HE from day one, advice on EY framework please?

[thestylethatdecadesforgot]

Hi all, I have been reading bits and pieces on and off in the last year or so on the HE board as we come up to starting doing something formal-ish with DD1.

She is 3.4 yrs old now and is making good progress with letter recognition and writing letters using dots. She can spell words out and is beginning to blend the more difficult ones.

Numbers she is not so good at in terms of recognising them written down, or copying them but she counts up to 16 and then goes 16, 18, 20. But we count anything and everything so I hope this will iron itself out!

Could anyone tell me what else I need to be doing really please? I have found the early years framework so vague as to be unhelpful, unless I am reading it incorrectly. My dd seems to like a more structured, formal approach. Although we sneak in informal things when she isn't aware of it as learning.

I also wanted to get the Jelly and Bean reading books, does anyone have experience of using them please? Also if anyone wants to sell theirs on if they're finished using them, would you pm me please?! Thank you.

Are you sure you have been looking at the right framework - divided into 7 areas of learning and development with milestones and outcomes divided by age.

Lots to go on - ex childminder here. Have a look at an app called 2Simple - great for recording and getting a handle on where they are at

You could post in the childcare topic - lots of great advice. Have a look at ichild too

Thank you, I will look again, perhaps I had the wrong thing. I will check the places you mentioned too, thanks!

Try searching for EYFS.

|It applies from birth to year R. Its purpose is to get children all to the same level (ideally) to begin traditional schooling in year 1. Therefore it may not be a suitable curriculum if you don't intend to then use the National Curriculum.

The EYFS wants children to toilet by themselves, dress themselves, be nice to each other, listen well enough to do as they are told and know the precursors of Maths and Literacy. This is so that teachers have a fighting chance of teaching children because they are at a similar stage of learning and teachers are able to keep control of 30 children and don't "waste" time wiping bottoms.

It is therfore fairly vague. But if you look at the Maths in particular you will see a list of skills, such as counting in two's. Look at the expectations for 40-60months to get the clearest picture for each area. There are several documents, you want to look at "Development Matters" to find all these details. It takes a bit of reading and re-reading to understand the design of the document.

Hi OP, the EYFS is fairly controversial because all the evidence points to play based learning being the best for children in the long term - up to the age of 6 or 7 - and EYFS goals cannot be met through play based learning for most children. When you say your dd prefers formal learning and you sneak informal learning in do you mean she doesn't like playing? Because that would actually concern me a lot more than whether a 3 year old can blend words or write letters, and if that were me I would be spending my time creating an exciting and varied play based curriculum - with messy play, imaginative play, outdoor play, creative play - this is what the best nurseries will be doing. Missing out on the play stage may seem tempting if a child is responding well to formal training but you can never go back and do the playing you didn't do when you were 3, and that is where young children learn the most, as well as talking to adults who know them well.

Hello OP

I have never been too impressed with this curriculum neither.
If you intend to H.ed one of the joys is not having to follow any particular curriculum.
I second what chocolatecrispies says, especially concerning learning through play.
Of course it is up to you how you go about H.ed but we have found it a huge bonus in terms of progress to stay away from following the nc. Obviously some of what you do will be the same but its good to be able to do it your own way at your own pace.

Thank you for replies! I hadn't checked for a few days.

I have had another closer look at the EYF and I have found I understood slightly better this time in terms of the goals of learning through play.

What I meant about formal learning is that when it comes to doing letter practice she likes you to sit with her and say let's do letters and here's the book, trace the dots etc. She likes to be read with and helped to blend the letters. She plays constantly, lots of imaginative play and made up worlds. I have no concerns for her in terms of missing out on play.

What my concerns were with the early years framework were that it didn't seem specific on learning goals, e.g, cover this for English, this for Maths, this for History. But I think this is all too advanced and will begin in KS1, is that right?

I think to be honest that the thing that will stop me going mad with HE is having the structure that comes from following the NC. I may change my mind when I get to KS1 I know! But I like having things to follow. I know it will depend on the DDs as to how we progress and I will tailor projects to things they like to do.

Hi again
KS1 is again vague in places until you understand what it is doing. It is looking at learning outcomes or the principles to be learnt. It doesn't say for example 'must know 3 Ancient Eygyptian gods' names' but will say something like 'knowledge of ancient cultures'. (this example is not a quote from the nc) It is up to the school or teacher to chose which is most relevent. Which gives them a little freedom to adapt the NC to their class (eg a class with mostly boys might look at Roman construction and vehicles, compared to a class of girls looking at Roman fashion and houses).
So using the NC is ok if you are used to planning lessons for yourself or wish to learn to do that. But if you want to follow the NC without having to research it all yourself first and find text books or workbooks that cover your chosen 'topics', then you can buy in curriculums in a box from various sources. Alternatively you can play it by ear for a year then assess what you have taught against the NC and spend the next year making sure you fill in any gaps that your teaching doesn't naturally cover.
The big advantage you have over schools is that you are adapting the curriculum to suit one child and you can do that down to the last detail. Schools just have to average out everyone's interests and possibly end up teaching something no one in the class is interersted in.

That's very interesting and helpful, thank you. There will be 2 more to add when they come up to school age but even with three it's much easier to tailor learning than 30.