Teaching Your Toddler to Understand the Wider World

Children are clever and eager to learn. In their early years, they will experiment through touch and their other senses to learn about the world around them. As they grow older, they will become more investigative – pouring out the contents of what they find to see what happens. 

It’s the first stage in their learning and development and is broken down into three areas in EYFS – people and communities, the World and technology. Below is some guidance from this Nursery in Wandsworth on how you can help your child in understanding each. 

People and Communities

The first people that your child will be introduced to is their family. Parents, grandparents and any aunts or uncles. They can explore these connections, and understand how each person is related to one another whilst looking characteristically similar or different. You can use family photos for this and go out to visit them so that they can understand who lives in each household.

The World

The wider world looks at different environments. Both natural and built up. You can explore the characteristics of each with your child and the objects that are typically found like trees, grass, traffic lights and street signs etc. 

You can go further by visiting other environments like the library for example, where they can find books and computers. As an activity, you might want to set up sensory baskets. These are baskets containing the items typically found in each. These baskets will help children become familiar with each item’s properties – how they look and feel.

Technology

We all have some form of technology in the home. Man-made solutions that are used to solve problems or cater to a specific need. Their toys are an example and probably one of the first interactions that they will have. You can explore technology by looking at different types and their uses.