Montessori Sunday: Polishing Activities

Welcome back to another Montessori Sunday! (actually on Sunday this time even). Today I wanted to introduce the polishing activities commonly used in a Montessori classroom. Polishing is in the area of practical life and is often introduced to the children very early on. My training covered activities for wood, glass and metal. Objects made of these materials are scattered throughout the classroom environment for the children to polish. The reasoning behind scattering the objects is so that they may also serve as beautiful decorations and hence the polishing has a purpose behind it as the child helps make the classroom a lovely space.

The picture below is the wood polishing activity from my Montessori training. An oilcloth is laid on the table to make it easier to clean any spilled polish and the child wears an apron to protect their clothing (shown folded on the left). The items are laid out in order of their use (and ideally stored on the tray that way as well). This helps the child remember which action to carry out first and introduces them to the idea of sequencing steps. Many practical life activities focus on the sequencing of steps so the child is better able to follow the more abstract sequences of math operations or written words later on.

To present wood polishing the Directress will first invite the child who is ready to learn the activity, and show them how to put on the apron and lay out the oilcloth. Next she introduces the tray that holds the polishing materials and demonstrates how to carry it. At the table each object is taken out in order and named. Next, the teacher and student go together to choose an object to polish. The teacher demonstrates how to put just a few drops of polish into the bowl and then soak it up with a cotton ball.  She explains how the polish is toxic and that we do not eat it and will wash our hands afterwards. The Directress applies the polish to the object using circular motions and then polishes it with a finger mitt using the same motion. Finally she folds the small buffing cloth into a mitt and shines up the objects using circular motions once more. The child is invited to repeat the activity and shown where the new cotton balls are kept to replenish the tray.

You might notice that there is a lot of repetitive movements in this activity (did you notice everything was done in a circular motion?) and not a lot of talking. Children at this age are still building up their coordination and many practical life activities focus on giving child some type of movement or motion that they can repeat over and over until they master it. In fact, all the polishing activities use the same basic motions to encourage the child to repeat and refine their movements.

The other point is the lack of speaking that occurs during the presentation, this is intentional. Children in the Casa dei Bambini are in a sensitive period of language according to Dr. Montessori. This means that they are still basically enthralled with language and desperate to absorb it and use it for themselves. Children of this age have trouble listening and watching at the same time. It is best to first show them without the distraction of speaking. This doesn't mean the Directress sits there, cold and silent; quite to the contrary she will warmly welcome any comment or question the child might have. Yet she was will not attempt to break their concentration by speaking herself unless necessary. This facet of a presentation occurs in most activities in the classroom, especially for those activities directed at younger children.

An interesting fact that Dr. Montessori observed with many exercises in practical life is that the children were not interested in the finished product (here a nicely polished object) but rather the act itself. I know that I have seen children apply polish to an object over and over and over again, even though it is already covered in it. The point for them is not polishing, but rather the refining of their movements through doing the activity.