Building Life Skills

Building Life Skills

In a Montessori education, opportunities for personality growth and life skill development are considered to be as important as academic instruction.  The Montessori curriculum is not a collection of facts to be learned on one hand and a collection of skills to be mastered on the other: academic content and life skills join together.  Children are given the opportunity to take care of themselves, their classmates (note the presence of multiple ages in the same classroom), and the environment.   The curriculum includes gardening, farming, cooking, building, sewing, and other life skills.  These activities are especially valuable for children with autism, who may assemble decent academic knowledge but often struggle with basic self help and daily functioning.  Also emphasized are projects that benefit the wider community, as well as internships for older Montessori students to gain hands-on perspective on various professions.

You will find some useful resources for teaching practical life skills to children with special needs HERE