Montessori Materials of the Month - The Dressing Frames

A Child Develops A Sense Of Independence With The Montessori Dressing Frames: The Montessori dressing frames are an important part of the “care of self” Practical Life Education in our classrooms. Each frame isolates one skill of dressing and offers the child the opportunity to perfect this skill by repeating the motion over and over, thus helping him/her to become independent in dressing him/herself. Being able to dress and undress oneself is one of the major steps to a child’s sense of independence. To help children learn how to dress and undress themselves, we provide dressing frames in our classroom on which all the different kinds of clothes fasteners can be found. It is often quite difficult for children to practice, for example; buttoning their coat buttons when they are wearing a coat, but if you have a frame with the buttons on the table, your children can see the buttonholes, thus giving them the confidence to try the task. With practice and repetition, the child is more likely to try to do up their buttons on their own. Children enjoy doing tasks independently, which fosters their self-esteem and makes them feel proud. The purpose of the Dressing Frames: to foster independence & self-care, to develop finger control, dexterity & concentration.