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Good afternoon, I am curious about how I would teach my future students the practical activities in a virtual way.

Hi Paola

It sounds as if you are asking how to teach practical life activities, as they do in Montessori classrooms.  I would say similar to in person, just with a web cam.  You would have to help the students construct the sensory clues, (such as gentleness while leaf wiping) by asking them questions.  And that is similar to how I have done science activities virtually

Anne

I think there can be a real upside to virtual teaching and learning.  Anne points out that asking questions can engage students who are remote.  If one learns to do that well, it will be an enormous benefit as well once you are in the classroom again.  Asking students questions keeps the focus on their thinking and their experiences as it should be.

cheers,

joe

Hi! I am currently an undergraduate ECE student at Xavier Univeristy. In one of my classes, we have recently discussed the importance of rotuines and rituals. Applying a rotuine (even if it is simply preparing for class) will help children learn practical skills!

Example: Before you log into Zoom, please have your pencil, your book, and your chair ready to go to focus on class. (You could even add an emotional check in of sorts to establish a virtual relationship!) 

With this as well, practial skills (if you are focusing specifically on Montessori) could be taught as allocating time to make a snack and cleaning it up (this is more complicated due to parent cooperation) or completing a chore like making a bed. 

Alongside promoting physical actions in an enviornemnt where the child is familiar to improve practical skills, I agree with the posts above about promoting interrogation. Asking questions, exploring why things do what they do, then explaining it by both words and actions will help the child understand concepts. 

Best,

Natalie

I totally agree with you! Having the students engaged mentally through critical thinking will allow the students to learn virtually. It is really hard to keep students from using technology as 'fun', mostly as children. You also have to present yourself in a engaging way to keep the students engaged!