January 2025 Oak Farm Montessori
Practical Life in Montessori Education: A Path to Independence and Joy
“Any child who is self-sufficient, who can tie his shoes, dress or undress himself, reflects in his joy and sense of achievement the image of human dignity.” –Maria Montessori
Practical Life in Montessori education is about more than teaching children to care for themselves and their environment; it’s about fostering independence, confidence, and a love of learning. Many believe that Practical Life is the foundation of Maria Montessori’s work, shaping the heart of self-care, community engagement, and environmental stewardship.
Through Practical Life materials, children develop concentration, independence, and essential life skills. Grace and courtesy lessons are interwoven into Practical Life activities, teaching children how to share responsibilities at home and within their community. In early childhood classrooms, these foundational experiences prepare children for academic and personal success, extending their impact into elementary and secondary years.
Children naturally seek meaningful, purposeful work, whether it’s watering the garden or preparing a snack. Practical Life provides opportunities for independence, competence, and interpersonal growth. By combining purposeful movement with mental focus, these activities help children concentrate, repeat tasks, and discover joy in learning.
Additionally, Practical Life nurtures executive functioning skills. Children use working memory to navigate their classroom environment, practice impulse control while engaging with tools like brooms or wash basins, and develop problemsolving skills when faced with challenges, such as finding an alternative when a needed material is unavailable.
For Practical Life to thrive, adults must intentionally prepare the environment, act as role models, and serve as facilitators.
The Role of the Adult
Adults play a crucial role in fostering Practical Life experiences:
• Create an environment: Organize spaces to support Practical Life, allowing children to work mindfully.
• Model intentional behavior: Demonstrate organization, precision, and care, enabling children to emulate these behaviors.
• Encourage movement and repetition: Provide opportunities for children to engage in work that aligns with their developmental needs, fostering coordination and concentration.
• Support challenges: Offer tasks that are achievable yet stimulating, helping children overcome obstacles and build resilience.
Recently, I observed a toddler in our classroom preparing a water table for her peers. She carefully filled a bucket, carried it to the table, and poured the water, repeating the process until the task was complete. As she worked, she assessed how much water she could carry and adjusted her efforts accordingly. This seemingly simple activity was both physically and mentally engaging, showcasing her focus, determination, and sense of responsibility
In another instance, two teenagers collaborated to move cows out of their pen for cleaning. After trying various strategies, they remembered a lesson from science class: cows respond to food. By using feed, they successfully completed their task, demonstrating teamwork, critical thinking, and responsibility.
These examples highlight another critical aspect of Practical Life: fostering a moral need to contribute. The toddler’s effort in preparing the water table allowed her peers to engage in meaningful work, enhancing her sense of community. The teenagers recognized their responsibility to care for the animals, understanding the impact of their actions on the cows’ well-being.
Practical Life is about more than life skills—it’s about nurturing independence, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning. Through meaningful, purposeful work, children build trust in themselves, in others, and in their environment. The structured routine provides comfort and stability, while the activities promote grace, competence, and connection.
Practical Life embodies a way of living, starting with guided activities and progressing toward full independence. This journey lays the foundation for children to navigate their world with purpose, skill, and joy.
HEAD OF SCHOOL
Why Teach Practical Life
Melissa Kalkirtz, Primary 3 Teacher
The Why of Practical Life
Practical Life is one of the five fundamentals and one of the starting areas of a Primary Montessori Environment for young children. One of the most-asked questions of primary teachers is, “Why is my child scrubbing tables and window washing?” The answer to this can be seen by observing the child in the classroom when they are working in the Practical Life Area. Joy blooms while the child completes at least twelve sequential steps in a scrubbing work and then restoring it for the next child to enjoy.
Children see teachers, parents, and grandparents modeling Practical Life and then want to do it themselves. Children have an intrinsic need and want to help, and Practical Life gives them the opportunity to help in their classroom. One important aspect of Practical Life is how the child feels secure and safe when doing it because Practical Life activities relate to their home environment. Children even see many similar Practical Life materials at school and at home. Practical Life helps teach the children how to maintain the beautiful environment that they work in each day.
The fundamental purpose of Practical Life is to prepare the child for life itself. It helps children integrate their body and mind while at the same time helping them to build concentration. Through self regulation, the child can choose to do what they want while at the same time centering themselves. While doing Practical Life, a child is able to see the effect of their work while feeling accomplished. Seeing how clean they are by scrubbing a table, or by seeing how clean the windows become while doing window washing, shows them that they can have a positive impact on their environment and world.
