Learning

Goals for 2-3-Year-old children

Social and Emotional Development

The learning goals for children in this area is to make friends with peers and
adults in pre-school. Gain independence and learn to label and talk about their
feelings. Demonstrate a caring attitude and understand what is right and
wrong. Develop confidence and self-esteem.

v Show interest in others and their play
v Wants to make friends
v Shows affection to children and adults they like
v Has a special friend to play with?
v Separates from main carer
v Bonds with one adult in preschool
v Shows interest in certain activities
v Goes to adult for comfort
v Shows care for personal things
v Uses pretend play to act out things they observe and act out fears
v Expresses when happy or sad
v Expresses when angry or upset instead of hitting or showing aggressive
behavior
v Gives in sometimes to the wishes of another child
v Shows a caring attitude when someone is upset
v Understands rules and tries to follow them

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Physical Development

This mainly comprises of self-care, fine motor and gross motor development.
Children come into preschool from different environments. Some who are
exposed to a lot of physical activities and others without. It is important to give
differentiated activities so that children can progress from where they are. The
main goals would be:

v Sits on floor to play
v Gets up without support
v Runs safely without bumping into objects or people
v Climbs on slide or climbing equipment without help
v Able to easily stop self and balance self
v Holds pens or pencils in palmer or pincer grip
v Can kick a ball
v Walks up and down the stairs with support
v Makes marks on paper
v Starts showing hand preference
v Feeds self with hand
v Drinks water without spilling
v Tells if they want to use the toilet or potty
v Helps to dress and undress
v Beginning to thread beads, enjoys pouring activities.

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Communication and Language Development

There are many elements in this area: The 4 main elements are
1. Listening and Understanding
2. Speaking
3. Reading
4. Writing
When children come into preschool it is important for teachers to focus on the
first 2 elements before moving on to reading and writing. Focusing on
developing readiness will ensure successful reading and writing development
later.

Listening and Speaking
v Listens to rhymes with interest
v Listens to stories with interest
v Shows understanding by laughing or smiling while listening to stories
v Responds to name when called
v Identifies people or actions by pointing. E.g. Show Ram or point to Ram.
Who is crying?
v Understands simple instructions. E.g. Call the teacher. Open the book.
v Understands “who” and “where”.
v Uses language to communicate their needs e.g. going to toilet, want to
drink water etc.
v Shares experiences at school and at home
v Asks questions e.g. when is mom coming?
v Attempts to talk to peers.

Reading and Writing
v Listens to and sings some favorite songs
v Joins in during circle time to sing and dance with all the children
v Tries to retell a story
v Completes a favorite rhyme if it is started e.g. if the teacher says “twinkle,
twinkle” …. the child says, “little star”.
v Makes marks with a variety of tools e.g. with a piece of stick on the
playground, with a chalk, with crayons etc.
v Makes scribbles and pretends to imitate an adult writing

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Mathematical Development

Math’s in the early years covers several elements like

1. Numbers for labeling and counting
2. Reasoning
3. Problem solving
4. Calculating
5. Shape, Space and Measurement

Math’s should not be taught through worksheets but through everyday
experiences in our daily activities. Children should be able to practice applying
the math concepts every day. Activities should be laid as such that this can be
achieved.

Numbers for labeling and counting

v Says some number names in the form of rhymes
v Uses the numbers names to say e.g. 1,2,3 jump
v Uses number names to count to 3 objects reliably
v Says the number names in order till 5

Reasoning and problem solving

v Picks up simple puzzles and solves them
v Applies problem solving skills to get what they want. E.g. if something is out
of reach they either ask for help or use a tool to get it
v Does matching activities
v Does sorting activities with one attribute e.g. sort all the red colored objects
OR sort all the circles from mixed shapes

Calculating

v Understands one more OR one less
v Understands vocabulary that compares e.g. more Or less
v Recognizes difference in quantity when comparing 2 set of objects
v Understands addition is combining 2 groups
v Understands subtraction is removing 1 or more from a group

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Shape, space and measurement

v Labels simple shapes like circle, square, triangle, rectangle
v Recognizes shapes in pictures
v Sorts objects with size or shape
v Understands time based activities like snack time, time to go home etc.
v Uses vocabulary with size like big, small, long, short etc.

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Understanding of the world

This area deals with the world around children that goes beyond their
immediate environment and family. It could include communities and places in
the neighborhoods, gatherings and celebrations that include a larger
community involvement.

v Has a sense of immediate family and extended family
v Uses pretend play to act out different roles
v Has knowledge of different groups e.g. animals, birds, fruits, vegetables...
etc.
v Enjoys playing with models of farm animals, wild animals etc.
v Notices and asks about things around them
v Participates in celebrations with joy

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Creative development

v Joins in singing and dancing activities
v Creates sounds by banging, clapping, tapping etc.
v Shows interest in music and musical instruments
v Likes using crayons, paints and other tools to create
v Enjoys working with blocks, playdough, water, sand etc.
v Use different media to express their ideas
v Stacks blocks vertically

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