Practical life?

Our classroom was gifted a small IKEA table, and one of my students, upon seeing the large flat box, offered to take it home over the holiday and assemble it.  "My dad's an engineer.  We can do it," he assured me. 

So when a similar assembly-required desk organizer arrived, it occurred to me that the children could put it together, that they should put it together.

They read the directions, sorted the pieces, and followed each step in order.

That's the often-overlooked power of the collection of activities Maria Montessori called Practical Life.  In our Children's House classrooms, this takes the form of pouring, polishing, folding, scooping, sweeping, sewing, table-washing.  Not only do the children learn useful skills, they also learn to organize materials, sequence the steps of a task, pay attention to detail, stick with a process, and concentrate.  Practical Life activities help children experience the pride that comes with completing a task, by yourself, from start to finish--a feeling intimately intertwined with sense of purpose, the internal motivation and drive we hope to foster in our students.  They get the clear message that they are responsible for their work, for making things happen in their world.  Yet, too often in Elementary, we disregard the important role Practical Life plays in preparing children for academic work.  We focus on the beautiful equipment we spent so many of our training hours learning how to use.  We focus on serious academics.  We see Practical Life as a strand that ends when children move up from Children's House, a strand that is a nicety more than necessary.  Fluff. 

A couple of years ago, I attended a workshop in which the presenter (a teacher trainer) argued exactly the opposite.  She contended that she could walk into an Elementary classroom and know--by the tone of the room, the concentration of the children, the interactions between them--whether Practical Life activities were being implemented on a regular basis.  I ordered the recording of the workshop and listened to it more than once.  I think she's right.  Practical Life can and must look a little different in our Elementary classrooms, but if we set it aside, we withhold from children more than just the opportunity to clean a desk or assemble a piece of furniture. 

So I ask you, Could assembling flat-box furniture be a Practical Life skill?  Is there value in allowing (encouraging) children to spend time on such things?