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Episode 55: Practical Life Skills Montessori Cutting Practice
Jul 25, 2023
In this post, we will be discussing the topic of Practical Life skills, particularly Montessori cutting practice. https://masterthemontessorilife.com/practical-life-skills-montessori-cutting-practice
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0:00
Hey there, this is Tanya Wright from MasterTheMontessoriLife.com, the place for Montessori lovers ready to make themselves centered, organized Montessori guides, nurture happy, normalized children, and create smooth, successful Montessori days
0:19
Let's get you closer to your transformation today. Welcome. Hello, hello, good morning and welcome to Master the Montessori Life show
0:33
I am Tanya Wright, the blogger over at MasterTheMontessoriLife.com. And if you want to learn all things Montessori, go over to our website
0:46
I am so excited that you are here. and I'm also the creator of the Montessori Way Foundations Framework and that is a six-month
0:57
framework that you go through with me as your coach and you learn the foundations of the
1:02
Montessori philosophy. It is basically kind of like certification but in a shorter amount of time
1:09
in a much much smaller budget and just as professionally done. It's just not the official
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thing, but it is exactly what you need if you are planning on doing it at home or just
1:21
reinforcing what you already know and cannot afford to pay the thousands and thousands
1:26
of dollars that it costs to go through the certification training. I also have resources at shop.masterthemontessorilife.com, and there I keep adding products and resources
1:39
that are Montessori every week, so keep checking it out. I want to invite you to two Facebook groups. They are completely free. This is not my client
1:49
Facebook group for the clients going through the framework. These are free. You can decide to go
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from there. But one is for homeschoolers, whether you're doing Montessori or anything else in terms
2:04
of homeschool method. Go to Facebook and search the Natural Homeschool Community. And then if you
2:11
are doing Montessori only, whether you're homeschooling or not, but you're doing Montessori
2:15
only, then go to the Montessori Way prep room. Same thing. You search it in Facebook
2:22
in the search window, and you will find that group, then join, and that's it. All right. This is, today is episode 55. So that means that you have 54 past trainings to catch up
2:34
on if you want to. And I made it very, very easy for you. All you have to do is go to
2:39
masterthemontessorilife.com slash live dash trainings. That's masterthemontessorilife.com slash live, L-I-B-E dash trainings. And you will catch up there in no time
2:57
And then one last thing I want to invite you to not miss out on anything. Sign up for our weekly
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3:28
Okay, now let's get started with today's topic. Today's topic is one that is very important because some people don't see the value of
3:40
the subject called practical life in Montessori. They think that it is just filler time
3:47
Practical life is not as important as academics. And so a lot of people use that subject as an afterthought
3:56
well if we have time we'll get to practical life but they don't see it as important as academics
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and let me tell you that is the biggest pitfall ever because you really do want to prioritize
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practical life skills in young children especially when they are between ages three and six and even
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younger than three because they are developing so quickly and in today's training my goal is to show
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you just one way that you can do, you know, a practical life skill, and that is Montessori
4:33
cutting practice with scissors, okay? Fine motor skills are those small muscle movements that babies
4:41
toddlers, and young children learn to make. This particularly involves the hand muscles
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Gross motor skills are the larger muscle movements that are also very important, but
4:53
Today, we're going to be focusing on the fine motor skills. In this training, we will be discussing the topic of practical life skills and specifically
5:04
Montessori cutting practice with scissors. So let's go to slide number one
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Practical life Montessori activities. If you are a Montessori guide, are doing Montessori at home, or you are, for example, an occupational
5:22
therapist, you will want to pay attention to this particular cutting skill. Remember that our goal
5:29
in our Montessori classrooms is to help the child develop independence. One of these ways is by
5:35
providing the child opportunities to be more self-sufficient and confident. The Montessori
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practical life subject is the perfect one that provides these important qualities
5:47