Practical Life serves as a training ground for other long works like those in the Math and Language areas of the classroom. To aid in Math, Practical Life helps the child build stamina, concentration and problem solving skills they can later apply to longer math works. Two examples of this are using equations and fractions when a child is following a recipe, or completing a Practical Life lesson in order from start to finish, much as they later will in math problems. In the Language Area of the classroom, Practical Life helps the child build the muscles in their hands for writing later on. It helps the child learn to do a work from left to right and top to bottom, which is also how we learn to read. For both the Math and Language Area of the classroom, Practical Life helps the child with learning sequencing and sequential language such as first, second, then, next and finally.
Another important aspect of Practical Life is that it teaches the child about the idea of order. When a child has order in their lives, it gives them an inner peace from the work and a drive to continue learning. Practical Life also helps the child build coordination through repetitive movements, which builds both large and small motor skills for tasks like turning book pages and holding a pencil. Finally, Practical Life helps the child build on their own independence and confidence to manage daily activities on their own.
The How of Practical Life
Practical Life is broken down into four distinct areas. First, there is care of the person, where children learn how to take care of their own basic needs. The second area is care of the environment, where children learn the sequence of how to care for the environment properly, teaching the child responsibility and respect for their own environment, and helping them start to understand that they are part of a community. The third area is movement, including pouring, squeezing, twisting, art, and large motor activities. Children love these activities because they enjoy any type of movement in their daily routine. The fourth area is Grace and Courtesy. Especially in today’s world, this vital part of Practical Life teaches the child to communicate and interact with others in an acceptable, kind fashion. This area is one that we adults work on and model each day as we interact with the children at school.
Each child in the Primary Classroom performs and experiences Practical Life in the classroom in some way, shape, or form each day. We see it when a child helps a younger friend with their shoes, window washing, or just sitting together in community, smiling and modeling kind behavior. Young children want to do what they see the trusted adult models in their lives doing each day.
One of the most beautiful things about Practical Life is the way that it follows children in and out of school everyday. At home, children can practice their Practical Life skills by helping with laundry: sorting it, folding it, and/or helping to put it away. Children can help with dinner by washing vegetables and fruits, or chopping them with the correct tools. When children help to care for their clothes or prepare the family meal, they are more apt to appreciate the work that goes into both, caring for this work in ways they would not if they did not participate. This is how Practical Life comes full circle for the child, helping them learn and grow while satisfying their intrinsic needs and motivation. Ultimately, Practical Life naturally, organically and beautifully prepares children for their life both inside and outside of the classroom.
Exploring Virtues through Practical Life
Abby
Pfenning, Lower Elementary
4 Teacher
In the Lower Classroom, students practice practical life skills every day. Each morning, they begin by completing classroom chores, which include tasks like doing laundry, unloading the dishwasher, taking care of the classroom pet, watering plants, and dusting. Through these activities, students not only learn essential household tasks but also develop an understanding of community and the importance of working together to care for their environment.
In Lower Elementary, students also participate in the Snack Team. A group of students plans a special snack for the class, using recipes to calculate the necessary ingredients for everyone to enjoy. This experience helps them practice skills like shopping with a list, measuring, cutting, and serving guests, all while fostering grace and courtesy in the kitchen.
A key part of our Lower Elementary environment is learning virtues, which is a major focus in our classroom. Every day, students are introduced to a new virtue, helping to shape the positive dynamic and community spirit in the classroom. By exploring virtues that resonate with them, students not only grow personally but also recognize qualities they value in their peers.
“It is not that man must develop in order to work, but that man must work in order to develop.”
― Maria Montessori
Students also have the opportunity to develop public speaking skills through various activities, such as running community meetings, presenting projects, and sharing their work during author’s chair. As a result, public speaking becomes second nature, empowering students to confidently communicate with others.
Practical for Life
Linda Hoffman, UE4 Teacher
How wonderful that an Upper Elementary education at Oak Farm Montessori School is so much more than academia. You see, learning takes place in everything. It is tucked inside the act of folding napkins just so to fit in the drawer or basket neatly. It sneaks up on those who realize that loading a dishwasher in a certain way ensures that all the dishes get cleaned. It is unseen as classroom pets remain healthy throughout the school year due to clean accommodations.
The instruction of Practical Life is on par with reading. We read from left to right. Montessori materials are organized on shelves in a progression of left to right, so they need to be returned to the proper place in order for someone else to find them easily.
The instruction of Practical Life incorporates math as students have to estimate serving portions of a pan of pasta or a container of soup to ensure that everyone will have an equal share.
Geometry concepts are evident in the instruction of Practical Life. Students arrange furniture, flowers,and textiles in ways that are useful and accommodating. Science is used in Practical Life as stains are removed, compost is created, and leftovers are stored.
