Many practical life skills involve things that you already have around the house! Ideally, a Montessori classroom would have each skill that is to be learned isolated as a single activity on a shelf at the child’s eye level. You can certainly do this at home if you have the space for it. My shelves barely had room for the language, math, and cultural (science/geography) items. I had to integrate other areas of my house as informal learning spaces. Here are the adaptations that we used in our home.
Kitchen
Working in the kitchen together is something we treasure and continue to do as a family to this day. HOWEVER, we definitely had some growing pains (due to my impatience and ignorance) getting this routine started. So, don’t be too hard on yourself if it doesn’t work out. It’s the process and the exploration of the materials that is most important. Also, expect a messy kitchen for you both to clean up afterwards…yay!
I designated a special low-level drawer for my daughter in our kitchen filled with kitchen tools that were developmentally appropriate and safe for her to use (potato smasher, lemon juicer, etc). She had a table and chair that was her size for her to eat her snacks, set the table, and use a pitcher to pour water into her cup. We also made sure to bake/cook something together once a week. Working together in the kitchen allowed her to develop practical life and various motor skills. It is definitely a SENSORIAL activity.
Laundry Room (or wherever you do laundry)
We did the laundry together. She helped pour the detergent into the washer and push the buttons, which was her favorite. When it came to folding, she would help sort, match socks with their pairs, and turn her clothes right side out. She could also fold washcloths in half and fourths.
Cleaning the House
Being able to include my daughter in the things I am going to need to do anyways saves time! Kids learn by example and want to do what grownups can do. If I treat doing chores as a hassle, she will likely view it the same way. If you include pretend, singing, dancing or other activities, it will be enjoyable to both of you. A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down! So, this approach is not technically Montessori, but she is learning practical life skills little by little.
