I watched with delight as my 21-month-old niece filled up her small, glass pitcher with water, walked across the deck, poured the water into the bowl, and returned to get more … over and over. She didn’t need or want stickers or rewards. She was fulfilling an inner need.
When I arrived at my mom’s, I needed to set up a few works for my nieces and nephew. As their ages are 21 months, 3 ½, and almost 6, we would start with practical life activities, such as hand washing and flower arranging. These are real activities with real tools designed for repetition.
Dr. Maria Montessori realized that these activities had a different function for children as they repeated it over and over. Young children do it for an interior motive. As they get closer to second plane (around age 5 or 6), they do it because they see a need in the environment, such as in washing a table.
With warm weather and plenty of shade on my mom’s back deck, we headed outside. And activities with water always seem to be quite enticing!
Using child-sized, real tools (even glass vases and pitchers), the children could now choose from handwashing, flower arranging, window washing, table washing, and plant work. As one of the direct aims of these activities is to help the child acquire independence in caring for herself and her environment, we would need a water source that the children could easily access.
With no running water or a sink on the deck, I happened to find a coffee dispenser in the garage that was still in the box. You could also use a beverage dispenser. As you can see in the photo, I set it on a small stool and moved it to the back so they could set their pitcher down while filling. The handle was easy for them to use to start and stop the water flow.
I refilled the dispenser with water many times, but it allowed the children to get as much water as they needed for their work and as often as they wanted easily and safely.
This functional independence also helps the child develop dignity and self-esteem. She is capable and wants to do it herself. The child needs to be presented the steps necessary to carry out the task, but then we let her practice and do it in her own way. The purpose is not for her to imitate our actions exactly, but to fulfill an inner need.
As the child goes from one conquest to the next, naturally, she is highly motivated to keep challenging herself. It is motivation from within.
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