Glossary: 2 year olds
Glossary of Key Words
This area enables you to have an overview of the meaning of childcare related words. Please click on the links below to take you directly to individual key words.
Adult supported
Activities, experiences and opportunities which are challenging and often require adult support through modelling or additional encouragement.
Attachment
Young children, especially two year olds, require a secure relationship with a significant adult in order to feel safe enough to go on and learn and develop. Initially this relationship is developed with the child’s main caregiver, i.e. their parent, however within a setting this responsibility falls to the child’s key person. This attachment means young children are more able to cope with transition, explore their surroundings, take risks, experience and enjoy unfamiliar events etc safe in the knowledge that there is someone there for them should they need it.
Brain Development
When human babies are born their brains are only around a quarter of their finished size. As babies and young children learn and develop their brain grows at an alarming rate - by three years old it will have already reached 85% of its finished size! However, this learning and development is dependent on an abundance of different experiences. The two year olds in your care will need support and encouragement as they begin to form ideas about themselves and the world around them, based on these experiences.
Characteristics of Effective Learning
“The ways in which the child engages with other people and their environment – playing and exploring; active learning; creating and thinking critically – underpin learning and development across all areas and support the child to remain an effective and motivated learner” (Development Matters pg4) It is important that practitioners have a clear understanding of how children learn, as well as what they are learning, in order to support individuals to make progress.
Communication Friendly Spaces
These are cosy spaces where young children naturally gather to chat; they should be natural, neutral and inviting. Spaces should be free from surplus resources so that children can bring their own agendas and interests to the space.
Child initiated
Activities, experiences and opportunities which are ‘started’ by the child. This might involve children bringing ideas / resources from home, using resources in a new or alternative way, or a group of children becoming engrossed in one child’s fascination with worms, for example.
Consistent routine
Young children of two years old will benefit from a routine which is consistent, but not restrictive. An understanding of the order in which things usually happen will enable children to feel secure and this can be supported through the use of a pictorial representation. However, routines which are too prescriptive or time-focused are unnecessary for this age group.
EYFS Progress Check at Age Two
Between the ages of two and three providers are required to produce a short written summary of all children’s learning in the three prime areas and share it with their parents / carers. Non-statutory guidance, produced by the National Children’s Bureau, is available.
Heuristic
Heuristic play resources can incorporate a range of natural materials like fir cones, conkers, seashells, and pebbles, as well as ribbons, short lengths of chain, and ‘found’ objects like curtain rings, jar lids, sturdy cardboard tubes, the circles from inside sellotape, and empty cotton reels. Resources such as these will draw upon young children’s natural curiosities and support their engagement in spontaneous exploratory play.
Key person
Each child must be assigned a key person who is responsible for ensuring every child’s care is tailored to meet their individual needs, offer a settled relationship for the child and build a relationship with their parents (Statutory Framework pg18) For further information about the key person approach in early years see: ‘Key Person’s in the Early Years’ 2011 by Peter Elfer, Elinor Goldschmied and Dorothy Y Selleck (ISBN: 0415610397).
Language skills
How children’s language skills are developing at this important time and how to support this.
‘Lifelong love of learning’
As practitioners within the early years we play a crucial role in developing children’s early relationship with learning. By providing activities, experiences and play opportunities that are irresistible to children and encourage them to explore and extend their own understanding and skills, practitioners provide solid foundations for later learning. ‘Switching children off’ from learning at this early age, by offering developmentally inappropriate experiences or providing activities with little or no interaction, can negatively affect children’s lifelong relationship with learning.
Meaningful choices
For two year olds this means being given the opportunity to choose and express preferences in things which are important to them, such as the choice between apple and banana at snack or whether to play inside or outside.
Natural and open-ended resources
A lot of modern children’s toys are made of plastic providing limited sensory experiences for young children who learn through sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. Natural resources, such as those made of wood, metal and fabric provide for wider sensory variety. Natural resources are also open-ended, which enables children to use them for many different purposes, i.e. a fir cone may represent food in the role play area, something to roll in the outdoor area, or a small world character. This will encourage children to develop their sense of imagination, rather than having it all ‘done for them’.
Community Playthings provide resources to support natural and open-ended play.
Observational Methods
There are many different ways in which you can record observations of a child or group of children. Using a variety of different methods will enable you to build up a fuller picture of the child, what they like doing, how they engage with different activities, who they enjoy spending time with etc. Below are some of the ways in which you may be using observation to document children’s learning:
- Annotated photographs
- ‘Post it note’ (quick notes)
- Narrative / longer observations
- Using an Observation Frame
- Learning Stories
- Video – if you choose to use video to record your observations, you need to ensure that you have consent from parents and carers.
- Child tracking / time sampling – this involves observing the child every 10, 15 or 30 minutes (depending on the total length of your session). Then at each of your allotted times you jot down where the child is and what they are doing.
- Tracking web – using a simple plan of your setting to track a child’s journey throughout a day/half a day/an hour etc.
Partnership with parents
Developing positive partnerships with parents is vital for supporting children both within the setting and at home. For additional information about the importance of and ways to support the creation of a positive Home Learning Environment click here.
Physically active
Physical activity supports development in all areas of learning and is often a preferred activity for young children, who have recently acquired greater mobility. The Department of Health has issued physical activity guidelines for under fives which include the recommendation that two year olds (who are capable of walking unaided) be physically active for at least 180 minutes per day.
Prime Areas of Learning
The three prime areas of learning – Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Communication and Language; Physical Development – are important foundations for children’s later learning. Everyone is born with an innate ability to develop these three areas of learning, as they allow us to function in society. Without developing these key survival skills children will struggle to develop relationships, share their ideas and interact with their environment.
Quality time
Spending quality time with children, which could be one-to-one or with small groups (a ‘sofa-full’ is a good guide), is an important way of developing those important relationships which we know help children feel secure and ready to learn. Quality time, which is individually meaningful, should be spent with each child to ensure they feel valued and supported within the setting.
Schemas
Schemas, or ‘patterns of play’, are how children make sense of the world and establish links by repeating and refining processes. For example a child with a rotation schema will explore the way in which round objects move, testing out the idea that all round things can roll by pushing any such object they come across. The more objects they encounter which support this schema the stronger their understanding becomes; later when they discover an object which questions their current understanding they will need to alter their thinking and develop new ideas.
Secure base
Young children learn best when they feel safe and secure. For two year olds both a designated key person and a consistent environment will contribute towards a secure base, from which children will be able to learn and develop to the best of their advantage.
Shared experiences
Humans are social creatures and young children learn through interaction, particularly with adults who are able to extend learning and support the development of new skills. You will find that two year olds enjoy sharing experiences, with you, with peers, with their parents and will often be drawn to activities / resources which allow for this shared learning. As a practitioner engaging in shared experiences with two year olds it is important to get thoroughly involved and show real enthusiasm for whatever it is you are doing – even if it is finding and exploring spiders or re-enacting the bear hunt - again!
Specific Areas of Learning
These four specific areas – Literacy; Mathematics; Understanding the World; Expressive Arts and Design – build on the foundations laid by the prime areas of learning and enable children to develop essential skills and knowledge which help when they later progress onto school.
Transition
Young children encounter various periods of transition. Mind the Gap resources are available.