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Toddlers and very

early learning

Learning together series

How to help children learn

Try to see things from their point of view. Understanding how children see the world
will help you to help them as they learn.
Let children be children. A skilled five year old grows from a busy four year old, a
curious three year old, a cuddled two year old, an adventurous one year old and a
communicative baby.
Be a playful companion. You can enjoy childhood with the children as well.
Feelings matter both the childrens emotions and your own are part of any
situation with young children. It is very helpful to be aware of your own moods as
well as the childrens when enjoying yourself with them and during difficult moments.
Dont expect to be perfect. Everyone does something they dont mean
sometimes. Children can be forgiving as long as we are thoughtful most of the time
and are ready to say sorry when we should.

Toddlers and very

early learning

Jennie Lindon

Toddlers are very busy people. They are keen to

learn about the world around them and ready
to be fascinated by things that seem ordinary to
you. They can spend part of a morning thrilled to
run around the park getting better at starting,
stopping, going forwards then backwards, and
at making quick right turns. Then they might stay
still for ages, turning over stones and twigs. If all
is going well, toddlers change completely in their
second year of life. They are able to move around
independently. They talk in their own words and
understand more of what you say.

in early childhood, they and their friends will

build anything that fires their imagination a
garage for the cars, a cage for their dinosaurs.

Large cardboard boxes are useful because they

can be sat in, pushed along and decorated.
Soon they will become a bus to sit in, a cave to
hide in and the table in a pretend caf.

Toddlers love dressing up, but they do not

need specially bought outfits. They like hats,
bags and clothes that are easy to put on, like a
fancy scarf or a waistcoat. As their imagination
grows, an attractive piece of material can
be a cloak, a wraparound skirt or the way to
become a butterfly.

Collect a big bag or basket of safe household

materials that otherwise go in the recycling
or the bin. Young scientists have fun exploring
cardboard tubes, wide-neck plastic bottles,
corks and cotton reels, tins (empty and
cleaned), supermarket packaging, oldfashioned dolly pegs. Check that anything is
safe to be sucked, because younger toddlers
will put some things in their mouth. Avoid
polystyrene packaging and, obviously, anything
with sharp edges.

Good toys for learning

Toddlers love playing around with interesting
materials. They need a good store of things to play
with, but they dont all need to be bought toys.
Before you spend your money, look carefully at
a toy. Can toddlers use it in different ways? Will it
add to what they enjoy already? A lot of shopbought toys are advertised as being good for
early learning. But toddlers learn by having lots of
different experiences, not by playing with just a few
plastic toys. If a toy has limited interest, toddlers will
soon abandon it for the more interesting box that
it came in. Spend your money on play materials
that you cannot make or gather together. Here are
some good ideas for toys either to buy or to gather
together from what you already have.

A solid wheeled trolley has a long play life. It

provides balance for young toddlers who still
wobble when they walk. But soon the same
trolley is just right to carry around teddies or a
toddlers collection of fir cones.
Toddlers need a generous supply of basic
wooden blocks and plastic brick shapes. First
they build simple towers or like to knock down
your building. Toddlers develop their first ideas
about space and shape by putting bricks in
and out of containers, again and again. Later

Toddlers are keen on piling, filing and sorting.

You can buy a simple shape sorter toy, but they
learn just as well with a range of different size
containers and a home-made posting box.

Toddlers learn through having time and space to

practise. They repeat actions, often with slight
variations. In this way they get to understand
how things work. They become confident about
what causes what, and what will fit or not. Try
hard to look beyond the apparent mess to
what toddlers are exploring and what they have
learned. Of course, it is sensible for you to make
some ground rules like Paint or play dough
stays on this table on the plastic cloth.

Make it easier for toddlers to be part of tidying up

by giving time for the finding, wiping and putting
back into containers or baskets.

Learning through daily life

Toddlers do not only learn through what adults
think of as play. They learn a great deal when
you get out with them into the neighbourhood.
An ordinary local circuit interests toddlers and
very young children. On a local walk or trip to the
market, allow enough time for them to stop and
stare. Toddlers say and show that they remember
a familiar corner as well as point out the newly
arrived crane on the building site. Toddler general
knowledge is built through ordinary experiences
such as posting letters, buying some bread and
watching a big black beetle cross the pavement.
Once toddlers are mobile, they are keen to be your
apprentice in ordinary domestic routines. Give them
some extra time, then toddlers feel helpful.

You will see real concentration as they use a

dustpan and brush or water the garden.

When they help with tidying up, toddlers

understand that the animals go back with the
farm and the jigsaws go on that shelf.

On a shopping trip, let them spot the milk

and make some choices about fruit and
vegetables. They feel involved and learn many
more words.

Toddlers are ready for simple cooking, as well

as helping with routines like laying the table.
They start to grasp basic counting in situations
that make sense like, We need one more
spoonful or We need two cups (hold up your
fingers for a visual clue).

It will be a long haul before toddlers can take

care of themselves completely. They cannot
practise feeding themselves or putting on a

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Toddlers and very

early learning

Learning together series

jumper if you are usually tempted to do it, to save

on mess and time. Quicker is not always better,
once you home in on chances for toddlers to
learn in the longer term. As well as the physical
skills, they learn about cause and effect: what
follows what and simple forward planning.

