Approaches to learning

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Three-year-olds increasingly know what they want and express their preferences. While playing, they are better able to ignore distractions and focus on the task at hand. They will even persist in completing something that is a bit difficult. Learning still happens primarily through exploring, using all the senses. Their growing language skills allow for more complex questions and discussion and they can think more creatively and methodically when solving problems.

Initiative, engagement and persistence

• Becomes increasingly deliberate when choosing preferred activities and companions. For example, child says, ‘I want to play at Jeremy's house today’.
• Is able to focus attention for longer periods of time, even with distractions or interruptions, as long as the activity is age-appropriate and of interest (e.g. can repeatedly solve and tip out a wooden puzzle, even with the TV on in the background).
• Persists with a wider variety of tasks, activities and experiences. Keeps working to complete a task even if it is moderately difficult (e.g. persists with a somewhat challenging wooden puzzle).
• Expands abilities to independently complete a range of self-help skills (e.g., feeding, undressing, grooming). May refuse adult assistance (e.g. tries over and over to pull on a jumper and pushes mum's hands away when she tries to help).

Curiosity and eagerness to learn

• Continues to seek and engage in sensory and other experiences (e.g. listens to stories, plays with friends, takes trips to the fire station).
• Continues to ask numerous questions, which are becoming more verbally complex. For example, asks, ‘How we get to Nana's house?’
• Seeks out new challenges (e.g. tries to dress a doll or put together a new construction toy).

Reasoning and problem-solving

• Continues to become more flexible in problem-solving and thinking through alternatives (e.g. when trying to put on shoes, talks to self about what to do first. If the shoe won't easily go on one foot, child tries the other foot).
• Increasingly able to ask for help on challenging tasks. For example, says, ‘Can you put Teddy's pants on?’
• Thinks more systematically. Benefits from conversations with adults and peers, as well as physical investigation.

Invention and imagination

• Grows in ability to sustain pretend play with other children (e.g. plays in pretend kitchen with friend, serving ‘biscuits’). Takes on familiar roles (e.g. mum or dad) in pretend play.
• Plays creatively with both language and objects. Expresses inventive ideas in an expanding set of situations. For example, creates interesting scenes with small plastic animals; strings nonsense words together: ‘Mummy, nummy, summy, tummy’.

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