Practical Life

Lately a trip to the Indian grocery store has become an excursion for our preschooler. She insists to accompany me and when there, she eagerly waits to reach the refrigerator where Cilantro and Mint is stored among other herbs and vegetables. Indian food is usually garnished with cilantro leaves and is used in many chutneys along with mint. Turmeric infused bright yellow subzis and curries bring to life with the fresh green contrast of Cilantro. Looking at her continued enthusiasm the vendor last time commented "She must love cilantro in her food" , rather it's the most annoying thing she can have in her food!! Why is she so excited to buy these herbs then? Once back home from our little trip to the store, we sit on the floor together with two trays. One to catch the stems and one to put the plucked leaves. Now I am only a spectator of the act while the preschooler finishes the task from arranging the trays on the floor, plucking the leaves, throwing the stems in the trash and putting away the leaves in a bag and then putting the trays away. The act might seem mundane but it helps develop skills for many advanced activities like pincer grip which prepares the fingers to hold the pencil and helps in developing the writing ability.. It provides practice in hand - eye coordination. It also is a good exercise to learn about categorization ,bunch - stems - leaves, it prepares the developing mind to understand the order or the steps to follow to complete a task
1.Pick a stem from the bunch
2.Pluck the leaves
3.Put the leaves in the second tray
4.Put the empty stem in the pile other than the bunch.

According to the book Child of the World, Essential Montessori for Age three to Twelve With activities like this She learns to concentrate, to control muscles, to move and act with care, to focus, to analyze logical steps and complete a cycle of activity. This lays the groundwork for mental and physical work in all other areas of work, not just in early childhood, but throughout life.