The power of toddler thinking

Really early literacy matters, and the best way to
encourage it is by enjoying books with toddlers.
Notice when they have favourites and be ready
to read those many times. They enjoy dramatic
pauses and repeating phrases that they can say
as well. Some toddlers start to tell themselves
the story and show that they already understand
how books work by turning the pages the right
way, or perhaps saying The end when the story
is finished. Toddlers need to find out that pictures
stand for real objects. Be excited when they link
what they see outside a big sunflower or a fire
engine to the picture in their book.
Nursery rhymes help children understand sound
patterns in a way that will help them to read and
write later on. They also help children learn the
detail of the many sounds that make up language.
Between their first and second birthdays,
toddlers learn enough about how their world
works to start imagining things and playing
pretend. The first pretend actions are often
short a toddler might pretend to feed using
an empty spoon. But soon they will pretend by
putting Teddy to bed or moving their cars along
a road. Toddlers start to make look-and-say
jokes, like pretending a bowl is their hat or calling
somebody by the wrong name on purpose. Their
grin says, You know that I know that you know
that this is all just pretend.
Theres a lot going on inside a toddlers head. But
it can be hard for adults to understand the way
they think. There is a temptation to rush them on
to ideas like colour or shape. These ideas seem
obvious to us, but there is no good reason to act
as if colour and shape are more important than
any of the other ideas that toddlers are beginning
to grasp.

It is really useful to understand how language

unfolds. First of all, toddlers learn words that
are the names of familiar people and objects.
Then they learn words that stand for actions.
Only then do they start to have the words that
describe their world, that are about ideas. This
development is usually in the second part of the
second year of life. Listen to older toddlers and
you may hear big, high, tasty, hot, smelly
and other words for ideas. Such words cannot
make sense until toddlers have plenty of words
for naming and actions, because the words need
to link together. Big, high and hot are ideas
words that cannot stand alone. You cannot have
a big a bus is big.
You can help toddlers make the exciting move
into ideas when you watch and listen to what
makes sense so far. There is no rush to get
them to learn. Instead, drop the words into
conversation at a sensible opportunity. For
example, Would you like your blue trousers
today? or Gosh that was a loud sneeze! Notice
and be excited about any words that include
ideas. Colour and shape will come in good time.

Toys from natural materials

Toddlers like the feel of water and use simple

items to pour, fill and empty. In a family home,
let them have water in the sink and organise a
safe set of steps if necessary. Sand, or other
dry ingredients like rice or pasta, can be in a
washing-up bowl or deep seed tray.

Toddlers are ready for simple art and crafts.

Hands and fingers are the best first art tools.
But soon they will manage thick paint brushes,
wedges of sponge, wax crayons and chunky
chalks. Let them spread out with their paper
and find ways to take it all outside in warmer
weather. Let them enjoy the doing and avoid
rushing them to make something in particular.

Toddlers enjoy play dough because they can

get hands and fingers on it for poking, rolling
and shaping. It is worth buying a little rolling
pin. Pastry cutters and shapes can come from
your cupboard or the household section of a
supermarket.

Toddlers and very early learning

Useful publications
Ros Bayley (2006) More than happy and sad:
young children and emotions, London: Early
Education.
Sally Featherstone & Clare Beswick (2003) Little
baby books series, London: A&C Black
(+44 (0) 20 7758 0200).
Anita Hughes (2006) Developing play for the
under 3s, London: David Fulton.
Jennie Lindon (2006) Care and caring matter
young children learning through care,
London: Early Education.
Jennie Lindon (2008) What does it mean to be
two? London: Practical Pre-School Books
Jennie Lindon, Kevin Kelman & Alice Sharp
(2008) Play and learning in the early years:
practical activities and games for under 3s,
London: Step forward publishing.
Anni McTavish (2007) Feelings and behaviour:
a creative approach, London: Early Education.

Useful contacts
Family Information Service (FIS) your local
FIS will be able to let you know of services
dealing with this subject, whether provided
through Sure Start, a childrens centre, family
centre or other organisation. For details of how
to contact your FIS, visit ChildcareLink: www.
childcarelink.gov.uk
Fathers Direct: www.fathersdirect.com
National Family and Parenting Institute:
www.nfpi.org.uk
Parentline Plus: helpline 0808 800 2222;
www.parentlineplus.org.uk
Jennie Lindon is a chartered psychologist, with
over 30 years experience of working with early
years services for children and their families. She
has written many books and magazine
articles for parents and early years
practitioners.

Learning together series

British Association for Early Childhood

Education (Early Education)

The Learning together series of leaflets aims to help

parents and other caring adults understand childrens
development, play an active part in their learning and
enjoy the children they spend time with. The leaflets
cover a wide range of topics, including life with babies and
toddlers, childrens behaviour, being outdoors, drawing
and writing, reading, maths, ICT and equality and more.
The leaflets can be downloaded from the Early Education
website www.early-education.org.uk

Registered as a Charity in England and Wales No. 313082

Registered as a Charity in Scotland No. SC039472
A company limited by guarantee

Early Education promotes the right of all children to education of the highest quality. It provides
support, advice and information on best practice for everyone concerned with the education
and care of young children from birth to eight.

Early Education
136 Cavell Street, London E1 2JA
tel 020 7539 5400
www.early-education.org.uk