Formal education for 2 year old?

[Namey32]

Serial name changer. Also wasn't sure whether to put this is parenting or education so sorry about that.

My DC is 2 years old and a few months. DN is a few months older but very advanced. DC is on track for a regular 2 year old.

ILs are very keen on formal education tasks for the children and SIL does all sorts of formal tasks with DN - experiments, fractions etc. I feel like the poorer parent for the fact that I don't have a formal education plan in place for DC in the lockdown. DC needs more language to ease his frustration (although certainly not badly behaved) so I am trying to focus on this but am also trying to fit in colours and animals and such. Most of what we do is through play as he's only little, it just seems like it's not necessary to have a specific plan in place for a 2 year old. DC loves books so I am getting some non fiction books for young children on various topics - planets, bugs and the such.

I'm really trying to develop his language in the main and I am constantly talking with him / to him / talking out loud while he's not at nursery.

I understand that nurseries work to the EYFS but am I doing enough at this stage? I'm certainly not uneducated myself and will always encourage my DC to achieve their best, it just seems a bit pointless to have too much in place formally before he's old enough to understand.

What do you all do with your 2 year olds in similar circumstances?

If it's still the same now in the UK as it was when my teenagers were at preschool they aren't allowed to be taught very much. It's all learning through play. If a child went to a member of staff with a pencil and paper and asked them to help they were allowed to but it couldn't be instigated by the staff. Reception year in school is when children are taught to read and write and even then that's way earlier at 4 than many countries who don't do that in kindergarten so at 6 when they start school. There is absolutely no need to have a plan in place for a 2 year old. Encouraging a love of books, singing a few songs, pointing out colours/numbers/animals is all they need. Enjoy this time with your DC, they have years of school ahead of them.

Well things like cooking can be described as experiments

'What happens when we do this? Can you make it do it too?'

or fractions

"Let's cut this in half'

You just need to put the right wanky labels on the sort of activities you're doing anyway..

Reading to your DC - a wide range of stuff, not just that which is marketed as 'educational' - is probably the single most useful thing you can do

I honestly don't understand why people want to formally educate 2 year olds. Learning letters at 2 doesn't benefit you any more than learning them later. Education is a marathon rather than a sprint and at this age they really should be learning through play. They have many, many years to sit at a desk with a pen. It sounds like you're doing a great job, be confident of how you want to parent. One of the most beneficial things you can do is read a lot at this age with them.

Fractions at two?!! I’m a nursery worker and would not dream of considering anything ‘formal’ for a two year old child!!! They learn through play and discovering their environment. They will naturally pick up language if you are reading fun stories to them, talking to them and singing to them. Please don’t put undue pressure on yourself and your child, you’ll only look back and regret it.

I have a daughter who's just turned two and would actively avoid anything that felt like formal learning. When we viewed nurseries for her (she started full-time at 9 months) we chose the one who emphasised that they were a home from home rather than the ones who stressed education.

Basically, at this age they learn through play, constantly, and learning practical things like how to get clothes and shoes on and off (she can't do it, she just likes trying!) is at least as important as numbers and letters.

Follow his lead. It sounds like you're both doing great, don't pay too much attention to the other family.

www.sitters.co.uk/blog/the-15-best-activities-for-children-to-help-them-learn-through-play.aspx

I hadn’t even considered ‘doing’ anything with my 2 year old!
We play, sometimes make stuff, paint, look at flowers etc.
Sometimes I’ll point out colours, shapes, but more in a ‘wow, the sky Is so blue today’ kind of way. I talk to him. For me, that seems fine.. !

They sound nuts! What you are doing with your DS sounds perfect. My DD is about to turn 3 and I do exactly the same. Plenty of reading, chatting, and talking about what we are doing, but that’s it. There is a mantra I’ve heard for preschoolers (and reception age children) that ‘play is enough’ and I think that is very true.

I am a cminder. All learning through play.

Some of the important skills learn to enjoy books , stories with repetition are good for learning language Ss is singing nursery rhymes, developing imagination so role play , jigsaws , crafts , running around exercise develops core skills , play doh is great for fine motor skills.

Honestly enjoy your time together , it goes so fast.

Fractions at 2 is nuts, unless what she really means is that she’s cutting up apples !!! No 2 year old needs a formal education plan.

Play with your 2 year old, do jigsaws, look for things outside - everything green, flowers, red cars, round windows etc. Do a bit of baking, messy play (in the bath or outside if you have space), talk about what you are doing - even if it’s just changing the sheets. Read to them, at bedtime, downtime anytime. Listen to music and point things out - “that sound is a violin”, “this music sounds like thunder” . Lots of ways of “teaching” a 2 year old informally.

No, just play and have fun. That's all that's needed

Talk, talk, talk and read! Cook, craft, imaginative play, water play, make pasta jewellery and count the pieces up to 3 (then 5, 10 etc). Verbally Lanka colours and describe things your child does Throughout the activity just commenting on what they do gentle leaving gaps between comments for processing or answers e.g. “You’re washing the pink bowl carefully. Is the water cold or hot? You look very damp. There’s lots of water on your red top. Can you pour the water into the blue cup?”
Don’t stress out, children develop at their own pace. Just have fun and your child will develop.

*label

I'm laughing at the idea of formally educating my 2yo - he's currently running round the dining table as fast as he can.

I think there's plenty of formal education to come, 15+ years if they go to university. That's more than enough. They learn through play and role model behaviour, especially at this stage.

at formal education for a 2 year old.

