones and has so many benefits:

develops fine motor skills
improves hand-eye coordination
strengthens wrists and fingers
refines grasp
builds concentration and self-discipline

A loose nut and bolt is better to start with so the child can use both hands. The one pictured is from a Melissa & Doug set. You can use a wooden version like the one in the picture or the real thing. Using everyday items such as a regular nut and bolt will actually increase the child’s sense of accomplishment and self-worth as he sees you trust him with the same objects you use.

Presentation is important and can really increase the shelf life of a material. To start with, you can present it with the nuts on the bolt already and let them practice the twisting motion. Then you can present it undone and later on introduce the block version which will require slightly different hand positioning. This bolts on board set offers the same benefits.

We introduced this activity at 18 months. I initially presented it with the bolt on but A kept unscrewing it and trying to thread it on herself so I started presenting it undone. It was challenging but kept her engaged and she wasn’t getting frustrated so I followed her. This was actually one of her favorite activities for a while.

With a simple tweak in the presentation of the material you’re able to extend its shelf life and also track your child’s skill development. It’s so neat to see their progress at this age.

Provide the material and observe your child. If they get frustrated, adjust the level of difficulty accordingly. It should be hard enough to keep them engaged but not get frustrated and not so easy that they get easily bored.

Bringing play to life:

Go on a nut and bolt hunt around the house. If your child can already count, give them a number of bolts to find for example.
Discuss where can you see them being used and what they are used for.
Compare and discuss their sizes.

*** This post may contain affiliate links. That means we may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your continued support. ♡

Plant Watering

admin — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 17:45:15 +0000

Plant Watering

Practical life activities are a central part of daily life in a Montessori-inspired household and plant watering falls within the care of the environment aspect of practical life.

I first introduced plant watering at 18 months with a very simple setup consisting of just a tray with the plant and water already in the watering can so all A had to do was pour water over the plant. Be sure to demonstrate first by pouring just a little and then inviting the child to pour the rest. Expect spills, so be sure to provide a small cloth as well.

Once the child has mastered this sequence you can add more steps like we did here at 23 months. I set up the activity up in her functional kitchen and included a tray with the plant, the empty watering can and a washcloth for spills. She takes the watering can, fills it up with water from her water dispenser, pours it and then cleans up any spills.

Spills still happen and that is absolutely OK. The goal here is to instill a sense of responsibility and care for the environment, while practicing motor skills, improving hand-eye coordination and control of movement.

Involving your toddler in Practical Life activities will definitely require slowing down, supervision and some patience, but it is incredibly rewarding for the child. Although they may seem like chores to us, children often view them as opportunities to practice new skills and contribute meaningfully to the household. Therefore, it fills them with a sense of purpose, independence and confidence.

Practical life activities are also great opportunities for strengthening gross and fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, control of movement and concentration.

Extended learning:

If you have a garden, how about getting your child involved in caring for it as well?

*** This post may contain affiliate links. That means we may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your continued support. ♡

Salt Dough Ornaments

admin — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 12:45:05 +0000

Salt Dough Ornaments

Salt dough ornaments are not only fun to make with little ones, they also make a perfect holiday gift for grandparents, teachers and loved ones. It has become a Christmas tradition for us.

To make the dough you need only three ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 water

Mix all the ingredients together. Then use cookie cutters or whichever shapes you have to achieve the desired shape.

Make sure to have one for your little one’s hand print. It’s a perfect grandparent gift, or a keepsake ornament to make for your tree.

Bake at 250 degrees Fahrenheit (ornaments for 90 minutes to 2 hours; handprints for 2-3 hours approximately).

Once baked and cooled, you can decorate however you want. We kept ours simple by painting them white.

To better preserve your ornaments, you can coat with a layer or two of Mod Podge or spray with a sealer.

*** This post may contain affiliate links. That means we may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your continued support. ♡

Eggshell Smash

admin — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 12:26:44 +0000

Eggshell Smash

This activity is so much fun and so easy to set up!

All you need to do is save a few egg shells, wash them, put them on a cutting board or tray and provide a small hammer. Ours is from the Djeco Junzo Taptap Hammer Bench Set (available in Europe). If you already have one from a toy set, use that. If you don’t, Melissa & Doug has a similar hammer bench set. You can also find a single multi-purpose mini hammer here .

I modeled breaking the first egg shell and offered the hammer to A. She immediately took it and got to work!

This activity is great for:

– refining fine motor skills

– strengthening hand-eye coordination

– improving grasp

– enhancing spatial awareness

– building concentration

How about using the smashed egg shells to create a Humpty-Dumpty collage?
Egg shells are a wonderful conversation starter about breakables and how, often times, we can’t fix something if it’s broken, no matter how hard we try…

*** This post may contain affiliate links. That means we may make a small commission on items purchased through links in this post at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your continued support. ♡