“Busy hands and idle minds have knitted many a sweater; Busy minds and idle hands have knitted many a brow.”
― Maryrose Wood, The Unseen Guest
The neurologist, Dr. Maria Montessori, is proved right once again through the multi-generational study that Harvard has been conducting for 85 years. It shows a clear connection between highly successful adults and the responsibility of chores they had as children. The brain develops patterns, a sense of order, spatial awareness, problem solving, and a deeper sense of self. The research shows that doing a job to completion relieves cognitive tension and produces dopamine that motivates.
Upper elementary students are certainly individuals, but Practical Life lessons teach a greater sense of community, responsibility for others, and empathy. So, who will be washing the dishes at your house tonight?
Winter Fest: A Time for Practicing Skills for Life
Crystal Leu, Farm Manager
In her book From Childhood to Adolescence, Maria Montessori suggests that, in addition to Erdkinder experiences, an integral part of adolescent learning would be the establishment of a “shop.” She states that, “a shop or store could be established in the nearest big town, and here the land-children could easily bring and sell the produce of their fields and gardens, and other things that they have made.” It is where they, “could make those individual bargains that are also the beginnings of acquaintance and the foundation of friendship and social life.” As the students build this “shop,” they bring to the work their natural interest in new experiences and enthusiasm. As she says, “the shop would also necessitate a genuine study of commerce and exchange, of the art of ascertaining the demand and being prepared to meet it, of the strict and rigid rules of bookkeeping.” This is the work middle school and high school students engaged in with their work for the annual, student-led Winter Fest held in December. Students engage in this type of work all year long, but especially as they plan and prepare for the Winter Fest celebration. The farm products team identified products to produce that they hoped would be in demand during the holidays, including ornaments, holiday decorations, and more. They set goals and worked to meet those goals to have a full and attractive inventory of goods to sell. The same is true of the new Culinary Arts and Hospitality team, who decorated the middle school in preparation for the event, as well as planning and preparing food items for sale. This year the students set up a visually appealing shop inside the school where they sold their wares. They modeled it after many things they see in shops in the community and took great pride in how they displayed their products.
The farm service learning team worked since early November to plan the Winter Fest event with emphasis on providing an enjoyable holiday experience for all who would attend. This team decorated the barn, planned kid games and decorated a tree with ornaments from each level. Students signed up to work shifts in the barn as guides, oversee kid activities, sell farm products and help entertain small children with a movie. Students were involved in all the planning, work and clean-up of the event.
As Winter Fest has grown, students’ problem solving skills are tested as they work hard to create a new floor plan for a growing number of booths. Students also learned how to advertise and market the event, sending professional emails, creating flyers, and thinking of their consumers as they planned this year’s event. They also added the option for individual students to rent a table and sell their own food, crafts or other items. This allowed individual students to experience the world of entrepreneurship. Feedback from these budding entrepreneurs as well as the general public was very positive. It also allowed our secondary student-led businesses a chance to display their work and generate sales.
The week after Winter Fest, student assistant managers in each Erkdkinder team then spent time reflecting on the event and developed a presentation to the middle school community on how sales impacted the farm business accounts. As a community the students will make decisions on future sales, goals for the business and ways to reinvest their profits as needed to support future growth.
Students gain valuable skills and resourcefulness as they embrace this event’s opportunity to learn and practice. They are gaining essential skills for career and life success as they grow into young adults and find their place in the world! Imagine how much they gain during their journey through the secondary plane of development through this meaningful work in student-led businesses, developing individual entrepreneurial projects and participating in planning and implementing community events.
The Prepared Kitchen
Kristine Moreland, School Chef
Teaching Practical Life skills is important in the Montessori method, and having children in the kitchen is the perfect way to introduce skills like washing hands, pouring water, prepping food, cutting and more. At school, the environment is designed match their size, from the table to the kitchen sink. But don’t let that discourage you from continuing Practical Life instruction at home! Here are a few ways children can participate in home meal preparation just like they do at school.
First, create a place for everything and everything in its place. Offer your child a low cabinet or table in your kitchen as the perfect place to set up their own snack station when younger. Include items like small cups, a water pitcher, healthy snacks in easy open containers, a basket with napkins and a small bin with cloths and cleaning spray. Teach them how to use each item properly and then let them gain the confidence and independence to do it themselves. Not only do they get to feel the pride of accomplishing this task, you don’t have to hear them ask for a snack anymore! When kids get older, they could have their own snack bin up higher or in the fridge.
