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In this guide, supported by the NDNA, we’ll be discussing all things Home Learning for children under 5.
Including what exactly it means, why it’s important, easy activity ideas and so much more.
Let’s dive straight in!
First, what is home learning?
The term home-learning is pretty self-explanatory, it’s any and all learning that takes place at home.
It may sound a bit formal; you may be thinking there are specific activities you should be doing with your child. But actually, you’re most likely doing these things already!
Activities such as chatting, singing nursery rhymes or songs and playtime all are part of your little one’s development.
A strong attachment between you and your little one, with lots of love and cuddles, all help to develop the brain as well as learning activities.
Why is home learning important?
Did you know at birth, your baby's brain is only ¼ formed but by the time your child reaches three years old their brain will have developed to 80%?
The early years are so important, the brain develops more during this period than at any other time in their life.
So ensuring a stimulating at-home learning environment is really beneficial to their development and creates a lifelong love for learning.
Books
Sharing books not only helps your child’s learning and development but also strengthens your relationship as you sit or snuggle together while reading.
You don’t always have to read the book word for word, sometimes you can make up the story or just talk about the pictures.
It’s the activity of looking at books together that’s most important – this will help them develop a love of books as well as teach them that print carries meaning and that we turn the pages one by one.
Your little one will begin to recognise some familiar words and associate pictures with words, helping them develop their language and communication skills.
Often children will have favourite books and ask for them night after night - this is all part of the learning process and can be comforting for children.
Talking about the author, illustrator, front page and back page can be introduced as children become older to develop their understanding further. At around this stage, you can also start to encourage them to read the book to you.
Extend your little one’s learning by:
• Singing the story
• Drawing pictures from the book
• Acting out the story with your child
• Listening to the story in audiobook form
• Extending the story, asking your child what else might happen
Playtime
Playing both indoors and outdoors is the most important way in which children learn.
Providing a variety of play opportunities is not always about using purpose-made toys.
Everyday routines such as shopping, baking, gardening, and spending time playing together with your child will support their learning and development (see additional resources below for useful guides).
You might notice your child choosing to play with empty cardboard boxes rather than actual toys.
This is usually because these boxes can be used for several different purposes and allow them to use their imagination - one day a box could be a playhouse and the next it could be a spaceship.
This is the same for everyday items like pots, pans and utensils, so giving your child a range of toys and everyday items will allow them to get the most out of their playtime.
This open creative play allows children to develop skills holistically – focusing on multiple areas of development at one time e.g. scooping rice helps develop fine motor skills, counting, creativity and more.
Schemas explained
You may be confused (or sometimes a little frustrated) to find your little one displaying repeated behaviours such as dropping food from their chair, emptying kitchen cupboards etc.
Early Years experts call these behaviours Schemas. They have found that these behaviours are actually an important part of a child’s development.
Understanding these Schemas can help you understand why your little one is acting in a particular way.
By watching your child’s activities, you can identify which Schema they might be experiencing and start to plan experiences that they’ll enjoy and further their development (e.g. if they’re dropping food why not set up an item-dropping station where they can perform these behaviours safely and cleanly with various items).
You can find out more about Schemas by clicking here.
The importance of a nursery/parent relationship
It’s important to keep open communication with your nursery to best enable their learning both at home and in the nursery.
Passing on information about your little ones’ interests and favourite books or toys or where you have been at the weekend helps the nursery plan specifically for your child’s individual needs and interests.
Children learn best when doing something that they enjoy and combining their interests with learning will help them to progress.
In the same way, asking your nursery key person what your child has enjoyed at nursery can help you focus their learning at home.
When picking your little one up from nursery ask open-ended questions that will lead to discussions, these can include:
• What was most fun at nursery today?
• What made you laugh today?
• Which friends did you play with?
• Did anything make you sad today?
• What toys have you played with?
These conversations are a great way to learn new vocabulary and help them develop their communication skills. It will also help them open up about whether they have any worries or issues and support their general well-being.
Additional Resources