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Preschool education

Get advice from other Mumsnetters to find the best nursery for your child on our Preschool forum.

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Original poster

What kind of things can your three year old do?

73 replies

scarlettsmummy2 · 09/06/2012 22:51

My three and a half year old daughter is due to start in a pre prep class in August at a fairly academic independent school. I am now in a bit of a panic that she won't be able to keep up with her peers!

At the minute she can speak competently and hold a full conversation, she can do fifty piece puzzles on her own, appears to have decent physical co ordination and can count up to ten- but not backwards. She can't write her name yet. Has anyone any other suggestions of things I could maybe encourage her to do? We have been playing snakes and ladders over the last couple of days but she can't focus for long!

Thanks

OP posts:

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Rubirosa · 09/06/2012 22:55

Seriously, she's 3 and you're worried about her academic ability already?! Let the poor child do some dressing-up and play doh.

PasseBlanc · 09/06/2012 22:57

Your little girl sounds very bright mashaallah :)

My son's pretty much the same apart from puzzles, he takes a while to do them and I doubt he could do a 5o piece at the moment. He can count up to ten and wobbily write his name, knows pretty much all letters in the english alphabet and knows his arabic alphabet too. I try to do his numbers and letters with him when I can and he is getting there in terms of recognising the numbers. He too speaks well and holds a normal almost adult-ish conversation lol. Love when they speak so grown up it's so sweet :D Anyway he can't focus for ages but enjoys doing art. I suggest a lot of art for you and your little girl, plus we watch things on youtube about animals and the world etc. Some may say it's tmi but my son knows about the dynamics of childbirth and stuff. If he asks, I tell him quite simply and that's that.

art, doing the letters and numbers regularly, practising writing and doing reading together are all great as well as talking to them loads about the world and other people/cultures etc.

Original poster

scarlettsmummy2 · 09/06/2012 22:57

I am worried because unlike many of her peers she has never attended nursery so I am a bit stressed that she will be behind. I also don't think my worries are that unusual- every mum wants their child to be doing well at nursery.

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FizzyLaces · 09/06/2012 22:57

I wouldn't want my child to go to a school that she failed the exam for at 3!

milkysmum · 09/06/2012 22:58

Agree she is 3!- give the child a break, she will be fine honestley!

PasseBlanc · 09/06/2012 22:58

rubirosa - Do I sense a bit of jealousy on your part? Yes all children must have fun and play but it's still important to prepare them for life later on. Good on the op for having obviously done a good job of raising her daughter.

PasseBlanc · 09/06/2012 22:59

kids are BRIGHT at 3. Too many kids sit indoors watching cbeebies and baby jake.

Original poster

scarlettsmummy2 · 09/06/2012 23:00

Thanks passe. We will get working on the alphabet this week! She is good at recognising symbols- for example car logos, so hopefully she will pick letters up too! My biggest struggle is getting her to sit still!

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FunnysInLaJardin · 09/06/2012 23:01

DS2 is 2.4. He can count to 10 and then back down again. He can't write at all or do puzzles. IME she will be fine

Original poster

scarlettsmummy2 · 09/06/2012 23:03

Fizzylaces- there is no exam as such. As I said I just want to make sure she is able to keep up with her peers and I don't think it is fair to leave it all up to the teachers.

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PasseBlanc · 09/06/2012 23:03

don't worry op, just enjoy her and enjoy teaching her about everyday things. They're amazing little sponges at this age and pick up so much. It's v important if you don't have a garden in particular, to get out most days to the park. Stimulation is key as well as plenty of silly time like baking cookies, playing monsters etc

ReallyTired · 09/06/2012 23:04

August is a long way away. DD is 3 years and two months. Children change a lot at this age so its probably not fair to compare your daughter to mine. My daughter is going to the local state nursery in September and she can do the following.

She can hold a full conversation.
She can do 24 piece jigsaws and will do larger jigsaws with help.
She can write the first 3 letter of her name.
She can count up to ten both forwards and backwards. (Ie reciting rather than counting actual objects) DD can count up to about three objects properly.
DD can draw a picture of her family.
DD can't read
DD knows a couple of letter sounds

non academic things

She can wipe her bum, but sometimes forgets.
She can use a knife and fork.
She can dress and undress herself.
DD loves imaginary play.

I think that the school will look after the academics. I think the best thing you can do is give your daughter as many experiences as possible. It will make reading comprehension easier if she has a range of real life experiences. Ie. we took dd to see a cave earlier this week and went on a steam train.

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 09/06/2012 23:04

Then don't expect her to sit still for very long, or else you'll put her off.

Honestly. She'll be fine.