It focuses on many aspects of real life including everything revolving fine motor skills Hello Nalau It very nice to see you You are in Namibia How wonderful I am so glad that you are here So the practical life subject in Montessori
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includes everything revolving fine motor skills. From gently cleaning a plant's leaves
6:16
in the care of the environment category to learning to gently shake someone's hand in the
6:24
grace and courtesy category. The child will practice control of movement. You are beginning
6:31
practicing these cutting fine motor skill exercises as soon as the child's hand fits well
6:38
in the scissors openings. You want to keep in mind that the openings on the scissors are different
6:44
sizes. Sometimes they can fit more fingers inside the opening, but make sure that not only do their
6:52
little fingers fit through the openings properly, but that they can do, they can actually make the
6:58
opening and closing motion. See how it requires muscle movement. The opening and closing motion
7:04
has to be strong enough to cut sheets of thin paper. So consider letting the child try at around
7:14
two years of age. If the child isn't ready, that's all right. And if their hands aren't big or strong
7:20
enough yet, then just give it a few weeks or a few months and then try again. The child will
7:26
definitely show you when they are interested in trying this skill. Number two, fine motor skills
7:33
scissor practice. For those of us who are in the educational sphere, we know the importance of
7:41
learning to cut, but not everyone might think that it's a skill worth learning early. Think about how
7:47
much children will be able to do on their own if they can learn all the skills that are practiced
7:52
in the motion of cutting paper. So it's not necessarily about the actual cutting of paper
8:00
it's about the skills that children practice during this activity. So pay attention
8:05
listen to the list. Muscular movements, self-esteem, muscular contractions, control of
8:15
movement, dexterity, eye-hand coordination, physical awareness, confidence, muscular isolation
8:27
proprioception, independence, and so much more. You can definitely have many activities that you
8:35
can offer the child for cutting practice, but start with just a few straight lines. Make it
8:41
fun if you want. You can use colored paper and have a child make a craft out of the strips that
8:47
they cut. Now let me move into number three here, but first let me take a quick break to tell you
8:56
about the practical life works. There are so many different skills. There are six major categories
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in the practical life subject, six major categories. And there are literally hundreds and hundreds of skills
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under each of the categories, including the fine motor skills, including the cutting with scissors
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So I have created for you a printable that you can use
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And that printable is really, really awesome. It has 100 Montessori Practical Life works
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And you can get this printable for free. You get it and download it, print it, or you can look at it from your computer screen or phone screen
9:51
All you have to do is go to masterthemontessorilife.com forward slash the letter P and the letter L for practical life
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So you go to masterthemontessorilife.com forward slash P L P is for practical L is for life
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practical life, masterthemontessorilife.com forward slash P L. And you will get this
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printable with 100 ideas for Montessori practical life works. Guys, I cannot tell you just how
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important it is that you focus and prioritize practical life. If you have done any of my past
10:28
trainings and I talk about practical life, I tell you, please don't use it as a filler if you have
10:34
extra time. Don't put it in the back burner. Don't make it an afterthought. Make it a priority
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This subject in particular is unique to Montessori and it really does shortcut your child's abilities
10:50
and it gives your child the fastest tangible transformation from dependent to independent
11:00
And not only that, but you're actually preparing them for life. All right
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You're preparing them for life because these are life skills. So it's definitely worth the time to invest in practical life works
11:15
to go to masterthemontessorilife.com forward slash PL. All right, let's go to our third point for today. Scissors skills and cutting activities
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Set up some practical life exercises the Montessori way. What you need is a wooden tray
11:34
scissors that fit the child's hand, paper and pencil. That's it. Four things. A tray
