Practical Life At Six Years Old.

Gone are the days when I can set up Practical Life shelf work for Javi! The Montessori reason for this is he’s now in the Second Plane of Development! Montessori said, children 0-6 years old are in the First Plane of Development. They are sensory explorers, crave a sense of order, love repetition, and feel a need to gain independence. They enjoy pouring water just to pour (like Eva), or dressing themselves just to dress themselves (like Lola) — but at nearly 6.5 years old… Javi needs a reason to do these things.

The Second Plane of Development, from 6-12 years old, is about mental growth. Children grow to be moral beings — they want justice — there’s a lot of “that’s not fair…” or “why did she get 3 and I only got 2?” That sense of order they had at 2, 3 or 4 years old is gone — in fact, they sort of leave a disaster behind them as they learn, play, connect, create and grow. But most importantly, they crave real life experiences and not the standard, orderly, repetitive, shelf work that we often see in First Plane Practical Life environments.

Here are some Practical Life activities at six years old:

Self-care: Javi is specific about his clothing these days! He thoughtfully chooses his outfits and always has a plan. He’s aware of his body and his routine so on days that he has PE or gymnastics or art he has clothing preferences. Choosing what to wear (and knowing why!) is an important Practical Life activity.

Some other self-care activities he has interest in are showering independently, putting on body lotion, washing his face and brushing (and flossing!) his teeth.

Care of environment: He loves his room and his bed. Each week, I give him fresh sheets and he changes his bedding. Every day he pulls up the blankets and sets up his pillows and stuffed animals the way he likes them. The funny thing is that even once it’s made… it’s still very much organized chaos! 🙂 He also folds his clothes and puts them away in his dresser. This helps him know what’s clean and where things are.

Fundamental skills: At six years old, Javi can do most things in his morning routine himself. From waking up, getting himself breakfast, brushing his teeth, getting dressed and packing his backpack. Part of that is preparing his snack for the day. I help the process with timers to keep him on track, and checklists to help him stay focused (and not forget anything) and by preparing the snack shelf so that he can easily choose two or three items to bring to school.

Care of movement: It could be shoveling, raking leaves, bringing in the recycling bins or our packages! Six year olds still need to move and now they are strong! He’s very aware of this and knows that he has the ability to be such a helpful member of our family. He loves the idea of participating and when it’s mixed with something so fun and exciting (like shoveling during a snow storm!) he very much wants to be involved.

Checking tires? He’s there. Building a new shelf? He’s there. Moving furniture? He’s there. Javi loves all of these real life experiences that involve movement because they are engaging and he knows there’s a purpose!

Grace and courtesy: Grace and courtesy looks different at six years old. To be honest, it’s usually not him saying excuse me, or I’m sorry or thank you. (We remind, of course!) Now, it looks like him giving one of us a blanket when he thinks we’re cold, or helping Lola get a glass of water, or helping Eva up the steps, or reading to his sisters before bed.

I have to say I’m loving this age!