Ideas for pre school activities in place of nursery

[HomeEdideas]

We had sorted out a nursery place for dd but they won’t accept our settling in plans or accommodate her SEN so we’ve decided we will keep her home then home educate after that.

Im trying to sort out a regular timetable for her so she can mix with others in a way she will manage as she needs me there and start to learn. So far we have arranged :

-forest school x2 mornings a week
-swimming x1 morning a week
-music group / SEN session at a LA run children’s hub

We do sensory activities at home and go to the park etc a lot anyway. Is there anything else that may be beneficial or does this sound ok .

If you are planning long term home education see if you have a local home education group.

That sounds great!

Thanks I’ll do that , I think it will just work out better , the resistance I’ve encountered before she even starts a setting has surprised me and prior to that I’d looked at a few- some said they couldn’t accommodate us, others weren’t suitable , I didn’t realise it would be so difficult so I’ve taken a step back and feel like I need to take a different route

Thanks , I think my main priority is socialising over education at this point but I think she will learn by playing and exploring once she’s more relaxed with her routine and the world in general

We enjoyed a few toddler classes up until DD started school. We did Gymboree, ballet, football, gymnastics. I'd look for whatever is local to your area and look for one that does a termly booking - it commits you but the advantage is the group of kids stays consistent so your DD can build friendships.

Also lots of ad hoc preschool activities like musuem workshops - just look at the venues in your area.

Lol to see if any of your local Scout groups has a Squirrel section... that starts at four so a good time to get on a waiting list. Most Scout groups are very welcoming to children with additional needs

I would focus on developing friendships - so finding a long term stable group of playmates. My person experience has been that there is limited socialising in toddler classes. It's mainly between the child and the parents or the child and the group leader. Where there is free play (for example, in forest school), they will interact more with other children, but it may not be the same children session after session, so no opportunities for long term friendships to develop. I think doing things like sharing and turn taking are important and you can help to foster than in any play situation, but from 3, they really do develop close friendships. So I would find a group that is stable (same children each session) where you both can meet people and then facilitate meet ups outside of sessions for playdates.

How old is she? In my DDs preschool they are doing phonics and recognising letters/numbers and starting to write these so you could find some activities to teach this so she’s at a similar level when she starts school.

Sounds excellent! If you can get along to local home education groups - or start a regular park meet for other parents who are planning to home ed their little ones - you can start to build a friendship group for you and for her. We were surprised at how quickly my child's toddler friends dropped away once they had started nursery or school, but of course it's tiring for them and they may have already had their social needs met there, plus meeting up with us was no longer a priority for their parents. The home ed friendships were longer-lasting. You could just post on the local home ed Facebook page to say, "We go to such-and-such park every Wednesday afternoon. Does anyone want to join us?"

Do be aware that even in the home ed groups there is some "churn" at this age, because some parents who were toying with the idea of home education eventually decide on school after all and leave the groups. However, younger siblings of big kids who are already being home educated are a pretty safe bet for long-term friendships.

In due course you might find that the home ed groups can also provide some group activities your child might like, or one-off museum activities, pond dipping, etc.

She’s 2 she already knows all this she just repeats and repeats things can count really well recognises letters numbers and some words but it’s very robotic and although she knows it I don’t know if she could implement that Knowledge if that makes sense eg she can count and recognise numbers but if she had 4 items I don’t think she would count 1,2,3,4 and know there were 4 things ? Likewise with letters and the sounds she just lists stuff off . If we go anywhere she just continually lists everything she can see the whole time

I think she would struggle to try and write letters it’s like she knows them all but wouldn’t be able to even contemplate she could write any of them herself she doesn’t like to mark make or anything . The sensory group may help that though I think as they do some messy play things

Are there any preschool playgroups or school nurseries nearby?
Your council early years dept will be able to give you a list.
It was a preschool playgroup and a preschool attached to a primary school who took my non speaking toddler with other issues as well.
It made such a difference to his development

It was all learning through play at his preschool and reception and year one have been mainly learning through play as well. There has been a lot of extra help as well for speech and social and emotional development.

Maybe try story time sessions at your local library, where she will probably meet the same children every week.

Storytime at library is a good shout and you could also see if there are any SEN groups for pre school in your area. They sometimes meet up in a park for a picnic.

What was the problem with the nursery? In what way could they not accommodate her SEN? Not all nurseries and preschools will be the same