The life of the spirit prepares the dynamic power for daily life,
and, on its side, daily life encourages thought
by means of ordinary work.
~ Maria Montessori
I have been sitting in on the 3-6 Montessori teacher training this spring. Today's presentation was an intro to practical life. This quote in particular caught my attention. What are we as Montessorians doing by introducing practical life work? We are nurturing the spirit.
Children build concentration and gain independence through the works in a Montessori classroom. The practical life materials include dish washing, polishing, food preparation, self care, etc. One point that the presenter made was, "how often do we as adults go to a different place when we perform these tasks?"
I immediately thought how prayer drifts into my consciousness during my time washing dishes. Just a few months ago I was sure that dishes was the most mundane, detestable of tasks I am called too. My spiritual director recommended that I seek Christ in those moments - in service to my family. There was a real shift in my perspective after that.
There is a connection to liturgy that I am sure Maria Montessori was aware of. The root of liturgy means to work. While the practical life works build concentration in the child - they are also building a meditative quality that the child comes to crave. I have also seen this through the materials for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. The works build concentration but also open the child to the love of Christ.
What are some ways that we can create that kind of liturgy in our homes for our children?
I have started fostering household chores with Vivian...one in which she clears the table, washes the table and sweeps. At first she wasn't thrilled about it, in fact I think I heard her say that her tummy hurt at that point, but...once I started having fun with it and singing some tunes, she joined in. In fact, she took over and finished everything expected of her. At that moment, I really felt that we were glorifying God.
ReplyDelete