PoppyWearer · 09/06/2012 23:05

She sounds fine.

My friend who teaches reception class and a head teacher whose school I toured said the same thing as each other, which is to leave letters and numbers to the school for now, and concentrate on giving them kids who can go to the toilet, eat and get dressed/undressed independently.

Thus allowing them to focus on the teaching.

SurprisinglyCurvaceousPirate · 09/06/2012 23:05

Passé, it's not a choice between teaching your child to read or rotting their brain with constant telly! My DS1 starts school in September and have done no 'teaching' with him at all in terms of letters and numbers. I'm an ex primary teacher and from experience don't think it matters one iota if they can read and write when they start school.

He is sociable, polite, friendly, curious, physically fit from being outside and active every day, and generally lovely. Qualities that will stand him in very good stead for september : )

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 09/06/2012 23:05

Why on earth do you think she won't keep up with her peers?

PoppyWearer · 09/06/2012 23:05

X-post with reallytired

puds11 · 09/06/2012 23:07

DD is 3.5 and she can:
Do the whole alphabet
Write her name
Hold a conversation
Count to 20 unaided and higher with a bit of prompting

Original poster

scarlettsmummy2 · 09/06/2012 23:09

Thanks everyone! I am currently on maternity leave so have suddenly got a lot more time with her so am more aware of what she can and can't do! Hopefully the weather will be nice this summer so we can get out and about! I took her to see 'Oliver' today and she seemed to pick up on a good bit of it!

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PasseBlanc · 09/06/2012 23:11

surprisinglycurvaceouspirate - interesting to hear your persective. You make me feel like I've now wasted my time doing all this stuff with ds!!! Doesn't it count for something that he knows most of his letters and numbers, as well as his arabic alphabet? Ds is also a lovely crazy happy kid that's always out and about. I hold a high qualification in pre-school care and what I've studied seems to contradict your experience as a primary school teacher. Can you give us some info on what the kids do in general when they start?

Original poster

scarlettsmummy2 · 09/06/2012 23:13

Puds- your daughter sounds very bright! It is thoae kind of thing that worries me about whether Scarlett will keep up, especially as she hasn't been to private nursery since she was 15 months, and I am presuming that there may be lots of other pushy parents at the school she is attending, and it's all girls!

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Firawla · 09/06/2012 23:14

Does she know letters, you can find out what scheme they use in the school she is going to - ours uses jolly phonics and they recommended the cd if parents want to practise it at home. playing with letter magnets, foam letters etc will all help as she starts to recognise them all then move on to spelling and reading things?
readingeggs website also seems good, my 3 year old really enjoys it and other mums have said the same.
whats her pencil grip like, if thats not sorted she might not be able to right her name but teacher at my ds school said sometimes their muscles are not ready, so just normal things like playdough helps them cos it strengthens up the pincer grip for the pencil. also normal mark making like drawing pictures.
if she enjoys it then there are loads of workbooks available for writing, maths, and all sorts of things. if she doesn't want to do that i would just leave it but they can be quite good

I really don't think your dd will be behind though, but if she enjoys learning and you want to do things with her then why not! I'm sure she won't be the only one who hasn't been to nursery before, 3.5 is not that late to be starting? mine was the same age, although around here most start at just turned 3 but he was late entry due to moving house, he caught up very quickly on the things he hadn't known before he went there. In my ds nursery its all quite individual based, the teacher knows what level each child is at and works with that accordingly so some will be doing more advanced, and others basic but its not a problem because they are not all sat down doing the same work but learning quite casually through the play and tbh you wouldn't really know if your child is behind or advanced in the class as they won't tell you all about the other children anyway, and with there being a mixture of ages in nursery from just turned 3 to almost 5, then of course there are different levels so don't think the differences stand out too much to the children either... in short: she will be fine!

Babylon1 · 09/06/2012 23:16

My dd2 is 2.10 and can write her name, recite the alphabet and count to 100.

Still in nappies though - Wont have a bar of it with potty training

Every child is different, let them do it at their own pace. Academic abilities???? I have no idea - I'll wait til her report comes home from school in a couple of years - for now she can be a child and play!!

puds11 · 09/06/2012 23:17

She is very eager to learn, so she picks things up quite quickly. Ive just bought her some exercise books off amazon to help her learn to write and do phonics etc. They only cost a couple of quid so perhaps you could get some of them?

Original poster

scarlettsmummy2 · 09/06/2012 23:22

Yes, we will get some exercise books to try out! I will nip into waterstones tomorrow! She can hold a pencil pretty well. I think a lot of it had been that I haven't really taken the time to do much with her before beyond reading stories and am now in a minor panic!

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