Our Sunflower Room (2-3) yrs

Our toddler room is called the Sunflower room, the room is situated on the ground floor. The room has various areas to explore – home corner, construction, small world, mark making, sensory, ICT and book area. Our staff fully understands that children transferring from the baby room are dependent on practitioners to support their transition, thereby enabling them to be more independent by giving them support, consistent care and progressive teaching. We provide manageable challenges and a relaxed environment which two- or three-years old need.

When your child joins the 2-3 years group, they will, again, be assigned a new key worker who will be your point of contact at the nursery. The key worker will ensure that all aspects of your child’s physical and intellectual development are met and you will receive a weekly diary which will tell you what your child has done during the day.  Your views, comments and suggestions are welcome within this diary. This is a year of exploration and discovery for your child. It is a time when we build on developing physical skills and intellectual abilities. We, therefore, have active times for exercise and play and quiet times for calmer, academic activities as well as speech development. Language comprehension develops at an increasing rate at this age and we spend time looking at picture books and reading to children to build their vocabulary and understanding of words. We also spend more time playing and learning in groups, including pretend play, to better understand other people’s feelings and to continue learning how to co-operate with others.

Children develop at different rates and each child’s progress is unique. They do not make progress in all areas at the same pace and it can be a very frustrating time for them. The role of their key worker is very important at this stage in encouraging exploration and self-help. Children will be taught self-care and also be encouraged and supported to put their coats and shoes on when they go out and also to use a knife and fork during meal times. They will go to the bathroom to wash their hands before and after meals. At this stage we also do potty training in partnership with parents. Adults are important role models in children’s early development and we, therefore, encourage good table manners and always use model polite language which children naturally copy. Praise is always given for new achievements to build self-esteem and confidence in our children.