Practical Life Activities- Preparation for Life

What are the Exercises of Practical Life Activities?

Practical Life activities are routine task that you perform each day like getting dressed and washed, preparing food, setting and clearing a table at mealtimes, washing up, and generally cleaning and tidying the house. These are all activities which a child watches everyday and sometimes attempts to imitate. The child having been influenced by the adult’s daily routine since birth, is keenly interested in these actions. However, the child is fascinated by the activity itself and not the end result. This is the crucial difference between the view of the adult and that of a child.

Why do we have Practical Life Activities?

These activities lead a child to make intelligent choices and become physically and then mentally independent and responsible. The child learns to concentrate, control muscles, move, and act with care, focus, analyse logical steps, and complete a cycle of activity. This is the foundation for mental and physical work in all other areas, not just in early childhood but also throughout life.

What is Cycle of Activity?

Children follow a sequence of directions, which include choosing the work, finding a space, following steps to complete the task, cleaning up, and replacing the work exactly where it belongs. It is the hand muscle coordination, motor sequencing, inner discipline leading to good social skills and work habits, and ultimately self-esteem, which are so important and directly prepare for and support development in math, reading and writing.

What are the Benefits of Practical Life Activities?

The Practical Life exercises have two main aims or purposes:

Direct Aims: - To refine the skills of each child on each activity undertaken. For example, the direct aim of a bead threading activity is to refine the child’s threading. It is important not to forget the direct purpose of an activity, which enables a child to do something for him/herself.

Indirect Aims: - Through Practical Life activities the child is not only preparing her/himself for later intellectual work but also truly prepares for life. These aims are as follows: -

∙To develop independence – Through the exercises of Practical Life the children learn the skills which enable them to become more self-sufficient. From birth, the child strives for independence, and once a child has been shown a skill, he/she then needs freedom to practice and perfect it.

∙To develop concentration – When a child becomes totally absorbed in an activity s/he begins to develop her/his powers of concentration which will be essential to her/him throughout her/his life. Also, if an activity is appropriate to the specific needs

of a child, s/he will repeat the activity as often as is necessary, to fulfill their needs, thus extending the concentration.

∙To develop dexterity and co-ordination – The exercises of Practical Life are simple. In fact, they encourage children to develop through activity, many of their gross and fine motor movements. A child who is encouraged to carry chairs, pour liquid, and sort different sizes of beads, will have far greater control over her/his movements.

∙To develop intelligence – All the activities in the Practical Life area contribute to the development of each child’s intelligence as s/he is absorbing information from her/his environment all the time. Children learn how the environment is organized; where to find specific activities and how to organize their own work space. For example, you need to wash a dirty polishing cloth rather than a clean one, and what to do if the rice or beans are spilt.

∙To develop self-esteem – As children develop their Practical Life skills, they become more confident and can do many things for themselves without asking for help which eventually strengthen their self-worth. They can show younger children how to do activities, thus boosting their self-esteem and reinforcing their own understanding.

∙To develop the child’s sense of order and self-control – Practical Life activities encourage children to approach each new task in an ordered way, complete it, repeat it, if they wish and then replace it. This promotes logical thinking and expands the child’s inner sense of order. This sensitivity for order, not only encourages care of environment, but also involves the order of the universe, cycles, and rhythms.

Thus, we can be sure that children doing a continuous flow of Practical Life exercises, will not only develop the skills, but will be happier, more confident and well-rounded individuals. They will be ready to progress through their school life with pride and self-esteem to accept challenges, both practical and academic, with optimism and self-confidence.