The Montessori Method also encourages using “real” silverware, plates, bowls and cups, typically glass. The idea behind this is that children learn to respect and care for the items in the manner they deserve. If they are
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given unbreakables all the time, they won’t learn the natural consequence of throwing a real plate or cup. Keeping these items on a low shelf they can reach along with placemats will encourage them to help set the table at meal times. You can also continue Practical Life activities from school by cooking at home with your child. Having a safe, designated space at the counter makes them feel like a part of the process. This could include a learning tower or sturdy step stool, and a drawer with tools that are the right size for their hands. I like to stock our childrens’ drawer with measuring cups/spoons, a cutting board, crinkle cutter, apple slicer, whisk, veggie peeler, hand juicer and a rolling pin. As your child’s skills grow, you can also add knives, with appropriate teaching and observation.
Inviting children into the kitchen boosts self- confidence, encourages family bonding and helps introduce your kids to various concepts. So, prepare your kitchen for success and enjoy the benefits of an independent child who can confidently make choices and participate in meaningful ways in the kitchen!
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Practical Life for Adolescents – a Bridge Between School and Home
Michael Tyler, Creative Media Teacher
In a Montessori high school environment, Practical Life activities are more than tasks; they are life skills that empower students to thrive in their personal and professional lives. These activities help adolescents understand their important role in maintaining and improving the spaces around them, which strongly encourages responsibility and appreciation for their environment. Whether they are setting a table, washing dishes, or tending to plants or livestock, these apparently straightforward actions passionately impart a powerful sense of ownership and pride in their surroundings. As students mature, they improve their skills by running a business, organizing events, and preparing for professional opportunities like crafting a resume or practicing interviews.
Household tasks can be managed actively by teens with support from parents at home. Have family members take on specific responsibilities such as planning and preparing a family meal, guaranteeing they set the table and clean up the space afterward. For a deeper experience, real-life projects should involve your child, such as organizing an important family event or setting up a few mini-entrepreneurial ventures, including selling handmade crafts as well as offering lawn care services to neighbors. These hands-on activities actively teach beneficial practical skills while effectively reinforcing important problem-solving, time management, and confidence.
By integrating many practices into daily life, families form a bridge between lessons as well as real-world application. Our high school students greatly benefit from this hands-on learning, gaining a precious tool to approach adulthood with independence and a clear sense of purpose. In the Montessori spirit, these lessons nurture the whole person, preparing them to contribute meaningfully to their communities and beyond.
The Tall Oak Gala
Kim Davidson, Director of Strategic Partnerships
Celebrating 25 years of OFMS
As we continue to reflect on life at OFMS over the past 25 years, it seems fitting that this month we would highlight the Tall Oak Gala (Gala) that is held each February. This longstanding tradition began in February 2008 as the Winter Wonderland & Silent Auction. The inaugural event was attended by 175 people and grossed $10,000. The Tall Oak Gala is a cherished tradition that not only strengthens our community but also raises vital funds for our school, creating a joyful and unifying event for all.
For the past 15 years, this adults-only event has been led and planned by a group of dedicated parent volunteers, occurring annually on the third Saturday in February, with the exception of 2020 and 2021. In 2014, the event transitioned from the Winter Wonderland to The Tall Oak Gala. Over the years the event moved around to different locations in search of a much needed home.
In 2015 the event found a dedicated faculty member who would lead the event to become what it is today. Macy McNaughton, Community Relations Liaison, and a team of volunteers worked tirelessly to create an evening that was anticipated throughout the year and would quickly become our largest fundraiser. It was also at this time that the Gala was solidly defined as a fundraiser and a statement of purpose was developed: “to raise (x) dollars in a way that builds community.”
In 2016 the Gala was held for the first time at Parkview Mirro Center and the following year, 2017, its leadership transitioned to Nicole Lowe and Kim Davidson. By 2020, full leadership transitioned to Nicole. Since that time, the number of guests has more than doubled with over 350 guests, and the evening’s fundraising averages over $150,000! Recently there has been more intentionality in choosing a theme that engages and excites those attending the Gala. To dress in character or not to dress in character is a question many used to ask, but now many participants start planning their costumes the moment the theme is announced!
Since 2017 the themes have set the tone for a fun-filled evening that celebrates our beloved Oak Farm Montessori
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School. Beginning in 2018 and continuing today, our past themes have engaged our guests and created much anticipation throughout the year:
• 2017: Reaching for the Stars
• 2018: Montessori Mardi Gras, Unmask the Potential
• 2019: The Greatest Story, Let it be Told
• 2020: Oh The Places We’ll Go!
