. . . For 'this new kind of play,' as montessori called it, toys will not do. The child needs items that are real and relate directly to the adult's everyday activities. Montessori called these items the practical-life materials. . . . The exercises of practical life should involve manual activities that the child sees adults engaged in on a regular basis in daily life. Therefore, parents select from among their occupations the ones that 'they have to do anyway in their everyday life,' and by doing so, parents avoid the feeling of pressure to do even more for their child than they have hitherto been doing. They are simply including their child, according to his interests and capability, and as time allows, in setting and clearing the table, unloading groceries, preparing food, baking pouring water and juice, wiping the table, washing dishes, sorting and folding laundry, putting away clothes, dusting, sweeping and mopping, washing a mirror or window, polishing a vase or shoe, picking up a room, emptying wastepaper baskets, watering plants inside or outside, and arranging flowers. When the child is somewhat older, this may even include ironing, sewing, weeding the garden, and raking leaves."
*excerpt from 'Montessori from the Start ~ The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three by Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen