The Importance of Opportunities for “Real Work” (Especially Young Children)

Anyone who has been around young children can attest to the fact that they are very realistic thinkers. Leading a Children’s House class has led to many, many humorous encounters. One of my favorites is the child who loved to “snake up” (instead of sneak up) on friends during outside time, complete with snake hand motions and a delighted “hiss” at the end.

A child’s literal tendencies make for amusing stories, but they also tell us a great deal about how their mind works. This is why, in Montessori, opportunities for authentic use and meaningful activities are important.

Moving away from photogenic, isolated activities:

The following is an observation and is not meant to be malicious or snarky- When you google “Monessori Activities” many layperson sites show brightly colored toys or any number of transferring, sorting, and pouring trays with various seasonal or themed material. There is nothing wrong with these activities- the look good, they help children practice coordination and fine motor skills, and they can hold a child’s focus. However, in my opinion, they miss the mark on one important tenant of Montessori- real work.

“Real work” refers to genuine experiences that give children a meaningful goal or outcome. Are they doing something just for the sake of doing something, or is there a greater goal? Montessori believes that the environment is the best teacher of the child- we don’t need to contrive elaborate situations for a child to practice fine motor skills. Instead, if we help the child function in the environment and give them purpose (for example, by washing dishes, hanging clothes to dry, and helping to keep the house clean) they will naturally develop the skills they need for later activities, like writing and reading.

In full transparency, the Montessori curriculum does have “preliminary activities” where we teach a child how to pour and scoop using grains. These activities, however, are a way to practice a skill and are quickly put away when the child no longer needs them and replaced with some meaningful work (like table scrubbing or serving peas). It is the purpose of the work, and not necessarily the steps, that unlock a child’s full potential.

Finding opportunities for ‘real work’:

A straightforward way to increase the value of an activity is to think about the product- does the activity end with the child doing something meaningful, like contributing to the household, taking care of themself, or otherwise beautifying their space? If the answer is ‘no’, think about how you use that skill in real life and then think about how you can help engage your child in that activity. If you can’t think of a real-life use for the skill or activity, it might be better to find something different to present to your child.

Here are some common isolated activities with some ideas for meaningful work:

• Instead of transfer activities with random objects try inviting your child to use a serving spoon to serve food at dinner: pom pom transfer is adorable, but you can easily practice the same skill, in context, at meal time. And, as an added bonus, the natural consequence of spilling encourages greater care.

• Instead of hammering golf tees into pumpkins try hammering nails into wood (bonus points for constructing something): have you ever, in your entire life, hammered a golf tee into a pumpkin? Have you ever hammered a golf tee, period? Not only do we not put them into pumpkins, golf tees are for holding golf balls, not hammering. Satisfy your child’s desire to hammer with an authentic use- a hammer and piece of wood.

• Instead of washing pumpkins try washing practically any other vegetable (then slice and prepare it): unless you’re planning to make a pumpkin pie, we don’t typically wash a pumpkin. However, there are many, many other vegetables we do need to wash- bring in some authentic work by having your child wash carrots for dinner (or zucchini or broccoli).

• Instead of clipping clothes pins on cards try hanging laundry on a line: again, the intended use of a clothes pin is not as a marker, it is for hanging clothes. Finding a way to involve your child in the washing process (kids love measuring soap and starting the laundry machine) is an excellent way to practice this fine motor skill while allowing your child to contribute to the household.

A balance that works for your family:

If you do, or have done, any of the activities above, don’t worry! As I mentioned, there is nothing wrong with these activities and they can be very helpful for developing fine motor skills and keeping a child occupied. Like everything, it’s all about understanding our desired outcome and balancing our child’s needs. So, go ahead, set up the glitter-heart pouring station for your child… but also give them the chance to pour their own milk at lunchtime.