You know what OP, if it were me I would perfect the art of nodding and ignoring. A 2 year old is still a baby in my eyes. All that's needed is lots of talking and showing them as much as you can. All these mad people who run around forcing their little kids to read extra early or tell everyone how advanced they are will be falling on thier face in years to come. Kids find their own way and will be the level they are going to be and should be enjoyed for who they are.

Only teach the 2 year old if he has a natural curiosity- maybe call mensa at the same time. A 3 year old joined not long ago. If not, then just let him play. Plenty of time to learn these things in a few years at school.

I'm with you OP. People are putting way too much pressure on themselves (and each other!)

On the language skills thing - rather than just talking to her, one of the best things I did with DD was from the age of one I would put her on my lap and say "now we're going to have a conversation" and then ask her questions to encourage interactive speaking skills. It was often just silly stuff like asking her what she had for lunch and at first I had to feed her the answers, so "did you eat an elephant for lunch? Did you eat a car for lunch? Did you eat fishfingers for lunch?" She loved the nonsense element of it and it really encouraged that back and forth and helped her language skills no end. You may already do something like this or have your own way - it is just an idea.

They are batshit having a formal education plan for a 2 year old.
You are doing a good job. Reading for fun is great. And with language, like someone above said, just play with them and comment, comment, comment. No pressure on him, you just make his environment language rich.

If you look at the EYFS, you will see how simple the points are for babies and toddlers. It takes into account what they need to be learning at that age, like running, kicking a ball, enjoying brief interactions with adults, exploring different textures, sounds etc. It's a useful way for practitioners to track but not needed as a parent unless you particularly want to.

A 2 year old just needs someone to respond well to them, to read them a (short) story, to 'run' around with them and talk about what you see (birds flying, the toast popped up).

DD is 4 and at a school nursery. At the moment they are giving learning through videos. We then upload videos and they watch them and comment. It is still play basd e.g. painting shapes in water on the patio, reading a story and talking about what you liked. We occasionally mention fractions e.g. give half to your brother but nothing more than that and she is 4.

Sounds like you are doing a great job so keep going. I'm sure you could easily mark off loads on the EYFS from your everyday play if you wanted too.

FRACTIONS? AT 2?!
And presumably more formally taught than as pps have said let's cut this banana in half etc. Madness. I'd love to see what the child is like by the time they get to school, because I am imagining they'll be a bit of a weirdo with no social skills! Talking, play and looking at books is exactly what you should be doing. And lots of socialising when we are allowed again.

Learning through play is best but that can be guided play with clear learning as opposed to just pottering. Just pottering is better than screens but add in music, craft, mathematical language, patterns, rich vocabulary, problem solving and even foreign language and it takes play up a level.
If you do water play and use measuring cups or wheels, coloured vessels and talk about volume, floating, displacement etc you have a science and maths lesson without the child realising even and more fun, not less.
Learning isn’t about completing worksheets.

I spend most the day playing chase with my 2 yr old up and down the hallway!
Or with him jumping ir climbing all over me!
What your doing sounds great

Your concern @Namey32 over structure is commendable, but you do rightly identify that it is "pointless to have too much in place formally before he's old enough to understand".

You should be reassured by the weighty opinion here that he will be learning through the play-based opportunities you are giving him. Jumping ahead too early in life can lead to shaky foundations, lacking depth and breath of understanding. The rhetorical bricks of future learning will just keep falling through the cracks where there is no foundation, and it's a real job to fix that later. Picture an inverse pyramid...

However, answering your direct question about developing language and what we would do here, I have come up with a tailored list for you:

• Use songs, favourite stories and nursery rhymes, repeat the favourites as little people love repetition!

• Play word games using rich words that have strong consonants at the beginning/end, and over emphasise them so he has a chance to repeat them and play with the sounds himself.

• Label picture cards with names, let him choose his favourites. Incorrectly label some pictures deliberately, and let him correct you!

• Sing to one-another down the hallway using long vowel sounds and experimental words, oo, ee, ma, ba, etc.

• Call to one-another in an outside space, using progressively bigger voices but not shouting.

• Whisper phrases to one another, try the same under a sheet so that you are both totally reliant on listing for, and interpreting the the sound.

• Let him sit immediately in front of you so he can see your face, take it in turns to share little sentences about your day using crisp, steady language eg: > "'I like to eat carrots", < "I like to eat toast", > "I like to eat tomatoes" etc etc. Speak slowly and develop new words carefully so that he has a chance to see what you are doing with your lips and tongue.

• Play 'finding' games, you ask him to find a hat, he finds the hat and tells you precisely "I have found the hat". Take this a stage further with related stories such as Jon Klasson's 'I want my hat back', then play a new game using different phrases from this or other books.

Go with what he loves, and discover new games too!

General etiquette:
Keep background noise low if you are doing things involving speech or sound, he should be able hear the vocalisations or harmonics with ease. Turn off radios, screens and any other members of the household!

Language development can vary substantially between boys and girls at this age, and also between individual children of the same gender. Remember, he will be getting substantially more tailored input from you in your 1:1 home situation than in a group care setting, so don't overdo it!

Balance your adult-led activities with plenty of quiet time for his choice of free play.

I agree with the poster who said “education” is just wanky labels for normal play. My nephew did an activity where he matched toy animals with their babies. According to SIL he focused his concentration and was demonstrating two-channel attention by listening and doing at the same time, learned new words like “kitten” and used them in conversation with others, developed communication skills by initiating and responding to questions, understood growth and change over time, and studied similarities and differences. Honestly I could spout this bollocks about every single thing my kid does, it’s nonsense.