Young children are learning at a tremendous rate from everything they see, hear and do in their day to day lives and their play. They do not separate their learning into distinct subject areas. Having your child at home for an extended period of time should be seen as a wonderful opportunity to have fun together with lots of scope for exploring and learning.
In the Foundation Stage at school, your child will continue their journey in learning supported by the Early Years Foundation Stage. This has 4 principles which guide the work of all those working with children up to the end of the Foundation Stage. These principles are listed below and underpin the information given to you –
A Unique Child – every child is a competent learner from birth who can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.
Positive relationships – children learn to be strong and independent from a base of loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.
Enabling Environments – the environment plays a key role in supporting and extending children’s development and learning.
Learning and development – children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates and all areas of Learning and development are equally important and inter-connected.
At school your child will have a Learning Diary similar to the one you were given when your child left pre-school/Nursery. It will be fun for you and your child to record what you have been doing together at home so that this can be shared once you go back to school. A favourite toy could also be involved in your activities.
In addition to the range of ideas we have offered you below, we have also included information about where to access other ideas for supporting your child’s learning at home.