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a pair of scissors that fit the child, paper and pencil. So you will take a piece of paper
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and fold it in half and then fold it in half again
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So when you open it up, you will see four quadrants. Okay you will see four squares in the lines like this You will use each quadrant for a different fine motor cutting activity So you going to cut along those lines to where you have four separate quadrants
12:09
okay, four separate pieces of paper. With the pencil, you're going to have it horizontal like
12:17
this, where it's a rectangular shape. You're going to draw three straight lines that are
12:24
parallel with each other. That's it. On the first piece of paper, you're going to draw three straight
12:30
lines that are parallel with each other. So not too close, not too far apart. Just kind of even
12:36
it out a little bit. Have the child practice cutting on the three lines all the way through
12:44
So what you want to do is hold the paper like this, not like this. So when you draw the lines
12:52
you're going to draw the lines like this. Yeah. So it's less cutting for the child because it is
12:59
a beginning activity. Okay. So depending on how the child does, you will determine if the child
13:06
needs to practice some more and you might want to use more quadrants for this same activity until
13:14
the child has mastered it. It is very important that you understand when we do these kinds of
13:20
fine motor skills, we are not in a hurry. We're not just rushing through one activity and then
13:26
the next and then the next. We really want to pay attention to every single level of activity. If the
13:34
child does not master the basic level, which is just a straight line, it's going to be harder and
13:41
harder for the child to master the harder levels as they come, which I will be describing in a
13:46
minute, which is the very first four levels. Today, we might talk about other levels at another time
13:52
at another training. So you want to make sure that you observe the child, that the child is
13:58
cutting correctly, holding the scissors correctly, that there's that follow through where they open
14:03
and close all the way, then they open, slide the scissors, cut all the way until there is a strip
14:11
that completely comes apart from the quadrant. Okay. So at the end, the child should have four pieces of paper
14:21
because you have three pieces of paper. Sorry, three pieces of paper
14:27
So you will, four pieces of paper. See, I know that's right
14:31
So you're going to have the three lines and the child is going to be cutting right through
14:36
And at the end, you will have four strips, four strips. Sorry for the confusion
14:40
it just took me a second and I read my notes wrong. So the child will have four strips at the
14:49
end and as soon as the child masters that skill then you can move on to the next activity but not
14:57
until the child has mastered cutting straight lines and by mastered let's define the terms
15:04
it means that they can do it correctly, beginning to end, completely on their own. They don't need
15:13
your help holding their hand. They don't need your help verbally giving any directions. They are able
15:19
to do it beginning to end, all on their own. Okay. So on the second quadrant, once the child
15:27
has mastered the first one on the second quadrant you're going to draw three very wide v's okay
15:37
i'm going to show you i don't have a piece of paper here i wish i had a piece of paper so i'm
15:46
going to use the same one but it kind of looks like this a very wide v you're going to draw
15:53
three of them that are parallel with each other. So you're making it a little bit different
16:03
but it's still, it gives it that little trick, right? Where the child needs to cut this part
16:10
and then come to the middle and kind of switch directions with the scissors. So that is a new
16:17
skill. They're still practicing the straight line cutting, but they need that control of movement
16:23
to stop right in the middle and then switch the scissors and cut in a different angle
16:30
So that is the second level. Very wide V's like this. Okay. And remember, it's easier. It's easier
16:40
for the child to start cutting on the narrower side like this instead of the, if you were to draw
16:47
the v's like this it's just longer it's a longer trajectory children can do that that can actually
16:54
be the next level once the child masters that then you can make the paper um the shapes the
17:00
long way for the child to cut the other direction gives them just a few extra um
17:05
cuts right that they need to practice basically it's two straight lines for this one
17:11
and you're making the wide V's. They converge at the center. They're a little diagonal
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Have the child practice this one until they have mastered it. Then the third quadrant is going to be
17:24
three wide zigzags. Three wide zigzags. So it's basically going to be two V's, okay
17:36
I'm showing you right here. This one right here. So instead of one big V, you're going to make two V's
17:44
So it's a zigzag. Okay? And the child will practice that until they master it
