• Suitable for 2-3Years

Approaches to learning: 2-3 years

 

Research shows that if children start school with a strong set of attitudes and skills that help them ‘learn how to learn’, they’ll be better able to take advantage of educational opportunities. Although some learning skills come naturally to children, others can be developed with your help.

What to expect

Your two-year-old enjoys using her senses to explore the world, and can solve simple problems with ‘trial and error’. She’ll practise an activity many times to master it, and can complete short-term, concrete tasks.

This year typically marks the beginning of pretend play, where two-year-olds experiment with familiar objects and situations to process their experiences.

At this age, your child’s budding language skills and desire to learn prompt many ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions.

Initiative, engagement and persistence

Your child will start making choices for himself – for example, choosing his own food, clothes, toys and activities based on his personal preferences. He might sometimes oppose your opinions. For example, he might say, ‘No jacket. Want hat!’

At this age, she’s increasingly able to keep her attention on one task, especially when it directly influences an activity – for example, repeatedly stacking blocks then knocking them down.

He’ll be able to complete self-chosen, short-term, concrete tasks. He’ll practise an activity over and over again to get better at it – for example, repeatedly moving magnetic letters on and off the fridge.

Your child will show a growing interest in being able to perform routine tasks on her own, and might be able to carry them out – for example, putting napkins on the table before dinner.

Curiosity and eagerness to learn

At this age, your child can participate in a broader array of experiences thanks to increased physical and cognitive skills. She might enjoy exploring outdoor playground equipment, climbing on rocks, investigating contents of kitchen cabinets, and paging through books.

He might start asking lots of ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ questions about a variety of sights, sounds, and experiences. Try to be patient!

Your child shows enthusiasm when she solves simple problems for herself. For example, she might have a few tries at putting her hat on the right way, then happily jump up and down when she manages to do it.

Reasoning and problem-solving

At this age, your child is becoming more systematic in using language and physical approaches to solve problems, but might get stuck on one solution. For example, he might try a few different ways to stack a few cups inside each other, but might keep pushing harder to get a large cup to fit into a smaller one.

She’ll continue to expand her use of language to get assistance, but might refuse help – even when she needs it. For example, she might say, ‘Help me!’ when trying to get a toy car into a toy garage, but then say, ‘Do it myself!’ when help arrives.

Your child will increasingly recognise and solve problems through active exploration, including trial and error. For example, he might try to get a large pillow into a container by turning it in different directions, eventually folding it up so it fits.

Invention and imagination

At this age your child will engage in simple pretend play with familiar objects and situations, such as putting a stuffed toy to bed, then placing a blanket over it.

She’ll be using objects, art materials and toys in new and unexpected ways. For example, she might take towels out of a cupboard and drape them over chairs, or crumple up paper into interesting shapes before pasting it onto cardboard.

 
 
 
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  • Last updated18-02-2011
  • Last reviewed14-01-2010
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