Practical Life activities are for the children to learn everyday life skills. In the Lower Elementary rooms, students apply what they learned in the Early Childhood classrooms and take care of their environment with classroom jobs. The classroom jobs/responsibilities are chosen by each child and change bi-weekly. Examples of jobs include table washers, trash helpers, sweepers, botanists, meeting leaders, laundry helpers, and more. The children are very persistent in performing their classroom jobs daily and look forward to choosing a different classroom responsibility every two weeks.
Another essential part of Practical Life includes Grace and Courtesy. Grace and Courtesy includes supporting the lessons the students have learned in their early years, such as saying thank you, please, not interrupting, excusing themselves when they burp, etc.—basically reinforcing the importance of being polite. This is essential to our lessons on problem-solving and conflict resolution. With Practical Life skills, more than academics, students learn empathy, independence, community involvement, peace-keeping, and all the characteristics we want our students to have for the future.