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And then the fourth quadrant is going to be four zigzags So you going to do two V where you get to the half of the paper and two V to the other half of the paper So this is what the regular zigzag will look like That level four
18:08
Okay. So level one is a straight line. Level two is a big V. Level three is two
18:25
four Vs. Can you hear me? Somehow my audio, which is, hello? Hello? Yes. Okay
18:39
Okay. A reader says, interesting. I'm studying Montessori early childhood. I am a mom of four
18:45
twin boys. Oh, nice. I am doing my three year and I'm just failing to bring it home to benefit my
18:52
kids? Well, it is hard to bring it home sometimes, but it really is very important. And honestly
19:00
practical life is the most important skill to teach children because it teaches them skills
19:07
that are life-saving, that are giving them independence, self-esteem, confidence. You're making them independent. You're making them well-rounded individuals. They can live life
19:18
without needing you constantly. And that's another special thing for you too. You're not constantly
19:24
needing to go around and doing things for your children because they know how to do them
19:30
themselves. So it is going to be time consuming and it's going to require patience when you're
19:35
first doing it. But once they learn the skill, they don't unlearn it. Once they know the skill
19:41
then you're giving them that independence. It's like a gift, right? That you're giving to them
19:45
so that is very very important all right so those are the four skills that you're going the four
19:53
levels that you're going to help the child in cutting in another training I will talk about
19:58
the different types of scissors that you can use with the child to teach them how to use different
20:06
types of skills or scissors and also the progression of the different types of scissors
20:13
It doesn't mean that you need all of them. All I'm saying is that you need to pay attention to the different types
20:19
I will describe the different types and then you can have a better idea on what to look for
20:25
All right. So again, if you want to get the 100 Montessori Practical Life Works printable PDF, go to
20:33
masterthemontessorilife.com slash PL. It is completely free. It is a download that you get from me
20:40
And I think you're going to love it because it gives you 100 ideas
20:43
It doesn't mean you have to do all of them at one, but at least you want to start with
20:50
something, right? You want to start getting a little more organized and check things off
20:56
You're going to love it when you see that your children are starting to master skills
21:00
on the list and you get to check them off, check them off. It's so, so nice
21:05
All right. So don't forget to get that one. Thank you so much for being here with me today
21:11
I am so excited that you were able to come and learn some more
21:16
And don't forget that if you have missed past trainings, then you go to MasterTheMontessoriLife.com slash live dash trainings
21:28
because this is episode 55. That means that if you are new to our show
21:33
you have 54 past episodes or trainings to watch and to catch up on
21:38
They are all Montessori, they are all educational, and they are all very helpful
21:43
All right. Well, thank you, everyone, for being here. I know that you can't see each other, but I can see you and I can see your comments
21:51
And I am so glad. Thank you so much for letting me know that this is helpful
21:55
Thank you for letting me know that you are getting the 100 Montessori Practical Life
22:01
Works printable. All right, good. Now, one last thing. One last thing I need to tell you
22:08
For this training, you can see the video that we're doing right now for the replay
22:15
You can listen to the podcast. You can get the link to all of the resources that I talked about at masterthemontessorilife.com
22:24
And then when you get there, you're going to go to the search window and you're going to type
22:43
you're going to type cutting the word cutting and it will take you to today's episode okay
22:52
today's blog post or article, whatever you want to call it. And it will tell you exactly what you
22:59
need and everything that was covered in today's training. Okay. So go to master the Montessori
23:03
life.com and then search for the word cutting C U T T I N G because we're talking about cutting
23:10
skills today. Now we're particularly focusing on scissors. Another day we will talk about cutting
23:16
with a knife and things like that. But today's training is specifically on cutting with scissors
23:21
All right. Well, thank you so much. And I will see you next week
23:28
I appreciate you sharing time with me today. You have tons of choices about what you're listening
23:33
to. And I love that you chose Master the Montessori Life Show. Thank you. Well, that's it for today
23:40
Until next time, this is Tanya Wright with MasterTheMontessoriLife.com. I hope that you
23:46
will take the time to digest the training to create solutions that will bring about smooth
23:52
successful Montessori days for you. Let's get you closer to that transformation today
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