Nursery curriculum and expectations for 2-3 year olds

[research100]

Hi there,

I have a daughter who is nearly 2 years old. The nursery that she is in is for 2-3 year olds only, but they made an exception and let us start early.
The day is divided into classes, and although there are some time for free play, most of it is structured where the toddlers have to follow instructions. In some classes they have to sit on chairs in a half circle and follow the teacher for about 20 minutes. This is difficult for my daughter as she is always very active, has a lot of energy and does not sit in one place for long. She only speaks a few words at the moment so she is not able to interact with the teacher in the same way as the other children.

The same goes for the other classes, wether it's physical or creative activities. As most of the day is spent on following instructions, I'm a bit concerned regarding what this does to a child's creativity and interest in exploring when they are only 2-3 years old.

I spent almost a week with my daughter in the nursery when she started so I was able to experience the different classes.
This is the first time I have a child in a nursery so I'm was not sure what to expect, but I am surprised by how much of the day is structured in terms of following instructions, and how little of it is free play and maybe toddlers just getting to engage with each other on it's own.

My daughter is very independent, prefers to do everything herself, and although she is starting to show some interest in other children, in the nursery she spends most of the time playing on her own while the rest of the children are following the class.

We had a meeting with her teachers where they expressed their concerns at her not being able to remain in her seat and follow the class, and that this is disruptive for the rest of the class. But I'm not sure what to expect as she has only been in the nursery for 2 months and is only 21 months now.

It would be interesting to hear from teachers or anyone in education in terms of what is usual for 2-3 year olds, and also from parents in terms of what their experience is.

In the kindest possible way, it sounds like your daughter is too young for the setting.

What?! This is crazy. What kindof nursery is this? No way should you be worrying that she can't sit still for great lengths of time. My dd is 3 and pretty switched on but I think she'd still struggle. I woulf politely explain that your understanding is that her behaviour is what is expected of a typical 2 year old and that it's their job to manage your child whilst at nursery. I'd be seriously considering moving nurseries though based on what you're saying. It all sounds a bit odd...

Wow they are expecting a lot from a 21 month old. My DS could never have managed that. He's just turned three and I'd say he'd only have coped with that set up quite recently. I think it's a shame in some ways they accepted a younger child without changing their expectations. They can't expect her to conform. I'd consider a new setting or maybe delay her start for another six months.

Utterly bonkers. Those expectations sound too much for 3 year olds let alone 2 year olds. In reception there will be children that struggle with carpet time. I have a 2yo and there is no way she’d cope with that sort of setting. An important part of nursery is that they learn to listen and I saw my eldest flourish over time. The pre-school year had them trying circle time for maybe 5-10 mins to build it up to get ready for school. Structured classes all day just isn’t appropriate for the age group.

Thank you for your replies, it's good to see that it's not just me that reacted to this.

Yes, I agree that she is too young for this setting. I have considered taking her out of the nursery and waiting another 6 months to see if it would be more suitable to go back again then, but she would then stay at home where there would be no interaction with anyone else.

She is now less enthusiastic when going to the nursery in the morning, but she seems very happy after the nursery. Since she is not able to follow the structured lessons they do let her play on her own or with another teacher.

We get a daily report and video, so I am closely watching the situation. I can see that she is learning new things, and she is happy when at home, so I think overall it's better than just staying at home.

I haven't found any other nurseries in the area that take children under 3 years old, so I will talk to the teachers and discuss the expectations, see if there is a possibility for a different set up and maybe do less days a week for a while. I will also keep looking for another nursery with a more suitable setting.

my 2yo and 4yo sons go to nursery and they play, do lots of participatory activities (no chair learning) and some activities such as colouring and letter work in which is sat down. They learn outside, have home corner and free play.
Pre-school children can learn lots through play. I have a free download EYFS guide for parents (don't need to enter any details to download them) raising2children.com/the-ultimate-free-eyfs-guide-for-parents/
I also think nurseries should be exploring how our children learn best NOT a pre-school child needs to fit into a table/chair learning experience.
It's good to question their practice to meet the needs of your child

Yes, I completely agree, I believe nurseries should be a place where kids learn through play and experiences, not in a chair/lessons set up where they have to remain seated and follow the teacher for what would for a toddler be an extended amount of time.

The teachers argument was that this was training for when the children would go to a kindergarten, where there would be more of this type of learning. But my argument would be that trying to make them conform to this type of learning pre-3 years old could do more harm than good, and that they would be more ready for this setting later when it would be required.

The chair/lessons setup is only once or twice a day, but I found that the rest of the activities which are divided into classes, still had more structure than what I would expect at this age.

We have repeatedly been asked to train her concentration, and although we do through reading books, playing with play-doh and building-type activities, I believe that the activities should only go on for as long as she finds them interesting.

Thank you for the link, it's a great guide and website with lot's of good information.