Encouraging learning at home

As a parent you are your child’s first and most important educator. Research shows that parental support for children’s learning has a direct impact on how well they do, both in early years settings and also later on in life, and it is widely recognised that the learning that takes place in childcare settings builds upon vital home experiences with parents.

By the age of five, a child has learned all the basic skills needed to survive walking, talking, muscle and body control, figuring out interpersonal relationships, amongst others. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it and it all takes a lot of practice.

We can help our children by understanding that they develop skills in different areas and by providing opportunities and activities to help them on their way. By watching and tuning in to our children we can get a feel for the best activity at a given time.

Some children are active doers and will need lots of outdoor physical, energetic play. Others are happy sitting at home with toys and can play on their own for hours.

There are lots of ways of learning and if you and your child are having fun and enjoying both the activity and each other then you are helping your child. As parents you know your children best of all so home activities can be geared to what your child likes and geared to the pace that suits them.

To share in our approach to learning through play, we have written several home learning guides ranging from treasure baskets for our babies, dough for our toddlers and loose parts for our pre-school children. These are available to you electronically, just let us know if you would like a copy.