Anything toddlers do at nursery that I should be doing with dd at home?

[Pantheon]

Dd is nearly 2. I'm a sahm. We do the usual things - parks, farms, museums etc and she has toys and crafts at home. Go to toddler group a few times a week. Just want to make sure she's not missing anything. Any specific activities? Friends with dc at nursery tell me about parents' evenings, learning outcomes...

The most important things children get from nursery are the friendships and the socialisation and practicing self-care.

So not just socialisation like playing with other kids at a toddler group, but the long term deep friendships. My dd is in year 2 now and one of her closest friends she met when she was 2 at nursery. She also had other friends there who didn’t go to the same school as her, so she might only see them once a year, but it’s lovely to see them pop right back into being best friends. It’s lovely she has that history and those memories. You can replicate that with friendships outside of a nursery setting though, it just takes more time and coordination on your part.

And then the independent self-care is important, so being able to look after their belongings, and wash hands, serve lunch for themselves, tidy up, use the toilet, dressing themselves etc. The kinds of things they’ll need to do without help in school. Most of those don’t happen til 3-4, so there’s no rush yet.

I should add, I’ve never had a parent’s evening after 2 dc in nursery! That sounds excessive and pointless. They do evaluate EYFS outcomes and chart their development, but unless there are concerns you have, that probably doesn’t matter. The HV will check some of that at the 2 year check. Honestly, I’ve barely read the reports we get sent home. You know your dc. You don’t need a report to describe them really.

Thanks @mindutopia. Dd has a couple of friends that we see often, but I haven't done much yet in terms of helping her learn about self care, so will have a think about that. At 3 I think she'll go to preschool for the 15hrs.

Seasonal activities, like Halloween, autumn, Easter etc
Learning to share
Sitting down together for meals and snacks

And the Biggie... The staff cleaning up the glitter, paint and glue so you don't have too.

And two she won't missing out- it can all be recreated at home and toddler groups. I sent mine for a few hours a week to get a break myself and do housework (DH worked away for months at a time so it was my only break)

Thanks @Aroundtheworldin80moves. I was wondering about putting her in for a few hours a week for the same reasons, and my DH doesn't even work away!