Aruna: Avidly Adventurous!

This moment was humbling as i taught and guided these children from Salama Gachie community on environmental sustainability. I observed them engage in this practical life exercise as they dug and planted seedlings on this portion of garden.They understood that nurturing nature is everyone's call. Respect for the child as you guide them with these planting instructions allows them to learn about various garden tools and types of seedlings.This learning will be their way of life and in turn inspire other children who want to be part of such activities.We need to allow our children to participate in such exercises that allows their contribution to nature's conservation appreciated. Direct aim: Learning environment sustainability and its wellbeing . Indirect aim: Cultivating a sense of responsibility, furthermore connecting to nature.

This Practical life philosophy reveals a child’s inner needs. Here, a teacher; referred to as ‘a guide’, demonstrates but allows the child to do it alone-this helps the child develop motor skills. This activity of ‘dressing frames’, encourages a child to learn through experience. Here, this child is practicing tying shoe laces. The guide demonstrate this new skill, a few times before letting her try on her own Direct aim is to teach shoe-lacing and indirect aim is encouraging Independence, Patience, concentration and Coordination.

The Botany Cabinet, a Montessori sensorial material, plays a role in introducing children to the world of botany; giving them a chance to navigate the world through a scientific lens. Children at three years of age can use this practical life material. This developmental period is when they become familiar with the pincer grip. They also extend this exercise by comparing and matching the leaf shapes with plants outside or within the inside environment. Its primary aim is to encourage children to improve their senses of sight and touch as they explore this material. The secondary aim of the material is to familiarize the child to the language and concepts associated with the studies of botany and science.

Folding dinner table napkins is a fun activity that can improve your child’s Patience, focus and concentration. As you guide the child to learn how to fold it, note that the napkin should have the stitched indication grid lines. This improves the child’s eye- hand coordination and as they practice, they are refining their pincer grip. We should be keen as we gauge and introduce the child to different types of napkin folding depending on their age and your observation on their readiness or how skilled they are as each child is unique in their own way. The different napkins vary according to their grid indication lines. This control of error lines alerts them if they are on the right path of folding and unfolding. These napkin shapes also introduce them to basics on geometry and fraction in their future lessons. A fabric that is not too soft or hard is recommended. Let the child do this activity a few times for them to learn properly with your guidance.