Practical life exercises are important for the development of proper motoring functions in your child. These acts encourage him to be independent and learn self-disciplined. teaching your children life skills at an early age helps them to develop good habits, gives them daily “real life” opportunities to practice fine and gross motor skills, and ultimately teaches them responsibility.
Following is a list of such activities, which can help kids to become more independent, which in turn builds their self-confidence.
- Water plants – A great way to incorporate some nature into their life skill building! Whether outdoors with the water hose, or inside with a little bucket, I think most kids are fascinated with water and plants, so teach them how the two go together. (Makes a great “first chore” too!).
- Button – Use large buttons to teach this skill to little ones. There are several children’s toys that encourage buttoning clothing on dolls or stuffed animals. Or have them play with the buttons on an adult coat. According to Experts at Apple Montessori School, activities these activities end up contributing primarily in developing fine-motor skills and decision making. Try this great use for old shirt sleeves to create a “button bracelet” for your toddler to play with!
- Zip It – This is also a fun activity, which can indulge children for long times. the simple mechanism of a zip is all it takes to capture the attention of your kid. It’ll be hard for your kid to manage, but if he tries and it can keep him entertained!
- Mix & Match – Nothing beats the age-old mix and match exercises. Give your child fabric patches cut from scraps and have them match textures or colors. You could match stuffed toys to pictures, or create your own matching game with various small household items. According to studies conducted by Preschool Milton, children with early exposure to healthy activities are more creative and open to the idea of learning and exploration.
- Open and Close – Children love to explore anything and everything. Use this to your advantage. Use various sized jars with screw-top lids to have your child practice screwing and unscrewing. And thus, you shall hear the screams of “Op’n-it!” and “F’x’it!”. Children love the twisty-turn action.
- Pour It – Give your kid dry foods and have them pour it from one container to another. Try to incorporate a measuring instrument as an advanced step and make it more interesting by teaching counting.
- Sort – After the magic of transferring wears off, have your child sort by color, size, shape, type. Use muffin tins as sorting trays!
- Eat with a spoon and fork – from the time you start feeding your baby solid foods, put a spoon in their hand; this could be messy in start but eventually if you put in the effort, the baby will learn how to hold and eat with the aid of a spoon without making a big mess.
- Hold a book and turn pages carefully one-by-one
- Properly wash hands – You can start teaching this one as early as around 12 months by holding your child up and letting them rub their hands together under running water, but you will probably need to give little mini-lessons on all the different steps of how to do it properly up until at least age 5. Obviously, there are lots of details, which need to go in this procedure to carry out a successful washing habit. i.e. knowing the difference between the hot and cold faucets, how to adjust the flow of water, how to use a soap dispenser, how to use bar soap, how to lather hands, how to thoroughly rinse, how to dry hands, how to clean up any water splashes)
- Brush their teeth — Even though you will most likely start or finish the brushing, give your child some time to brush his or her own teeth; from around 18 months
- Put dirty clothes in the laundry – Teach your child what your dirty laundry system is; from around 18 months
- Brush/Comb their hair — Parent may have to finish the brushing, but the child can do what they can to start with from about age 2
- Properly grip a pencil or crayon – start around age 3 to teach and encourage proper grasp; use a key phrase like, “Hold it like a pencil,” as a gentle reminder