Children are learning all the time through play and communicating.  Within play, children can explore their ideas and experiences in new and imaginative ways.  For example, a few props can encourage children to engage in role-play that is based on a story you have read to them.

Exploring and experimenting through play can help children make sense of their experiences and develop their understanding of these events.  For example, a baby doll with equipment for girls and boys can support the birth of a younger sibling in the family.

Children aged two, three and four are constantly encountering new experiences and seeking to understand them in order to extend their skills, develop their confidence and build on what they already know.  They need to be given opportunities to take risks and make mistakes.  Children deepen their understanding by playing, talking, observing, questioning, experimenting, testing, repeating, reflecting and responding to adults and other children.

Play and communication are key ways in which children learn with enjoyment and challenge.  At home with your child, you can provide opportunities both indoors and outdoors for learning through play.  As a parent/carer, you can encourage your child by switching off the TV and providing:

• Dressing up clothes (pieces of material for a range of characters) and props for imaginary games and role play
• Cartons and boxes
• Large boxes to make into vehicles, dens, whatever they imagine
• Playdough to manipulate
• Small world play, eg duplo, lego, brio, cars, trains
• Puppets, soft toys, dolls, different size clothes
• Pencils, pens, crayons, paints, chalks, different size paper
• Mark making tools – to encourage children’s own attempts of writing
• Greetings cards, magazines, catalogues for your child to cut up, stick, sort, discuss
• Natural materials, eg cones, leaves, pebbles, shells to sort, compare
• Water and sand play with different size buckets, containers, etc
• Wheeled toys, balls, bats for larger physical activity
• Cooking together
• Toys in the bath

Encourage your child to talk about what they are doing and play with them.

During your child’s time at our pre-school, their learning will take place through play based activities – working individually, collaboratively in a group and also as a class.  Children benefit from free-flowing play between our indoor and outdoor environments. The outdoor environment is given high importance within our setting. It is an interesting and varied extension of our indoor provision. .