• 2021 (No Gala due to COVID)
• 2022: (Preview Party due to COVID) Anchored in Our Past, Navigating The Future Together
• 2023: The Dapper Derby, Take the reins and harness your potential.
• 2024: The Roaring 20’s, Bubbling with Limitless Opportunity.
Each of these themes excited and ignited our Gala guests with the vision of a school that offers never-ending possibilities for our students.
There is much work that happens behind the scenes to ensure that the evening is a success. The committee works tirelessly on each aspect of the event, from creating a uniquely themed experience, to inspiring classroom and level projects that integrate the work of the students to create a truly unique and professional-grade auction item for our fundraising efforts.
As we head into January, we invite you to join us at The Tall Oak Gala on Saturday, February 22, as we experience the enchantment of Alice in Wonderland and celebrate 25 years of Her Dream, Our Reality, beginning our next chapter in fulfilling our vision of an infant through high school Montessori Education for Northeast Indiana.
The photos here represent different themes from 2019 to 2024. If you have never joined us at the Gala, we encourage you to join us and be part of the excitement! To learn more, visit our event website.
Foundation for a Full Life
Bridget Wallace York, Director of Curriculum and Student Services
“Practical Life soothes the soul.” These words from my Montessori mentor Betsy Coe continue to guide my approach to education. I find that activities that care for my environment recenter me throughout my day, and I observe this to be the case with students as well. During the 2023-24 school year, our faculty dove deep into our curriculum to write the ISACS/AMS self study. We are very proud of the document we created telling the story of OFMS that was published in April 2024. In this article, I have combined excerpts of our section on Practical Life so you can see how this important work progresses from early childhood to elementary and culminates in the secondary entrepreneurship programs.
At Oak Farm Montessori School, Practical Life lessons are a cornerstone of our curriculum, fostering independence, responsibility, and a sense of community in students across all three planes of development.
Practical Life activities teach children essential skills such as self-care, environmental stewardship, and social collaboration. From the Primary level, where children learn to dress, groom, and maintain their spaces, to Lower Elementary, where students focus on daily tasks, emotional well-being, and teamwork, Practical Life provides the foundation for meaningful growth. Upper Elementary students deepen their skills by taking on responsibilities like classroom chores, managing work cycles, and caring for pets and plants. They learn goal setting, organization, and conflict resolution while contributing positively to their learning environment.
At Oak Farm Montessori School, we embrace Dr. Montessori’s vision by offering students opportunities for meaningful work that blends intellectual and practical experiences. These activities foster independence, responsibility, and a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of society and nature.
At the Secondary level, our school-run businesses provide students with hands-on exposure to key aspects of entrepreneurship under the guidance of skilled teachers. Freshmen and sophomores engage in Pathways business projects while exploring economics, sales, bookkeeping, marketing, hospitality, agricultural business, technology, and bike mechanics. Students develop financial statements, create marketing plans tailored to target audiences, and practice division of labor by specializing in specific areas. Professional-grade materials in the InnoLab support their work, ensuring high-quality results.
Juniors and seniors build on this foundation by taking on managerial roles, conducting independent economic studies,
or creating their own businesses. Projects span fields like service, food production, app development, and consulting. Weekly seminars in finance, entrepreneurship, and business management provide critical skills for real-world success.
In addition to these entrepreneurial endeavors, our Erdkinder MS farm program complements the curriculum by integrating Practical Life experiences with academic and social learning. As Maria Montessori observed, “[W]ork on the land is an introduction both to nature and to civilization and gives a limitless field for nature and historic studies. If the produce can be used commercially this brings in the fundamental mechanism of society—that of production and exchange on which economic life is based.”
The farm fosters critical thinking, empathy, and environmental responsibility. Students work collaboratively to care for animals, maintain the land, and develop sustainable practices. These hands-on tasks connect students to the broader community while teaching perseverance, problem-solving, and the value of teamwork.
“All work is noble. The only ignoble thing is to live without working. It is essential to understand the value of work in all its forms, be they manual or intellectual.”
– Maria Montessori
MARK YOUR calendars
Freshman Family Forum
Infant/Toddler Closed
Moving Up to Middle School
OFMS 25th Birthday Celebration
Moving Up to Upper Elem.
Infant/Toddler Closed
January 16th, 2025
January 17th, 2025
January 23rd, 2025
January 24th, 2025
January 30th, 2025
January 31st, 2025
Moving Up to Lower Elem. February 6th, 2025
NO SCHOOL February 7th & 10th, 2025
Tall Oak Gala February 22nd, 2025
“To provide a Montessori environment that inspires students to reach their potential through meaningful work.”